Robert W. Woodruff
Library
EMORY UNIVERSITY
Special Collections & Archives
Ned.
a
Little Colored Boy
AND
Other Stories
THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN
NEW YORK CINCINNATI
A LITTLE COLORED BOY.
4Q&
O U can't help
thinking when you
listen to that boy,"
said Mrs. Warner,
" that the Lord
must want him in
heaven. He has
such a heavenly
voice."
" I think it more
likely that God
put an angel's
voice in Neddy's throat to give us a taste
of heavenly music," said grandma, looking
up from the apples she was paring.
" Bosh ! you women folks are so ever¬
lastingly simple and silly that you encour¬
age the boy in his mischief;" and Farmer
6 A Little Colored Boy.
Warner set down the milk pail with such
a thud that the milk slopped over into
the sauce his wife was dishing for supper.
" Now, Henry, you have ruined that dish
of apple sauce," expostulated Mrs. War¬
ner; "and they're the first apples of the
season, too."
" Never mind," said grandma, " we'll find
something else. Just call the boy to sup¬
per, Henry."
" Indeed I won't call him," he sputtered.
" For the past hour I've been calling him
to help with the chores, and I'll call no
more."
Just then, in sweet, rich tones, came in
the melody—
" O, there is rest, O, there is rest,
Yes, there is rest for my soul."
" And your body, too," growled Mr. War¬
ner. "If you women had the trials I have
with Ned, you would not set so much store
by him."
"I won't deny that he's trying, Henry;
A Little Colored Boy. 7
but when one is weary and fretted with a
long, hot day's work, it is the most sooth¬
ing thing in the world to hear the child
singing in the twilight about rest for his
soul. It rests me way to
my toes."
" It would rest me a heap
more if he did his work.
Now, you see when I called
him to help he was singing
about rest, but supper be¬
ing ready, he comes along
without being called even."
Bare feet came pat¬
tering along the porch
and a little black face
peeped in the window.
" Did you call me, Mis'ser
Warner?" The farmer
grunted and drew up to
the table.
" Henry called you a long time ago,
Neddy ; why did you not come ? "
8
A Little Colored Boy.
" I earned jes' as soon as I heerd him,
'deed I did. I only stopped to pick these
fur you," and he placed his hat on the table
lined with leaves and filled to the brim with
luscious blackberries ; then he laid a great
bunch of wild flowers beside them. Mrs.
Warner buried her face in the fragrant
flowers. How long it was since anyone
had brought her flowers ! Henry used to
keep her supplied; but he was too busy
now.
" Deary me," said grandma; " these will
just take the place of the apple sauceand
she began to pick over the berries.
Ned sat at a side table and did full justice
to an ample supper. When Mr. Warner
called for pie his wife gave him half of
one, and, notwithstanding his frown, gave
the other half to Ned. After supper they
both went out, but Ned soon returned and
began helping clear the table.
" Henry may need you, Ned," said Mrs.
W arner.
A Little Colored Boy. 9
" No'm, he don't; he tole me to clear out.
You put some flowers on your dress an'go
out an' get some air. I'll clean up."
It was a great temptation, and Mrs.
Warner walked through the fields to a
neighbor's, while Ned warbled over the
dishes and her husband finished the
chores.
A few months before this a lady from
the South had brought Ned to sing in the
church, and had told how anxious she was
to get a home for him with Christian peo¬
ple who would educate him. Mrs. Warner's
heart had softened at once, and her hus¬
band was nothing loath to have a little
helper and do God service at the same
time. But they had not found it an easy
task to train Ned up in the way he should
go. A sweet-tempered little singing bird
was he, as neat as a pin and as quick as a
wink, but having no more idea of responsi¬
bilities than the little warblers he imitated
in his throat.
10
A Little Colored Boy.
But his kind thoughtfulness for others
gave Mrs. Warner courage to keep on with
him, and, as soon as she had, with very
gentle teaching, made him to understand
that promptness was the one thing required
by Mr. Warner, and that the lack of it
often caused serious inconvenience, the
little fellow began to mend his ways.
