Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-07-12
For the Ennng,
Lucy's Pumpkin Seeds.

Lucy lived in the country, in little brown
house, nearly half a mile from any ncighbor. |
She used to play out Of doors by herself a
great deal Of the time, making mud pies,
building stone houses, watching the birds and
feeding the hens, picking flowers and enjoy.
ing herself in thousand different ways which
a happy child can invent who is thrown upon
its own resources. In this life, which might
seem very lonely to our young readers, she
escaped the danger Of bad companions in a
crowded city street but you will see how lii.
tie faults and vices may find their way into
child's heart, even though she has had no
one to initiate but herself
One day Lucy spied large umbrella
standing ia a cIosst, and asked her mother to
let her play with it. Her mother saying ayes, .
Lucy seized it with great delight, and open.
ing 1t with some trouble, staggered around
under it very proudly. She felt SO sure she
must appear just like a grown up person that
the desire to Mote og and be admired took
strong hold Of her. Without saying anything
to her mother our young friend, who was
very short and fat, undertook the difficult
journey aver TO Farmer Browns She tried
to take long, digni6ed steps like the minister,
but had to give it up, the umbrella "wobbled"
so. The big plaything grew very heavy and
unmanageabIe, but she toiled on, feeling that
the exclamations Of praise at Farmer Browns
would repay her for all her pains. But when
she reached the open door of the large kitch-
en- where Farmer Brown and all his men had
just seated themselves at their twelve o'clock
dinner, she was received to her great sur
prise aud modification, with a roar Of laugh.
ter. The jolly farmer said something about
e. live toad-stool " that made the little
would-be womau's checks flush Indignantly.
Lucy's pleasure was spoiled in a moment, and
all her tiresome walk seemed in vain
Children sometimes grow older in thought
and feeling in single moment, and into this
little girls heart came like a fash, the reso-
luton that no one should know how different
reception she had expected. She now felt
that she was a ridiculous object, though just
before, her heart had sweled with pride and
she thought that she would do anything to
deceive the Browns into thinking she had
been sent on an important errand, So she
laborously furled her mainsail, and entering
the kitchen walked up TO kind Mrs Brown
(who with significant look had stopped the
uDkind laugh, and said, little too rapidly
for perfect ease, " Mother wants to know if
you will be so kind as to let her have some
pumpkin seed
1t was spring time, and Lucy had heard a
great deal said about seeds, and the best places
to get the new kinds Of this and that vege-
table so this message seemed to the small
hypocrite a likely one. Mrs. Brown rose
quietly from the table, and opening little
closet door over the high mantle-piece, handed
Lucy few seeds in paper She then in
vited the child TO sit down and take some
dinner, but Lucy was too much hurried by
the pressing nature Of her errand and pick
ing up the hated umbrella, which seemed
bigger and heavier than before, she trotteC
off, But the weight of the whalebone mon
ster was nothing to the heaviness Of her poor
little heart for she knew she had told lie
When she was out of sight of the house
she sat down by the side Of great rock tc
rest aud cry. She tried to quiet her tender
conscience with the thought that her untrutt
could do no harm, and there was no need o
saying anything about it. But there wer
the seeds What should she do with them
Taking them home to her mother would brinJ
on an explanation. She thought it all over
and then decided TO hide them away where n,
one could ever see them, so she pushed them IA
under the rock. first taking the paper of. i
showed so white on the grass, Then sh
walked slowly home, trailing the umbrella
behind her, feeling somehow that il was tn,
one to blame for all this perplexity. She toll
her mother where she had been, and how the
4 4 - 1 =.
more Of her short visit.
When Lucy lay down in her little bed tina
night, she knew that God had seen her, an
could not have approved of her conduct Il
vain she said to herself, " don't care the
needn't to have laughed so | had to sa,
something" This reasoning did not satsf
her, and more unhappy little girl neve
tossed under patchwork bed quilt
The next day, and for many days, Luc
thought of her falsehood with much uneas
ness, but as time went on and nothing wa
said about the affair, even though Mrs. Brow
: talked with her mother after meeting" sew
eral Sundays, Lucy grew to feel that he
; wickedness was as well hidden as the seed
that lay buried out of sight.
And so it came about that after three q
four weeks, when her mother sent her on
real errand to Mrs. Browns, Lucy started O.
without any very troublesome thoughts OF he
last visit to the farmhouse. But when sh
came to the brow OF the hill where she eoul
see the old gray rock in the distance, the re
membrance of her shame quite stopped her q
: she was preparing to run down the long bill
Very slowly and unwillingly she approache
the bowlder, and when she had come quit