Fireside Stories for Girls in Their Teens Part 13

But she pushed ahead.

"Oh," said Gladys, "how hard she works! I could never do that. I am sorry for her."

"You needn't be," said the fairy. "You need never be sorry for those that sacrifice for an ideal. Be sorry for those who have none and so who live at ease." And they watched her struggle through temptation and toil to the graduation day.

As the college days pa.s.sed, there came strength of purpose, but there came also the desire to serve. Gladys watched her lead the little group of dirty street boys in the slums.

"How can she do it?" said Gladys. "They are so dirty and so rough."

But the fairy said, "When one wants to serve, she looks at the heart and the life--not at the clothes and the actions. The boys are helping her to keep in the way."

And after college there were happy days. Days of love and comrades.h.i.+p, days of work for the fairy; days when opportunity was everywhere. And in these days of happiness there came lessons of sharing, of winning, of filling the life with suns.h.i.+ne. The path was so bright that it dazzled.

Suddenly, Gladys looked ahead in the path. "Look," she said to the fairy.

"Look, oh, how black it is! Oh, I am sorry."

Then the storm descended and all was black in the way--oh, so black and to move took all of one's strength. Against it she struggled, but it seemed as though she must surely be driven from the path. Death and loneliness and worries seemed overpowering.

But the storm pa.s.sed and, when once again there was peace, a great strength had come in its place, for there was sympathy for others who suffered, there was an appreciation of the value of friends.h.i.+p, and there was a knowledge that G.o.d helps.

Little by little the road widened, though often it was lonely and hard.

There were many steep places but each added something. And then Gladys saw the picture change.

There was Mrs. Fuller with her girls and she was leading them by the hand.

But it was by no means easy. Some held back; some chose to play by the way; some looked longingly at the things by the wayside that would harm.

But her one hand reached up and her other hand helped them ahead as she tried to keep them in the way.

As the picture faded, Gladys turned to the fairy. "I thought it had been all suns.h.i.+ne but now I see how hard it has been to learn to understand and to help. I love her better than I did before, now that I have seen her in the way. Thank you, fairy."

"But wait," said the fairy. "You asked me for a gift. Do you still want it? Do you still want to follow her?"

"To follow means study, and sacrifice, and temptations conquered, and sympathy, and all sorts of hard things, doesn't it? I never thought about it. But I love Mrs. Fuller and I still want to lead girls--I still want the letters and I still want to be like her. Please, Fairy of Good Works, put me in the way and I will go back to school and begin to get ready."

Then the little lady smiled as she waved her wand over the head of the girl. "Your life may be much more sunny than hers, dear. Not all must have the same things to overcome. But whatever you meet in the way, you must struggle against it and come out stronger because you have struggled. Can you see away off there in the distance the hands of girls--oh, so many of them--eagerly reached out for help? They are 'your girls.' And here is the way. Above there is one who helps and I am here though you may not see me. Push forward or the girls will have no helper. Good-by and good luck to you."

But as Gladys reached out to detain her, her hat fell to the ground and she found herself sitting against the tree. In her hand was the picture of Mrs. Fuller and her girls. Long she looked at the picture. Then she said to herself,

"I never knew the way was so long or so hard to be like you but if just one girl can love me some day as I love you, then I shall be glad I have walked in the way. I am ready to try and I hope I can win."

AN OLD, OLD STORY

It was a dark and rainy day when about the inn-fire, close to the great caravan way that led through Canaan, in the land of Palestine, a group of camel-drivers and travelers were gathered. They looked very different from what they do to-day, for nearly four thousand years have pa.s.sed since then. But they were all huddled together listening to stories and songs.

In the group there were men from Egypt; there were men from Babylon, the great city far to the East; there were men from the land of Canaan; and then there were some wandering nomads who had lately come from the East and so were called by the Canaanites "Hebrews," which means, "People from the Other Side." Most of these men were shepherds, but they loved to meet with the camel-drivers and learn of the customs and habits of the people of other lands. 'Twas a strange group of men sitting about the little fire.

