West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1884-04-23
Good Gifts.
BY WILLIS BOYD ALLEN.

,bst same evening, | assure you.
Il was %, pa! do you think it will
he nleasant? ? or Mamma, can you
see any stars out yet?' and three
small patterson noses were con-
SANITY being pressed against the
window paEes every five minutes,
from sunset till bedtime. After
the children, Berry, Lii, and little
Dick, were all tucked in for the
night, their mother turned out the
Gas. and sat down beside their beds.
according to her custom, for little
sleepy talk as they called it.
Now, dearies, she said, cheerful
ly, try to have a good sleep and
nice dreams; and we'l hope it
will be pleasant weather to-mor-
row, but we won't worry much
about it, will we?'
The children were silent a mo-
pent, at this. Then LiIl spoke,
rather slowly:
Mamma, how can we help wor-
rying little bit? | feels if l
should cry all day if it rainedp
Mrs. Patterson smoothed down
the soft patchwork quilt mo-
ment before she spoke.
ILL, suppose | should prepare a
little supper for you and your
schoolmates-'
'Yes'm.'
And when you aid came in from
your play, and sat down around
the table, you should see that all
the dishes were covered
How funnyl l guess I should
laughn
But suppose, instead of laughing,
you should fix your eyes on the
nearest dish, and say right out
loud, oh, l hope that's cream
cakes shall just cry if it isn'trl
%, mamma! that would be so
rude to you and all the rest! l
couldn't do such thing, never.
How do you suppose l should
feel?
Why, I think it would grieveI
you, mamma, very much
why should it, dear?'
Because it wouldn't be nice, be-
lore all the rest of the children,
Observation-Disclosures | couldn't trust
you to give me what was really
the best thing
We'll, dear, nights are the COW
ers that God keeps over his days,
until 1t Is time to see and enjoy
what is in them. Don't cry if to-
morrow should be something be-
sides cream cakes. Good night,
dear, good night =
She didn't say good night to.
Dick, because he was sound asleep.
But she kissed aim as she did the
rest, and went away. Mrs. Batter
son always tried to let her chill
dren think a little for themselves,
SO she didn't talk any more about.
Inc dishes, or to-morrow's weather.
Before Lii could get it quite all.
1dintanIgled, she, too, was dreaming.
one mad a queer dream. She
thought she was in her grand
mothers old farmhouse, away
DoWn East, and was Smelling peas
IN a tin pan. She worked SO fast
1nat the peas kept up a continu-
GUS drumming on the sides of the
pan, faster and faster, louder and
louder, when
Vh, dear!' said Lill, aloud, Cts
ralningp
Sure enough, through the gray
uaWn she could see the water flow
ing down the outside of the window
panes, against which the drops
were driving furiously.
Nood,bye, cream akesp MUIR
INJURED Berry sleepily, from the next
T Il ms was a little too bad, and
!: Alii felt a lump in her throat. If
~ mad been an easy rain, there
might have been some hope; but
now, it just poured.
Well the day was not such an
unhappy one after all. Mrs. Bat
IefSon had two or three little sur
prise plans, such as she always
seemed to keep stored away for
RAINY day land with enthusiastically
making, and new kind of worsted
WORK, and call from a funny