A little girl called Rose had a kind auntie who sent her half a
sovereign for a birthday present. Rose was delighted with the money, and
was always talking of the many nice things it would buy, but she never
thought of writing and =thanking= her auntie. That was not grateful, was
it? When we =receive= anything, we should always think =at once= of the
giver, and express our thanks without delay. That is why we say "grace"
before eating: we wish to thank our kind Father above for giving us the
nice food to eat.
The days went by, and still auntie received no word of thanks from her
little niece. Then a letter came asking, "Has Rosy had my letter with
the present?" Rose answered this, and said she =had= received the
letter, and sent many thanks for the present. But how ashamed she must
have felt that she had not written before! It is not nice to have to
=ask= people for their thanks or gratitude; it ought to be given freely
without asking.