It was hard for him to understand at
first. The fact that a thing would give
pleasure to some one seemed reason enough
for its being done at once. In fact, some
of the unpleasant things seemed to him
hardly worth the doing.
But Mrs. Warner was very patient, and
the heart that beat under the dark skin was
very loving and sweet.
A Little Colored Boy. ii
"Yes; I see it now," he said one day, as
he dropped the first sweet harvest apple
into grandma's lap. " It took a good while,
but I understand. If you are told to do
a thing, you must do it. Then, if there's
any time left, or, if you can crowd the
pleasant thing in along with it, all right.
But sometimes it's powerful hard.
" There's the sky. I s'pose he'd like to
smile all the time and be bright and jolly.
But sometimes God tells him to rain, and
he just goes and does it, like a major.
" Didn't use to seem's if I was selfish if
I kept the cows waiting while I picked
some wild flowers for Mrs. Warner. But
I really suppose it was."
Dear little Ned! God bless him!
12 The Golden Rule.
THE GOLDEN RULE.
LIZZIE had a present of a wild bluebird
from her auntie, who caught it when
it was a wee baby bird. It was a beauty,
and Lizzie was very happy with her pet.
The Golden Rule. 13
One day she hung the cage on the veranda
and saw how pleased the little creature
was. Pretty soon it burst into a beautiful
song, and she saw another bird near by,
and that was a bluebird, too. Lizzie fan¬
cied her bird looked sad when the other
one flew away, and that made her wonder
if she had a right to keep a wild bird shut
up in a cage. " I wouldn't like to be caught
and shut up, I know," thought Lizzie, "and
what I would not like to have done to me
I ought not to do even to a bird." And so
Lizzie wrote a letter to her auntie, asking
if she might set her dear bird free. Auntie
said she might, and the very next morning
Lizzie opened the prison door and birdie
went free, all because a loving-hearted lit¬
tle girl was willing to do as she would like
to be done by.
14 A Little Flower Mission of Her Own.
A LITTLE FLOWER MISSION OF
HER OWN.
"-QICK your poppies every day," said
L grandma, " and then others will
come to take their place ; and if you leave
a fine one here and there with a bit of
thread of the same color tied to its stem,
you will know how to sort them."
So all summer Bessie picked the poppies
and gave them to her friends, who cried
out with delight over their lovely colors;
An Eastern Legend. 15
and she did not forget the poor children
who live in tenements without gardens, and
who looked longingly at the bright bed as
they passed.
The seeds had only cost a nickel in the
springtime ; and caring for the flower beds
made the little girl well and strong. So it
was wise in Uncle Harry to suggest this
pleasant task to Bessie.
AN EASTERN LEGEND.
THERE'S a tender Eastern legend,
In a volume old and rare,
Of the Christ-child in his garden,
Walking with the children there.
And it tells—this strange, sweet story—
(True or false, ah, who shall say ?)
How a bird with broken pinion
Dead within the garden lay.
And the children, childish cruel,
Lifted it by shattered wing,
Shouting, " Make us merry music,
Sing, you lazy fellow, sing."
An Eastern Legend.
17
But the Christ-child bent above it,
Took it in his gentle hand,
Full of pity for the suffering
He alone could understand.
Whispered to it—O, so softly!
Laid his lips upon its throat,
And the song-life, swift returning,
Sounded out in one glad note.
Then away on wings unwearied,
Joyously it sang and soared,
And the little children, kneeling,
Called the Christ-child " Master—Lord."
18 A Rainy Day Story.
A RAINY DAY STORY.
THE water in the kettle decided to take
a sail one day. What do you think
was its boat ? Why, the soft, balmy air.
What kind of a dress do you think it wore ?
A beautiful white one made of vapor.
Where do you suppose it sailed to ? Away
to Cloudland. It remained away several
days. When it came back it had changed
its dress, and then everybody said, " It is
raining."
MISSIONARY SUNDAY.
FORGOT my nickel," mumbled the
boy with the gold watch.
"Spent all my money yesterday," laughed
the one with the spike-toed shoes.
" Saving up to buy a ' bike,'" said the
one with his hands in his pockets.
20 Dorothy's Dream.
The envelope passed around the class
and came back with six cents. Everybody
knew who put in that nickel and penny.
