Five Minute Stories. Richards Laura Elizabeth Howe

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      Five Minute Stories

TOJOHN AND BETTY

      BETTY

      When I sit and hold her little hand,

      My Betty,

      Then all the little troubles seem to shrink,

      Grow small and petty.

      It does not matter any more

      That ink is spilt on parlor floor,

      That gown is caught upon the latch,

      And not the smallest bit to match,

      That cook is going, housemaid gone,

      And coming guests to meet alone;

      It matters not at all, you see,

      For I have Betty, and Betty has me.

      When I sit and hold her little hand,

      My Betty,

      Then all the simple, foolish baby talk

      Grows wise and witty.

      I’m glad to know that Pussy Mow

      Was frightened at the wooden cow,

      I weep for Dolly’s broken head,

      And for the sawdust she has shed;

      I take with joy the cups of tea

      From wooden teapot poured for me,

      And all goes well, because, you see,

      I play with Betty, and Betty with me.

      When I walk and hold her little hand,

      My Betty,

      Then every humble weed beside the way

      Grows proud and pretty.

      The clover never was so red,

      Their purest white the daisies spread,

      The buttercups begin to dance,

      The reeds salute with lifted lance,

      The very tallest trees we pass

      Bend down to greet my little lass;

      And these things make my joy, you see,

      For I love Betty, and Betty loves me!

      TWO CALLS

      Beau Philip and Beau Bobby stood side by side on the doorstep of their father’s house. They were brothers, though you would hardly have thought it, for one was very big and one was very little.

      Beau Philip was tall and slender, with handsome dark eyes, and a silky brown moustache which he was fond of curling at the ends. He wore a well-fitting overcoat, and a tall hat and pearl-gray kid gloves.

      Beau Bobby was short and chubby, and ten years old, with blue eyes and yellow curls (not long ones, but funny little croppy locks that would curl, no matter how short he kept them). He wore a pea-jacket, and red leggings and red mittens.

      There was one thing, however, about the two brothers that was just the same. Each carried in his hand a great red rose, lovely and fragrant, with crimson leaves and a golden heart.

      “Where are you going with your rose, Beau Bobby?” asked Beau Philip.

      “I am going to make a New Year’s call,” replied Beau Bobby.

      “So am I,” said Beau Philip, laughing. “We may meet again. Good-by, little Beau!”

      “Good-by, big Beau!” said Bobby, seriously, and they walked off in different directions.

      Beau Philip went to call on a beautiful young lady, to whom he wished to give his rose; but so many other people were calling on her at the same time that he could only say “good-morning!” to her, and then stand in a corner, pulling his moustache and wishing that the others would go. There were so many roses in the room, bowls and vases and jars of them, that he thought she would not care for his single blossom, so he put it in his buttonhole; but it gave him no pleasure whatever.

      Beau Bobby trotted away on his short legs till he came to a poor street, full of tumble-down cottages.

      He stopped before one of them and knocked at the door. It was opened by a motherly looking Irish woman, who looked as if she had just left the washtub, as, indeed, she had.

      “Save us!” she cried, “is it yersilf, Master Bobby? Come in, me jewel, and warm yersilf by the fire! It’s mortal cowld the day.”

      “Oh, I’m not cold, thank you!” said Bobby. “But I will come in. Would you – would you like a rose, Mrs. Flanagan? I have brought this rose for you. And I wish you a Happy New Year. And thank you for washing my shirts so nicely.”

      This was a long speech for Beau Bobby, who was apt to be rather silent; but it had a wonderful effect on Mrs. Flanagan. She grew very red as she took the rose, and the tears came into her eyes.

      “Ye little angil!” she said, wiping her eyes with her apron. “Look at the lovely rose! For me, is it? And who sint ye wid it, honey?”

      “Nobody!” said Bobby. “I brought it myself. It was my rose. You see,” he said, drawing his stool up to the little stove, “I heard you say, yesterday, Mrs. Flanagan, when you brought my shirts home, that you had never had a New Year’s call in your life; so I thought I would make you one to-day, you see. Happy New Year!”

      “Happy New Year to yersilf, me sweet jewel!” cried good Mrs. Flanagan. “And blessings go wid every day of it, for your kind heart and your sweet face. I had a sore spot in my heart this day, Master Bobby, bein’ so far from my own people; but it’s you have taken it away this minute, wid yer sweet rose and yer bright smile. See now, till I put it in my best chiny taypot. Ain’t that lovely, now?”

      “Isn’t it!” cried Beau Bobby. “And it makes the whole room sweet. I am enjoying my call very much, Mrs. Flanagan; aren’t you?”

      “That I am!” said Mrs. Flanagan. “With all my heart!”

      A NEW YEAR SONG

      When the year is new, my dear,

      When the year is new,

      Let us make a promise here,

      Little I and you,

      Not to fall a-quarrelling

      Over every tiny thing,

      But sing and smile, smile and sing,

      All the glad year through.

      As the year goes by, my dear,

      As the year goes by,

      Let us keep our sky swept clear,

      Little you and I.

      Sweep up every cloudy scowl,

      Every little thunder-growl,

      And live and laugh, laugh and live,

      ’Neath a cloudless sky.

      When the year is old, my dear,

      When the year is old,

      Let us never doubt or fear,

      Though the days grow cold.

      Loving thoughts are always warm;

      Merry hearts know ne’er a storm.

      Come ice and snow, so love’s dear glow

      Turn all our gray to gold.

      NEW YEAR

      The little sweet Child tied on her hood, and put on her warm cloak and mittens. “I am going to the wood,” she said, “to tell the creatures all about it. They cannot understand about Christmas, mamma says, and of course she knows, but I do think they ought to know about New Year!”

      Out in the wood the snow lay light and powdery on the branches, but under foot it made a firm, smooth floor, over which the Child could walk lightly without sinking in. She saw other footprints beside her own, tiny bird-tracks, little hopping marks, which showed where a rabbit had taken his way, traces