PETEE AND WILLY 
 
 A poor widow, a seller of fruit 
 in the streets, had a son named 
 Peter, who was of weak intellect, 
 or feeble mind. It was a sad and 
 shameful thing that the cruel boys 
 
2 PETEB AffD WILLY. 
 
 would often laugh at and mock 
 this poor child. In his alarm, he 
 used to cling fast to his mother's 
 side, as they walked along, lest he 
 should be hurt by them. 
 
 When the widow died, a kind 
 gentleman took the young orphan 
 into his service, to help in any 
 work he was fit to do. " Silly 
 Peter," as some called him, grew 
 up to be a strong and even useful 
 young man. Besides being quite 
 Harmless, he was very kind and 
 obliging, No matter how tired 
 he might be, he was always ready 
 to assist any one who wanted 
 help. His temper was so cheer- 
 ful, that a few pleasant words 
 made him quite happy. A little 
 act of kindness was sure to win 
 his gratitude. 
 
FBTEE AKD WILLY, 8 
 
 And yet, because Gk)d had 
 seen fit that he should be weak- 
 minded, some unfeeling persona 
 made fun of him. Among others, 
 Willy, the young son of Peter's 
 master, used to tease him, and 
 try to frighten him. Sometimes 
 he played tricks upon the half- 
 witted young man. But Peter 
 was so gentle and forgiving, he 
 never resented them. It is a 
 wonder that "Willy could have 
 been so thoughtless and cruel , 
 What pleasure did he find in 
 such conduct ? 
 
 One day Willy felt very ill, 
 and in a short time he became 
 worse. The disease not only 
 made his body weak, but his 
 mind also. His brain became 
 quite disturbed. In this state 
 
4 PETEE AHB WILLY. 
 
 he would have no one to do 
 anything for him but his parents 
 and poor Peter. It was touch- 
 ing then to see the tenderness 
 and self-denial of the ill-treated 
 young man. He shrank from 
 nothing which might relieve or 
 gratify the sick boy. He tried 
 his utmost to please him. Night 
 after night, he watched by the 
 bed-side ; and when the little in- 
 valid was restless and w x eary, he 
 took him carefully in his strong 
 arms, as the mother does her 
 babe, and walked about the room 
 with him, to soothe his pain. 
 
 But the most touching thing 
 of all was, to hear simple Peter 
 pray for his young master. When 
 he thought he was alone with 
 him, he would kneel and cry 
 
PETEB AND WILLY. 5 
 
 unto God. His words were not 
 very correct, but he prayed in 
 the best way he was able. " O, 
 Holy Spirit," he said, in a so- 
 lemn and earnest way, " please 
 do not let "Willy die ! Make 
 him good first. Oh, please ; for 
 Christ's sake." 
 
 Willy heard the prayer, and it 
 made him weep. His heart also 
 felt the tender care of him he 
 had so often grieved. " Oh," 
 thought he, "how could I have 
 been so bad ? I will never 
 wrong such goodness again. 
 How earnestly he prays for 
 me ! Poor thing, he thinks 1 
 need some one to pray for me ; 
 and he is afraid I shall die. 
 I, too, am afraid to die." Willy 
 was now roused to see his danger 
 
8 PETEE AKD WILLY. 
 
 and sin, and began to pray for 
 himself. 
 
 One night, when Peter brought 
 him some nice cooling drink, he 
 * drew him towards himself, and, 
 putting his arms around his 
 neck, kissed him. " O Peter/ ' 
 he said, " your prayers have 
 made me think about my soul 
 [ have called upon God, too, 
 that he would give me a new 
 heart, and forgive my sins for 
 Christ's sake. I am sorry I 
 have been so bad to you. I 
 will not frighten you again. I 
 will not tease you any more." 
 
 Poor Peter did not know what 
 fco say to all this; but he wept 
 and kissed Willy's cheek ; then 
 he prayed, again more fervently 
 than before, "O Lord, please do 
 not let Willy die/ 5 
 
PETER AND WILLY. 7 
 
 Willy did not die ; and when 
 he got well, lie said to Peter, 
 "You first taught me to pray 
 with my heart. I shall always 
 love to hear you pray. Let us 
 now kneel together." What a 
 contrast was this scene to that 
 in which Willy had been the 
 wicked tormentor, and Peter the 
 poor sufferer ! What a change 
 had been wrought; and all by 
 the love and piety of a simple 
 young man ! 
 
 As Willy grew stronger, h3 
 took great pains to teach Peter 
 to read. How happy he felt, 
 when he heard him spell i;^ the 
 book the simple lessons : " God 
 is love," and " Christ Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinners." 
 They then speke together about 
 the love of Jesus : ~* coming into a 
 
8 PETEB A^D WILLY. 
 
 sinful world, to die for the guilty 5 
 and, as they spake of these 
 great truths, their hearts were 
 filled with love and gentleness. 
 
 Willy now paid back the kind 
 ness of his half-witted friend j 
 and he suffered no one to make 
 sport of or injure him. He felt 
 how much he owed to him for 
 his care in the time of sickness ; 
 that it was from him he had 
 learned to return good for evil; 
 and that his simple prayer had 
 first led him to seek God with 
 all his heart. 
 
 In this short account, there 
 are some lessons which the 
 young reader may learn : look 
 over it again, and find out what 
 they are, 
 
% 
 
 ML 
 
 
THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 
 
 Jesus, like a shepherd tender, 
 
 Feeds his fioek, and gives them rest ; 
 
 Praises to his name we render, 
 
 By whose grace our souls are blest. 
 
 Feeble as we are, he careth 
 
 For our wants from day to day ; 
 
 Each his love and pity shareth, 
 While he guides us in the way. 
 
 Holy Jesus ! still direct us : 
 
 While thy lambs on earth are found, 
 Let thy mighty power protect us, 
 
 As we pass where snares abound. 
 
 Keep us, save us ; may we never 
 Turn from thee or grieve thy love ; 
 
 Feed us, lift us up for ever 
 To thy glorious fold above. 
 
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