class="x-ebookmaker-pageno" title="[27]"/> she would let him have a party. So she asked his father to bring from the city some oranges, and figs, and nuts, that the little folks might have a feast.

"When papa had gone to town, which he did every day, because his store was there, she went to the kitchen, and helped the cook make some light sponge cake for Moses to have for his party.

"The little fellow knelt in a chair close by the table, and watched her sift the sugar and beat the eggs; then, when she put in the lemon, and took a clean spoon to taste a little to know whether it was seasoned right, Moses said, 'I should like to taste too.'

"By and by the cake was done, and smelled so good that Moses asked for a piece; but his mother told him to wait until his cousins were there to eat it with him.

"Then the carriage came up to the door, and James, the hostler, rung the bell to let his mistress know he was ready to drive her out. She dressed her little boy in his new suit, and told him he might go with her.

"They drove first to aunt Mary's, and mamma invited George and Walter, and little Katy. Then they went a mile farther, to uncle John's, where Susy, William, and Grace gladly promised to come. On their way home, they called upon three of their neighbors, where the number was increased to eleven.

"When his father came home from the city, he brought a basket in one hand, and two large bundles under his other arm.

"Moses ran to meet him, and said, 'Let me carry the basket, papa. It isn't too heavy for me.'

"Before he put it on the table, he peeped in, and said, 'O, what nice oranges, papa!' The little boy was very fond of oranges.

"That night Moses went to bed very happy. He longed for the time when his young companions would come, and lay awake nearly an hour, thinking what a very pleasant party his would be.

"The next morning he was up long before his mother, and ran down stairs to see if breakfast was ready. The table was not yet laid; and he went into the large store closet to see where his mother had put the oranges and cake. There was the basket upon the first shelf, and on lifting the lid he saw that the oranges were still in it. How fresh and good they smelt! He put in his hand and took one out. 'O, what a large one!'

"The basket was so full, he thought there must be more than twelve; so he stood up on a box, and began to count them. 'Yes, there are,' he said to himself; 'there are twelve, and one more.'

"Then he took the largest, and laid it on the next shelf, while he put the others back again into the basket, wishing all the time that he could have it for his own. He knew that he should have one at the party, but he couldn't wait. 'I want one now,' he said.

"He sat down on the box, and began to smell the large orange which he had left out. Then he made a small hole in the peel, and began to suck the juice through it. It tasted so sweet, he could not get his mouth away. So he squeezed and sucked, and sucked and squeezed, until the juice was all gone, and nothing remained but the skin and the pulp.

"'O, dear! I'm sorry I've eaten it,' he whispered; 'I didn't mean to. I only thought I would suck it a little. How quick it all came out!'

"Just then he heard cook come into the room to set the table for breakfast, and he knew his mother would soon be down. He began to be very unhappy, and to wish he were back again in his little bed. Then he remembered it was his birthday; but some how the thought of his party gave him no pleasure."

"I guess Satan was whispering to him," said Frankie. "If I had been there, I would open the door, and say, 'Satan, go wight out.'"

"Who is Satan?" asked Nelly, who had been listening with great interest.

"Satan's naughty man," said Frankie. "He don't love good boys."

"He is the evil spirit," replied aunty, "who tries to make boys and girls, and men and women too, behave naughty and sin against God."

"Does he live in Moses' house?" asked the little girl.

"He is every where, my dear," said the lady, "trying to make people do mischief. He was there in the closet with Moses, and when the little boy's naughty heart said, 'I would steal one of my mother's oranges and eat it,' he said, 'Yes; no one will know it, and if your mother asks you about it, you can tell her a lie, and say you didn't touch it.'"

"I wouldn't take your olange, mamma," said Frankie, putting his arms round his mother's neck and kissing her. "I would ask you, 'May I?'"

At this moment a lady called to see mamma, and she said, "You may go and play now, and I will finish the story about Moses some other time."

CHAPTER III.

That night Frankie was quite sick, and his mother, after being up with him several times, lay down by him in his trundle-bed. He was very much pleased at this, and put up his little hot hand on her face. The fever made him quite wakeful, and he wanted to talk. She began to repeat the little rhyme,—

"Do you want to go to heaven?" she asked.

"Yes, mamma, when I die; but I can't go 'lone. I want you to go with me. Won't you please to ask God to let us take hold of hands and go wight up to heaven together. That would be a pretty way; wouldn't it?"

Mrs. Gray bent over her darling boy and kissed his cheek. She whispered a prayer to God to preserve her dear child from death for a long time to come.

Pretty soon he spoke again: "How can you get up to heaven, mamma?"

"God will send his angels, my dear, and take me there."

"I 'fraid they can't lift you, mamma, you so heavy. But you can go up on the barn, and then they can get you up there; can't they?" In a minute, he asked, "Does God have horses in heaven, mamma?"

Toward morning, he sank into a quiet sleep, and did not awake until Willie and Margie had gone to school. When he opened his eyes, his mamma was standing over him with a cup of milk and water in her hand.

"Frankie feel better," he said, starting up to receive her kiss.

As he still felt weak, his mamma held him in her lap, where he could look at Ponto, who was washing his paws on the rug. Presently Nelly came in, carrying a wax doll nearly as large as herself. She was a little afraid of Ponto, and when he went and put his nose on her arm, and tried to lick her hand, she cried, "Get away, you ugly dog! I hate you, I do!" and she struck him with the doll.

Ponto growled, and turned away to Frankie. The little fellow slipped down from his mother's lap, and clasped his arms around Ponto's neck. "O, you good dog," he said, "I love you, I do."

Ponto knew very well what this meant, and he rapped with his tail as hard as he could on the rug. Then Frankie made the dog lie down, and he laid his head upon him.