MOSES AND THE ORANGE.
"MAMMA," said Frankie one day, "you promised to tell me a toly."
"So I did," said mamma; "and what shall it be about?"
"Bout Moses."
"Moses in the bulrushes?" asked mamma.
"No; bout Moses and the olange."
The lady thought a minute before she could remember what he meant. Then
she smiled, and said, "O, yes, I'll tell that. Do you like to hear
stories, Nelly?" she asked.
"I don't know," answered Nelly. "Maria sometimes tells me pretty ones."
"Well, you may bring the cricket, and sit down by Frankie. I think you
will like to hear about Moses," said aunty. "He was just as old as you
are, Nelly; and like you, he was an only child. His father and mother
were very fond of him, and loved to do every thing to make him happy. I
don't mean that they always let him have his own way, or allowed him to
do what was wrong, for that would have made him grow very selfish and
wicked.
"The day before he was six years old, his mother thought 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."