“I will be good, dear mother,”
I heard a sweet child say,
“I will be good,—now watch me!
I will be good all day.”
She lifted up her bright young eyes,
With a soft and pleasing smile;
Then a mother’s kiss was on her lips;
So pure and free from guile.
And when night came, that little one,
In kneeling down to pray,
Said, in a soft and whispering tone,
“Have I been good to-day?”
Oh, many, many bitter tears
’Twould save us, did we say,
Like that dear child, with earnest heart,
“I will be good to-day.”
I’LL DO WHAT I CAN.
I may, if I have but a mind,
Do good in many ways;
Plenty to do, the young may find,
In these our busy days.
Sad would it be, though young and small,
If I were of no use at all.
One gentle word that I may speak,
Or one kind loving deed,
May, though a trifle, poor and weak,
Prove like a tiny seed;
And who can tell what good may spring
From such a very little thing?
Then let me try, each day and hour,
To act upon this plan;
What little good is in my power,
To do it while I can:
If to be useful thus I try,
I may do better by and by.
TIME TO ARISE.
Come, little sister, ’tis time to arise,
The sun has arisen to brighten the skies;
Every bird is singing high,—
Birds are glad, and so am I.