Little Frankie and His Cousin

"Yes, aunty."

Mrs. Gray then knelt with Nelly by the chair, and prayed God to forgive all her sins, and to help her to keep her new resolution to be good.

CHAPTER V.

TAKING MEDICINE

After tea Nelly had a fine romp with her cousins on the lawn. Margie and Ponto were there too; and papa and mamma sat on the front steps, laughing and enjoying their sport. As the children ran round and round, the lady saw that Nelly's apron was unbuttoned, and that it troubled her as she played. She called, "Nelly, come here a minute."

The little girl stopped at once, and then ran to her aunt. Before this, when any one called her, she would say, "I can't come now;" or, "In a minute I will." The lady was very much pleased to see that the child obeyed promptly. When she had fastened the apron, Nelly clasped her arms about her aunt's neck, and kissed her. Her uncle smiled, and said, "You look very happy now, Nelly; I wish your mamma could see your rosy cheeks."

"Come, Nelly, it's your turn now," shouted Willie from the lawn.

A few days after this, Mrs. Gray sat busily sewing, while Frankie made a barn with his blocks, in which to put up the pedler's cart, and Nelly was undressing her doll. The sleeve did not come off easily, and as she pulled it roughly it tore. The little girl was angry, and began to cry.

"What is the matter?" asked her aunt.

"Dolly's dress is ugly, and it's all torn."

"Should you like to have a needle, and mend it, my dear?"

"O, yes, aunty."

"May I sew some too?" asked Frankie.

"Yes, darling, you may mend this stocking." She then threaded a needle for the little girl, and showed her how to put the stitches through, and afterwards gave Frankie a darning needle with some yarn. He had often sewed before, and he liked the business very much. There was no knot in the thread, and so he pulled it through and through. But he thought it was sewing for all that.

Nelly sat steadily at her work for a minute; but at last she threw it on the floor, and said, "I hate sewing, it's so hard."

"Let me see it, dear," said aunty.

Nelly picked it up, and put it into her hand.

She laughed when she looked at it, and Nelly laughed too; and then Frankie said, "O, what funny sewing!"

"I'll baste you some easier work," said her aunt; "and you shall have a little thimble to put on your finger. Then you will like to sew."

Nelly had behaved much better since she was punished, so that her uncle, aunt, and cousins loved her better than ever. Still there were many things in which they hoped she would improve.

One day her aunt found her sitting on the piazza alone, eating something, and as soon as she saw some one coming, she put it hastily in her pocket. It was not more than an hour before she complained of a bad pain in her stomach.

"What have you been eating, my dear?" asked her aunt.

"Nothing," said Nelly.

"Are you sure?" and the lady looked earnestly in her face.

"Yes, I am very sure," answered Nelly.

Mrs. Gray sent Sally for some warm peppermint water, and then laid the child on the lounge.

For some time she lay quite still, sucking her finger; but when her aunt glanced toward her to see if she were asleep, she noticed that Nelly looked very pale about the mouth; and presently she jumped up, and carried her to the closet, where she threw up a great quantity of raisins, which she had stolen from her aunt's box.

She continued very sick all that night, and in the morning the doctor came, and said she must take a large dose of castor oil.

The sight of oil always made the lady very sick, and so her uncle said he would give it to her. He poured it out, and mixed it with a little hot milk, and held it to her lips. But she would not take it. He tried to persuade her, promised her a ride, told her she would be very sick if she did not obey the doctor, but all was of no use. She shut her teeth, and would not touch it.

Then Sally tried her skill. "I'll make your great dolly a new dress," she said; "come, now, be a good girl, and then I'll tell you how Frankie took his medicine." It was all in vain; Nelly still shook her head, and refused to obey.

Mrs. Gray then took the child in her lap, and spread a large cloth under her chin, at the same time telling Sally to bring a cup of blackberry jelly from the store closet. "Now, my little Nelly," she said, "you must take this to make you well. If you will open your mouth and swallow it all down like a good girl, I will give you some nice jelly to take the taste out, for it is very bad. But if you don't take it before I count three, I shall hold you and force it down your throat."

Then she began to count, – "one, two," – but before she could say three, Nelly caught the spoon and swallowed the medicine, and then took some jelly so quickly, that she hardly tasted the oil.

"That was a right good girl," said her uncle. "I couldn't have taken it any better myself."

When Nelly was well, her aunt kindly talked with her of the great sin which she had committed. "You have done just as naughty Moses did," she said. "First, you stole the raisins, as he stole the orange; and then you told a wicked lie to hide it from me, as he did to hide his sin from his mother." Then she told Nelly, "God hears all we say, and sees all we do. We can hide nothing from him; and he says in his holy book, 'liars shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.'"

Nelly cried; and promised over and over again to be a good girl, and she really tried to improve. She saw how happy her cousins were, and how every body loved them, and she said to herself, "I mean to try to be just as good as I can."

CHAPTER VI.

