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قراءة كتاب Little Susy's Little Servants

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Little Susy's Little Servants

Little Susy's Little Servants

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
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first she would keep untying her shoes and taking them off. But one day when she awoke from her nap, she took hold of the two sides of her cradle, and stood up straight in it. Now she had found out that feet were not made just for playthings, but to stand on. She was so glad! She kept taking hold of the chairs, and her mamma's dress, or the legs of the table, so as to pull herself up on to her feet, and pretty soon she would stand at a chair with her toys, and play by the hour, and if the chair moved a little, from her leaning against it, her feet would move too, first one, then the other, learning how to walk. How delighted every body was when one day Susy got up in the middle of the floor, and ran across the room! It would be hard to tell which laughed most—Susy, or her papa or her mamma.

Now Susy had learned how to use all her little servants, except her tongue. And you must know that her mamma had been giving her lessons on that subject every day. That is, she kept coaxing and begging her to say, "papa;" and I don't know how many hundred times a day she cried out to Susy, "Say papa!" But Susy did not say papa, and all the private lessons were in vain. But one evening, when she had the toothache and could not sleep she stretched forth her hand and said "book," to her mamma's great delight, who thought there was no doubt her baby was going to be very fond of books indeed. Now Susy had found out that her tongue was very useful, for her mamma gave her the book she had asked for; so she soon learned to say a great many other words.

Did you ever think before, how long it takes a baby to learn how to use the little eyes and hands and feet, God has been so good as to give it? If you watch your baby brother or sister, you will see how awkward it is at first about using its hands; and do not you remember how eager you were to hear it speak its first word, and to see it trot about on its own little feet?

But all this time I have only spoken of Susy's hands and feet, and ears, and eyes, and tongue, as being useful to herself, and have not said a word about their doing things for other people. Now it is not likely that God meant any little child should live in this world, where there is so much to do, and do nothing for its papa and mamma, and nothing for Him who has done so much for its happiness and comfort. And he is so kind, and loves so to please those who love Him, that long before Susy was old enough to know it, He taught her small baby hands to begin some of the sweetest work He made them to do. When, in the midst of a sleepless night in which Susy's mamma watched over, and sang to, and cared for her, she had such a reward, such precious payment for all her fatigue and labor, that a queen might have envied her. What do you think it was? Why, it was feeling Susy's little hand pat and caress her face in the dark night, or lie folded lovingly in her own, or clinging fast to her neck with all the strength a baby can use. Then a thrill of joy would rush through her mamma's heart, and she would forget every thing the world has in it of trouble, and thank God for giving her a baby to live and to work for, and a baby to love and comfort her in return.


CHAPTER V.

So day after day passed, and one or another of Susy's little servants was always busy in doing something for her pleasure. Either her hands played with pretty toys, or her eyes looked at beautiful pictures and kind, loving faces of dear friends, or her ears listened to sweet music or amusing stories, or her feet carried her up and down, here and there and everywhere. If she had had no eyes, she could have used her hands, but she could not have seen the toys they held. If she had had no ears, she could never have heard her mamma's voice, nor ever learned to talk or to sing. If she had had no hands, she could have walked about, and looked at pretty things, but she could have touched no toy, held no dear dolly, caressed and patted no little kitty. And if she had been without feet, she might have used her eyes, and her ears, and her hands, and her tongue, but when other children jumped and ran and played, Susy must have sat still in her little chair, and felt what a long, long day that is when one can not move.

I dare say you know some little boy who can not hear or talk, or some pale little girl who can not run and play. And if God has been so very good to you as to give you what He has not seen best to give them, how you ought to thank him! And how happy you should be if you ever can lend a book or give a flower, or do any kind act for the deaf and dumb boy who never heard his mamma call him "darling!" no matter how many times she may have said it. And if you can ever be what the Bible calls "feet to the lame;" if you run to pick up that little pale girl's ball if she drops it; if you can go up stairs to get her doll when she wants it, would not that be making your own little servants useful and very happy? And if you ever happen to be where there is a blind child, would you not like to lend it your eyes now and then? And as you can not do that, you would surely love to take it by the hand and lead it about; and when you are old enough to read you would read pretty stories to it? There was once a dear little boy not much more than two years old, who became very ill. His head ached so that he did not love to play or run about. He liked to have his papa or mamma carry him round the room, and then when his poor head did not ache too hard, they would talk to him and tell him stories. One day his papa said to his mamma: "I do not believe our little Charlie will ever get well. I think that Jesus will soon take him up to heaven. And I mean to talk to him a great deal about Jesus, so that the moment he gets to heaven he will be happy to be near such a dear, kind Friend." So Charlie's papa often took his poor little boy in his arms, and let him lay his head on his shoulder, while he walked gently up and down talking about Christ. He told him all those sweet stories from the Bible, how Jesus pitied sick people, and how he cured them, and how many lame men he made to walk, and how many blind to see. So one day after he had been talking so, he had to give Charlie to his nurse while he went out for a time, and Charlie lay with his head on her shoulder, just as he had done on his papa's, till all at once he lifted it up, and said: "Mary did you know that Jesus hadn't any eyes?"

"Oh! yes, Jesus had eyes," said Mary.

"He had some once, but He gave them to a poor blind man," said Charlie.

You see Charlie was such a little boy that he thought when his papa told him that Jesus gave eyes to a blind man, that he had to give him his own.

Little Charlie is in heaven now and has been there a great many years. And he has long known more about the goodness of God than any body who still lives in this world. And if he could speak to you, he would tell you that it is better to be without eyes and hands and feet, than not to love Him who was willing rather to die than that you should not know and love Him.


CHAPTER VI.

I have spoken of some of the good things Susy's little servants could do, and I am sorry to have to say that she sometimes let them do naughty ones.

The first thing was while she was still a baby, when she raised her hand to slap her dear, kind mamma because she was going to wash her. Little babies often do so before they have been taught better. The moment Susy's hand had given the slap, she saw that her mamma's face became grave and displeased. Then Susy was sorry, and she made haste to kiss the place she had hurt, and the tears rolled down her cheeks. But pretty soon, when something else vexed her, she lifted her little hand, and was going to strike with it. Her mamma caught it in hers, and looked at it gravely, and said: "Naughty little hand!" Then Susy began to cry again and she cried so much that her mamma had to lend her her handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Almost every day the

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