Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1874-06-06
OUR BOYS AND GIRLS.
Mothers Honest Little Boy.
ny JULIA A. MATTHEWS.


knocked down from the toilet table
before which she stood, box Of
sugar-plums, which, dressing in
haste, she had not noticed. "Here,
Neddie, come help mother, am in
a great hurry, for Aunt Helen is
waiting for me. Ifyou will pick up
all these candies and put them safe
ly away in the box you will be q
great help to me-" ''
Little Ned was sitting on the
floor playing with his blocks, but
he jumped up at once at his moth
er's call and his busy fingers began
to pick up the scattered sugar.plums
very nimbly.
"Put it on the table when it is
ready" said Mrs. Chalmers, and
then you and Lilly can go out with
Milly. When we all come home we
will have a nice treat out of that
box"
"Aren't you afraid to leave Ned
alone with all that candy" asked
Aunt Helen, as the two ladies left
the room. "He will surely make
himself sick with it,"
"Oh, no." replied Mrs. Chalmers.
"Neddie wont eat it unless give it
to him. He is very honest little
boy"
How good those candies did look
as the rosy fingers lifted them one
by one and laid them in the pretty
box. A sunbeam peeping in at the
window struck across them as they
lay on the floor, and the crystalliz-
ed sugar sparkled like diamonds in
the light.
"Wouldn't dey taste good," whis.
pered Ned. "But | mustn't bite
one; oh, no! mudder said 1 Was a
welly honest little boy"
But he turned them over and over
most longingly, and the more he
looked at them the harder did it be.
come to resist the temptation to
taste one.
"One little one, dess one little
one," murmured Ned, taking one of
the prettiest into his chubby hand
and looking at it on every side. "No,
dess two. One for Lille, and one
for me-" and another sparkling can.
dy lay beside that already in his
hand.
"Dess two, and dere's such big
lot here" he whispered.
Bnt then something else seemed
to whisper.
''He is very honest little boy"
and with great sigh Neddie drop
ped the two candies into the box,
and shut the cover tightly down up
on them. AS he sprang up to lay
the box upon the table something
lying beneath chair close by
caught his eye. Two more of those
beautiful crystal drops !! AS he bent
over them and saw the delicious
creamy substance which filled the
centre peeping out from tiny break
in the top of one of them the temp
tation was too great for his resist
ance.
"Dey dess left deirselves out for
me and Lillie," he said, grasping
them and thrusting them as deep
into his small pocket as they could
possibly be pushed down. II must
go find Lille, and give her one. Fll
tell her"
His hand was on the door, but the
guilty little heart stood still. What
should he tell Lille The naughty
fingers might steal the pretty can,
dies, but the little tongue had never
yet been stained by falsehood,
and it shrank back from the cherry
lips in dismay at the bare thought
Of such a thing. AS the boy stood
there all trembling and bewildered,
The door opened from without, and
Milly, his nurse, an old colored wo.
nan, who loved him almost as dear
y as if he had been her own child,
entered the room. -
'Neddie! Why, bress ye, honey,
what ails ye ?" she exclaimed, as she
'aught sight of his pale face and
stalled, troubled eyes.
20 Milly! Pm most a tief "a
prison tief and mudder
aid l was her honest little boy" i.
'Obbed Ned throwing himself into
Ter arms.
"Who said you was a thief, hon
" They'd better let old Milly
atch 'em," said the nurse, thinking
hat some one had been teasing her
arling. ...54A
"Twas me said So" faltered Ned,