we admire? What qualities would you want your best friend to possess? MARCH: COURAGE AND SELF- Questions: What opportunities are there to show courage in any friendship? Can a coward be a good friend? How does a coward who wishes to be a true friend overcome his fear? Ought any one, even for the sake of a friend, to go back on his own principles of right and wrong? Would a true friend ever want you to go back on your principles? Give an example. EVIL ALLURES, BUT GOOD ENDURES1 There lived in olden times a good and kindly man. He had this world's goods in abundance, and many slaves to serve him. And the slaves prided themselves on their master, saying: "There is no better lord than ours under the sun. He feeds and clothes us well, and gives us work suited to our strength. He bears no malice, and never speaks a harsh word to any one. He is not like other masters, who treat their slaves worse than cattle: punishing them whether they deserve it or not, and never giving them a friendly word. He wishes us well, does good, and speaks kindly to us. We do not wish for a better life." Thus the slaves praised their lord, and the Devil, seeing it, was vexed that slaves should live in such love and harmony with their master. So getting one of 1 From Twenty-Three Tales, by Leo Tolstoi. Translated by L. and A. Maude (Oxford University Press). them, whose name was Aleb, into his power, the Devil ordered him to tempt the other slaves. And one day, when they were all sitting together, resting and talking of their master's goodness, Aleb raised his voice, and said: "It is stupid to make so much of our master's goodness. The Devil himself would be kind to you, if you did what he wanted. We serve our master well, and humor him in all things. As soon as he thinks of anything, we do it, foreseeing all his wishes. What can he do but be kind to us? Just try how it will be if, instead of humoring him, we do him some harm instead. He will act like any one else, and will repay evil for evil, as the worst of masters do." The other slaves began denying what Aleb had said, and at last bet with him. Aleb undertook to make their master angry. If he failed, he was to lose his holiday garment; but if he succeeded, the other slaves were to give him theirs. Moreover, they promised to defend him against the master, and to set him free if he should be put in chains or imprisoned. Having arranged this bet, Aleb agreed to make his master angry next morning. Aleb was a shepherd, and had in his charge a number of valuable, pure-bred sheep, of which his master was very fond. Next morning, when the master brought some visitors into the inclosure to show them the valuable sheep, Aleb winked at his companions, as if to say: "See, now, how angry I will make him." All the other slaves assembled, looking in at the gates or over the fence, and the Devil climbed a tree near by to see how his servant would do his work. The master walked about the inclosure, showing his guests the ewes and lambs, and presently he wished to show them his finest ram. "All the rams are valuable," said he, "but I have one with closely twisted horns, which is priceless. I prize him as the apple of my eye." Startled by the strangers, the sheep rushed about the inclosure, so that the visitors could not get a good look at the ram. As soon as it stood still, Aleb startled the sheep as if by accident, and they all got mixed up again. The visitors could not make out which was the priceless ram. At last the master got tired of it. "Aleb, dear friend," he said, "pray catch our best ram for me, the one with the tightly twisted horns. Catch him very carefully, and hold him still for a moment." Scarcely had the master said this, when Aleb rushed in among the sheep like a lion, and clutched the priceless ram. Holding him fast by the wool, he seized the left hind leg with one hand, and, before his master's eyes, lifted it and jerked it so that it snapped like a dry branch. He had broken the ram's leg, and it fell bleating on to its knees. Then Aleb seized the right hind leg, while the left twisted round and hung quite limp. The visitors and the slaves exclaimed in dismay. The master looked as black as thunder, frowned, bent his head, and did not say a word. The visitors and the slaves were silent too, waiting to see what would follow. After remaining silent for a while, the master shook himself as if to throw off some burden. Then he lifted his head, and raising his eyes heavenward, remained so for a short time. Presently the wrinkles passed from his face, and he looked down at Aleb with a smile, saying: "Oh, Aleb, Aleb! Your master bade you anger me; but my master is stronger than yours. I am not angry with you, but I will make your master angry. You are afraid that I shall punish you, and you have been wishing for your freedom. Know, then, Aleb, that I shall not punish you; but, as you wish to be free, here, before my guests, I set you free. Go where you like, and take your holiday garment with you!" And the kind master returned with his guests to the house; but the Devil, grinding his teeth, fell down from the tree, and sank through the ground. Read the account of Washington's bitter struggle to gain self-control at the time of General St. Clair's disastrous defeat. The story is well told in Theodore Roosevelt's Winning of the West, Part V, "St. Clair and Wayne" (G. P. Putnam's Sons). APRIL: FORGIVENESS Tell the story of the Prodigal Son (Matthew, Chap. xviii). Show Murillo's picture of the Prodigal Son. Questions: Was it right for the good brother to be angry? If he had been good all his life, why was not the fatted calf killed for him? What did the father say? Why did the father forgive his prodigal son? If he was kindly received, would he do better than if the family was cold to him? Read the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke, Chap. xviii, verses 9 to 15). Learn: "Peter said unto him: 'Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?' Jesus saith unto him, 'I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven.' Learn: "But I say unto you: 'Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you." " What are the best ways of learning to love our enemies? How can we control our anger against them? COALS OF FIRE' Guy Morgan had inherited from his father a hot temper. One day he came into the house with an ominous look in his eyes, glanced up quickly at his mother for an instant, and exclaimed: "I've done something for you, mother, that I would n't do for any one else. I've taken a blow without returning it." "Oh! tell me about it, Guy!" "It was all Dick Osgood's fault. I told him he'd got to quit nagging the younger boys, and that made him. mad, and he struck me in the face. I guess the mark of his claws is there now." "Oh! Guy, what did you do?" "I did n't strike him, mother. I remembered what I'd promised you for this year. He shouted out 'coward' after me. Now you've got to let me off my promise, mother. I am going back to thrash him." "Better heap coals of fire on his head," she said quietly. "Yes! he deserves a good scorching!" said Guy, pretending to misunderstand her. "No! you know what kind of coals I mean. 'If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing ye shall heap coals of fire on his head.' Try it, Guy. I can't let you off your promise." "Well, I promised you, and I'll stick to my word," said Guy slowly, "but you don't know how tough it is." On the last day of school a picnic was given on the banks of the Quassit River. All the school went, and with Dick Osgood was his little sister Hetty. After dinner on the grass, the boys and girls scattered in different directions, picking flowers, playing baseball, and fishing off the banks. 1 Abridged from Bed-Time Stories. Copyright, 1873, 1901, by Louise Chandle Moulton. |