{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44592/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44592","id":"gutenberg_44592","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44592","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Children -- Conversion to Christianity -- Juvenile fiction","Children -- Religious life -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Light for Little Ones.\n\n\n\n\n  LIGHT\n  FOR\n  LITTLE ONES.\n\n  BY\n  MARY F. WATERBURY.\n\n  PORTLAND:\n  HOYT, FOGG AND BREED.\n  1872.\n\n\n\n\n  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by\n  HOYT, FOGG & BREED,\n  in the Clerk\u2019s Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.\n\n\n  THURSTON, PRINTER, PORTLAND.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                             PAGE\n\n  CHAPTER I. Frankie and his Home                               7\n\n    \u201e    II. The Adventure in the Creek                        11\n\n    \u201e   III. Aleck--the New Friend                             20\n\n    \u201e    IV. Remember the Sabbath Day                          27\n\n    \u201e     V. Frankie trusts in Christ                          35\n\n    \u201e    VI. The First Day of School                           40\n\n    \u201e   VII. The Coasting Match--who beat?                     47\n\n    \u201e  VIII. Aleck goes Home                                   55\n\n    \u201e    IX. The Visit to Aleck\u2019s Grave. The Father\u2019s Return   59\n\n    \u201e     X. Conclusion                                        63\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nFRANKIE AND HIS HOME.\n\n\nFrankie\u2019s home was on the bank of a large creek, the Kayaderossevass.\nIts water turned the great wheels of many a mill and factory. These\nmills were long, high buildings, filled with windows, and having steep,\ndusty, narrow stairways. The water was clear and blue when it flowed by\nFrankie\u2019s home, but after that it went foaming and dashing over the dam,\nand seemed intent upon doing as much work, and making as much noise as\nit could. It made the wheels whirl around, and they started the\nmachinery in the mills, and then for a buzz and whirr and roar all day\nlong!\n\nThe house in which Frankie lived was white, with a piazza across the\nfront covered with trumpet honey-suckles--those bright red flowers,\nshaped like trumpets, just the thing for fairies to blow, they are so\ndelicate and pretty. Around the house was a large yard full of trees and\nshrubs. Outside of the fence stood a row of poplars, as tall and\nstraight as soldiers on guard. There were maples too, and, every autumn,\nJack Frost painted their leaves crimson and yellow.\n\nDo you know Jack Frost? He is the merry fellow who pinches your fingers\nand toes, and the end of your nose and the tips of your ears; and who,\nto atone for all that, on winter nights draws those beautiful pictures\non the window panes for you to look at in the morning. He thinks,\nperhaps, that you will look at them instead of teasing \u201cmamma\u201d for\nbreakfast. Some of the trees Jack did not paint, but left them green all\nwinter. These were the pines, with their brown cones, and the firs.\n\nHow do you like the outside of Frankie\u2019s home? The inside was just as\npleasant, that is, if any house can be as pleasant as the sky, and\nclouds, and trees filled with singing birds. The sun came in at the\nwindow, where there bloomed scarlet geraniums and heliotropes, and near\nwhich a golden canary sang his cheerful songs; and Mrs. Western,\nFrankie\u2019s mother, was so cheerful and good that any place would be\npleasant where she was. Frankie\u2019s father was in California. It was a sad\nday when he bade his wife \u201cgood-bye,\u201d and lifted Frankie in his arms for\nthe last kiss; but he must leave them, to earn money, so that they could\nkeep their pleasant home, for when his factory burned down one windy\nnight, he lost, with it, all his property.\n\nAfter a few months had passed, Frankie did not miss his father, but\nplayed as merrily as ever. What a comfort he was to his mother! So\nstrong, healthful, and happy all the day long! In only one way did he\ngive his mother trouble. He had a very strong will and quick temper,\nand when he could not have his own way, would sometimes speak hasty,\nangry words. But his patient mother taught him the wickedness of\nyielding to his temper, and by gentle words led him to see how dark is\nthe life of sin, and how light and pleasant the \u201cway of holiness.\u201d\n\nHow Frankie learned to \u201cwalk in the light,\u201d we shall see from the\nfollowing chapters.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE ADVENTURE IN THE CREEK.\n\n\n\u201cHurra! hurra!\u201d shouted Ben Field, Joe West, and Willie Prime, throwing\nup their caps, and giving an extra cheer as they stopped in front of\nMrs. Western\u2019s gate.\n\n\u201cWhat are you hurraing for?\u201d asked Frankie, who stood inside the gate,\nwhistling, with both hands in his pockets.\n\n\u201cCoz you\u2019ve got pants on,\u201d said Ben. \u201cYou won\u2019t have to stay in the yard\nnow all the time, just as if you\u2019re a girl.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t know,\u201d Frankie said, doubtfully, putting his hand on the latch.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right, Frank,\u201d said Joe, \u201ccome on; we\u2019ll have a game of\nmarbles. I ain\u2019t too big to play with a little fellow, are you, Will?\u201d\n\nJoe was eight and Willie seven years old, and though Frankie was but\nsix, he _felt_ quite as large in his new pants and jacket, as either of\nthem; so he said, with an odd little air of dignity, \u201cI _ain\u2019t_ a little\nfellow, and I don\u2019t want to play marbles.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course not,\u201d said Willie, \u201cor you\u2019d wear dresses. I did. I can just\nremember.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe had a dress on yesterday, and a sun-bonnet,\u201d Ben said, with a\nprovoking laugh. \u201cHe\u2019s growed a lot since then.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop laughing at me, Ben Field. Do you see my copper toes,\u201d and one of\nthe new boots was thrust threateningly through the fence.\n\n\u201cNever mind him, Frank,\u201d said good-natured Joe. \u201cCome on, boys, let\u2019s go\nto the creek and wade.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you want to go too?\u201d asked Willie, seeing Frankie\u2019s wistful look\nat the mention of the creek.\n\n\u201cOh yes!\u201d he exclaimed, delightedly. \u201cJust wait a minute till I ask\nmamma;\u201d and off he ran, tumbling down two or three times, and rushing\ninto the house like a small hurricane. Not in the kitchen, nor the\nsitting-room; \u201cWhere is mamma?\u201d he said to himself impatiently. At last\nhe opened the parlor door and found her there, fast asleep on the sofa.\n\u201cOh dear!\u201d he thought, discontentedly. \u201cMamma never\u2019ll let me wake her\nup, an\u2019 the boys won\u2019t wait, an\u2019 I can\u2019t go.\u201d With a sad face he went\nback to the gate. \u201cI can\u2019t go. Mamma\u2019s asleep.