"WHEN morning came," continued my friend, "how disconsolate I was! In
all my wanderings I had never had the misfortune to be cast out and
trodden under foot of men before! The sun was shining beautifully, the
dew was glittering on the blades of grass, the birds were singing, and
the flowers were blooming sweetly, but I was unhappy.
[Illustration: THE BOYS' DOGS.]
"Suddenly a little boy and girl turned the corner, and walked swiftly
up towards that part of the walk where I was. The little girl uttered
an exclamation:
"'Good luck, Fred! I've found a pin!' and she picked me up and put me
in her belt. They walked along, talking merrily, when a butterfly flew
along the walk. The little boy ran after it, and soon had it under his
hat. 'Let me have that pin, Bess,' he said, and when she had given me
to him he pinned his handkerchief over the hat, with me and another pin
that he had, and walked home bareheaded.
"Reaching their house, he went up to his room, threw the other poor
pin out of the window, and, much to my dismay, impaled the butterfly
on me. How horrid I felt! I would have shuddered if I could, for how
cruel was the boy to make me the innocent instrument of the death of a
poor winged insect, that had been so bright and happy but a few moments
before!
"But just then his sister came along, and seeing the butterfly
fluttering on me, gradually losing its strength, she uttered an
exclamation of horror, and let the poor thing go, placing me where she
had before. Her brother Fred came in.
"'Now, Bess, that's mean! What possessed you to let my butterfly go?'
"'Because it was so cruel, Fred dear. I couldn't bear to see it
struggling so!' and a tear came into her eye.
"Her brother muttered something about girls' tender feelings.
"That day as Bessie and her mother were sitting sewing on the piazza of
their house, her mother wanted a pin, and so she speedily delivered me
into the lady's hands. She used me for some sewing a little while, and
then put me on a little pincushion in her work-box, where I remained
for about a week.
"Then there was a commotion in the house. I learned from various talks
that Fred with a good many other boys, was going camping into the
woods, and they were busy getting ready for his departure. He was off
at last. He had a gun, a satchel full of clothing, and an umbrella.
Just as he was going out of the door, and his mother was kissing him
good-by, she said:
"'Fred, wait a moment. I didn't give you any pins, and you may need
some.'
"So saying, she took me and a few others from the cushion in her
work-box, and putting them hastily on Fred's coat, bade him good-by
again, and he started.
"I cannot tell you all the fun that the boys had in the woods; they
seemed perfectly happy, and fished, and shot poor animals, and
climbed, all the time. Wherever Fred went, I went too.
"At night they would go into the tents, and lie down, sleeping soundly
all night, and getting up early in the morning, to eat what they had
caught latest the day before. All night I kept watch over Fred's
pillow, in his coat that was hanging on a nail driven into one of the
tent-poles.
"One day one of the dogs came to the place where the boys were taking
dinner, sniffing around their legs, and showing as plainly as possible
that he had discovered something. The boys hastily finished their
dinner, and followed the noble animal into the woods. Soon the dog
stopped, and looking ahead, they saw, by a pool, a splendid deer
drinking, little suspecting what danger there was near.
"'Fire!' said the boys' leader; and a dozen shots went crashing into
the poor deer's side. It fell down dying. One of the boys went over
to examine it. When he reached it, it gave one faint struggle, and
expired. But a boy that had remained thought it was yet alive, and
fired another shot, taking care not to aim at the one who had gone
forward. But he was just bending over to examine the horns of the
animal, and the shot went crashing into his leg! Then there was an
uproar! The boys all rushed forward, my master among them, and examined
the poor boy's leg, which was bleeding very badly.
"'Where is a bandage?' said some one. So the leader took out of his
pocket a very large handkerchief, and wound it tightly just above the
wound. The blood stopped flowing. 'Where is a string to tie it with?'
he said. No one had one, but Fred put his hand to his coat, and taking
me from it, said, 'Here is a pin, Tom. Pin it quick!'
"So the handkerchief was pinned tightly around the leg, and the blood
didn't ooze out any more. However, the wound pained the poor boy very
much. The others fixed him pretty comfortably on the soft body of the
deer, while two of them went for a doctor as fast as possible.
"It was two hours before he came.
"'Not very serious,' he said, at which every body drew a long breath of
relief. 'But it would have been,' he continued, 'if you hadn't pinned
this bandage on so securely. He would certainly have bled to death.'
[Illustration: A BUTTERFLY FLEW ALONG.]
"You may imagine that I felt proud then. I had saved a life! If it had
not been for me the boy would have died! To be sure, another pin would
have done, but then it was--_me_! I felt that I was doing wrong to be
so proud, and like everyone who sins, I got my punishment. When the
doctor undid the bandage, he carelessly threw me on the ground, and
paid no more attention to me, for when he replaced a better bandage on
the limb, he used a wide strip of cloth to fasten it with.
"You can not imagine my feelings then! There I was, cast on the ground
in the woods, where nobody would ever find me. I would rust, and fall
to pieces! I would never be moved from that lonesome, dreary place.
And it was my fault! I felt that it was my punishment for feeling so
proud. To be sure, the doctor did not know that I was proud when he
threw me on ground, but I felt 'in my bones,' as it were, that it was
my punishment for feeling so lofty because I had been the humble means
of saving a life. The agony of those few moments will be a lesson to me
through life, and if I ever feel lofty and haughty again, I shall be
surprised.
"I say 'those few moments,' for soon, some of the boys came to remove
the body of the deer, and Fred, who was among them, happening to see me
on the ground said:
"'Halloo! I guess I'll pick you up. I've learned how useful a pin may
be.'
"So my stay on the ground in the woods was not long, for he returned me
to the lining of his coat."