The Mind of the Child Part 29

My bracelet, too, he now calls _kopita_. _Mann_ is a new word.

_O-patz_ means "playing on the piano," as well as "below, down there." When the piano is played he sings in a hoa.r.s.e voice, with lips protruded, as well as he can, but does not get the tune. He likes to dance, and always dances in time.

_Nocho_ (noch, yet) is a new word, which he uses much in place of _mehr_ (more), e. g., when he wants more food.

He often plays with apples, which for this reason, and very likely because they are round, he calls _Ball_, as he does his rubber ball. Yesterday he had baked apples, mashed, with milk.

He recognized the apple at once in this altered form, and said as he ate, _Ball!_ At this time he was not yet sixteen months old.

_16th Month._--He is often heard to beg, or rather order, _Mamma opatz_ (play the piano). If I do not at once obey, he moves his little hands like a piano-player and begs _tatata_, _tatata_, imitating the music. He likes also to hear songs sung, and can already tell some of them, as _Gigagack_, _kucka_ _tralla_. He joins in singing the last of these.

_17th Month._--He speaks his own name correctly, and when asked "Where is Adolph?" he points to his breast. As he is always addressed in the third person, i. e., by his name, he does not know any personal p.r.o.nouns.

The syllable _ei_ he often changes to _al_; e. g., he says _Papagal_ instead of "Papagei."

He had some grapes given to him for the first time, and he at once called them _mammut_ (berries). Being asked, "How do you like them?" he pressed his hand on his heart in an ecstasy of delight that was comical, crying _ach! ach!_

_18th Month._--He comprehends and answers questions; e. g., "Where are you going?" _Zu Tuhl_ (to the chair). "What is that?"

_Bett tuddu_, i. e., a bed for sleeping. "Who gave you this?"

_Mamma_, _Pappa_.

He can now say almost any word that is said to him, often mutilating it; but, if pains be taken to repeat it for him, he p.r.o.nounces it correctly. He often tacks on the syllable _ga_, as if in endearment, _mammaga_, _pappaga_, _nianiaga_. The _forming of sentences is also beginning_, for he joins two words together, e. g., _Mamma kommt_ (comes), _Papa gut_ (good), _Ferd_ (for _Pferd_) _halt_ (horse stop). He says _wiebacka_ for Zwieback (biscuit), _Brati_ for Braten (roast meat), Goossmama for Grossmama (grandmamma). He p.r.o.nounces correctly "Onkel Kuno, Suppe, Fuchs, Rabe, Kameel."

When others are conversing in his presence, he often says to himself the words he hears, especially the last words in the sentence. The word "Nein" (no) he uses as a sign of refusal; e. g., "Will you have some roast meat?" _Nein_. _Ja_ (yes), on the other hand, he does not use, but he answers in the affirmative by repeating frequently with vehemence what he wants, e. g., "Do you want some roast?" _Brati, Brati_ (i. e., I do want roast).

He gives names to his puppets. He calls them Grandmamma, Grandpapa, Uncle Kuno, Uncle Grunberg, gardener, cook, etc. The puppets are from his Noah's ark.

Now appear his first attempts at drawing. He draws, as he imagines, all kinds of animals: ducks, camels, tigers. He lately made marks, calling out _Torch und noch ein Torch_ (a stork and another stork). (cf. pp. 172, 247.)

The book of birds is his greatest delight. I have to imitate the notes of birds, and he does it after me, showing memory in it.

He knows at once stork, woodp.e.c.k.e.r, pigeon, duck, pelican, siskin, and swallow. The little verses I sing at the same time amuse him, e. g., "Zeislein, Zeislein, wo ist dein Hauslein?"

(Little siskin, where is your little house?); and he retains them when he hears them often. Russian words also are repeated by him.

For the first time I observe the attempt to communicate to others some experience of his own. He had been looking at the picture-book with me, and when he went to the nurse he told her, _Mamma, Bilder, Papagei_ (Mamma, pictures, parrot).

_19th Month._--From the time he was a year and a half old he has walked alone.

He speaks whole sentences, but without connectives, e. g., _Niana Braten holen_ (nurse bring roast); _Caro draussen wauwau_ (Caro outside, bow-wow); _Mamma tuddut_ (sleeps, inflected correctly); _Decke um_ (cover over); _Papa koppa Stadt_ (Papa driven to city); _Mamma sitzt tuhl_ (Mamma sits chair); _Adolph bei Mama bleiben_ (Adolph stay with mamma); _Noch tanzen_ (more dance); _Pappa Fuchs machen_ (Papa make fox).

Certain words make him nervous. He does not like the refrain of the children's song of the goat. If I say "Darum, darum, meck, meck, meck," he looks at me indignantly and runs off. Sometimes he lays his hand on my mouth or screams loudly for the nurse. He gives up any play he is engaged in as soon as I say "darum, darum." _Pax vobisc.u.m_ has the same effect.

The songs amuse him chiefly on account of the words, particularly through the imitations of the sounds of animals.

He knows the songs and asks of his own accord for _Kucku Esaal_, _Kater putz_, _Kucku tralla_, but commonly hears only the first stanza, and then wants a different song. Lately, however, he listened very earnestly to the three stanzas of "Mopschen," and when I asked "What now?" he answered _Noch Mops_ (more Mops).

Playing with his puppets, he hummed to himself, _tu, tu, errsen, tu tu errsen_. I guessed that it was "Du, du liegst mir im Herzen," which he had on the previous day wanted to hear often and had tried to repeat.

