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Little Feet.
Little feet so glad and gay,
Making music all the day ;
Tripping merrily along,
Filling all my heart with song ;
Well I love your music sweet;
Patter, patter, little feet.
Sometimes anxious, I would know
Just what way these feet must go ;
Praying oft that all be fair,
No thorns, no roughness anywhere:
That flow’rs may spring their steps to greet.
Patter, patter, little feet.
But then I think that some have trod
Through thorns and briers the nearer God :
Though weak in faith, still I would dare
To offer up the earnest prayer
That Christ would choose whate’er is meet:
Patter, patter, little feet.
I press them in my hands to-night.
And kiss them with anew delight,
Believing that where’er they go,
My tender Lord will lead them so,
They’ll walk, at length, the golden street:
Patter, patter, little feet.
THE FOX, GOAT AND CARROTS.
B‘ FOX and a Goat were
walking together on the
main road. After having
advanced a few yards they
saw a bag lying at the
Le hedge.
ider what there may be in
” said the goat,
te,” said the fox; and put
ting Ins mouth to the string with
which the bag was tied he bit it through
in a moment. Then seizing the bottom
of the bag with his teeth, he shook it,
and the most splendid carrots rolled out.
“Those are for me,” said the fox, “ for
I have opened the bag.”
“ You shan’t touch them,” answered the
goat, “else I’ll batter you with my horns
till your ribs crack.”
The fox looked at the large horns of
the goat, and showed his teeth. The
goat seeing the fox’s teeth, thought with
in himself, “I don’t like those sharp fel
lows.” And the fox thought, “I don’t
believe my ribs would stand those horns.”
So they kept standing over the carrots
and looking at each other, but neither
had the courage to touch the spoil.
After a pause, the fox said :
“ What is the use of our standing here ?
Let us see which of us is the stronger.
Yonder are two heaps of stones ; take you
one of them and I’ll take the other; he
who first throws down his heap shall
have the carrots.”
“Very well,” said the goat. So they
went each to his heap.
The goat placed himself on his hind
legs, and knocked with his horns till the
ground rebounded, but the heap kept im
movable.
“ You don’t hit hard enough,” said the
fox ; “take a run at it.”
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
The goat went a few steps back, and
ran at the heap as violently as he could.
Crack! crack ! and both horns fell to the
ground.
When the fox saw this he commenced
dancing on his hind legs.
“Ah, my dear fellow,” cried the fox,
“the carrots are now for me.”
“ Not yet,” said the goat. “ You haven’t
thrown down your heap, and if you touch
the carrots before then I’ll fight you with
the stumps that are left on my head.”
The fox looked at the goat’s stumps,
and thought, “'One of them is very sharp ;
he might rip up my sides.”
“ Very well,” he said, “I’ll throw down
my heap; it’s a trifle to me.”
The fox began digging round with his
fore-feet till there was a large hole in the
ground. The heap tottered and fell, but,
halloa! it fell on the fox, and broke his
left hind leg.
There they stood, looking at each other
with sad countenances—the one with
broken horns, and the other with a bro
ken leg.
“Jump at the carrots,” said the goat
maliciously. “ I now leave them to you.”
“I can’t,” sighed the fox; “my leg
pains me too much. You may now take
them.”
“ Very well,” said the goat, and ran to
ward the bag. 'But, O dear! there was
neither bag nor carrots ; for during their
quarrel a peasant had passed by and
picked up both.
“Alas!” cried the goat, “what fools
we are ! Had we divided the treasure in
peace, I should have saved my horns, you
your leg, and each of us would have had
enough of carrots.” —JDe Liefde.
+»■»
Boys, Read This.—-Hold On.
Hold on to your tongue when you are
just ready to swear, lie, or speak harshly,
or use any improper word.
Hold on to your hand when you are
about to strike, steal, or do any wrong.
Hold on to your foot when you are on
the point of kicking, or running away
from study, or pursuing the path of error,
shame or crime.
Hold on to your temper when you are
angry, excited, or imposed upon, or oth
ers are angry about 3-011.
Hold on to 3-0111* virtue—it is above all
price to in all times and places.
Hold on to 3’our good character, for it
is, and ever will be, your best wealth.
Hold on to 3-0111* good name at all times;
for it is much more valuable to 3-011 than
gold, high places, or fashionable attire.
Hold on to the truth, for it will serve
3-011 well, and do you good throughout
eternity.
SHUTTING THE DOORS.
CARTER, I ima
-1 ifi to‘ ue ’ will have a good
V* many doors to shut, if
ever he makes much of
“ What kind of doors ?”
1 ‘Sit down a moment, and I’ll
\3% S ive y° u a list - ln the first place,
I the door of your ears must be closed
against the bad language and evil counsel
of the boj T s and 3-0 ung men you will meet
at school, or 3-ou will be undone. Let
them once get possession of that door,
and I would not give much for Edward
Carter’s further prospects.
“ The doors of your eyes , too, must be
shut against bad books, idle novels, and
low, wicked newspapers, or 3-0111* studies
will be neglected, and 3-011 will grow up
a useless man. You will have to close
them sometimes against the fine things
exposed for sale in the shop windows, or
3-011 will never learn to 1113- bj- 11101103-, or
have any left to give away.
“The doors of your Ups will need con
stant care, for they guard an unruly mem
ber. That door is veiy apt to blow open,
and if not vigilantly watched, will let out
angiy, trifling words. I would advise
3-011 to keep it shut much of the time un
til 3-011 have laid up a store of knowledge,
or at least till 3-011 have something valu
able to say.
“ The inner door of your heart must be
well shut against temptation, for con
science, the door-keeper, grows very in
different if 3-011 disregard his call, and
sometimes drops asleep at his post; and
when 3-011 may think you are doing veiy
wcll, 3-011 are fast going down to ruin. If
3-011 carefully guard the outside doors of
the e3-es, and ears, and lips, 3-011 will keep
out many cold blasts of sin which get in
before 3-011 think. This ‘ shutting doors,’
3-011 see, Eddy, is a serious business ; one
on which 3-0111* well-doing in this life and
the next depends.”
The Bible.
There is no lesson book like the Bible.
You will find out that part of it was writ
ten by a shepherd, and part ly a soldier ;
part ly kings, and part b3* fishermen ;
part b3 T a doctor in his stud3 r , and part
b3 r a herdsman on Judah’s hills. You
will see that some parts came straight
from heaven in dreams of the night—now
on the golden couch of a palace, and now
in a bare cold prison cell, like Paul’s.
And though 3-011 live to be old —this is the
wonder —3-011 will never once open that
book without coming on something that
seems quite new.— The Child of the King
doin',
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