Chapter XXII: On Giving Pleasure to Others

52. "Selfless" and "Thoughtful"--a Fairy Tale.

"Selfless" and "Thoughtful" were sisters of the little "Gold-wings" (Story Lesson 1). I cannot tell you which of the two was the sweetest and best; they were =both= so lovable, for like "Gold-wings" they were always thinking of others, and especially of how they could give pleasure to the sick and weak. One day, as they sat on a mossy bank in the Fairy wood, "Selfless" asked, "What shall we do next, sister?" and "Thoughtful" made answer, "I have been thinking of little Davie, who is so lame and weak; suppose I go to the Kindergarten and try to get some one to be kind to him". "A good idea," replied "Selfless," "and I will fly over the fields and see what can be done there; then in the moonlight we will meet, and tell each other what we have done." So they spread their pretty wings and flew away.

* * * * *

Now it is night in the Fairy wood, and in the silver moonlight the sisters rest again on the mossy bank and talk.

53. The Bunch of Roses.

"I flew to the Kindergarten," said "Thoughtful," "you know Davie used to attend there before he was ill. Of course no one saw me, and as I hovered over the teacher's desk, little Bessie, a rosy-cheeked maid, came up and laid a lovely bunch of crimson roses upon it for the teacher. The scent was so delicious I could not help nestling down into one of the roses to enjoy it better. The teacher picked up the flowers, not knowing I was there, and as she buried her face in the soft petals, to smell the sweet perfume, I whispered 'Send them to Davie'."

"A smile instantly came over her face, and she said: 'Bessie, a good fairy has whispered a kind thought to me; shall we send your pretty roses to Davie?'"

"'Oh! yes,' said Bessie, 'please let me take them to him with your love, for I gave them to you."

"So the roses were taken to Davie, and how happy they made him to be sure! and the =teacher= was happy because she had remembered poor Davie, and =Bessie= was happy to carry the flowers to him, so I came away glad, also; but what have =you= done, dear sister?"

54. Edwin and the Birthday Party.

Then "Selfless" answered:--

"I flew away over the fields, and there I saw a little boy, dressed all in his best clothes, speeding away across the field-path, and I knew that he was going to a birthday party, and that he was walking quickly so as to be in time; for there was to be a lovely birthday cake, all iced over with sugar; and little pieces of silver, called threepenny pieces, had been scattered through the cake, so of course Edwin wanted to be there when it was cut up.

"I saw a little girl in the fields, also, walking along the hedges looking for blackberries, and in trying to reach a branch of the ripe fruit that grew on the farther side of a ditch, the poor child overbalanced herself and fell in, uttering a loud scream.

"Edwin heard the scream and said to himself, 'I wonder what that is? I should like to go and see, but oh, dear! it will perhaps make me late for the party'. Then the Bad Voice spoke to him, and said, 'Never mind the scream; hurry on to the party," and Edwin hurried on, but his cheeks grew hot, and he looked unhappy.

"Soon the child screamed again, and the Good Voice said, 'Help! Edwin, never mind self,' and with that he turned back, and ran to the place where the sounds had seemed to come from. He soon saw the little girl, who was trying to scramble up the steep side of the ditch, and could not; it needed the help of Edwin's strong hands to give her a good pull, and bring her safely out. Oh, how glad she was to be on the grass once more! Edwin wiped her tears away, and told her to run home; then he made haste to the party with a light, glad heart, and he arrived just as they were sitting down to tea, so he was in time for the cake after all. But even if he had =missed= it, he would have been glad that he stayed behind to help the little girl."

"What a nice boy," said "Thoughtful". "Did he tell the people at the party what he had done?"

"Oh, =no=," replied "Selfless"; "his mother told him that people should =never boast= of kind things they had done, for that would spoil it."

"True," said "Thoughtful"; "but what did =you= do, dear "Selfless"? It is not boasting to tell =me=."

"I only helped Edwin to listen to the Good Voice," replied "Selfless," as she looked down on the moss at her feet.

"A good work, too," said "Thoughtful"; "and now, what shall we do next?"

55. Davie's Christmas Present.

"I have been thinking," said "Selfless," "that Christmas will soon be here, and how nice it would be if we could help the children at the Kindergarten to think of Davie, and make ready a Christmas present for him."

"A lovely idea," said "Thoughtful"; "we will go to-morrow, for it wants only a month to Christmas."

Next morning the two fairy sisters came to the Kindergarten, and floated about unseen, as fairies always do. First they rested on the teacher, who was very fond of these unseen fairies, and she began to think of Davie. "Children," said she, "Christmas will be here in a month; shall we make a present for little Davie?"

(Do you know, I believe that doing kind things is like going to parties; when you have been to =one= party, you like it so much that you are glad to go to =another=, and when you have done =one= kind thing, it makes you so happy you want to do =another=.)

Bessie was the first to answer, and she said, "Oh, yes, it would be lovely to make a Christmas present for Davie; do let us try". And all the children said, "Yes, do let us try".

"It must be something made by your own little hands," said the teacher. "Think now, what could you do?"

"We could make some little 'boats'[12] in paperfolding," said one child. Teacher said that would do nicely, and she wrote it down.

Another child said, "I could sew a 'cat' in the embroidery lesson," and Bessie exclaimed, "Please let me sew a 'kitten' to go with it," and the teacher wrote that down, and remarked that some one else might make the "saucer" for pussy's milk, in pricking. Then others might make a "nest"[1] in clay with eggs in it, and a little "bird" sitting on the eggs, suggested the teacher; and as the "babies" begged to be allowed to help also, it was decided that they should thread pretty coloured beads on sticks, and make a nice large "basket".[13]

"Now," said teacher, "I have quite a long list, and we must begin at once." So they all set to work, and when breaking-up day came, Davie's present was ready. There was a whole fleet of "ships," white inside and crimson outside. The pictures of "pussy" and her "kitten" were neatly sewn, and the "saucer" was white and clean, and evenly pricked, while the "bird" on its "nest" looked as pretty as could be, and the "bead basket" was the best of all--at least the =babies= thought so.

I have no words to tell of the joy that the children's present brought to little Davie, his face flushed with pleasure as the "boats" and other gifts were spread out before him; it was so delightful to think that the children had remembered =him= and =worked= for him.

"Selfless" and "Thoughtful" sat once more on the mossy bank, and rejoiced that the plan had worked so well.

If these little fairies and their sister "Kindness" should ever suggest thoughts to =you=, dear boys and girls, do not send them away. They will speak to you through the Good Voice, and the happiest people in the world are the people who listen to the Good Voice.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] _Kindergarten Guide_, Boat, p. 158, No. 35.

[13] _Kindergarten Guide_, Nest, p. 174, No. 12; Basket, Plate 6, opposite p. 129, No. 9 in Fig. 79.