\u201d He put his hands in his\npockets, winked his eyes very fast, and began to whistle. All this to\nkeep from crying, and disgracing his new pants by acting like a girl.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe your mother\u2019ll care one bit. Just to walk to the\ncreek,\u201d said Joe.\n\n\u201cNo, of course she won\u2019t,\u201d added Will. \u201cTake off your boots and go\nbarefoot like us boys.\u201d\n\nThe temptation to go barefooted was too strong for Frankie, so down he\nplumped on the grass, and off came the copper-toed boots and clean white\nstockings. In a few minutes all four boys were running along the dusty\nroad in their bare feet. It seemed very new and funny for a while, but\nafter they had gone half a mile, Frankie began to wish for the cool\nshade and moist greensward of home. The sun burned his head, and the\nsand of the road his feet.\n\n\u201cOh dear!\u201d he said, \u201cain\u2019t we most there?\u201d\n\n\u201cTired a\u2019ready!\u201d laughed Ben. \u201cYou\u2019re a great boy. Better go home and\nsit in mammy\u2019s lap.\u201d\n\nIn his sorrowful little heart, poor, tired Frankie wished most heartily\nthat he was on his mother\u2019s lap that very minute, but he thought it\nwouldn\u2019t be manly to say so. He was too tired even to resent what Ben\nhad said, so he kept still and trudged on.\n\n\u201cI know what we\u2019ll do,\u201d said Joe. \u201cWill and I\u2019ll make a chair and carry\nyou. And you, Ben Field, had better keep mighty still, or I\u2019ll settle\nyour case in a hurry.\u201d For some reason, just then Ben thought best to\nstart off in pursuit of a butterfly.\n\nJoe and Willie made a chair of their crossed hands, on which Frankie\nseated himself, and put an arm around each of the boys\u2019 necks. This mode\nof traveling pleased him very much, and it seemed but a little while\nbefore they reached the creek.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWILL AND I\u2019LL MAKE A CHAIR AND CARRY YOU.\u201d Page 14.]\n\n\u201cAin\u2019t it jolly?\u201d said Joe, as he led Frankie into the clear, cool\nwater.\n\n\u201cOh! oh! see the fishes! the dear little fishes!\u201d said Frankie, stooping\nto pick them up. But the gay little shiners knew better than to allow\nthemselves to be picked up, even by such a nice little boy. Losing his\nbalance in his attempts to seize one of them, Frankie had a sudden bath\nin the creek.\n\n\u201cOh dear! my new pants and jacket!\u201d was the first thing the wet little\nfellow found breath to say after Joe and Willie had fished him out of\nthe water and set him on the bank to dry.\n\n\u201cThat comes of bringin\u2019 babies along,\u201d said Ben, running down the bank.\n\nThat was the drop too much, and Frankie commenced crying, saying,\nbetween his sobs, \u201cI want to go home. Oh! please let\u2019s go home.\u201d\n\nSo Joe and Will made a chair again for Frankie and started for home,\nleaving Ben to enjoy his wading alone.\n\nThey set Frankie down by the gate, and, picking up his boots and\nstockings, he went into the house.\n\n\u201cWhy, Frankie Western!\u201d exclaimed his mother, as the wet, muddy, rueful\nlittle figure stood in the sitting-room door. \u201cWhere have you been? Your\nnew clothes are ruined.\u201d And, carrying the speechless little fellow into\nthe kitchen, she soon had him thoroughly washed, and put on one of his\nold dresses in place of the new pants and jacket which were hung up for\nfuture attention.\n\nIt was a good deal of water for one day, and the crash towel was rough,\nand to go back into a dress and apron after wearing pants, was something\nof a trial, but the poor child was too tired, and too glad to be at home\nto care much about it. After he was dressed he sat contentedly in his\nchair till supper-time, then ate his bread and milk and went to bed. It\nwas not long before he was dreaming of fishes and creeks, and muddy\npants, nor _very_ long before the morning sun drove away the dreams and\nopened his eyes. Jumping up, he put on his stockings and boots, but\npants and jacket were nowhere to be seen, nothing but the brown gingham\ndress and apron.\n\n\u201cMamma, mamma, I want my pants. Please, mamma,\u201d he said, running into\nthe kitchen where his mother was getting breakfast.\n\n\u201cThey must be cleaned first. Put on your dress and come to breakfast.\u201d\nHer voice was so pleasant that Frankie forgot his impatience, and\ndressed himself quickly and quietly.\n\nAfter breakfast he was about to run out as usual, when his mother said,\n\n\u201cNo, Frankie. Mother wants you to stay in the house this morning. She\nhas something to say to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I don\u2019t want to stay, mamma,\u201d and he walked slowly toward the door.\n\n\u201cFrankie _must_ stay.\u201d This was decisive, and he sat down in his chair.\n\nAfter his mother had finished her work, she took him into the\nsitting-room, and gave him a seat on a stool by her side.\n\n\u201cNow, Frankie,\u201d she said, \u201cI want you to tell me just what you did and\nwhere you went yesterday afternoon.\u201d\n\nFrankie gave a truthful account of his adventures at the creek. Then his\nmother said, \u201cDid you know you were disobeying your mother, and, more\nthan that, disobeying God?\u201d\n\n\u201cO mamma, I didn\u2019t think, I wanted to go so much,\u201d and Frankie looked\nas though he wanted to cry.\n\n\u201cI know you _wanted_ to go, but you must do what is _right_, not what\nyou _want_ to do. I will teach you a verse from the Bible that you must\nremember whenever you are tempted to disobey your mother. It is this:\n\u2018Children _obey_ your parents in the Lord, for this is right.\u2019 Can you\nrepeat it now?\u201d\n\nAfter a few trials, Frankie could say it without a mistake, and he\nseemed to understand it, for, when his mother told him that he could run\nout and play, he put his arms around her neck and kissed her, saying\nsoftly, \u201cI\u2019ll remember, mamma, that God tells me to mind you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nALECK--THE NEW FRIEND.\n\n\nFrankie had never been to school, but his mother had taught him to read,\nand had given him some nice books. These he used to read over and over\nagain until he almost had them by heart. Then, every Sunday his teacher\nselected a good Sunday School book for him to read during the week. The\nbook she gave him on the Sabbath after his adventure in the creek, was\nthe story of a naughty boy who disobeyed his parents. Frankie read the\nstory with great interest, and did not leave it until it was finished;\nthen, going to his mother, he said, earnestly,\n\n\u201cMamma, did Miss Campbell know I didn\u2019t mind you and went to the\ncreek?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, Frankie,\u201d replied his mother. \u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause she gave me a book that tells about a little boy that didn\u2019t\nmind, and ran away to a pond, and got drowned; and I thought she must\nhave known it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt may be that she did, but that is of less consequence than the fact\nthat God knows it. Think of it, Frankie, the great and holy God! He sees\neverything you do, and hears everything you say, and knows all your\nthoughts.