It was the boy who earned sixty cents a
week on a newspaper route. His trousers
were too short for his fast-lengthening
legs, and his carefully polished shoes
showed a break here and there; but one-
tenth of his earnings was given without fail
into the Lord's treasury.
DOROTHY'S DREAM.
THIS is the queer little fairy dream
That came to Dorothy Brown :
" I was lost," she said, " in the deep blue sea,
A thousand fathoms down ;
There were branching corals and waving trees,
And water-maids, good and fair,
Who fed the fishes from pearly dishes,
And gave to the least a share.
There were schools of fishes, but never a book;
There was sunlight without a sun ;
There were ways to roam, but not any home,
And mothers—there were none ! "
Some Bible Dreams.
21
SOME BIBLE DREAMS.
WHEN he was only a boy Joseph
dreamed that he was out in the
field with his father and his brothers bind¬
ing sheaves in harvest time, and the sheaf
which he bound stood upright, and all the
other sheaves bowed down before his.
Then he dreamed another dream, that the
sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed
down before him. When he told these
dreams it made his brothers very angry,
and they hated him, and the first chance
they had they sold him a slave into Egypt.
When Joseph was in the prison in
Egypt it was a dream which saved all the
land in time of famine, but this time it was
the king's dream. King Pharaoh dreamed
one night that he stood by the river, and
seven fat cattle came up out of the water
22 Some Bible Dreams.
and fed in a meadow. Pretty soon, after¬
ward seven lean cattle came up out of the
water and ate up the seven fat cattle. The
kins: wondered what the dream meant, and
when he fell asleep again he dreamed that
he saw seven large ears of corn come up
upon one stalk, and then seven thin ears
that had been blasted spring up upon the
same stalk, and the seven thin ears ate up
the seven good ears.
When the wise men of Egypt could not
tell the king what it meant his chief butler
remembered how Joseph had told him the
meaning of a dream when he was in prison ;
and when the king sent for Joseph he told
Pharaoh that the dreams were a warning
from God, that after seven plentiful years
in Egypt there would be seven years of
famine, which would eat up all the corn
"they could save up, and so Joseph came to
be a great man in Egypt.
Solomon, too, had a splendid dream
just after he came to be king in the place
Joseph's
brethren determine to slay him.
24 Some Bible Dreams.
of David, his father. He was very young,
and wondered how he was going to get
along and be wise enough to settle all the
questions that came before him as king.
While he was thinking about it he fell
asleep, and he dreamed that the Lord ap¬
peared to him and asked him what he
would like the Lord to do for him, and
Solomon said to the Lord that, though he
had been made king, yet he was only a
child, and did not know how to act, and
asked the Lord to give him wisdom, so
that he would always be able to know
which was right and which was wrong, and
be a good king.
The Lord was so pleased with this re¬
quest that he promised Solomon not only
to make him the wisest man that ever
lived, but to make him very rich and pow¬
erful as well.
The Youth's Dream.
THE YOUTH'S DREAM.
(l T HAVE dreamed a dream of a future time,
1 Of a scepter and a crown,
For the sheaves of wheat and the moon and stars
In my dream to me bow down."
'Twas a vision true, as the future proved,
For the boy, once sold a slave,
By a faithful life rose to princely power,
And the world its homage gave.
Have you dreamed a dream of a future time,
Of a fortune and a name?
Of success and honor and love and joy,
And at last undying fame ?
If your dream comes true you must toil and strive
With a purpose strong and pure,
For the kingly heart and the godly life
Wins a crown that shall endure.
26
Little Mr. By-and-By.
LITTLE MR. BY-AND-BY.
LITTLE Mr. By-and-By,
You will mark him by his
cry,
And the way he loiters when
Called again and yet again,
Glum if he must leave his play,
Though all time be holiday.
Little Mr. By-and-By,
Eyes cast down and mouth
awry!
In the mountains of the moon
He is known as Pretty Soon ;
And he is cousin to Don't Care,
As no doubt you're well aware.
Little Mr. By-and-By
Always has a fretful " Why ? "
When he's asked to come or go;
Like his sister—Susan Slow.
