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42 THE PRESBYTERIAN
J STORIES TOR 1
"I WISH" AND "I WILL."
"I Wish" and "I Will," so my grandmother says,
Were two little boys in the long ago;
And "I Wish" used to sigh , while "I Will" used to try
For the things he desired; at least, that's what my
Grandma tells me, and she ought to know.
"I Wish" was so weak, so my grandmother says,
That he longed to have some one to help him about;
And while he'd stand still and look up the hill,
And want to be there to go coasting, "I Will"
Would slide past him with many a shout.
Both hoped to be men, so grandmother says,
TJ.lf oil thnl "T W1bU?? -5
UUI an Uiai x lnou cvci UlU naa LU UlUdlll,
To dream and to sigh that life's hill was so high;
While "I Will" went to work, and soon learned if we try
Hills are never so steep as they seem.
"I Wish" lived in want, so my grandmother says;
But "I Will" had enough, and a portion to spare;
Whatever he thought was worth winning he sought
With an earnest and patient endeavor that brought
Of blessings a bountiful share.
And whenever my grandmother hears anyone "wish,"
A method she seeks in her mind to instill
For increasing his joys, and she straightway employs
The lesson she learned from the two little boys
Whose names were "I Wish" and "I Will."
?seieciea.
DAN'S BIRTHDAY PARTY.
By Sophie H. McKenzie.
Ruth was to have had a party 0:1 her seventh birthda}'.
There were to have been a beautiful cake with
seven pink candles, "striped"' ice cream frosted cake
and bonbons. Seven of Ruth's playmates were to have
been invited, and Mother had planned the nicest games
for them to play.
But on the very day when the seven dainty inv Nations
were waiting on the hall table for the mail-carrier,
papa was taken ill with typhoid fever, and the
party had to be postponed. It must be postponed
for a whole year, too, if it were to be a real birthday
party. A whole year! that seemed to Ruth such a
long time to wait, and she was so disappointed.
However, though she didn't have the party, she
did have some lovely presents, and among them was
Dan, a lively little Boston terrier. Dan was so happy,
and liked to play with his little mistress so well, that
be made her almost forget about the party.
Now Dan was only eight months old when he came
to live with Ruth, and before he was a year old papa
was nell and strong again. The week before Dan's
first birthday, said Ruth to mamma:
"Why can't we give Dan a birthday party? It could
l. ? .i.L! in : IJ i i i_
uc suiiicuiiug ukc mine wuuiu nave uccn, oiuy we
would have to have the things that dogs like, and haveeverything
ones instead of sevens. It would be so
much easier. O mamma, do let me have a birthday
party for Dan!"
At first mamma thought it was rather foolish to give
a party just for a dog. But then she remembered how
her little daughter had had to give up her own party,
so she said,
OF THE SOUTH January 12, 1910.
"//? CHILDKEN^l
"Ves, Ruth, you can give Dan a birthday party,
only you must plan it and do all the work you can
for it yourself."
"That's just what I want to do," cried Ruth, "for
I'm Dan's mother." And she skipped down the walk
after her pet, calling out: "Dan, you are to have a
birthday party. Do you understand, Dan, a really and
truly birthday party!"
Dan barked as if he knew something nice was being
told to him, and went racing over the lawn.
Ruth at once began making plans. First, there was
to be one guest. Dan's playmate, Peter, who lived
just across the street. Next, she decided upon the
refreshments. Of course there must be a birthday
cake, with one candle on it?a yellow candle, because
yellow bows were very becoming to Dan. As he
didn't eat cake, Ruth thought it would be nice for
mother to make maple-walnut cake, Ruth's favorite
kind. For the rest of the bill of fare there would be
some nice chicken bones, sweet chocolate and puppy
biscuits. For games, Dan and Peter could play with
Dan's birthday presents.
But how was Peter to be invited? Dan could carry
letters very nicely in his mouth, but he couldn't write
them and neither could his mistress.
Mamma was consulted and, as usual, she knew
just what to do. She would write the invitation and
address it to Mrs. Burt, Peter's mistress, and Dan
could carry it over. So the note was written, placed
in Dan's mouth, and with Ruth by his side to direct
him, he walked over to Mrs. Burt's piazza, with great
dignity, and dropped it in her lap.
The next morning Ruth heard a scratching at the
front door. She opened it, and there stood Peter with
a basket in his mouth which he nut down at her feet.
Then he looked up at her and barked, as if to say,
"Take it, please 1"
Ruth picked up the basket and found in it a tiny
envelope. Inside this envelope, written on paper that
had a picture of two puppies at play, was Mrs. Burt s
acceptance for Peter of the invitation.
It was still several days before the time for the
party and it was hard for Ruth to wait, but neither
Dan nor Peter seemed to mind waiting at all.
At last the day came. Dan was a year old, and Ruth
pulled each short ear once. Mamma gave him a bath
and Ruth brushed him until lie was quite disgusted
with birthdays. And when she wouldn't let him go
out* of the yard, he wondered what it could be that
Ruth was punishing him for. Peter was bathed and
brushed, too, and made a prisoner in his vard. He and
lJan just barked sympathy to each other until they
both fell asleep.
The refreshments were to be served in Ruth's playroom.
Mother's cutting table was decorated with
blue and yellow crepe paper. The blue was in honor
of Peter, who was pure white and always wore blue
bows when out in company. On the center of the
table was the birthday cake, with its one yellow candle.
At each end of the table was a very tempting