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dear!\u201d sighed Frankie. \u201cI wish he didn\u2019t. I never can have any more\nfun when I think of that. Is he looking at us all the time, every one of\nus?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018Every one of us, and all the time,\u2019\u201d answered his mother. \u201c\u2018His eyes\nare in every place, beholding the evil and the good.\u2019 But that need not\ntrouble you, if you do right.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I don\u2019t do right, you know, mamma, _always_, and I don\u2019t believe I\ncan if I try ever so hard. I get tired being good too. I want to play\nand have fun.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018Tired being good,\u2019 my child. It is the only way to be happy. I know a\nlittle boy who is happy all day long, and all he has to make him so, is\n\u2018being good.\u2019 I am going to take something to his sick mother this\nevening, and you may go with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it the little lame boy, mamma, that lives down by the paper-mill?\nOh, won\u2019t that be nice! and may I take him one of my books to read?\u201d\nFrankie asked eagerly.\n\nHis mother helped him choose a book, and, after tea, they started. Their\nway led them along the bank of the creek. The sun was just setting and\nall the sunset colors were reflected in the water. The hush of the\nSabbath was on the busy, noisy village, and nothing could be heard but\nthe faint hum of insects and the good-night song of the birds. Walking\nby his mother\u2019s side, with his hand in hers, all these pleasant sights\nand sounds around them, and in his heart the thought of pleasing poor,\nlame Aleck,--all these made Frankie quietly happy. Looking up into his\nmother\u2019s face, he said, \u201cGod is looking at us now, mamma, and I ain\u2019t\nafraid. I wish I could see him too.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you love and obey God, Frankie, you will see him, for when you die,\nHe will take you to heaven, to live with him forever.\u201d This and much\nmore his mother said, and Frankie listened and pondered her words in his\nchildish heart.\n\nAt last they reached the widow\u2019s little brown house at the foot of a\nsteep, wood-covered hill. It was a \u201cwee sma\u2019 place,\u201d as widow Espey\nsaid, but \u201cdidna they hae a\u2019 the bonny world outside?\u201d\n\nThe sick woman was lying on a clean white bed in one corner of the room.\nHer face was pale and thin, but the light of a sweet content shone\nthrough her eyes. The lame boy, Aleck, was sitting by the bed, his\ncrutches lying on the floor beside him. He had his mother\u2019s face, and\nthe same patient, happy look.\n\n\u201cWe have been talkin\u2019, my bairn an\u2019 I, o\u2019 the guid land on the ither\nside,\u201d the widow said, after her visitors were seated. \u201cI dinna ken the\ntime, but it wi\u2019 nae\u2019 be lang before I sha\u2019 gang awa\u2019 to my ain\ncountrie.\u201d\n\nTears came into Aleck\u2019s eyes and rolled down his thin, white cheeks.\n\n\u201cDinna greet, laddie, dinna greet,\u201d and the mother stroked his hand that\nwas clasped in hers. \u201cThe time wi\u2019 be as naething before the guid God\nwi\u2019 ca\u2019 ye too, an\u2019 we sha\u2019 aye dwell thegither. Dinna doot his word, my\nbairn.\u201d\n\nThe child bravely kept back his tears and said, \u201cNae, mither, I ken it\nwi\u2019 a\u2019 be for the best; but oh, my ain mither, take your laddie wi\u2019 ye,\u201d\nand again the tears came to his eyes.\n\nFrankie\u2019s tender heart was touched. Going to Aleck\u2019s side, he said\neagerly, \u201cDon\u2019t cry, little boy. You may have _my_ mamma if your mamma\ndies.\u201d\n\nInstantly the dying mother\u2019s face brightened, and she said, in faint,\nearnest tones, \u201cO Mrs. Western, if ye wad be a mither to my mitherless\nbairn.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith God\u2019s help I will. He shall be to me as my own child,\u201d said Mrs.\nWestern, going nearer the bedside.\n\n\u201cNoo I can gang to my hame wi\u2019 a gladsome heart. The Laird wi----.\u201d The\nvoice grew fainter, fainter, the breathing shorter. The sobbing child\nclung about his mother\u2019s neck, all the anguish of his soul in the cry,\n\u201cO mither, mither.\u201d The mother\u2019s lips moved silently, a glorified look\noverspread the pallid face, then came the awful stillness. The boy had\nlost a mother; heaven had gained an angel.\n\nAll the sad rites were performed under Mrs. Western\u2019s supervision, and,\nwhen everything was done, even to the turfing of the last resting-place\nin the quiet cemetery, the brown cottage was sold, and Aleck was taken\nto Frankie\u2019s home. He shared Frankie\u2019s room, and Mrs. Western did all\nthat she could to lighten his lonely little heart. He mourned for his\nmother in a quiet, patient way, but seemed anxious to be cheerful, and\ngrateful for his pleasant home and kind friends.\n\nThus, in the great darkness, the Lord made his pathway light. \u201cHe\ncarries the lambs in his arms.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nREMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY.\n\n\nThe sunny summer passed away; autumn came and brightened the hills and\nvalleys for a little time, then was buried beneath its own dead leaves;\nand now winter has brought its snow and cold winds to Frankie\u2019s home.\n\nFrankie loves the winter. The keen winds only make his eyes brighter and\ncheeks rosier. Then he has such a nice sled, and there are such famous\nhills for coasting! To be sure, it mars his pleasure to think of Aleck,\nwho is so lame and weak that he has to stay in the house all the time,\nbut he is a merry-hearted little fellow, and dearly loves to go flying\ndown the long hill on his swift-going sled.\n\n\u201cI say it\u2019s too bad, Aleck! Can\u2019t you _ever_ ride down hill?\u201d Frankie\u2019s\nbright face looked troubled. He was buttoning his warm overcoat, to go\nout for a morning ride.\n\nAleck\u2019s patient face for a moment wore a sad, weary look, then, looking\nup cheerfully, he said, \u201cOh, I dinna mind, Frankie,--not much. You ken\nI\u2019m used to staying i\u2019 the house. Then this window is sae sunny, and\nDickie sings most a\u2019 the time, and the flowers are sae bonny.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, _I_ get awful tired when I have to stay in. It\u2019s just like having\nSunday every day.\u201d Frankie gave his fur cap an energetic pull over his\neyes, and was starting off with a merry whistle, but his mother, who had\nbeen a quiet listener to the conversation, said, \u201cWait a moment,\nFrankie, I want to talk to you. Why is it that you do not like Sunday?\nDon\u2019t you like to give _one_ day to God for all the six working and\nplaying days He gives you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want to go, mamma. Oh, dear, the boys\u2019ll be gone,\u201d was the impatient\nreply, as he twisted the knob of the half-opened door. \u201cCan\u2019t I go,\nmamma?