THE LOST ORANGE FOUND

When little girls or boys try to do right, every body loves to help them. Mrs. Gray knew that for six years her little niece had been indulged in every wish, and that she had never been taught to restrain her ill humor. She could not, therefore, expect her to be cured at once of all her bad habits; but she was much pleased to see that Nelly grew every day more amiable, more ready to give up her own wishes, and to try to make others happy. Sometimes, in playing with Frankie, she would forget, and say an unkind word; but the moment she saw the eye of her aunt fixed mournfully upon her, she would say, "I'm sorry, Frankie."

When she said this, the dear child always put up his little red lips to kiss her, and say, "I sorry, too, Nelly." Sometimes he would add, "God is sorry, too."

It was very rainy one morning, and the children were obliged to keep in doors. Frankie had for some time been amusing himself by hiding a ball, which he made Ponto find and bring to him in his teeth, while Nelly shouted and danced at every new discovery, saying "I never saw such a funny dog before."

At last they grew tired of this, and even Ponto began to think they had played this game quite long enough; so Frankie sat down on the floor, and putting one arm around the dog's neck, said, "Mamma, I want to hear a toly."

"You said some time you would tell us some more about Moses," exclaimed Nelly.

"So I will," said mamma. "I told you that his mother counted the oranges, and found there were but twelve. 'I'm sorry,' she said to Moses, 'because I wanted one for Sarah Christie; but I suppose your father forgot to get it, and I'll send her one another time.'

"'You can give her some figs,' said Moses.

"'So I can,' replied his mother; and then she went on cutting the peel and tearing it down a little way, so that, when they were put into the large glass dish, they looked like great yellow flowers.

"'O, how pretty they are!' said Moses.

"His mother then set all the dishes on the sideboard, and covered them over with a clean table cloth. After tea, she said, 'I will set them out on the table, and then when the children have done playing, they can come here and eat them.'

"When Moses' father came home from the city, the lady said, 'I'm sorry you forgot to get thirteen oranges. There were only twelve in the basket.'

"'There were thirteen when I brought them home,' said papa; 'I am sure of it, because I counted them myself, and they were nice ones too; I had to give three cents apiece for them, though they are quite plenty now.'

"'I don't know where the other can have gone,' said mamma, looking very sober, as a painful suspicion flashed through her.

"'I hope Moses wouldn't take one without leave,' said the gentleman.

"'I asked him,' replied mamma, 'and he said he hadn't touched them.'

"'Where is he?' asked papa, 'I will ask him. I don't care at all about the orange, because I can easily get another; but somebody must have taken it, and I am afraid it was our little boy.' The gentleman then went to the door and called, 'Moses! Moses!'

"Presently Moses came, and his father took him in his lap, and said, 'Tell me, my dear, have you taken an orange from the basket?'

"'No, papa,' said the boy, his face growing very red. 'I told mamma I hadn't touched them.'

"The gentleman couldn't think that his darling child would tell a lie; so he put him down to the floor, and inquired, 'Have you asked cook?'

"'No,' said mamma; 'I am quite sure she wouldn't meddle with my things.'

"'Just then, cook came in with the cloth for supper, and mamma said to Moses, 'I shall have time, I think, to dress you before tea. Run up quick to my room, and I will get a clean ruffle, and baste it in your new sack."

"While she was doing this, he pulled off his sack and pantaloons that he had worn every day, and threw them on the floor. Then his mother washed his face, and neck, and arms, and hands, very clean, and brushed his hair smoothly off his forehead, so that he looked very nicely indeed. And all the time Moses was talking about his party, and telling what a pleasant time he should have.

"'It's your birthday,' said his mother, kissing him, 'and you must remember to be a very good boy. Be kind to your dear little cousins and playmates, and let them play with any of your toys. Here, let me hang up your clothes, and we will go down to tea.'

"She took the pantaloons from the floor, and said, 'Why, Moses, what have you stuffed into your pocket? Here is your handkerchief wet through.' She pulled out first an India rubber ball, and then – O, what do you think? – why, the lost orange, all sucked and gone except the peel.

"'O Moses!' was all the poor mother could say. She sank into a chair, and covered her face with her hands; but the tears trickled down through her fingers.

"The little boy began to cry; he wished his mother had not found him out, because it made her feel so badly. Presently the tea bell rang; but the lady never stirred from her seat. She was mourning over her son, and thinking what she ought to do to punish him for his great sin.

"'Supper is ready,' called out papa from the stairs.

"'Don't wait for me,' answered the lady; 'I can't go down.'

"'What is the matter?' asked the gentleman, springing up the stairs and coming into the room.

"Mamma began to weep again. She could not speak, but she held up the skin of the orange, and glanced toward Moses, who was sitting in a chair by himself crying bitterly.

"'So he did take it, after all,' said papa, in a stern voice.

"'I'm sorry, papa,' sobbed the boy.

"'What a wicked boy you must be, to steal and lie, and on your birthday too,' said his father, 'when we were trying to make you so happy!'

"'I never will do so again,' said Moses.

"'You must be punished, so that you will remember it,' said his father.

"'Stay here,' said his mother; 'I will send cook up with some supper for you.'"

CHAPTER VII.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

"She sat down at the table, and poured the tea, but she could not eat. Her heart was too sorrowful. She arose, and returned to the chamber, where Moses was eating a slice of bread and butter. When he had finished it, she said, 'Wipe your hands on the towel, and take off your clothes.'

