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A meal

A meal.jpg Barbara's BirthdayThumbnailsHow to hold chopsticksBarbara's BirthdayThumbnailsHow to hold chopsticksBarbara's BirthdayThumbnailsHow to hold chopsticksBarbara's BirthdayThumbnailsHow to hold chopsticksBarbara's BirthdayThumbnailsHow to hold chopsticks

People pride themselves upon their quickness at meals, especially at breakfast, as it implies that they have no time to dawdle over their food, which is taken solely to ward off hunger and maintain their health and strength. But it must be admitted that indigestion not unfrequently follows these hurried meals, to which children are early taught to habituate themselves by parental instruction and by a proverb which puts quickness at meals as an accomplishment on a level with swiftness of foot. When the breakfast is over, the trays, plates, and other utensils are taken back into the kitchen, washed, and put away until they are needed for the next meal. The wooden tub of rice is put into a straw casing in winter to prevent its getting cold and hard and on a stand in a cool, breezy place in summer to keep it from sweating.