\u201d\n\nMrs. Western said nothing, and, unheeding her reproachful look, he ran\noff, drawing his sled after him.\n\nIt was a clear, crisp, sparkling winter morning. Coasting never was\nbetter, and Joe and Will were as merry as ever, but Frankie did not\nenjoy it.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Frank?\u201d asked Joe, seeing his sorrowful expression.\n\u201cFingers cold?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Frankie, \u201cbut I am going home,\u201d and without a word of\nexplanation he ran off. Rushing into the sitting-room, his eyes filled\nwith tears, he put his arms around his mother\u2019s neck and said, \u201cO mamma,\nI am sorry.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo am I, darling,\u201d said his mother, kissing the tearful face. \u201cSit down\nhere by me and we will talk a little about the Sabbath, and see why it\nis my little boy dislikes it so much.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would like it, mamma, only it is so long. I don\u2019t like to keep so\nstill, and I get so sleepy in church, and I keep thinking about my sled\nand the fun I could have if it wasn\u2019t Sunday.\u201d He paused, quite\nsatisfied that he had made a good case for himself, and his mother,\ntaking up her sewing, told him, in her low, calm tones, the following\nstory.\n\n\u201cA father sent his little boy on a long journey, through a dark and\ndangerous way; but before bidding him good-bye, he gave him a letter\nwhich would tell him how to escape the dangers, and how to find the way\nthrough the darkness. This is what he said to the child, who stood all\neagerness and haste to be gone.\n\n\u201c\u2018My child, you are just starting on your journey. You are full of life\nand hope, and the way looks bright before you, but even in this broad,\nsunny path, are many dangers; and, as you travel further, the path\nnarrows, the flowers are fewer, and the forest is darker; still further\non, are rocks, and underbrush, and pitfalls, and at the end of this\nrough way is a dark and rapid river which you must cross. If you pass\nover this stream safely, you will find yourself in a beautiful place. In\nthat land I will give you a home, and you shall live with me forever.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But how can I go all that dark way, father?\u2019 and the boy\u2019s face was\nfull of doubt and fear.\n\n\u201cThe father handed him a letter, saying,\n\n\u201c\u2018This letter will tell you just what to do. Whenever you are in\ntrouble, look at this. Nothing can happen to you about which this will\nnot help you. But you are not to travel all the time. Every seventh day\nyou shall pause in your journey to rest and read this letter, and think\nof all I have told you, and of the pleasant home to which you are going.\nIt will give you so much strength, and make your heart so light and\nhappy that you can travel faster and further than if you had not\nstopped.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018But need I stop at first, father, when the way is easy and I am not\ntired?\u2019 asked the boy.\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh yes, my child, or you will forget it by and by; then, though the\nway be easy, it has dangers which you cannot avoid unless you study the\nletter very carefully, and store it in your mind, so that you will know\nwhat to do if danger comes suddenly. Therefore, my child, remember to\nrest in your journey one day out of seven, read this letter, and think\nof your father and the home beyond the river.\u2019\n\n\u201cMerrily the child started off, chasing the butterflies and plucking the\nflowers as he ran along the sunny way, so full of glee that he seldom\nthought of his father\u2019s letter until the day of rest came. Then he read\nit, and tried to think of what his father had said to him; but it was\nvery hard to shut out the visions of the butterflies and birds and\nflowers. He was restless and tired, for he cared more to please himself\nthan obey his father; so he gradually gave up the day of rest, and then\ncommenced his troubles. All his roses were full of sharp thorns, the\npath was crowded with rough stones and pricking briers, great snakes\ndarted out from the trunk of every fallen tree, and he grew so weary\nwith constant running, was so bruised with frequent stumbling, and so\ntorn and scratched with briers, that you would hardly have known him. If\nhe had gone on in this way much longer I do not think he ever could have\nreached the pleasant home which his father was to have ready for him.\nBut in the midst of his troubles he remembered the letter, and, drawing\nit out of his pocket, read the almost forgotten message, \u2018Remember the\nSabbath day to keep it holy.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s one of the commandments, mamma,\u201d Frankie said. \u201cBut was that a\ntrue story about the little boy? What was his name?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrankie Western,\u201d replied his mother. \u201cGod, his heavenly Father, has\ngiven him a letter, the Holy Bible, which will tell him how to live\nevery day so as to escape all the sins that lie in his path, like the\nstones and thorns and briers which troubled the little boy. His Father\nhas told him to leave his work and play on the Sabbath, and study this\nletter, the Bible; but he does not like to do it, and I fear that in\nfuture he will have as much trouble as did the child about whom I have\ntold you. He will say more naughty words, and be more apt to disobey\nmamma, and to feel cross toward Benny Field. Then as he grows older, and\nthe way becomes darker, I fear he will lose the way and never reach his\nhome in heaven.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to lose the way, mamma. I won\u2019t if I\u2019m good, will I,\nmamma, and stay in Sundays, and read the Bible like Aleck?\u201d asked\nFrankie, anxiously.\n\n\u201cNo, darling, you will not lose your way if you love God and do just as\nhe commands you; and one of his commandments is, \u2018Remember the Sabbath\nday to keep it holy.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nFRANKIE TRUSTS IN CHRIST.\n\n\nAlthough Frankie was a merry, thoughtless little fellow, his mother\u2019s\nstory about keeping the Sabbath made such a deep impression upon his\nmind that the next Sunday morning his first thought on waking was as to\nhow he should spend the day. There seemed to be a great many hours from\ndawn till dark, and he sighed half aloud as he thought of the smooth\ncrust of snow and the snow-man left unfinished the day before.\n\nAleck was awake, and, hearing the sigh, asked what was the matter. \u201cOh,\nI was just thinking, Aleck,\u201d was the reply, \u201chow long it will be before\nMonday. Don\u2019t it seem ever so long to you? I wish you could go to\nchurch with mamma and me. It\u2019s nice to hear them sing, but I get sleepy\nwhen the minister talks. Didn\u2019t you ever go to church?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but I canna remember about it very well. It was before I was lame.