The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-03-18
1.-THE =.
CHILDREN'S HOUR
THE BROKEN THREAD.

once there was uCClc rODlu udmcu
Petite who was tease that he worried
all bird land. He was bright and
clever, but for all that he was always
getting into trouble.
One day the queen of the birds
called Petite to her throne and tied his
wings with silver thread that was as
fine as silk and yet so strong that it
could not be broken.
Petite" she said sadly, 'you must
wear this thread round your wings
until you have learned that it is bet
ter to be kind than to be clever"
Petite went hopping out of the
queens presence, for he could not
fly. He felt so ashamed that he looked
neither to the right nor to left but
hoped hurriedly off into the under
brush.
After while he came to bush of
large, ripe berries; how good they
looked! Petite longed for them, but
he could not jump and he could not
fly, and they hung just out of his
reach.
He hoped away, for his little stom.
ach was so empty that he could not
bear to stay. t>
Then he came to the baby birds
playground, where little wrens and
thrushes were learning to balance
themselves on twigs and to chase one
another round in twittering circles.
Hop, hop, hop, came Petite, and in
an instant the playground was empty
The baby birds, who were afraid OF
Petite anyway, were terrified at seeing
him hop and went scurrying home to
their mothers.
20 DEAR" said Petite to himself, 81
didn't know the baby birds disliked
me SO much"
He hoped on until he came to the
high fence that marked Giant Gentle
faces land. Only yesterday Petite ha6
heard some crows talking about the
giant. They said he had offered tc
give bag of rubies to anyone who
should move a certain granite boulder
from his meadow. The giant himseli
could not bulge it.
"Once," said Petite to himself, %
sat on the giants peach tree ant
pecked hole in every peach. Now,
he went on boastfully, Il will go tt
his meadow and move that stone ant
get those rubies!"
Petite hoped under the fence. A:
he rounded clump of ferns, he fount
SPIDERS web woven tight across {
bunch of twigs. Caught in the wei
was lovely lavender butterfly will
gold spots on it's wings.
Fly into this Web" the butterf,
begged, "and set me Free
20 butterfly" said Petite, eff only
| could. But my wings are tied"
Oh, how tight the thread seemed
round his wings! >,
Finally he could stand it no longer
Bang went his little black heat
against the lowest twig. The wei
| broke in one place, and the butterf1,
moKeA little. Petite kept sones FL,
banged and butted wildly against tn,
web at length he squeezed his it'll
body between the twigs, though
hurt him to do it, for they wer
thorny, and then lifted his. head a
high. as he could and with his beal
J tore a hole in the web.
For a moment the butterfly hum
in the air as if it could not believ
that it was free;, then up, up into tn
air it went like a lavender fiowe
floating against the blue sky.
/ Petite watched it fiutter into tire
and settle there. Suddenly he notice
that the tree was loaded with deliciou
ripe red cherries.
Cherries, and he was starving, an
he could not fly! If he could but ri
himself of that terrible silver threat
Unconsciously he tried to lift hi
wings joy, he could fly.
When he had eaten as many che
ries as he could hold he sang littl
song of gladness. Then he flew out {
the tree and turned his face HON,
ward; he had forgotten all about tn
boulder; the cherries were better tina
| rubies. Besides, he felt very humbl
Inow and not boastful any more
i 1.-THE thread broke because rushe
against the twigs,' he thought, ha
afraid, as he flew. 81 wonder what th
queen will say
i But when he told the queen sh
only smiled and answered, 9TH
thread broke, little Petite, because yo
!, had learned to be kind"
Youths Coubnuiou.