Golden Moments Read online

think himself lucky if he escaped being put tobed as a punishment. Such things had happened before now in the Parkernursery; and Charlie recollected also there was no mother at home to-dayto beg him off, as she often had done. But for all that Charlie's mindwas made up; he had given his word to behave as if Nurse were by, and sohe must go home.

  "Perhaps she'll put you to bed," sobbed little Ivy.

  "I can't help it," said Charlie sorrowfully. "I must keep my word."

  So the poor boy trudged manfully back to the house to find his worstfears realized. Nurse was very busy and consequently cross; and onhearing Charlie's tale and seeing his boots, she sent him off to bed."He'd be dry enough there," she averred.

  Charlie knew there was no help for it, Nurse would be obeyed; so slowlyand sorrowfully he began undressing, the large tears rolling down hischeeks, when the door opened and Mother stood there! She had come backsooner than was expected; and before Charlie quite realized all that washappening, Nurse had buttoned on his dry boots, and Mother and he werewalking quickly towards the Home Fields. How the children did screamwith delight when they found that Mother herself was going to picnicwith them.

  "You must thank Charlie that I am here," said Mother. "If he had notkept his promise to Nurse I should not have known where to find you;"and Mother looked fondly at her honest little boy.

  "You see, I was obliged to," said Charlie simply: "I had given my word."

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  INDUSTRIOUS JACK.

  Jack, the lock-keeper's son, does not idle away his time after his day'swork is done. He is very fond of boat-making; and although he has onlysome rough pieces of wood and an old pocket-knife, he is quite clever inconstructing tiny vessels. Perhaps, some day, he may become a masterboat-builder. Perseverance and the wise employment of spare moments willwork wonders.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  A VISIT TO NURSE.

  It was indeed a treat for the four little Deverils when they received aninvitation from old Nurse to spend the day at her cottage. She hadlately married a gardener, and having no children of her own, she knewno greater pleasure than to entertain the little charges she had oncenursed so faithfully. She always invited the children when thegooseberries were ripe, and each child had a special bush reserved forit by name; indeed, Nurse would have considered it "robbing theinnocent" had any one else gathered so much as one berry off thosebushes.

  When they were tired of gooseberries, there was the swing under theapple-tree, and such a tea before they went home! The more butteredtoast the children ate the better pleased was Nurse; and she broughtplateful after plateful to the table, till even Sydney's appetite wasappeased, and he felt the time had come for a little conversation.

  "I'm going to be a sailor when I grow up, Nurse," he observed, "and I'lltake you a-sail in my ship. Gerry says he'll be a schoolmaster; he wantsto cane the boys, you know. Cyril has decided to be an omnibusconductor, and Baby," he concluded, pointing his finger at the only girlin the family, with a half-loving, half-contemptuous glance, "what _do_you think Baby says she'll do?"

  Baby was just about to take a substantial bite out of her round oftoast; but at Sydney's words she stopped halfway and said promptly,"Baby's going to take care of the poor soldiers."

  Gerry, at the other end of the table, put down his mug with a satisfiedgasp, and then burst out laughing, whilst Cyril raised his head and saidsolemnly, "The soldiers might shoot you, Baby."

  Baby went on unconcernedly with her tea; and Sydney said loftily, "It'sall nonsense, of course! She'll know better by and by. Children can'ttake care of soldiers, can they, Nurse?"

  "Bless her heart!" said Nurse, as she softly stroked the fair littlehead, and placed a fresh plate of toast on the table.

  "But can they, now?" persisted Sydney.