\nBut I am sure I wad like to gang to the kirk,\u201d said Aleck.\n\n\u201cWhat made you lame?\u201d Frankie asked, for the first time seeming to\nrealize that his patient playmate had not always been a cripple.\n\n\u201cI fell down the stairs i\u2019 the paper-mill where my mither was. It hurt\nmy back some way.\u201d\n\n\u201cWon\u2019t you get well some time?\u201d asked Frankie, earnestly.\n\n\u201cI dinna ken, but I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 \u2019twill nae be lang till I gang to my\nmither.\u201d\n\n\u201cO Aleck,\u201d and Frankie put his arms about his neck, \u201cyou mean you\u2019re\ngoing to die, and you mustn\u2019t. You\u2019d have to be put way down in the\nground.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly my body, Frankie. My soul would be wi\u2019 God and my mither. And oh!\nit is sic a bonny place, and Sunday a\u2019 the time. Then I wi\u2019 be free frae\npain.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan everybody go there, Aleck? Am I going too, and mamma, and my papa\nthat\u2019s way off in California?\u201d\n\n\u201cEverybody who loves Jesus. If you love him he wi\u2019 take you right there\nwhen you die. Why dinna you love him, Frankie?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do want to,\u201d was the earnest answer, \u201cbut I don\u2019t know how. I don\u2019t\nbelieve I love him, or I wouldn\u2019t be so naughty.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe minister at the kirk wi\u2019 tell you a\u2019 about it, an\u2019 your Bible an\u2019\nyour mither, an\u2019 if you pray, God wi\u2019 help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will try, Aleck. I\u2019ll ask mamma about it, and I\u2019ll listen to\neverything Mr. Price says, and I\u2019ll pray too.\u201d\n\nFrankie was very much in earnest, and, after he was dressed, he knelt by\nthe bedside and prayed that God would help him to be good and to love\nJesus. On the way to church he talked with his mother, and she tried to\nlead him to the Good Shepherd. Mr. Price\u2019s sermon was written for the\nlambs of the flock, and was full of encouragement to the little ones to\n\u201ccome to Jesus.\u201d Frankie listened with earnest attention to that \u201csweet\nstory of old, when Jesus was here among men;\u201d his eyes filled with\ntears, and his heart throbbed at the story of the cruel death on the\ncross; and when, in conclusion, Mr. Price spoke of the tender love that\nthe Saviour had for little children, and entreated them to give their\nhearts to him and love him in return, he whispered softly, \u201cI will try\nto love Jesus.\u201d\n\nFrankie was not the only one of the children whose heart had been\ntouched, as the next hour spent in the Sabbath School testified. The\nteachers sought to deepen the impression, and the Holy Spirit so wrought\nupon their young hearts that many went home rejoicing in a Saviour\u2019s\nlove.\n\nThat Sabbath was a happy day in Frankie\u2019s home. Mrs. Western\u2019s heart was\nfull of a mother\u2019s joy over her child, and Aleck shared in her\nhappiness; as for Frankie, although he could comprehend but little, he\nknew that Jesus loved him, had died for him, and that he wanted the love\nand service of just such little children. He was but a child, and would\noften err, but the hand in which his was clasped was the same strong\nhand which upholds the best and wisest of us all.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.\n\n\nIn the spring, Frankie commenced going to school. Miss Campbell, his\nSabbath School teacher, received a dozen little boys and girls at her\nown house. They were all nearly of an age and old playmates, so a merry\nlittle company they made--full of fun and mischief; but never had school\na gentler, lovelier mistress than Miss Campbell, or Miss Ruth, as she\nwished the children to call her.\n\nThe first day of school was as delightful as April sunshine could make\nit, and Frankie\u2019s heart seemed full of sunshine; at least it shone out\nof his bright eyes, as he kissed his mother, and bidding Aleck good-bye,\nhe ran down the walk, and disappeared behind the poplars. His mother\nand Aleck watched till the trees hid him from view, then Mrs. Western\ntook her sewing, and Aleck his book. He studied a little each day and\nalways looked forward to the lesson hour with pleasure, but this morning\na sigh escaped him as he turned from the out-door sunshine to the\nin-door work. Full of pity for the patient child, Mrs. Western sat down\nbeside him, and smoothing his hair caressingly, said, \u201cIt is hard, my\nchild. I wish you could go too, but your heavenly Father knows best. He\ndoes not willingly afflict you.\u201d\n\nThe tender words brought tears to his eyes, and, resting his head\nwearily on his hand, he said, \u201cI ken it is a\u2019 for the best, I hae a guid\nhame. You are like my ain mither. The Laird is guid, but I am sae\ntired.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not feel so tired when you can be out in the air more,\u201d\nreplied Mrs. Western, cheerily. \u201cKeep up your courage. You may be a\nstrong, hearty boy yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease tell me about heaven. It seems to me it is a bonny country, fu\u2019\no\u2019 singin\u2019 birds, and wi\u2019 the \u2018green pastures and still waters;\u2019 but I\nread in the Book that the streets were a\u2019 paved wi\u2019 gold.\u201d The boy\u2019s eye\nbrightened as he spoke of heaven.\n\n\u201c\u2018Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into\nthe heart of man to conceive\u2019 the beauties, the glories of heaven,\u201d said\nMrs. Western; \u201cbut this we know, that our Father is there, and that we\nshall be free from pain, and sorrow, and sin. It will not be long before\nwe shall _know_ for ourselves all the glories of that home.\u201d\n\nThus they talked of heaven until Aleck forgot all the suffering and\nweariness of earth.\n\nFrankie reached Miss Campbell\u2019s just in time to get his seat before\nschool commenced. Miss Campbell read a brief chapter in the Bible, and\noffered an earnest prayer to God, that he would help them to do right\nand perform all their duties faithfully. Then the lessons were assigned,\nand they all went to work in earnest. \u201c\u2018New broom sweeps clean,\u2019\u201d said\nMrs. Keller, grimly, as she looked in upon them in the afternoon. \u201cWait\na week or so and your hands\u2019ll be full. Mark my words, Ruth, those\nyoung ones will torment the life out on ye.\u201d\n\nMiss Ruth smiled, and looked hopefully at her little charge, as she\nsaid, \u201cI don\u2019t expect to escape my share of trouble, Mrs. Keller, but I\ndo not think that much of it will come by these little ones.\u201d\n\nThe children heard the conversation, and mentally resolved to be very\ngood, in order to disappoint Mrs. Keller and to please Miss Ruth.\n\nWhen school closed they all joined in singing one of their Sunday school\nhymns--\u201cLet us walk in the Light.\u201d Frankie lingered a little after the\nothers went out, and going to Miss Ruth said, \u201cWon\u2019t you tell me,\nplease, just what it means to walk in the light? Is it to be good?