Hope we'll never, you or I,
Be like Mr. By-and-By.
NIP AND TUCK.
NIP and Tuck lived in the same ledge
of rocks. Nip was a chippie and was
Jamie's pet. Tuck was a red squirrel,
Jamie's Guests on their Way to Lunch with Him.
28 Nip and Tuck.
who, strange to say, was a dear friend of
the little chippie. Jamie kept on hand a
basket of all kinds of nuts with which to
treat his two little friends. Jamie was as
fond of nuts as Nip was, so they lunched
together every day at eleven o'clock, and
had a " nut-crack" at five. When the
table was spread Jamie would rap on the
rock with a nut and Nip would come at
once.
Finding Her Sunday School Lesson in the Best of Books.
Sweet Charity.
29
SWEET CHARITY.
A POOR little half-starved child, living
in a London alley, had a ticket given
to her by a kind lady to admit her to a
free tea and entertainment She was wild
with delight at the idea, and was running
up to tell her mother, when she stumbled
over a child crouched on the stairs crying.
She asked what was the matter. The
child said her mother had beaten her be¬
cause she asked for some breakfast, and she
was so hungry she could not help crying.
" Well," said the other child, placing the
ticket in her hand, " take this, and get a
good tea. I've had no breakfast either,
but my mother never beats me."
She then passed on, leaving the ticket in
the hand of the astonished child.
How a Snake Came to Grief.
HOW A SNAKE CAME TO GRIEF.
THE bull snake, which is quite common
on the Pacific coast, grows sometimes
to be quite large, but it is entirely harm¬
less to human beings.
A Californian, being
something of a naturalist,
set himself to work to
tame one of these snakes
and was able to teach
Slippery Dick—the name
he gave his strange pet—
many tricks. He taught him to come at
call, to coil up, to wave his folds about in
imitation of dancing, and many other
tricks. He would coil up on the table, his
head in the center of the coil, elevated
about six inches in the air. The gentle¬
man would place the handle of a small fan
How a Snake Came to Grief. 31
in his mouth, and then the snake would
gently wave the fan to and fro, and thus
keep the flies from his master's face.
He was as good as a cat to keep the old
log house free from mice. He often
brought in ten or twelve in a day. His
fondness for mice was his ruin. It hap¬
pened in this way: One day the gentleman
missed Slippery Dick, and though he
hunted and called all day, he could not
find any trace of his pet. About a week
after his disappearance, having occasion to
explore the loft of the cabin in which he
lived, he came across the remains of his
old friend. Apparently he had been more
mouse-hungry than usual, and in his haste
to satisfy his appetite had swallowed a live
mouse, which had gnawed its way through
the snake's body, thus causing his death.
In the Pew.
IN THE PEW.
IN the morn of the holy Sabbath
I like in the church to see
The dear little children clustered,
Worshiping there with me.
I am sure that the gentle pastor,
Whose words are like summer dew,
Is cheered as he gazes over
The dear little heads in the pew.
Faces earnest and thoughtful,
Innocent, grave, and sweet,
They look in the congregation
Like lilies among the wheat.
And I think that the tender Master,
Whose mercies are ever new,
Has a special benediction
For dear little heads in the pew.
Two Little Switzers.
33
TWO LITTLE SWITZERS.
THIS boy and girl live in the mountains
of Switzerland. The language which
they use is a very strange one, called
Schweizer-Deutsch (Swiss-German),
These children in the picture are dressed
up in their Sunday clothes to have their
photographs taken. When they go home
to the little village way up on the moun¬
tain side they will take off these garments
and put on their everyday things. Hans
will draw a long-sleeved black apron over
his school suit, and then, fastening on his
back the wooden pail which you see in the
picture- will run down the steep cobble-
stoned street, with his shoes clattering zt
every step, to the big stone fountain tc
draw water for his mother. It takes
long time to draw that pail of water, for
all the boys run out to hear about whr*r'
1—3
34 Two Little Switzers.
he saw in Berne that day when he had his
photograph taken. So Hans tells them
about the two big bears in the bear pit,
to whom he and Gretchen threw some
bits of bread and an apple ; about the tall
clock tower built three or four hundred
years ago, where carved bears march
around and strike a big gong every hour.
