_A spirit of love and thoughtfulness for others is a means of our
own growth in character._
Jack was a little boy who had been sick nearly all his life. He was
never able to go into the parks and gardens to see the squirrels
and flowers, and play in the sunshine as all other little boys did.
All day long he would lie in his little white bed and watch the
wind frolic in the tree tops and the sunbeams dance on the floor.
And, oh, how he longed to be outside! But he would never let any
one know that he was so unhappy because he could not go out and
play with the children.
He said to himself, “I know it hurts my mother as much as it does
me to see me here in bed all the time. So I must try to be cheerful
for her sake. Besides, it will do no good to complain.”
So he was a merry, bright little fellow. All the children loved to
come and sit with him. “Hello, Jack,” they would say as they came
into his room. “Hello, Bob,” he would answer. “So glad to see you!
tell me about the ball game.” And they talked about their sports.
Each day one of his friends would come and bring him a bouquet of
flowers, so that his room was always bright and cheerful. He loved
the white roses because they were so pure and sweet, but best of
all he loved the big yellow daffodils, and always wanted a vase of
them right by his bed.
One day when it was almost time for Jack to have a birthday one of
Jack’s friends said to all the other little boys:
“Let’s make something nice for Jack’s birthday; something that will
make him happy for a long time.”
So the boys thought and thought and talked about it for a long time
before they could decide what to give him. But one morning Jack’s
best friend called all the boys and said:
“Let’s make a big box to fit right in Jack’s window, and keep
flowers planted in it all the year round.”
So the boys got their fathers to help make the box, and they took
it to Jack’s room and put it in his window and filled it with rich
soft earth. They got some daffodils and planted them about an inch
apart. Every day Jack watched for the daffodils to shoot up above
the earth. By and by they began to come up, then they grew and grew
until at last they began to bloom. The box was a glory of yellow
flowers, and Jack was a very happy little boy.
His friends came every day to see them and to talk with Jack.
“I have a beautiful garden,” said Jack; “all filled with
golden balls.” And so when he went to bed he told his garden
“Good-night!” And when he awoke he smiled at his flowers and said,
“Good-morning!” And they smiled back and seemed to know him.