Newspaper Page Text
February 9, 1910. THE PRESBYTERIA
gan to teach her dolls the texts she had just been
studying. Over and over she repeated them and seemed
to have great patience; for her scholars were very
stupid, indeed.
The half hour was soon passed, but Aunt Hetty gave
her permission for the lessons to go on. After that
<wery Sunday afternoon passed quickly and happily.
Alice Denny always came as soon as the dolls were
brought forth and carefully and painstakingly Betty
taught Dinah Bell, Lucy Mary, and Mehitable Jane,
-all her favorite texts and many besides.
When the first Sunday in September came, Betty astonished
all her friends by the number, not only of
verses but of chapters that she could recite, and I think
she was a bit astonished, too, for had she not spent her
Sunday afternoons playing with her dolls instead of
studying texts? As Deacon Fellows presented Betty
with the prize, smiling into her shining eyes, he said,
"'You have a remarkable memory, my dear."
Of course Betty had to show the pretty book to the
dolls and as she did she said to Alice Denny, "Of
course, I am glad to have it, but it really ought to be
given to Mehitable Jane."The Advance.
ADAM ALFALFA.
Adam Alfalfa was a New Mexican rooster. He was
born in a box in the corner of a large alfalfa field, where
his old mother had stolen a nest. Alfalfa, you know,
lnnk-C snmptllinor lil/o Vo... i ? 1 ''
>mv tiuvcr, ana ine
horses and cows in New Mexico think it is very nice
to eat.
When Adam pecked his way out of the shell one
fine April morning, he was a tiny black chicken. He
grew rapidly, and before many months began to think
about crowing, and one day he crowed so well that his
mother said:
"If you can crow like that you must take your little
sisters out to find bugs and worms. A rooster who is
big enough to crow is big enough to work."
So one warm fall day, when the alfalfa had grown
tall, and the peaches were turning pink, Adam and his
six little sisters started away from the alfalfa field to
see a bit of the world. They wandered slowly out into
the street, stopping now and then to scratch for worms
or to peck at an apple core or a stray banana skin. Soon
they found themselves near a large yard which was
almost hidden from sight by a thick green hedge.
Adam led the wav into the 1nr<r#? vara
_ -"-t,- J ? vv CIO
sunny and bright and full of juicy worms and fat grasshoppers.
The six little sisters clucked away contentedly,
finding plenty of worms. Adam wandered
around into another part of the yard, and by and by
he heard the voice of children singing. He followed
the sweet sound until he came to a broad porch, along
the side of which sat a long row of tiny baskets. Adam
thought the backets looked interesting, so he went
closer, and found that something smcllcd very good.
He pecked at one basket until he loosened the cover;
but as he found nothing particularly good inside, he
went on to the next, and in this one he found a.large
rosy pear, which he pecked until it was spoiled. In
*i,~ * i?1?4. i? ? 4- '
me iicai 1/aais.ct uc luiiiiu two nine irostea cakes, and
these he liked so much that by the time the big bell
rang for recess, there was nothing left of the little
frosted cakes but crumbs.
N OF THE SOUTH i/i
As soon as the big bell had ceased to ring, dozens
of little girls came hurrying out on the porch.
Adam strutted around the corner just in time to
hear one little girl cry:
"Somebody's been in my basket, sister."
"Somebody's been in my basket, too," cried another,
"atlr-l til ?1
?t apuiieu rny nice pear."
But Adam felt sorry indeed when a little crippled girl
looked into the basket which contained the dear little
frosted cakes, and said :
"Dear me, my two little cakes have been eaten, and 1
brought them for dear Sister Anna, who is sick."
Adam looked up at the peach trees, and at the white
clouds floating around in the sky, and, of course, 1
don't know just what he thought, but I do know, because
I watched him, that he forgot to strut, and
walked very slowly out to the entrance to the yard,
where he found his six little sisters, and soberly
scratched worms for them, until it was sunset and
time to go home to roost.?Helen T. Preble, in Woman's
Home Comoanion.
A STORY FOR BOYS.
Once a sweet boy sat and swung on a limb;
On the ground stood a sparrow-bird looking at him.
Now the boy he was good, but the sparrow was bad;
So it shied a big stone at the head of the lad,
And it killed that poor boy, and the sparrow was glad.
Then the little boy's mother flew over the trees;
"Tell me, where is my little boy, sparrow-bird please?"
"He is safe in my pocket," the sparrow-bird said,
And another stone shied at the fond mother's head.
And she fell at the feet of the wicked bird, dead.
You imagine,-no doubt, that the tale I have mixed,
But it wasn't by me that the story was fixed.
'Twas a dream a boy had after killing a bird,
And he dreamed it so loud that I heard every word.
And I jotted it down as it really occurred.
?Exchange.
WHO SHALL ROLL AWAY THE STONE?
Some of the stones that we see in the wav of our nro
? I
gress are imaginary, and others are real. In the former
case we need more light and greater courage, and in
the latter instance much hope and more faith. In both
cases the difficulty must yield to treatment, human or
divine, or rather both. "Where there's a will there's
a way." History and experience both prove that all
difficulties, real or imaginary, can be either rolled away
or overcome, if not by our might, then by an angel's
hand, and, so far as we and the results are concerned, it
does not matter which. When you are in the line of
duty to God or man, dr not hesitate because there
is a stone in the way, but just pass on and see what vou
can do with it. When you get close to it you may see
your way clear to handle it, or a friend may come in
the "nick of time" and give you a lift. Or, as in the
case of the women at the sepulcher, some one may remove
it before you get there. If not, then let God
have a chance. He is so "handy" and helpful, especially
U/ViAtl xiro orof
........ vy?_ Ru us irti as we can go: Help, Lord, for we
are needy!?Religious Telescope.
It is the peace God has himself that he gives us when
we trust him enough.