St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-08-21
The Little Fox 81 Cart"

he is a lazy, good-fornothlng little
fellow, and there is no trouble i'll catch
ing him. But until he is caught, or
killed, or driven away, he makes great
deal of trouble for parents and teachers,
and still more for children themselves.
He is great robber, and comes prowl-
ing around your heart vineyard very
early in your LIES springtime. He
DESTROYS the buds of courage and energy
and usefulness; and if he is permitted to
do all the mischief he wants to do, he
will spoil any child's life altogether.
This is the way he does it. You have
a lesson to learn. 1t is bright, pleas
ant day and you want to 60 out and
play. You don't like to stay in and
study. You keep thinking how pleasant
it is out-ofdoors, and what fun you
would have if you were out there. Then
this fox comes along, and finding the
door of your heart open he sneaks in.
Pretty soon you begin to say, "Oh, |
can't get this lesson! l can't keep my
mind on it can't study such day as
this" and so you make yourself miser-
able and everybody about you.
Or some work has been given you to
do. Your mother has shown you just
how to do it; but somehow it seems
hard. Everything going wrong. You
get out of patience and begin to fret
about it. Then the little fox sees his OPP
portunity. He steals in through the hole
in your garden fence, which lretfulness
has made, and nips the buds OF patience
and courage, and you begin to say;
"Oh, can't do this work, and it is no
use to try"
Do you not see what a mischievous
little fox he is? He is on the watch for
every little crevice into our heart
garden, and then, as Shakespeare says:
when the fox hath once got in his nose,
He'll soon find means to make his BODY
follow"
Then he just spoils our tender vines,
and if we let him have his own way we
shall bear no fruit.
81 Can't" never did anything in the
world but just spoil what other people
were trying to do. He never learned
lesson, nor wrote book, nor built
house. nor baked loaf of bread, nor
sewed on button.
If he could lave had his way, there
never would have been railroad built,
or telegraph line put under the ocean, or
a steamboat launched, or a battle fought
and won. He would have kept General
Grant from putting down the Rebellion,
and Stanley from exploring Africa, and
Edison from inventing the telephone.
Indeed, he makes all work hard, and
every duty unpleasant, just so far as he
can and if he could do it he would make
the world stand still.
81 can't was a taskmaster hard,
And had his workmen many;
They made mountains OF banks,
Yet never got thanks,
For they hindered the work of many"
Now there is special hunter who is
always on the watch for 81 can't" Do
you know his name?
"I'll try was warrior brave,
And of men he had but few,
But nobly they fought.
That great victories were wrought;
Can you not be one of them too?"
Try is one Of the great hunters that
are always on the watch for the little
foxes that attack our garden vines; but
u can't is his special charge. He is
always trying to catch 81 can't" and
change him into II can" 1t is easy to
do this, you see, for all one has to do is
to cut off the little foxs tail. II can" is
as much Of helper as II can't" is a
hinderer, and it is the special business of
"Pll try to send him to you. The
lesson that is set for you to learn, if you
try hard enough you'll find you can
learn, The task you try to do you
can do.
"lll try" conquers all difficulties. He
turns mountains into mole-hills. He
bridges rivers He cut roads through
forest and seemingly unpassable places:
Indeed, the great Napoleon once said:
There is no such word as can't in my
dictionary" and from the wonderful
things which he did we may be sure "l'll
try" stood by him all the time.
All great men have been friends of "1'll
try He helped Columbus discover
America, and Washington conquer the
British in the Revolution, and Abraham
Lincoln free the slaves. He has helped
astronomers count the stars, and mis-
Slonaries teach cannibals about Jesus,
and make them good men, and multi
tudes OF boys and girls overcome bad
haolts and conquer obstacles, and grow
up 10 be great men or women.
can't" has kept great many people
ron being Christians, for he tells them:
II is so hard to do right and please
Goa you can never do it, but "l'll try"
"aS reminded them that God always
"eipS those who help themselves. He
Whispers in their ears what the Lord
Sa'o to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for
vice. and tells them they can have the