In the pleasant evenings, Then the rabbits go Through the woods and bushes, Playing in the snow.
All the night they ramble, But at break of day They must hunt a refuge, There to hide away.
So these little creatures Love the fallen snow; Should not we enjoy it, Who G.o.d"s blessings know?
[Ill.u.s.tration: Love thy neighbor as thyself.
Rom. 13:9.]
Should we ever murmur, Should we e"er complain, When G.o.d sendeth blessings, As the snow and rain?
No; we ought to thank him, Yes, for everything; And we ought his praises Daily to him sing.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
He is love and kindness To us all below; On the just and unjust, Sendeth rain and snow.
Let us e"er be thankful For his love to us; He"s so kind and faithful, Giving blessings thus.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Let us ask the Savior, As we kneel to pray, "Help us to be thankful, More and more each day.
"Thankful in the morning, Thankful noon and night; Thankful for the rain-drops, Thankful for the light."
Planting Seeds
Birds are singing, clear and sweet; Flowers are springing neath our feet; Spring at last has come to stay.
How we welcome lovely May!
Lovely May, O lovely May!
Oh, how glad we are to say, Lovely May!
Winter days were cold and long, But we waited for thy song-- Songs of birds and humming bees, And the fresh and lovely breeze.
Lovely May, O lovely May!
Oh, how glad we are today, Lovely May!
You may have helped your papa or mama plant seeds in the garden or in the flowerbed. The warm sun and the rain make them grow rapidly.
We do not plant weed-seeds, but in some way they get into the ground, and come up along with the garden-plants. If the weeds are not cut out, they will crowd out the good plants.
[Ill.u.s.tration: AN ACT OF KINDNESS]
When we do little acts of kindness, it is like planting good seed.
When we are not kind, and say bad words, it is like letting the weeds crowd out the good plants.
If you are good and kind to papa and mama, brother or sister, today, you will find it easy to be kind to them tomorrow. It makes you happy to be good to those around you.
If you are cross and say bad words, you may want to say them again.
You can not feel happy when you have said and done bad things.
G.o.d can help you sow good seed. He will help you to be good. He will help you to love all around you.
Flowers of Springtime
How pretty and sweet are the apple, peach, pear, plum, cherry, and orange blossoms! How good G.o.d was to make all these things for us to see and smell! We can enjoy the blossoms. Also, we can see the little apples or other fruit grow until they become large, juicy, ripe fruit.
Then we can eat them, and oh, how good they will taste! G.o.d is very good to us.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Not a leaf nor a blade of gra.s.s could grow if G.o.d"s hand did not care for it. He causes the warm sun to shine and the gentle rains to fall so that everything can grow. Things could not grow without the warm sun and the rain.
G.o.d has caused the wild flowers to grow along the road-side and in the woods and meadows so we can enjoy them. How glad we should be that we have such a good G.o.d to worship! When we kneel to pray, we can say, "O Lord, I thank thee for all the pretty things I see each day." The pretty things are some of the blessings that he daily gives us.
A Walk in the Woods
Have you ever taken a walk through the woods by the brook on a warm day? How cool and pleasant the water looked as it ran along over the rocks! Did it not make a pleasing sound?
[Ill.u.s.tration]
It is delightful to go through the woods where you can see the beautiful trees. You can nearly always find some flowers growing along the edge of the brook. Besides, the little birds fly among the trees and sing so sweetly. Almost any child would enjoy a walk through the woods. But there are many children in large cities who never have the pleasure of going to the woods.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
How pleasant it is to sit down in a cool, shady place, and think of the lovely things that G.o.d has given us to enjoy. As we look around us, we can see so many blessings that G.o.d has given us.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Even the little birds and flowers seem to be telling us that Jesus loves us. G.o.d has made many beautiful things for us to enjoy. It makes us happy to see the beautiful flowers, and to hear the little birds sing so sweetly.
Our Feathered Friends
When all the trees and bushes and gra.s.s are green in the spring, we see the little birds and hear their sweet songs.
How happy they seem as they fly about from tree to tree, and scratch in the ground to find little seeds and insects to eat!