XXVIII. ON FORGETTING.
65. Maggie's Birthday Present.
It was Maggie's birthday, and her father brought her as a present something that she had been wishing for a very long time. It was a beautiful yellow canary, and its little house was the prettiest cage imaginable, for it was made of brass wire, which was so bright that you could almost think it was gold. Of course Maggie was delighted. "It is just what I have been wishing for," said she; "I shall feed the canary myself, and give it fresh water every day; it is the prettiest bird I ever saw."
For some weeks Maggie remembered her little pet each day, and attended to all its wants, but there came a day when there was to be a picnic for all the school children, and Maggie was so excited and glad about the picnic that she forgot all about feeding the bird.
Then next day there was hay-making, and she was in the field all day, and again forgot the poor bird.
This went on for a few days, and when at last she did remember, and went to the cage, the bird was dead.
Maggie was full of grief, and cried until her head ached, but she could not undo the results of her forgetting.
Some people think it is a little fault to forget, but that cannot be, for we know well that "forgetting" often causes pain and suffering to others.
(Blackboard.)
Forgetting often causes Pain.
66. The Promised Drive.
Daniel was a lame little boy. He could not walk at all, nor play about with the other children, so he was very puny and pale. His mother used to put his little chair near the door of the cottage where they lived, so that he could watch the people pass, and one day, as he sat there, a lady came by with a well-dressed little boy, and when she saw the pale-faced child she stopped and spoke to him, and then Daniel's mother came to the door, and invited her to step inside the cottage.
The lady's little boy was called Emil, and he stood on the doorstep talking to Daniel, while the two mothers spoke together within the cottage. Emil, who was a kind-hearted little fellow, felt very sorry for the lame child, and when he found that Daniel was never able to go any farther than the street where he lived, Emil said: "I will ask my father to bring his carriage round and take you for a drive; I am sure he will, and then you can see the green fields and trees, and hear the birds sing".
Daniel's little face flushed with pleasure, and he said; "Oh that would be lovely!"
By-and-by the lady and her boy said "Good-bye," and went away, and then Daniel told his mother all that Emil had said. "Do you think he will come to-morrow, mother?" asked Daniel.
"Perhaps not to-morrow, dear," replied she, "but some day soon maybe."
So Daniel sat at the door each day, and waited for the carriage, but it never came, and when he grew too ill to sit up he would still lie and listen for the sound of the wheels, and say: "I think it will come to-day, mother," but it never did. And do you know why? Emil had forgotten to ask his father, and so Daniel waited in vain for the drive.
You see how much pain and disappointment can be caused by forgetting, and when you promise to do a thing and forget to keep the promise it is just like telling an untruth. You do not intend to speak what is not the truth, but you do it all the same. Remember, then, that it is not a little fault to forget, and that those who do it are not building on the firm foundation of truth.
(Blackboard.)
When we Promise and Forget, we are not True.
To the Parent or Teacher.—However culpable it may be to break promises to adults (and it is in reality nothing less than untruth), it is infinitely worse to break faith with children. An unredeemed promise is a sure way of shaking a child's confidence in truth and goodness. Let us keep our word with the little ones at whatever cost.
67. The Boy who Remembered.
Little Elsie had a big brother called Jack, of whom she was very fond, and he was fond of Elsie also. Jack was about fifteen years old, and he was learning to be a sailor. When his ship came into port he used to come home for a few days, and then he would tell Elsie all about the places he had seen. One time the voyage had been very long, and Jack told Elsie that when the bread was all finished they had had to eat sea-biscuits instead.
"How funny," said Elsie; "what are sea-biscuits like, Jack?"
"They are very hard and round and thick," replied Jack.
Elsie said she would like to see one, and Jack promised that when he went back to his ship he would send her one.
It was not a great thing to promise, was it? But Elsie felt very important when the postman brought her a little parcel a day or two after Jack had left, and she was very glad when she opened it and found the promised biscuit.
"There is one good thing about Jack," exclaimed Elsie, "he always does what he says." I think Jack would have been pleased to hear Elsie say that; it is one of the nicest things that could have been said about him. I hope it is true of all of us.
(Blackboard.)
To Forget is not a Little Thing.
Be True, and do what you say.