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be good?\u201d said Miss Ruth. \u201cYes; those who walk in the light of God\u2019s\ncommandments are good. But I will explain it. If you were walking alone\nin the woods on a night so dark that you could not see one step before\nyou, would you not be in danger of falling? And if, in the path, there\nwere deep holes, fallen trees, and tangled underbrush, would you _dare_\nto walk in such a place on a dark night?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, ma\u2019am,\u201d said Frankie, promptly. \u201cI\u2019d take our lantern, and then I\nguess it wouldn\u2019t be so very easy.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot _very_ easy, perhaps,\u201d Miss Ruth replied, \u201cbut if in your lantern\nyou had so bright a light that you could see your path plainly, then you\ncould walk around a fallen trunk, separate the tangled briers, and avoid\nthe dangerous holes. With such a journey before you, would you not be\nvery grateful to a kind friend who would offer you such a lantern,\nsaying, \u2018Take this to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your\npath. If you walk in this light, and trust to me, I will guide you\nsafely through the wilderness into the pleasant land beyond, where you\nwill need no light, and where you will forget all the rough way in which\nyou have come, or remember it only to sing praises to Him who was your\nGuide and Friend.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Miss Ruth,\u201d Frankie said eagerly, \u201cI know what you mean. The light\nis the Bible, and the pleasant land is heaven. Mamma once told me\nsomething like what you have said.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, Frankie,\u201d said Miss Ruth, \u201cremember to \u2018walk in the light\u2019 of\nGod\u2019s word.\u201d\n\nBidding his teacher good-night, Frankie went home, his heart full of\nwhat he had heard about the \u201clight of God,\u201d and of resolutions to \u201cwalk\nin that light.\u201d\n\nWhen he went in he found Aleck watching for him, anxious to hear about\nthe school. So he told him the events of the day, and the conversation\nhe had with Miss Ruth, adding, in conclusion, \u201cand I\u2019m going to try to\nwalk in the light, Aleck. Let us read the Bible the first thing in the\nmorning, before we have a chance to do anything wrong.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Aleck, \u201cand then we\u2019ll pray.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd \u2018watch,\u2019\u201d added Mrs. Western. \u201cWatch over your thoughts and\nfeelings, and all the little actions of the day. Trust in God, watch and\npray, and He will give you the victory.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE COASTING MATCH--WHO BEAT?\n\n\nMiss Ruth found that Mrs. Keller was mistaken; that, instead of being\n_torments_, her pupils were little _comforts_, and she loved them all\nvery dearly. The spring and summer days flew by, vacation came, and\nagain in the autumn she gathered the children about her.\n\nMuch to the annoyance of the little girls, and somewhat to Frankie\u2019s,\nBen Field had gained admission. \u201cOh, dear!\u201d sighed Kate Plummer, \u201cthat\nBen Field is just going to spoil our fun. I can\u2019t endure him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do wish Miss Ruth had said he couldn\u2019t come,\u201d said Lou White, then,\ntossing back her brown curls, \u201cthere\u2019s one thing about it, _I_ shan\u2019t\nnotice him.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor I,\u201d \u201cnor I,\u201d said they all, excepting Millie Ray. Sweet Millie Ray!\n\u201cPoor Ben,\u201d she said, \u201chow lonely he\u2019ll be. Don\u2019t you think we _ought_\nto be good to him, Frank,\u201d turning to Frankie, who was just entering the\nschool-room. \u201cDon\u2019t you think we _ought_ to be good to Ben Field?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course, Millie,\u201d said Frankie. \u201cWhy? Who isn\u2019t?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, nobody, only some of us are sorry he\u2019s coming to school,\u201d Millie\nanswered. \u201cAin\u2019t you sorry?\u201d\n\nFrankie hesitated a moment, then said frankly, \u201cNo, Millie, I\u2019m not\nsorry when I think about it as I ought to. Ben needs to come as much as\nany of us. I guess he\u2019ll be pleasant enough if we are good to him.\u201d\n\nFrankie\u2019s influence gave Ben a better reception from the girls than he\nwould otherwise have met with, and, for a time, he was quite a pleasant\nplaymate. But after a few weeks, when the novelty had worn off, his old\nspirit of mischief manifested itself. He delighted in teasing the\nyounger boys and little girls.\n\nOne day, after the snow came, the boys had a race in coasting, to see\nwhich of their sleds was the swiftest. They started at the very top of a\nlong hill. There was Willie Prime on his Reindeer, Joe West on his\nExpress, Ben Field on his Lightning, David Dwight on his Victor, and\nFrankie on his Light.\n\nThey are ready to start. Frankie counts, \u201cone--two--three--four\u201d--and\naway go Reindeer, Express, Lightning, Victor, and Light. Willie steers\ntoo much toward the right, and Reindeer plunges head-foremost into a\ndrift; Joe looks around to see Willie, Express runs off from the track,\nand both are landed in a ditch on the left. The race is now for\nLightning, Victor, and Light; Light being a little in advance, Lightning\nnext, then Victor. Ben is very anxious to win the race. By a push he may\nturn Light from the track, and thus gain upon Frankie. He steers his\nsled to the right, and comes down upon Light so suddenly that Frankie is\nthrown off into the snow, and Victor and Lightning reach the foot of the\nhill nearly at the same time.\n\n\u201cYou ought to be ashamed of yourself, Ben Field. That was a mean trick.\nI\u2019d play fair if I didn\u2019t beat.\u201d All this Frankie said, as he brushed\nthe snow from his clothes, and his flashing eyes _looked_ every word of\nit.\n\n\u201cGuess I ain\u2019t ashamed to beat,\u201d Ben said, sullenly.\n\n\u201cBut it wasn\u2019t fair,\u201d said the girls, all in a breath. \u201cYou know Frank\nwas ahead till you steered your sled right into his.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019d better keep still. I don\u2019t want girls meddlin\u2019 with my business,\u201d\nsaid Ben, rudely.\n\n\u201cWe are the judges,\u201d answered Lou White. \u201cWe aren\u2019t meddling.\u201d\n\nBy this time, Frankie had thought what he ought to do. It was hard, but\nJesus gave him strength to do it bravely. \u201cNever mind,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t\nsay any more about it. Forgive me, Ben, for being angry with you.\u201d\n\nBen _did_ feel ashamed then, and the boys and girls looked very much\nsurprised.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d rather not beat than be so mean,\u201d Willie said.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d give it to him,\u201d said Joe, as he carefully examined Express to see\nif it was marred by its tumble into the ditch.