  Nurse paused, then said slowly, "I did hear a story from an old soldier,and he certainly said it was a child who saved his life. It was in theCrimean War, and there had been a great battle, and he lay on the field,after all was over, with no one but the wounded and dead near him. Hewas very cold, and suffering fearfully from thirst, as people always doafter gun-shot wounds, and he thought he would die there alone anduncared-for, when, in the moonlight, he saw a little drummer-boy pickinghis way amongst all the dead and dying, and gathering all the oldgun-stocks that were lying about. When the lad had got enough, he set towork to make a fire, and then he boiled some water, and made tea, andbrought some round to all the wounded men he could find. That hot teawas the saving of a good many lives, the soldier said; and the littlelad was so cheery that the poor men plucked up heart, and felt that Godhad not forgotten them, as before they had been almost tempted tothink."

  "That was a brave boy," said Sydney. "But still, you know, Nurse, Babycouldn't do that."

  "Deary, no!" exclaimed Nurse. "But, you see, Master Sydney, if peopleare bent upon helping others, they'll find out ways for themselves, forthere's plenty in need of help. I know a rough lad now who does his bestto keep straight and please 'his lady,' as he calls his Sunday teacher.She writes to him sometimes, and he's as proud of those letters as ifthey came from the Queen."

  "Yes, you might write letters, Baby," Sydney graciously allowed.

  "And you can pray for the soldiers, dearie," said Nurse. "There's noknowing the good you may do them by that."

  But the carriage now came for the children, and the visit to Nurse wasover.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  A VISIT TO THE RABBITS.

  Little Ann was eating her breakfast in the nursery, so she did not knowanything about the new rabbits. She had not been well, so nurse did notwake her, but let her sleep on till Rose and Lucy had gone into thegarden.

  She dipped a piece of toast into the milk in her cup, then she looked upand said, "Where Rosy and Lucy, nurse?"

  And nurse said, "They have gone to see the rabbits."

  "Me go too," said Ann, pushing away her cup.

  But nurse said, "Not yet," for Ann was not well enough "to go out ofdoors."

  Now, whilst nurse and Ann were talking, Rose and Lucy had gone as fastas they could to see some new rabbits their father had bought. They hadtalked to the gardener about them, and had said,--

  "We will bring something for them to eat, and they like milk to drink;they don't drink water, do they?"

  "Oh, yes, they do, miss; it is quite a mistake to suppose they don'tdrink water. It is very cruel to keep them without it; I always put agood saucer of water in the pen, and they can drink it or not as theylike."

  Then John went away to his work, and Rose and Lucy felt they couldscarcely wait till the next day to see the rabbits.

  The next morning Rose and Lucy went off quite early after breakfast.

  They had taken their baskets with some crusts of bread and some parsley,for they thought they should like to feed them.

  They found John waiting for them, and he opened the door of the hutch.

  "Are not they beauties, miss?" he said.

  "Oh, the loves!" said Rose; "may I have one of them to nurse, John? Iwould not hurt it; I would be very gentle with it."

  "Well," said John, "I don't like rabbits being handled too much, but youmay hold one of them just for a minute or two till I come back."

  And he lifted out one of the rabbits and placed it on Rose's lap.

  She stroked it gently, and the rabbit did not seem afraid, but nibbledat a piece of parsley that she held for it. When she had nursed it for ashort time, Lucy said that she also must have a turn.

  After that John returned, and put the rabbit back into the hutch, wherethe little girls placed crusts for them to eat.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  JIMMIE'S NIGHTMARE.

  Jimmie and Daisy, and Baby Dot were all staying for their holidays atpleasant Sandown, in the Isle of Wight, and a fine time they w
erehaving. The mornings were spent in building castles and digging wells onthe broad, yellow sands, and, when not _too_ hot, the afternoonsfrequently passed in like manner; while in the cool sun-setting timeafter tea, their father always took them for a nice walk over the cliffsto Shanklin, or along the country lanes to Yaverland, or away to somelovely inland meadow where they could pick big white marguerites andgolden buttercups as many as their hands could hold.

  One morning Daisy was busily looking for nice pieces of seaweed andpretty little stones to ornament a grotto she and Jimmie had built, whenshe heard him calling, "Daisy! Daisy! _You_ don't know what _I've_ got!"

  Of course she ran to look, and found Jimmie on