_20th Month._--Now for the first time _ja_ is used for affirmation, chiefly in the form _ja wohl_ (yes, indeed, certainly), which he retains. "Do you want this?" _Ja wohl._

Being asked "Whose feet are these?" he answers correctly, _Mine_; but no personal p.r.o.nouns appear yet. He often retains a new and difficult word that he has heard only once, e. g., "Chocolade."

To my question, after his grandfather had gone away, "Where is Grandpapa now?" he answers sorrowfully, _verloren_ (lost).

(Cf. p. 145.)

In his plays he imitates the doings and sayings of adults, puts a kerchief about his head and says, _Adolph go stable, give oats_.

Not long ago, as he said good-night to us, he went also to his image in the gla.s.s and kissed it repeatedly, saying, _Adolph, good-night!_

_24th Month._--He knows a good many flowers, their names and colors; calls pansies "the dark flowers."

He also caught the air and rhythm of certain songs, e. g., _Kommt a Vogel angeflogen, Du, du, liegst mir im Herzen, machst mir viel Serzen_, and used to sing to himself continually when he was on a walk. Now that he is four years old, on the contrary, he hardly ever sings.

_25th Month._--Beetles have a great interest for him. He brings a dead beetle into the parlor, and cries, "Run now!" His astonishment is great that the creature does not run.

If he sees something disagreeable (e. g., he saw the other day an organ-grinder with a monkey), he covers his face with his hands weeping aloud and crying, _Monkey go away_. So, too, when he sees strangers.

The Latin names of flowers and insects are easily retained by him. They are not taught him, he simply hears them daily.

_26th and 27th Months._--Of his childish language he has retained only the term _mammut_, for berries. Milk, which he used to call _mima_, is now called _milch_ (cf., pp. 140, 157).

The child's use of the personal p.r.o.noun is strange. During my absence an aunt of his took my place, and she addressed him for the _first time_ with the word "Du" (thou), and spoke of herself as "I," whereas I always called myself "Mama." The consequence was that the boy for a long time used "thou" as the first person, "I" as the second person, with logical consistency. He hands me bread, saying, _I am hungry_, or, when I am to go with him, _I come too_. Referring to himself, he says, _You want flowers_; _you will play with Niania_. All other persons are addressed with "I" instead of "you."

He tells his uncle, _There's an awfully pretty gentian in the yard_. He gets the nurse occasionally to repeat the Latin names, because they are difficult for her, and his correction of her is very comical.

_28th Month._--He speaks long sentences. _Papa, come drink coffee,_ _please do_. _Papa, I drive_ (for "you drive") _to town, to Reval, and bring some parrots (Bellensittiche)_.

He often changes the form of words for fun, e. g., _guten Porgen_ (for guten Morgen). On going out, he says, with a knowing air, "Splendid weather, the sun s.h.i.+nes so warm." He alters songs also, putting in different expressions: e. g., instead of _Lieber Vogel fliege weiter, nimm a Kuss und a Gruss_, Adolph sings, _Lieber Vogel fliege weiter in die Wolken hinein_ (dear bird, fly farther, _into the clouds_, instead of _take a kiss and a greeting_). It is a proof of logical thinking that he asks, at sight of the moon, _The moon is in the sky, has it wings?_

I had been sick; when I was better and was caressing him again, he said, _Mama is well, the dear Jesus has made mama well with sealing-wax_. "With sealing-wax?" I asked, in astonishment.

_Yes, from the writing-desk._ He had often seen his toys, when they had been broken, "made well", as he called it, by being stuck together with sealing-wax.

He now asks, _Where is the dear Jesus?_ "In heaven." _Can he fly then; has he wings?_

Religious conceptions are difficult to impart to him, even at a much later period: e. g., heaven is too cold for him, his nose would freeze up there, etc.

He now asks questions a good deal in general, especially _What is that called?_ e. g., _What are chestnuts called?_ "Horse-chestnuts." _What are these pears called?_ "Bergamots."

He jests: _Nein, Bergapots_, or, _What kind of mots are those?_ He will not eat an apple until he has learned what the name of it is.

He would often keep asking, in wanton sport, _What are books called?_ or _ducks?_ or _soup?_

He uses the words "to-day, to-morrow," and the names of the days of the week, but without understanding their meaning.

Instead of saying "_zu Mittag gehen_" (go to noon-meal), he says, logically, "zu Nachmittag gehen" (go to afternoon-meal).

The child does not know what is true, what is actual. I never can depend on his statements, except, as it appears, when he tells what he has had to eat. If riding is spoken of, e. g., he has a vivid picture of riding in his mind. To-day, when I asked him "Did you see papa ride?" he answered, _Yes, indeed, papa rode away off into the woods_. Yet his father had not gone to ride at all.

In the same way he often denies what he has seen and done. He comes out of his father's room and I ask, "Well, have you said good-night to papa?" _No._ His father told me afterward that the child had done it.

In the park we see some crested t.i.tmice, and I tell the nurse that, in the previous autumn, I saw for the first time Finnish parrots or cross-bills here, but that I have not seen any since.

When the child's father asked later, "Well, Adolph, what did you see in the park?" _Crested t.i.tmice, with golden crests_ (he adds out of his own invention) _and Finnish parrots_. He mixes up what he has heard and seen with what he imagines.