The independent. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Kan.) 1860-1874, 1864-01-30
gOr the giitle folk.
THE LICHEN ON THE ROCK.

lie NAKED rock shoi up sub niSnef.
1t seemed very high as you looked
upward. The rock was even on its
face.and was full perpendicular. On
its surface were four kind of licheh
growing-from that whose leaf was
very small, TO the last which was
quite coarse ard large. We some
times see such Iichen on an old
fence, an old tree, an old house,
The face of the huge rock was al
most covered with il. As | sat
down under the shadow OF the
mountain waiting for my friend, |
gazed at the lichen, and began TO
wonder in nay mind what i, was
created for, and of what use it could
be, when seemed to hear small
crispy Voice, far up the rock, calling
out,
Mother, hox old am ~
"Why, my child, you have but
just begun 20 live. You are only
eig'tN Years OLD.
Ard how old ale ycu.'
II call myself young. for am on
~ FIVE hundred and twenty years
old"
cow listened with all my earS,ior
knew il was the lichen talking
among themselves. felt sure they
would say more, and | took out my
pencil TO put down what they wo'd
say. Pretty soon heard the same
little vote say,
"Mother. amt you discouraged"
Discouraged at what, pray?"
"At your size! Five hundred and
twenty years old, and how very
small your arel'
Not so small. either cover
six inches square already, while
there's my poor grandmother, almost
eleven hundred years old, and she
covers only five inches, even now!
Very few, am happy 10 say, of the
lichen family, who have worked har-
der oraccomplished more than have
though do say il myself"
"Well. mother, of what use is it
10 cling TO this great rock, and hang
here summer and winter, amid
storms, aud cold, and winds beating
upon us? Here ] have chung and
been trying to gnaw into this rock
for eighty years and have not got
my roots in half an inch. What's
the use9 We might as well die and
drop of. Nobody will miss or care
What do we live for!''
''To raise wheat"
RAISE what?'
"Raise wheat, 10 be sure"
"Pray.mother.what do you mean
We lich=n away up here, on TIL:
cold rock raise wheat, Ifihat AIM
funny.!'
Listen, my child. This huge
mountain is all solid rock. II it wa.
all pounded up fine it would make
soil on which men could raise wheat
But IT Is now very hard, and there
Is nothing 10 pound it and turn i,
into powder. And so God has ere.
ated us. the lichen, to have our hom.
here. 10 cling TO ii, gnaw il, and
with kind ofacid we have, 10 crum.
bic and dissolve il. Don't YOU re.
member that the very last year, YOU
rolled down two little grains of rock!
Well. every grain we make falls
down, then the rains wash it into
the little brook, then the brook car.
ries ii into the river, and The river
raises il up, and as it overfows its
bank, drops it just where the old soil
Is worn out and the wheat needs
new. The Nile thus carries down
little particles from the mountains.
and makes Egypt so fruitful"
~, mother, how often can | gnaw
OFT rock enough to raise a kernal Of
wheat"
Perhaps once in thirty years."
'Oh! what slow work When
will what you dig out this wear
raise wheail'
Perhaps five hundred hence
God sees that there will be old men
and little children upon earth then,
and so he has created US and placed
us here TO prepare soil, and get his
rock ready to raise wheat. Thus
he goes before, and provides, and
makes even the poor lichen useful;
and ii we do orr duty, his smile will
cheer us. and though we can do but
little, very little. yet that little will
do good 10 somebody.
The lichen stopped talking, but /
Did not stop thinking. What wo'd
my young reader have though. had
he been lsic.e!--Rev. John Todd.