"'Are you going to whip me, mamma? I never will be so naughty again,' exclaimed the boy, beginning to cry louder than ever.

"'No,' said his mother, 'I am going to put you to bed.'

"'I can't see my party, then,' screamed Moses, catching hold of his mother's dress.

"'Nor eat any of the good things, my child. You have been a wicked boy, and broken God's holy commands; and I must punish you. You don't know how you've made mother's heart ache,' said the lady, trying to keep back her tears. 'I did not think you could be so naughty. When I know how displeased the dear Saviour must be, I tremble for you.'

"'I didn't mean to eat the orange, mamma; it smelled so good, I only thought I would suck it a little.'

"'If you had told me that at first, I would gladly have forgiven you,' said mamma; 'but you told wicked lies to hide your sin. You forgot that God was looking at you all the time, and knew all that was in your heart. You must pray to him to forgive you, and to make you a good boy.'

"Moses cried so that he could hardly stand. His mother took off his clothes, put on his night gown, and helped him into bed. Then she knelt by his bed side, and prayed that the means used to punish him might help him to remember what a great sin lying is. She asked God to forgive him, and help him from that hour to be an honest, truthful boy.

"Moses slept in a small room, next to her own, and as the lady thought some of the little party might run up there, she locked the door, and went herself down the back way.

"Pretty soon the bell rang, and Moses stopped crying to listen. He heard happy voices of children running through the hall. Then they asked, 'Where's Moses?' But he could not hear what his mother answered.

"In a few minutes a carriage drove up, and there was another ring of the bell. This time it was his cousins, and he heard them laughing and talking together.

"Before half an hour all the company had assembled. Some of the little girls went up to the front room, and he could hear his mother's voice as she went with them. She was talking very kindly, but he thought she did not feel happy, it was so sad.

"O, what a long evening that was! He could not go to sleep, for every few minutes there was a merry burst of laughter from the room below; and he knew that his papa was teaching them some pretty games. Every time he heard this he began to cry again. And then he wondered whether his mother would tell them why he was not there, and what they would say.

"At last he heard them all walk out into the dining room, and papa's voice saying, 'I will take Katy because she is the youngest.' Now he knew they were going to sit at table and eat the nice fruit.

"'O, dear!' he sobbed, 'how sorry I am!' And then, for the first time, he began to think how wicked it was to deceive his dear parents, who had been so kind to him all his life. 'I made mamma cry,' he said softly. 'I'm sorry for that, too.'

"As soon as Satan heard Moses say that, he ran away and hid; and the good Spirit came, and whispered to Moses, and presently he got out of his bed, and knelt down by his low chair, and prayed softly. But Jesus heard what he said, and looked into his heart, and saw he was really sorry he had been a wicked boy, and then God forgave him.

"Pretty soon the children all came rushing up the stairs to put on their clothes, for the carriages had come to take them home. Moses was not crying now. He lay quiet and still; and he heard them say, 'Good by! good by! Please give my love to Moses;' and then the door was shut, and the house all still again.

"When mamma came up stairs she carried the light into her little boy's room to see if he was awake. His eyes were wide open, and as soon as he saw her, he said, 'You might give my orange to Sarah Christie, mamma, because I wasn't down there to eat it.'

"Then mamma put up her handkerchief quick to wipe the tears from her eyes; and she went up to the bed and kissed her boy, for she knew that he had repented of his sin.

"'I am sorry, very sorry,' he said, pulling her face down to his; 'I prayed hard to God to forgive me, and make me good. Will you forgive me, mamma?'

"'Yes, my darling. I will gladly forgive you, and I hope this may be a lesson to you as long as you live.'"

Nelly looked very sober while her aunt was telling this story. She began to see how naughty she had been, and to hope that God would forgive her too.

As soon as his mother had finished, Frankie said, "O, I'm so glad Moses became a good boy! Did he ever steal or tell lies again?"

"No, my dear, I am happy to tell you that from the hour when he so heartily repented of his great sin, and so earnestly asked God to forgive him, he became an honest and truthful boy. But I have talked a long time, and can only add one incident, which occurred nearly six months later than the birthday party.

"Moses had a cousin whose name was Eugene. He lived in a city many hundred miles distant. He was also an only child; but unlike Moses, he had been foolishly indulged in every desire of his heart, until he had become exceedingly selfish, wilful, and passionate. Eugene accompanied his parents on a visit to his aunt, and though younger than his cousin, began at once to tyrannize over him.

"One day a loud cry was heard from the play room, and presently Eugene came running to his mother, complaining that Moses had broken his little wagon, and then had struck him with his Indian bow.

"'How is this, Moses?' asked his mother; 'did you strike your cousin?'

"The little fellow fixed his large, earnest eyes full upon hers, as he exclaimed, 'O, no, indeed, mother! Eugene knows I did not touch him. We were playing together, when the wagon wheel hit the trunk and broke it. Then he got angry, and pinched me on my arm.

"'I don't mind that,' he added, as his aunt pointed to a large red spot near his elbow; 'but I'm dreadfully sorry he didn't tell the truth.'"