THE GOOD SAMARITAN.
"'And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
"'He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou?
"'And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
"'And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
"'But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
"'And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
"'And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
"'And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
"'But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.
"'And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
"'And on the morrow when he departed, he took, out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee.
"'Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves?
"'And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.'
"What do you think that story means?" asked mamma.
"I think," said Harold, "that it means that to be neighbor to anybody is to help him."
Margaret thought a minute. "It seems to me," she said, "that neighbors can live a long way off, then. Our teacher said she would tell us next Sunday how we could help poor little children in a big city five hundred miles away. That will make us neighbors to them, won't it, mamma?"
"Why, yes," said mamma. "So it will." Then she smiled a little and said, "I think we have some neighbors living in China and some others living in India."
What do you suppose mamma meant?