You know that Berne is full of bears. The
coat of arms of the city is a bear with a
banner, and not only have live bears been
maintained at public expense for many,
many years, but bears of all kinds, carved
in wood and stone, painted, or wrought in
plaster, are seen everywhere.
Hans has at last filled his pail and hur¬
ries back to the house, whose thatched
roof is so low that it almost touches the
ground. Gretchen has taken off her grand¬
mother's clothes and is busy helping the
mother prepare supper. She is very proud
of the fact that her pretty filagree chains
and pins, together with her velvet bodice
Two Little Switzers.
36
Two Little Switzers.
and delicate muslin waist, were worn by
the dear old grand¬
mother, on whose
grave she lays
fresh flowers every
Sunday. By and
by they all draw
the straight
wooden chairs to
the table and the
father says a sim¬
ple prayer. Hans
and Gretchen eat
thankfully the
black bread and
creamy cheese
which was made
last summer up on
the Alps high
above them, where
the snow flowers
bloom and the
winds blow cold from the glaciers.
Two Little Switzers. 37
When the curfew bell in the church
tower rings out at sundown Hans and
Gretchen tumble into their bed on the top
of the stove. Yes, really, on the top of the
big, square white porcelain stove ! It is
a good, warm place, although it never gets
hot, and even on bitter January nights,
covered with a big red feather bed, the
children are only comfortably warm. They
cannot fall off because the father has
placed high boards on each side of the
bed.
Early in the morning, by the light of a
candle, they drink coffee, with plenty of
milk, but no sugar. It is only on great
festivals, like birthdays and Christmas, that
they taste sugar or cake. By seven o'clock
Hans buckles on his knapsack, in which
he carries his books, and after helping
Gretchen to adjust hers they both run
gayly off to school, each one carrying in a
roomy basket a huge chunk of black bread
to eat at ten o'clock.
Bunny.
BUNNY.
BUNNY, Bunny,
Go away,
Come again
Another day,
Dolly's crying;
She's afraid!
See the trouble
You have made!
There's a darling,
Bunny, go,
For my shoes
Are off, you know,
And your funny
Wiggling nose
Will be nibbling
At my toes.
You have spoiled your snowy dress ;
You have soiled your toes, I guess.
Bunny, Bunny, go away,
Come again another day.
4°
"SftoG IT.
"SING IT."
WHEN I was a little boy I used to play
with my brother and sister under
the window where mother sat knitting.
She rarely looked out, but the moment we
got angry she always seemed to know, and
her kind and gentle voice would come
through the window, saying, " Sing it, chil¬
dren ! Sing it."
Once I remember we were playing mar¬
bles, and I shouted out to my brother:
" You cheated !"
" I didn't!"
"You did !"
" Sing it, children, sing it!"
We were silent.
" Sing it, children ! "
We continued silent. We couldn't sing
it. We began to feel ashamed.
Then came the sweet voice, the sweetest
" Sing IT." 41
but one I ever heard, singing to the tune
of " O, How I Love Jesus" the words :
" Q Willie, you cheated I
O Willie, you cheated!
O Willie, you cheated !
But I didn't cheat you !"
It sounded so ridiculous we all burst
out laughing.
You cannot sing when you are angry;
you cannot sing when you are mean ; you
cannot sing when you are scared. In
other words, you cannot sing unless you
feel in some degree faith, or hope, or
charity.
I think of God as at the window of
heaven. So long as he hears us singing
he knows we are filled with a sweet and
lovely spirit.
42
Consolation.
CONSOLATION.
WHEN Molly came home from the party to-night—
The party was out at nine—
There were traces of tears in her bright blue eyes,
That looked mournfully up to mine.
For some one had said, she whispered to me,
With her face on my shoulder hid,
Some one had said (there were sobs in her voice)
That they didn't like something she did.
So I took my little girl up on my knee—
I am old and exceedingly wise—
And I said, "My dear, now listen to me;
Just listen and dry your eyes.
" This world is a difficult world, indeed,
And people are hard to suit,
And the man who plays on the violin
Is a bore to the man with the flute.