\n\n\u201cI beat anyhow,\u201d Ben said, sullenly, kicking in the snow.\n\n\u201cI think Frank Western beat the best,\u201d said little Millie Ray. \u201cLet\u2019s\njudge that Frank beat, girls.\u201d So Millie, and Kate, and Lou, and all the\ngirls said that Frankie beat.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Frankie, \u201cthat isn\u2019t fair. I _didn\u2019t_ beat. Perhaps I\n_might_, but I didn\u2019t.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust like girls,\u201d muttered Ben. \u201cGo for a fellow they like.\u201d He walked\noff, vexed with himself and his playmates, while the others went into\nthe school-room and told Miss Ruth all about it.\n\nMiss Ruth opened the large Bible, and turning to Proverbs, read:\n\n\u201cA soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.\u201d\n\n\u201cBetter is it to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide\nthe spoil with the proud.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth\nhis spirit, than he that taketh a city.\u201d Then, turning to the New\nTestament, she read:\n\n\u201cLove your enemies.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in\n_deed_ and in truth.\u201d\n\nMiss Ruth closed the Bible, saying nothing, for she knew that the\nchildren understood what she had read, and that God\u2019s word would reach\ntheir hearts better than anything she might say.\n\nThey took their seats quietly, and when Ben came in, he was much\nsurprised to meet none but pleasant looks.\n\nWhen Frankie was on his way home after school, Ben came running to\novertake him, all out of breath.\n\n\u201cHallo! Frank Western, stop a minute,\u201d he shouted. Frank waited for him.\nIt was an awkward thing for Ben to do, something he had probably never\ndone before, but he went through with it quite well.\n\n\u201cI say, Frank, that was a mean trick I served you. You took it so cool I\nwas ashamed of myself, and I don\u2019t blame the boys and girls for being\ndown on me.\u201d\n\nHe had not asked forgiveness, but Frankie did not wait for that.\n\n\u201cNever mind, Ben,\u201d he said, cordially. \u201cWe\u2019ll have another race\nto-morrow. Come home with me and see Aleck. Poor fellow! He gets\nlonesome.\u201d So they walked on together.\n\n\u201cWhat makes you so much better than the other boys?\u201d asked Ben,\nabruptly.\n\n\u201cO Ben, don\u2019t speak in that way,\u201d said Frankie, looking troubled. \u201cI\u2019m\nnot good, but, do you know, it is ever so much easier to keep from\ngetting angry if you think about Jesus.\u201d\n\nBen looked astonished, but Frankie told him in his own childlike way of\nthe Saviour, and how he would help even little children to serve him.\n\nIt was in this way that Aleck and Frankie worked for Jesus, by obeying\nhim, and by telling others of him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nALECK GOES HOME.\n\n\nWinter snow gave place to the spring flowers, and now Aleck can go into\nthe yard, with our sturdy Frankie for a support. The boys are together\nnearly all the time. Aleck, with his gentle ways, to soften the more\nboyish nature of our robust little hero, and Frankie, with his merry\nheart, to brighten the life of his suffering friend.\n\nIt was Aleck who helped him out of trouble; who urged him to be gentle\nand forgiving, even to Ben Field; to obey his mother; and to try in\nevery way to please Jesus. It was Aleck who studied the hard lesson\nfirst and then helped him, and who sharpened all the slate-pencils; who\nmade the tops and kites and buzz-wheels, and, in short, shared in all of\nFrankie\u2019s play and work.\n\nBut as the summer heat came on, the busy hands grew strangely idle. Mrs.\nWestern noticed the change and tried at first by giving simple tonics,\nthen by employing a physician, to restore his strength, but it was in\nvain. He would lie for hours on a couch before the open window, dreamily\nwatching the soft summer sky, and listening to the singing of the birds.\n\nHe seldom roused from this dreamy state, excepting to listen to the\nreading of the Bible, or to his favorite hymn, \u201cMy Ain Countree.\u201d Two of\nthe verses he would say over and over to himself.\n\n   \u201cThe earth is flecked wi\u2019 flowers, mony tinted, fresh an\u2019 gay,\n    The birdies warble blithely, for my Father made them sae;\n    But these sights an\u2019 these sounds wi\u2019 as naething be to me,\n    When I hear the angels singin\u2019 in my Ain Countree.\n\n   \u201cLike a bairn to its mither, a wee birdie to its nest,\n    I wad fain be gangin\u2019 noo unto my Saviour\u2019s breast;\n    For he gathers in his bosom witless, worthless lambs like me,\n    An\u2019 carries them himsel\u2019 to his Ain Countree.\u201d\n\nThe time was nearer than they thought when he should go to his \u201cAin\nCountree.\u201d Frankie would not believe that Aleck would die. When his\nmother told him that it must be, he ran at once to Aleck, and, throwing\nhimself on the bed beside him, cried, \u201cO Aleck, you are _not_ going to\ndie. You _must_ get well. Why, you are only two years older than I am.\nYou oughtn\u2019t to die yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cDinna feel bad, Frankie,\u201d Aleck said, \u201cI am sorry to leave you, but I\u2019m\nglad to be wi\u2019 mither, an\u2019 O Frankie, think of it, how soon I sha\u2019 see\nthe Saviour. I wi\u2019 wait for you. You wi\u2019 mind a\u2019 our talks about Jesus\nwhen I\u2019m gone, Frankie, and try to do something for him every day.\nThere\u2019s Ben, an\u2019 Joe, an\u2019 Willie, an\u2019 a\u2019 the lads--tell them how guid it\nis to hae sic a friend as Jesus.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I will, Aleck. I\u2019ll try to do better, but I won\u2019t have you to\nhelp me, and it seems so easy for me to do wrong.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou wi\u2019 hae Jesus. O Frankie, trust in Jesus.\u201d\n\nThus did the little sufferer, forgetful of self, seek to comfort others.\nVery tenderly did the Shepherd bear this wounded lamb away from the\nearthly fold to the shelter of the heavenly,--so quietly that they knew\nnot when he died, but thought he slept. In his sleep he murmured\nfaintly, \u201cMither,\u201d and again, \u201cJesus loves me,\u201d and a line of his\nfavorite hymn, \u201che wi\u2019 carry me himsel\u2019 to his Ain Countree.\u201d Then came\na quiet slumber, followed by that sleep whose waking is in heaven.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nTHE VISIT TO ALECK\u2019S GRAVE. THE FATHER\u2019S RETURN.\n\n\nFrankie missed his friend sadly. He lost all interest in his school, and\ndid not care for kites, or tops, or marbles. He grew pale, and very\nunlike the once happy little fellow,\n\n   \u201cWith eyes so full of brightness,\n    And lips so rosily red.\u201d\n\nOne Sabbath morning in the early autumn he went with his mother to the\ncemetery. There was as yet no stone at Aleck\u2019s grave, but Frankie had\nplanted a white rose-bush, which was then in all its snowy bloom.\n\n\u201cWe must take up the rose-bush,\u201d said Mrs. Western. \u201cIt is an exotic,\nand cannot endure our severe frosts and snow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is an exotic?