AS WE HOPE TO BE FORGIVEN.
I’LL never forgive her—never!" said Effie to herself, as she rather spitefully threw down the corn to the chickens; "she's just as mean as she can be."-
By and by the last grain of corn had been gobbled up by a great hungry rooster that seemed never to have had enough to eat.
Then Effie turned and walked slowly toward the house, leading her little sister along by the hand.
How quickly the sunshine goes out of the sky and the brightness fades from everything, when we cherish hatred in the heart! The sun was as bright as ever, and the air was soft and warm, but to Effie it seemed as if dark clouds covered the sky, and the light breezes made her almost shiver.
Mamma noticed the clouded face when Effie appeared at the kitchen door; but she said nothing, well knowing that sooner or later she would tell her all her troubles.
"Here, Effie," said her mother, "take this pan of grapes and skin them. Be very careful to do it well, for I want to make them into jelly." Effie took the grapes, and sat down on a low stool by the window-sill to look them over. By and by her mother drew a low chair up beside her, and sat down to look over another panful.
"What makes my little girl look so troubled?" she at length asked.
For a little, Effie did not answer, but worked away faster than ever. She did not feel quite sure what mamma would think. At last she said, rather hesitatingly, "I think Daisy is just as mean as she can be, and I won't ever like her anymore, so there!" And she hastily brushed away the great tears that would well up in her eyes in spite of her.
"Why!" said her mamma, in a surprised tone,
"I thought you and Daisy were the best of friends. How does it happen that you are so angry with her?" Down slid the pan of grapes to the floor, and Effie sobbed her troubles out with her head on her mother's knee.
"You know we had a playhouse under the big oak tree in the meadow," said Effie, as she grew a little calmer, "and Daisy had a lot of pretty, broken dishes for our tea-set. Well, yesterday, when we were playing keep house, a great, brown worm dropped right down into my lap. I screamed and jumped up, and hit a board that knocked down all the dishes and smashed 'em up.
"Then Daisy got mad, and said I did it on purpose. I told her I didn't mean to; but she wouldn't believe me. And she broke my dolly's head. Oh, dear! I never will like her again—never!" and here Effie's sobs broke out afresh.
Her mother wisely waited till her anger had cooled off a little, and then she quietly said, "Go and get your Bible, my dear, and turn to the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians, and read the fourth verse."
When Effie had found it, and read, her mother told her that charity meant love; and then she talked to her about God and his great love for us, and how he was always ready to forgive us when we had done wrong. Then she said that we ought to be just as ready to forgive those who had done wrong to us, as God was to forgive us when we had done wrong to him.
Effie sat very still for a long time, and at last she said, "If you're willing, I will go over to Daisy's, and carry her a bunch of grapes."
"I think it would be a very good plan," her mother replied, glad to see that she was willing to make up friends again. So in the afternoon Effie started out; but imagine how surprised she was when she met Daisy at the gate, holding in her arms a doll just like the one she had broken.
"I hope you will forgive me, Effie," began Daisy, as soon as she had caught sight of her friend;
"I 'm sorry I was so angry with you, and here's another dolly in place of the one I broke."
"Oh!" said Effie, "you needn't mind about that, and you didn't need to get another doll. It was wrong for me to get angry too, and I hope you'll forgive me; "then she gave her the grapes.
"Come in, and play awhile," she added; and the two little girls went arm in arm up the steps.
"What made you so willing to forgive me?" asked Daisy, as they entered the door.
"Because," said Effie, "I must be willing to forgive everybody if I want Jesus to forgive me."
W. E. L.