OUR LITTLE FOLKS,

Otago Witness, Issue 1957, 27 August 1891, Page 37

OUR LITTLE FOLKS,

Bt Dor.

Dttwttt 1m ptouK* to noetraskort totters frun jurealle tornipudttti on any matter* of lnMmt to th«»»lT«-ihort itoriM tf pet anlmali, *Wli>tioM of their faTonrito toys, their parti*, •aniemenu, *o. Tta totten to be written by th« aklMrca ♦*«• mltcj »ud addr«M»« "Da4,«w*orth*3ditor l "Mi to »t pa* Uifctf la a* WH* itrMtd to " O» UtUe WoOuu"

THE FLOWER AND THE MAIDEN.

A STORY FOR CHILDREN FROM EIGHT TO EIGHTY.

By the Author of "A Dead Man's Diary."

"Little flower, little flower," said the birdie, " why are yoa so silent and sad ? " "lam not sad, sweet sister," whispered the flower gently j '• ah 1 no, bat I have seen an angel. Yestreen, as I slept, my birdie, being all aweary with gazing up into your birdland home among the branches, and watching the merry sunlipht come and go, and strike shafts of golden flame among the green, I dreamt of heaven and of the holy angels ; and lo ! when I awoke, one there was who stood beside me, beautiful even as is the sunlight or the dawn, and her voioe when Bhe spoke was low and tender, like the restful ripple of the rain. And to the flowers, as you know, my birdie, the hearts of the pure lie ever open and unsealed, and I saw into her heart, that the thought of it was white and spotless as the lily, and I saw that her thought was a prayer, and that she said: • Dear Lord, I thank Thee for making this little flower so fair ani lovely, and I ask Thee that even I may be in heart aa pure and holy as she! 1 "

MOBNING. , . " Wake up, little flower, and hear what I have to tell you," said the bird gaily, ".for I, too, have Been your angel-rand angel ib sne none, but the fairest maiden from the town beyond the hillside." And to her the flower made low reply, Bavins? » " dan any one as fair as she be found out of heaven? And, moreover, I looked into her heart, and Baw that the thought of it waß white and pure aa the morning." . "It ia only the flowere that can Bee into hearts," said the bird, gravely, "but this I know, that your angel is of the earth, not heaven," and so saying she spread her silken wioga and flaw away. „ , Bat the flower said, "Is there in all heaven anything more fair than a maiden ? noon. " I would not pluck you to plaase my idle fancies, dear blossom," said the maiden gently, "for I cannot bear to see the dear flowers wither and fade I But I know of one who lies ill and dying, and to whom the scent and sight of a wild flower may bring some passing moment of peace. Tell me, then, you who are so pure and lovely, will not you spare a space of your slender life, that bo yon may make happy the heart of a sorrowing one ? Then the flower said, " Dear maiden, I will " ; but inasmuoh as it spake not the maiden's language, it breathed forth all its perfume, like sweet music, in assent. Ana, though the maiden knew not that the flower had beard, her words, and bad answered her, yet at heart she waß strangely though sweetly saddenedf , " Even in heaven I should long for the earth flowers," she said, as she drank in the fragrance. "Is there anything in all heaven more fair than a flower ? "

Then the maiden plucked the flower, and bore it away from tbe birds and aunßhine, away from the wind and the trees, to a squalid court in a great city, where a dying woman lay, haggard and wan, upon a bed. And as the flower looked into the soul of the dying woman, its fair leaves, seemed to wither and wilt as though some foul breath had come forth upon it, for therein it could see nothing because of the blaokness and sin. And at first the flower Bhrank into itself, and would fain have gathered up its perfume, but it thought of the prayer in the maiden's heart, and opening out its snowy petals to their full, it breathed forth a fragrance which filled the foul room as with musio and light. And as tbe dying woman looked upon the flower, she thought of the white lilies which she had gathered and placed upon her dead mother's bosom— many, ah ! so many weary years ago ; and she thought of the days when she was pure and beautiful, and had knelt at that mother's knee, to iwhisper, after her, the hallowed words to the Father in heaven. , , Then the flower saw that in the woman's heart there was some strange and sudden commotion, as though the light were seeking to win in its way, and to drive out the darkness and Bin, And, folding her wasted hands together, the dying woman turned to the light, and said : " Dear Lord Jesus, make me — even me — white and pure as this lily, and wash away all my sins in Thy preoious blood. Amen," And when the dawn came, the flower lay withered and drooping, but ere it died it saw into the woman's heart, that it was whits and pure as the snowflake. And there fled from that room a shining angel, and lo! on her bosom lay a little flower I