\u201d asked Frankie.\n\n\u201cA plant that does not grow naturally in our climate. This rose belongs\nto a warmer climate, and that is why we keep it in the house during the\nwinter. Thus God takes care of his children. Heaven is our home, and\nwhen the winds blow too coldly and roughly for us here, God transplants\nus. He has taken Aleck from all the cold and storms to the heavenly\ngarden. We should not mourn for him, Frankie. Does not our Father know\nbest? Then it will be only a little while before we shall be taken--only\na few years before we shall all be transplanted into the garden of the\nLord. You must try to be happy, my child. You must not _forget_ Aleck,\nbut remember that you have a work to do for Jesus, and a _part_ of that\nwork is to be cheerful and patient, showing that a little boy who loves\nJesus need never be unhappy.\u201d\n\nFrankie listened quietly. His mother\u2019s words made a deep impression, and\nhe tried after that to be cheerful, but it was a long time before his\nface had its wonted brightness.\n\nLater in the autumn, when the maples were in their gayest colors of\ncrimson and gold, a great joy came to Frankie\u2019s home. A letter was\nreceived, saying that the father would be with them at Christmas time.\n\nOh, the preparations that were made for his coming! Frankie worked with\nhis mother, and before winter fairly closed in everything about the\nhouse and yard was in perfect order. Then came the waiting, the most\ndifficult task of all. But the even-footed hours will not hurry their\npace, so Frankie tries to be patient, and now the day is at hand.\n\nThe whole house is made fresh and fragrant with boughs of pine and fir.\nOnly one more night! The father will be at home in the morning.\n\nFrankie thought he would not sleep a wink for the thought of it, but he\ndid sleep soundly; and when he awoke, the sun was shining into the\nwindow; and by the bedside stood his mother, with tears in her eyes, and\nbeside her was the tall man with black hair, and smiling, dark eyes,\nwhom he had seen in his dreams, and whose picture he had kissed and\ncalled \u201cpapa\u201d even when a baby.\n\nIt was indeed a \u201cmerry Christmas,\u201d and more than that, a joyous, happy\none, full of sweet home pleasures and pleasant memories, sanctified by\nthe thought of the dear Christ, God\u2019s best gift--his Christmas gift to a\nsinful world.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n\nFrankie was the hero of the school after his father\u2019s coming. Boys and\ngirls gathered about him at noon, and recess, and after school, to\nlisten to his stories of his father\u2019s life in California--of the giant\ntrees, the mines, the snow-covered mountains, and all the wonders of the\nLand of Gold.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s go some time, boys,\u201d said Joe West, one noon, as they stood\nlistening, with wide-open eyes.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go,\u201d said Willie Prime, \u201cjust as soon as I\u2019m a man.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go before that,\u201d said Ben. \u201c\u2019Tain\u2019t no use for me to stay here.\u201d\n\nPoor boy! Having a drunken father, it was not strange he thought it of\nno use to remain at home.\n\n\u201cAre you ever going, Frank?\u201d asked Millie Ray. \u201cIs it too far for girls\nto go?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, Millie,\u201d answered Frank. \u201c\u2019Tisn\u2019t too _far_, but girls would be\nafraid of the Indians an\u2019 bears and everything. But I\u2019ll tell you how\nwe\u2019ll fix it. We\u2019ll all go. Joe, and Will, and Ben, and Kate, and Lou,\nand you, and I. Then, you know, us boys\u2019ll keep the Indians and bears\naway.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019ll be splendid,\u201d said Millie, clapping her hands as delightedly as\nthough Frankie had been planning a school picnic on the bank of the\ncreek.\n\nThe spirit of adventure had so taken possession of the children that\nthey found it very hard to study. Every high snow-bank was the Rocky\nMountain range, and every gully or ravine the entrance into a mine.\n\nMiss Ruth had, finally, to insist upon well-learned lessons, under the\npenalty of being kept after school. Frankie was one of the first to\nsuffer this penalty. He had failed in his geography lesson, having spent\nhis time tracing the overland route to California. Ben Field was the\nother culprit. It was not new to him, so he cared but little about it,\nexcepting that it pleased him to have such a good boy as Frankie Western\nkept too.\n\n\u201cHow do you like it, Frank?\u201d he asked, as soon as Miss Ruth had left the\nroom.\n\nFrankie had begun to study with all his might, so he looked up only a\nmoment as he said, \u201cI _deserve_ it,\u201d and after that Ben could not make\nhim speak. Through the force of Frankie\u2019s example, Ben also studied\nfaithfully, and when, an hour later, Miss Ruth came in to hear the\nlesson, both boys recited it perfectly.\n\nIt was hard for Frankie to tell his father and mother why he was so late\nthat night, and, for a moment, he felt tempted to give some other\nreason than the true one; but he thought of what the Bible says of him\n\u201cwho loveth or maketh a lie,\u201d and decided to tell the whole truth. It\nwas the last time he failed to study his Geography lesson, but by no\nmeans the last time he did wrong. He had the faults and temptations from\nwhich none are free, and was but a \u201cbabe in Christ,\u201d just learning to\n\u201cwalk in the narrow way.\u201d But he trusted in Jesus, and tried to imitate\nhis example. The Saviour loves his \u201clittle ones\u201d very tenderly, and one\nof his last commands to his disciples, \u201cFeed my lambs.\u201d\n\nIn the spring a small marble slab was placed at Aleck\u2019s grave, and\nFrankie set out the white rose bush again, and some lilies of the\nvalley.\n\nThe slab had for an inscription only Aleck\u2019s name and two lines of his\nhymn:\n\n   \u201cFor he gathers in his bosom witless, worthless lambs like me,\n    An\u2019 carries them himsel\u2019 to his Ain Countree.\u201d\n\nFrankie still mourned for his lost playmate and friend; but he was happy\nin his pleasant home, in trying to please his parents, and in\nendeavoring to obey his Heavenly Father.\n\nMiss Ruth is still happy in teaching her little ones; Joe, Willie, and\nMillie have joined in the service of Christ, and Miss Ruth hopes that\nKate, and Lou, and even Ben, are _thinking_ of what they owe their\nSaviour. Now we must leave them, rejoicing in the thought that though\nthe world lieth in darkness, in Jesus Christ there is \u201clight for little\nones.\u201d\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTE\n\nObvious typographical errors repaired. Punctuation, spelling,\nhyphenation and stylistic presentation standardized when a predominant\npreference was found in this book. Otherwise left as printed.\n\nItalicized text is denoted by _underscores_.","title":"Light for Little Ones","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":9258}