" And I myself have often thought
How very much better 'twould be,
If every one of the folks that I know
Would only agree with me.
" But, since they will not, the very best way
To make this world look bright
Is never to mind what the people say,
But to do what you think is right."
44
Children's Sayings.
CHILDREN'S SAYINGS.
BESSIE stood watching the sky one
day as the sun went behind a cloud.
" The sun has gone to call on the moon.
Why, there he is again," she exclaimed, as
he reappeared almost at once ; " I suppose
she wasn't at home."
When little Ada, aged three, had been
told the story of Lot's wife being turned
into a pillar of salt she asked her mother,
anxiously, "Is all salt made of ladies?"
Later, when six years old, she was called
one Sunday, " Come,-Ada, and learn your
catechism;" whereupon she answered rogu¬
ishly, "If it's for me, it ought to be a
kittychism !"
Cyril was seven years old. He loved
his mother very dearly, and had been sep¬
arated from her sometimes, as she had to
go to India. Once when she came to wish
him " good-night" he was under the bed-
Children's Sayings. 45
clothes. He came out with a flushed little
face, and said, as he hugged her tight:
" Mummie, do you know what I was doing?
I was asking God to love you as much as
I do. He couldn't love you more."
46
The Robin's Egg.
THE ROBIN'S EGG.
WHAT was ever so dainty of hue ?
Who can tell, is it green, is it blue?
Look, little girl,
At this beautiful pearl
Hid in the nest of the robin!
Nay, little girl ! Nay, nay, don't touch !
Wait for a week—a week's not much—
Then come here, and see
What there will be
Hid in the nest of the robin.
THE LITTLE GIRL WHO DIDN'T
WANT HER BATH.
SOMEBODY shook and shivered,
Somebody sobbed and cried,
While the Sponge and the Soap stood waiting
The nursery bath beside.
48 The Difference in Bibles.
Why should she wash this morning ?
Each day she said the same,
And nurse, who was tired of the crying,
Quite vexed with her became.
Never a bit of washing
Somebody got that day,
And the evening fell, and her father came
To have a game of play.
Black was her face—he could not
Its grimy surface kiss;
At washing she never has grumbled,
From that sad day to this.
THE DIFFERENCE IN BIBLES.
LITTLE Mary wanted to learn her Sun¬
day school lesson. It was Saturday
afternoon, and the time was passing; but
she had been busy with her doll's dress,
and the lesson was yet unlearned. At
length her elder sister took a Bible and
said:
" Come, Mary, I will help you to learn
your lesson, and you can go back to your
play." Mary came to her sister's side ready
to begin her lesson, when she suddenly
began:
Worthy of a Medal. 49
" Sister, let us study it out of grand¬
father's Bible."
" But what difference can it make?"
" Why, grandfather's Bible is so much
more interesting than yours."
" O no, Mary, they are just the same,
exactly."
"Well," replied the observing child,"!
really think grandfather's must be more
interesting than yours; he reads it so
much more."
WORTHY OF A MEDAL.
SEVERAL years ago there were two
seals in the " Zoo" garden at Am¬
sterdam which were so fond of their keeper
that they could recognize his voice a long
way off, and would go to meet him.
These seals also became attached to an
old gentleman and his little granddaughter,
who often went to see them in company
with a little woolly dog, and who always
1—4
50 Worthy of a Medal.
took the seals something nice to eat. These
animals were kept in a large pond, and
they would come out of the water on see¬
ing their friends and sit down with them
to have a good time on the sand.
The small dog was very lively on these
occasions, and he and the seals would frolic
together as though they belonged to the
same family, and shared the fruit and cakes
from the little girl's basket.
One day, however, just in the midst of
their fun, the dog fell into the pond, and,
after struggling for a moment in the water,
he sank. The seals uttered a cry of dis¬
may as he disappeared, and then, flopping
to the pond, they plunged in. In an in¬
stant the larger one had seized the half-
drowned dog, and, carrying him very ten¬
derly in his mouth, placed the dripping
animal at his mistress's feet.
The Loving-Hearted Little Girl.
THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS
LOVING-HEARTED.
