HOW JACK CAME TO HAVE A WINDOW BOX
A spirit of love and thoughtfulness for others is a means of our own growth in character.
Jack was a little boy who had been sick nearly all his life. He was never able to go into the parks and gardens to see the squirrels and flowers, and play in the sunshine as all other little boys did. All day long he would lie in his little white bed and watch the wind frolic in the tree tops and the sunbeams dance on the floor. And, oh, how he longed to be outside! But he would never let any one know that he was so unhappy because he could not go out and play with the children.
He said to himself, “I know it hurts my mother as much as it does me to see me here in bed all the time. So I must try to be cheerful for her sake. Besides, it will do no good to complain.”
So he was a merry, bright little fellow. All the children loved to come and sit with him. “Hello, Jack,” they would say as they came into his room. “Hello, Bob,” he would answer. “So glad to see you! tell me about the ball game.” And they talked about their sports.
Each day one of his friends would come and bring him a bouquet of flowers, so that his room was always bright and cheerful. He loved the white roses because they were so pure and sweet, but best of all he loved the big yellow daffodils, and always wanted a vase of them right by his bed.
One day when it was almost time for Jack to have a birthday one of Jack’s friends said to all the other little boys:
“Let’s make something nice for Jack’s birthday; something that will make him happy for a long time.”