But her silence made Elfie think she had no message for her, and she said, "You need not be afraid to tell me, Susie; nobody ever did love me, and nobody ever will; and I don't want any love either." But in spite of these words, so sharply and angrily spoken, Elfie burst into tears.
Susie had never seen her cry before, and for very sympathy she burst into tears herself, as she threw her arms round her companion's neck, and drew her closely towards her. "Don't cry, Elfie; I'll love you," she said. "I'll love you ever so much; and you'll believe God loves you too; won't you?" she added coaxingly.
Elfie clung to Susie, and held her in a passionate embrace. "Say it again—" she whispered, "say you love me, Susie; it's what I've been wanting ever so long, I think."
"Everybody wants it," said Susie. "God puts the feeling in our heart, mother said; and then he gives us people to love us, just that we may know how he loves us himself."
"Tell me some more about it," said Elfie, still in the same subdued voice, and clinging fast round Susie's neck, her dirty tangled head of hair resting on her shoulder.
"I don't know how to tell it, Elfie, but just as the Bible tells it. Mother made me learn a good many verses about the love of God. I'll tell you some of them. 'God is love'; 'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him'; 'God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' Now, don't you see God must love you, for you're in the world, and God so loved the world that he sent Jesus Christ to die that we might be saved?"
"Saved?" repeated Elfie.
"Yes; saved from our sins—the wicked things we do that make God sorry, and angry too," said Susie.
But Elfie did not care to hear about this; she wanted to know whether it was possible for God to love her—whether he had told Susie, he would love her.
"I'd do anything for that," she said, pushing back her tangled hair. "Do you think he'd like me better if I was to keep my face clean and comb my hair like you do?" she asked.