ISSY BELL'S heart was
so tender that it made
her feel very badly
even to hear of any-
thing getting hurt.
One day her brother
Will and his friend
Tom were telling how
a big dog chased a
cat, and nearly fright¬
ened her to death,
when Cissy cried out, " O, what a bad, bad
dog! what made him want to hurt kitty?"
" Why, we told him to ; he isn't a bad
dog," said Will.
Then Cissy's cheeks grew red and her
eyes flashed as she said, "You is bad boys ;
what for you want kitty hurted? God
52 The Loving-Hearted Little Girl.
don't want kitties to be hurted;" and then
the little preacher broke down and sobbed
out the rest on mamma's shoulder.
Will and Tom both got red in the face
and pretty soon walked off; but they did
not soon forget the lesson Cissy taught
them.
Search the Scriptures.
A Saucy Fellow.
53
A SAUCY FELLOW.
A GROUP of little
pansy-folk
Came out one sum¬
mer day,
Nodding their pretty
heads about
In such a charming
way.
nnets of gold and lavender
And purple, too, they wore,
And such a jolly company
Was never seen before.
A very saucy bumblebee
Came loudly buzzing by,
And snubbed the pansy-folk, and
whisked
Their bonnets all awry.
They scolded, frowned, and
shook with fright;
They bade him come no more.
O such a sorry company
Was never seen before !
54 The Fisherman Marquis.
THE FISHERMAN MARQUIS.
MACDONALD tells of a young mar¬
quis who lived for a number of
years as a poor fisherman in his own Scotch
village, enduring the hardship of the men
who win their living from the sea, his rank
being meanwhile unknown. Finally he de¬
clared his position and assumed the rights
of his place, and now the men whenever
they were in trouble brought to him their
grievances, with a feeling of certainty that
he knew their sufferings and would sym¬
pathize with them.
So Jesus, having once lived in the flesh,
and for our sakes became poor, and having
suffered weariness, hunger, thirst, bitter
temptations, and finally death itself, knows
all our human estate, our sorrows, cares,
and anxieties, and ever sympathizes with
"Excuse Me, Prince." 55
us with infinite tenderness and love. We
have not a Saviour who cannot understand
all that comes to us. He was a baby, a
child, a man. He was despised and hon¬
ored ; loved and hated; tenderly cared for
and finally killed by envious hearts. So,
you see, he will understand anything we
want to tell him about.
" EXCUSE ME, PRINCE."
THE following pretty story is told of a
brown-eyed maiden just four years
old, with the sweetest voice and the ten-
derest heart in the world. She was pull¬
ing her little rocking-chair across the room
the other day, when somehow in her prog¬
ress she trod upon the tail of dog Prince,
and drew forth a low growl of reproach from
that much-valued member of the family.
A look of dismay crossed the baby's face,
and she turned hastily. " Excuse me,
56 Little Girls.
Prince," she pleaded, as she laid her snow-
flake of a hand caressingly on the dog's
head. Prince thumped his tail heavily as
if to say," It's all right, dear little mistress.
I know it was all an accident, and you
won't do it again, I am sure." And the
little maiden went on with her play feel¬
ing very happy.
LITTLE GIRLS.
WHERE have they gone to—the little girls,
With natural manners and natural curls?
Who love their dollies and like their toys,
And talk of something besides the boys ?
Little old women in plenty I find,
Mature in manners and old in mind ;
Little old flirts, who talk of their beaus,"
And with each other in stylish clothes.
Little old belles, who, at nine and ten,
Are sick of pleasure and tired of men,
Weary of travel, of balls, of fun—
And find no new thing under the sun.
Once, in the beautiful long ago,
Some dear little children I used to know;
Girls who were merry as lambs at play,
And laughed and rollicked the livelong day.
The Flowers and the Water Drops. 57
They thought not at all of the " style " of their clothes;
They never imagined that boys were " beaus ; "
" Other girls' brothers " and " mates " were they,
Splendid fellows to help them play.
Where have they gone to ? If you see
One of them anywhere, send her to me.
I would give a medal of purest gold
To one of those dear little girls of old,
With an innocent heart and open smile,
Who knows not the meaning of "flirt" or "style."
