Little Frankie and His Cousin

"'I don't know where the other can have gone,' said mamma, looking very sober, as a painful suspicion flashed through her.

"'I hope Moses wouldn't take one without leave,' said the gentleman.

"'I asked him,' replied mamma, 'and he said he hadn't touched them.'

"'Where is he?' asked papa, 'I will ask him. I don't care at all about the orange, because I can easily get another; but somebody must have taken it, and I am afraid it was our little boy.' The gentleman then went to the door and called, 'Moses! Moses!'

"Presently Moses came, and his father took him in his lap, and said, 'Tell me, my dear, have you taken an orange from the basket?'

"'No, papa,' said the boy, his face growing very red. 'I told mamma I hadn't touched them.'

"The gentleman couldn't think that his darling child would tell a lie; so he put him down to the floor, and inquired, 'Have you asked cook?'

"'No,' said mamma; 'I am quite sure she wouldn't meddle with my things.'

"'Just then, cook came in with the cloth for supper, and mamma said to Moses, 'I shall have time, I think, to dress you before tea. Run up quick to my room, and I will get a clean ruffle, and baste it in your new sack."

"While she was doing this, he pulled off his sack and pantaloons that he had worn every day, and threw them on the floor. Then his mother washed his face, and neck, and arms, and hands, very clean, and brushed his hair smoothly off his forehead, so that he looked very nicely indeed. And all the time Moses was talking about his party, and telling what a pleasant time he should have.

"'It's your birthday,' said his mother, kissing him, 'and you must remember to be a very good boy. Be kind to your dear little cousins and playmates, and let them play with any of your toys. Here, let me hang up your clothes, and we will go down to tea.'

"She took the pantaloons from the floor, and said, 'Why, Moses, what have you stuffed into your pocket? Here is your handkerchief wet through.' She pulled out first an India rubber ball, and then – O, what do you think? – why, the lost orange, all sucked and gone except the peel.

"'O Moses!' was all the poor mother could say. She sank into a chair, and covered her face with her hands; but the tears trickled down through her fingers.

"The little boy began to cry; he wished his mother had not found him out, because it made her feel so badly. Presently the tea bell rang; but the lady never stirred from her seat. She was mourning over her son, and thinking what she ought to do to punish him for his great sin.

"'Supper is ready,' called out papa from the stairs.

"'Don't wait for me,' answered the lady; 'I can't go down.'

"'What is the matter?' asked the gentleman, springing up the stairs and coming into the room.

"Mamma began to weep again. She could not speak, but she held up the skin of the orange, and glanced toward Moses, who was sitting in a chair by himself crying bitterly.

"'So he did take it, after all,' said papa, in a stern voice.

"'I'm sorry, papa,' sobbed the boy.

"'What a wicked boy you must be, to steal and lie, and on your birthday too,' said his father, 'when we were trying to make you so happy!'

"'I never will do so again,' said Moses.

"'You must be punished, so that you will remember it,' said his father.

"'Stay here,' said his mother; 'I will send cook up with some supper for you.'"

CHAPTER VII.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

"She sat down at the table, and poured the tea, but she could not eat. Her heart was too sorrowful. She arose, and returned to the chamber, where Moses was eating a slice of bread and butter. When he had finished it, she said, 'Wipe your hands on the towel, and take off your clothes.'

"'Are you going to whip me, mamma? I never will be so naughty again,' exclaimed the boy, beginning to cry louder than ever.

"'No,' said his mother, 'I am going to put you to bed.'

"'I can't see my party, then,' screamed Moses, catching hold of his mother's dress.

"'Nor eat any of the good things, my child. You have been a wicked boy, and broken God's holy commands; and I must punish you. You don't know how you've made mother's heart ache,' said the lady, trying to keep back her tears. 'I did not think you could be so naughty. When I know how displeased the dear Saviour must be, I tremble for you.'

"'I didn't mean to eat the orange, mamma; it smelled so good, I only thought I would suck it a little.'

"'If you had told me that at first, I would gladly have forgiven you,' said mamma; 'but you told wicked lies to hide your sin. You forgot that God was looking at you all the time, and knew all that was in your heart. You must pray to him to forgive you, and to make you a good boy.'

"Moses cried so that he could hardly stand. His mother took off his clothes, put on his night gown, and helped him into bed. Then she knelt by his bed side, and prayed that the means used to punish him might help him to remember what a great sin lying is. She asked God to forgive him, and help him from that hour to be an honest, truthful boy.

"Moses slept in a small room, next to her own, and as the lady thought some of the little party might run up there, she locked the door, and went herself down the back way.

"Pretty soon the bell rang, and Moses stopped crying to listen. He heard happy voices of children running through the hall. Then they asked, 'Where's Moses?' But he could not hear what his mother answered.

"In a few minutes a carriage drove up, and there was another ring of the bell. This time it was his cousins, and he heard them laughing and talking together.

"Before half an hour all the company had assembled. Some of the little girls went up to the front room, and he could hear his mother's voice as she went with them. She was talking very kindly, but he thought she did not feel happy, it was so sad.

"O, what a long evening that was! He could not go to sleep, for every few minutes there was a merry burst of laughter from the room below; and he knew that his papa was teaching them some pretty games. Every time he heard this he began to cry again. And then he wondered whether his mother would tell them why he was not there, and what they would say.

"At last he heard them all walk out into the dining room, and papa's voice saying, 'I will take Katy because she is the youngest.' Now he knew they were going to sit at table and eat the nice fruit.

"'O, dear!' he sobbed, 'how sorry I am!' And then, for the first time, he began to think how wicked it was to deceive his dear parents, who had been so kind to him all his life. 'I made mamma cry,' he said softly. 'I'm sorry for that, too.'

"As soon as Satan heard Moses say that, he ran away and hid; and the good Spirit came, and whispered to Moses, and presently he got out of his bed, and knelt down by his low chair, and prayed softly. But Jesus heard what he said, and looked into his heart, and saw he was really sorry he had been a wicked boy, and then God forgave him.

"Pretty soon the children all came rushing up the stairs to put on their clothes, for the carriages had come to take them home. Moses was not crying now. He lay quiet and still; and he heard them say, 'Good by! good by! Please give my love to Moses;' and then the door was shut, and the house all still again.

"When mamma came up stairs she carried the light into her little boy's room to see if he was awake. His eyes were wide open, and as soon as he saw her, he said, 'You might give my orange to Sarah Christie, mamma, because I wasn't down there to eat it.'

"Then mamma put up her handkerchief quick to wipe the tears from her eyes; and she went up to the bed and kissed her boy, for she knew that he had repented of his sin.

"'I am sorry, very sorry,' he said, pulling her face down to his; 'I prayed hard to God to forgive me, and make me good. Will you forgive me, mamma?'

"'Yes, my darling. I will gladly forgive you, and I hope this may be a lesson to you as long as you live.'"

Nelly looked very sober while her aunt was telling this story. She began to see how naughty she had been, and to hope that God would forgive her too.

As soon as his mother had finished, Frankie said, "O, I'm so glad Moses became a good boy! Did he ever steal or tell lies again?"

"No, my dear, I am happy to tell you that from the hour when he so heartily repented of his great sin, and so earnestly asked God to forgive him, he became an honest and truthful boy. But I have talked a long time, and can only add one incident, which occurred nearly six months later than the birthday party.