In those days, as now, men loved to tell stories that had come down to them from their fathers and grandfathers, and often they found that a story from Egypt was but little different from one that had been told in Babylonia. So they loved to listen to the story-tellers.

But on this day it had rained and rained till the streams were full and the way was very hard to go. Thus there were very many men in the inn.

'Twas the turn of the Babylonian, so he began,

"I will tell you one of the very oldest of our stories--about a great rain-storm.

"Years and years and years ago the G.o.ds in heaven began to fear that the men of the earth were going to live forever and so they made a plan by which to destroy them. There should be a great rain for days and days and days, and all these men and women and children should be drowned. Then the G.o.ds would be free from their worries.

"But one of the G.o.ds named Ea had a friend who lived on the earth, and so he sent word to him to go with all his family into a big, big s.h.i.+p and take with him two of every kind of animals. Utnapishtim, the friend, did as he was told.

"Then the rain came and for six days and nights there was no let-up at all. Deeper and deeper it grew till the G.o.ds in heaven grew afraid and cowered in the highest corner of heaven. By this time every living thing, except the ones in the big s.h.i.+p, was destroyed.

"But after six days, the rain ceased. Then the man sent out a dove, but it returned, for it could find no place to rest. Later he sent out a raven and it did not come back, so he knew the waters were going down. Then he made a great sacrifice to the G.o.ds and they came, they saw the great destruction and they gloated over it, pleased that their plan had worked so well."

There was applause when he had finished from many of the group, but the Hebrews did not applaud. They had been taught that there was one true G.o.d, not many G.o.ds. They had been taught that G.o.d was kind to all and not one that gloated over destruction of men. They were not pleased with the story of the great flood.

Then there came nights out under the stars and they heard the stories of how the earth was made; of how man came to be; of the meaning of many of the things that they saw all about them. But in every story there were found G.o.ds who were cruel, who were unkind, who quarreled and fought.

There were many, many G.o.ds, but none was like unto their G.o.d.

As the old Hebrews listened to all these old, old stories from the countries about them which were told so often, they shook their heads sadly and said,

"We have come into this country to live and bring up our children. But if they hear these stories, they will believe some of them and forget the true G.o.d. They must have stories of their own that show how great and mighty is the G.o.d of Israel. But what shall we do about these stories? If we say the stories are false, they will laugh at us and say, 'Why, our people have known these stories since long, long before there was a Hebrew on the earth. What our fathers have told us as true is surely true.' And if we say to our children, 'You must not listen to these stories,' they will be all the more eager to listen. What shall we do?"

Finally it was decided that the stories of the Egyptians and the Babylonians must be remade so as to be fit for their children to hear and they must teach the beliefs of their own religion in stories of their own.

So, many weeks later as the men were gathered out under the stars on a beautiful night, one of the best of the Hebrew story-tellers said quietly,

"I have listened to stories about the making of the world from many of you but I think my story is better than any you have told. Would you like to hear the story of how the G.o.d of Israel made the world?"

"'Tis a Hebrew who is talking," said one. "I didn't know you people had any stories. Give it to us. Then we can compare it with our own great stories."

And the Hebrew story-teller began:

"In the beginning G.o.d created the heaven and the earth. And these are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord G.o.d made the earth and the heavens,

"And every plant of the field before it was in the earth and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Lord G.o.d had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

"But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

"And the Lord G.o.d formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

"And out of the ground made the Lord G.o.d to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

"And the Lord G.o.d took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

"And out of the ground the Lord G.o.d made every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

There was silence when the story was finished. This G.o.d of whom the Hebrew was telling was wise and mighty enough to make the world, yet he was thoughtful and kind. He allowed man to be a helper. There was only one G.o.d. They liked the story so well that they began to tell it also and soon the beautiful story was known all through the land of Canaan. Little by little it drove out the other stories and became the most loved one.