THE FLOWERS AND THE
WATER DROPS.
DOWN in an earth garden were some
flowers all drooping and sad. Father
Sun saw them, and calling his little chil¬
dren, the sunbeams, to him, said, "To¬
day, my little helpers, I need you to do
some work for me. Go down to the big,
round earth far below, and bring back to
the sky country all the water dust that
you can carry."
The little sunbeams started, and although
it was a long, long journey, they were so
bright and merry that it seemed like play
58 The Flowers and the Water Drops.
to them. By and by they drew near to
Mother Earth, and before long saw myriads
of tiny drops of water, some taking hold
of hands forming part of the great ocean,
others rushing along in a strong, deep
river, while some were dancing and tum¬
bling in a merry little brook, singing sweet
songs. But how could the sunbeams coax
the water drops to come up into the sky
country ? Surely the ocean, or the river,
or even the little laughing brooks could
not be carried up so high !
But the little workers were not a bit dis¬
couraged, and they began at once to shake
the water drops apart. The little particles
of water no sooner felt the sunbeams skak-
ing them than they said to each other,
" Come, now for a long ride." And sure
enough, up, up, up they sailed in the boats
of air, helped on by the sunbeams. But
as they rose higher in the air suddenly
they began to shiver, for just then Mr.
North Wind came rushing along. How
The Flowers and the Water Drops. 59
the poor little vapor mass shook, and then
suddenly began once more to form into
drops ! And some little children, far down
on the earth below, looked up at the sky
and exclaimed, " See the dark clouds up
there!" while their mamma said, "It is
going to rain."
In a few minutes the little drops felt as
if they were being pulled back to earth,
and starting from the cloud which was
holding them, they said to one another,
" Now for a race!" And soon, patter, pat¬
ter, patter, came the sound of the rain, and
the little drops once more were back in
their earth home.
Ah ! how the flowers lifted their droop¬
ing heads and smiled then. If you had
been very close, you might almost have
heard them sing, " God is good ! God is
good!"
6o
Brass Buttons.
BRASS BUTTONS.
LITTLE Ruth Cleveland, when she was
the baby of the White House, had no
very exalted idea of her father's great office.
Saturday, the weather being balmy and
springlike, one of the policemen who
guard the private portion
of the White House
grounds took his little
daughter with liim to
enjoy the pleasant sur¬
roundings. The little
girl was not quite sixyears
old. While the policeman was pointing
out the beauty of the grounds to his lit¬
tle daughter, Ruth and Esther Cleveland,
under the escort of their respective nurses,
left the mansion for a run.
Ruth ran ahead of her nurse, and on
discovering a girl of her own age surveyed
Where are the Birds?
her from head to foot. After looking the
little girl over Ruth straightened herself
up and said :
"My papa is President; who is your
papa ?"
The policeman's daughter replied : " My
papa is a policeman."
Ruth glanced up at the burly form or¬
namented with bright brass buttons, and
hanging her head in an abashed manner,
said, " I wish my papa was a policeman."
How often we think that the things we
have not is better than the things we have !
WHERE ARE THE BIRDS?
HAVE you heard, children, that the
bluebirds are nearly gone from our
country ? Other families of singing birds
are going fast, and by and by it may be
that we shall have only the sparrows and
other birds that have no beautiful colors
or sweet songs.
62 Where are the Birds?
All this is true, and many good people
are feeling very sad about it. Where are
the birds? Alas! They have been killed
—thousands, yes, millions of them—for the
feathers that you see in the shops and that
ladies and little girls wear on their hats!
Never Give Up. 63
NEVER GIVE UP.
"T WILL get it right," said Harry to
J- himself, stopping just long enough
to toss the hair out of his eyes. " There's
a way to do it, and I'm not going to give
up, see if I do."
64 Never Give Up.
" O, come on, Harry," called Will;
" what's the use of hanging on so ? "
"What's the use? Why, when I begin
I don't like to give up beat, and, what's
more, I don't mean to."
And Harry didn't give up, and by and
by the figures all came straight.
a
mm
iifii
111!
■
inn
mm
5888