Little Alice's Palace; or, The Sunny Heart

								

Alice; and every day they hunted the woods for mosses and flowers, and
their father made little shelves to put them on, and formed many a pretty
seat of twisted branches of trees; so that by-and-by their cottage was
one of the prettiest places anywhere around, and attracted the notice of
everybody that passed it.
Miss Mason came very often, now that she had found them out; and she not
only prevailed on the parents to send their children to Sunday-school,
but they themselves went regularly to church, and tried to serve the
great and holy God who had put it into the hearts of their children to
make their earthly place of abode something akin to the better home.
So soon as they began to feel the presence of the heavenly King, all the
despondency and gloom vanished, and, even though poor and hard-working,
they were happy in the possession of such riches as nothing but the love
and favour of our heavenly Father can give.

CHAPTER IX.

It was not very long after the children learned to look away from earth
to the blest abode beyond the skies, when Lolly began to droop and grow
weak and listless; and, although her parents and Maddie thought it was
but a trifling illness, she herself felt that her Father was about to
call her home.  She was not afraid to die; and, when she grew so languid
that her little feet lost the power to take her to the Sunday-school,
Miss Mason and Alice and the kind minister came often to talk to her of
her approaching joy.
There was one beautiful little story that the minister used to tell her
over and over again, she liked it so much.  I do not know whether he made
it, or whether he got it from some book; but I want to tell it to you,
for I like it as well as Lolly did.  It is this:--"There was a bright,
beautiful butterfly that was about to die.  She had laid her eggs on a
cabbage-leaf in the garden; and, as she thought of her children, she said
to a caterpillar that was crawling upon the leaf, 'I am going to die.  I
feel my strength fast failing, and I want you to take care of my little
ones.'
"The caterpillar promised, and the butterfly folded her wings and
breathed her last.
"Then the caterpillar did not know what to do.  She wanted some
instruction with regard to her charge: so she thought she would ask a
lark, that went soaring up into the blue sky.  At first the lark was
silent, and plumed his wings and went up--up--up, as if to gather wisdom
for his answer; and then he came, singing, down and said,--
"'I'll tell you something about your charge; but you won't believe me.
These young butterflies that you look for will become caterpillars.'
"'Poh! poh!' said the old caterpillar.  'I don't believe a word of it.'
"'No; I told you you wouldn't.  And what do you suppose they will live
upon?' said the lark.
"'Why, the dew and the sweet honey from the flowers, to be sure,' replied
the caterpillar.  'That is what all butterflies live on.'