smooth road, and so got safely home."

"Now, Caleb," continued Madam Rachel, after she had finished her story,
"do you remember what I meant to teach you by this story?"

"Yes, Grandmother; you said that I was like blind Samuel, and that God
knew what was best for me, and that I must let him lead me wherever he
pleases."

"Yes; and what was it that you said that reminded me to tell you the
story?"

"I said that I wished that I was well and strong, like the other boys."

"Yes," said his grandmother, "I do not think you said it in a fretful or
impatient spirit; but I thought that this story of Samuel would help to
keep you patient and contented."

"Yes, grandmother, it does," said Caleb.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CART RIDE.

A week after this, Caleb had his whip to mend. He had broken off the
lash, by whipping in sticks and little pieces of drift-wood to the mole.
David and Dwight worked a little every day upon the mole, and had
carried it out pretty far into the stream, and had almost finished the
lower branches of the Y. So, one morning, after the boys had gone to
school, and Caleb had had his reading lesson, he sat down upon the steps
of the door, behind the house, and began to tie on his lash with a piece
of twine which Mary Anna had given him.

Behind the house where Caleb's grandmother lived, there was a lane which
led to the pasture. At the head of the lane, where you entered it from
the yard, were a pair of bars. While Caleb was mending his whip, he
accidentally looked up, and noticed that the bars were down.

"There, Mr. Raymond," said Caleb, talking to himself, as he went on
winding his twine round and round the whip-handle; "for once in your
life, you have been careless. You have left your bars down. Now we shall
have the cattle all let out, unless I go and stop the mischief."

Caleb thought he would go and put the bars up again, as soon as he had
tied the ends of his twine; but before he got quite ready, he heard a
noise, as of something coming in the lane. He could not see down the
lane far, from the place where he sat, for the barn was in the way. But
he wondered what could be coming, and he looked towards the bars, and
sat waiting for it to appear.

In a moment, the head and horns of a great ox came into view, and,
immediately after, the body of the ox himself, walking slowly along
towards the bars.

"There now," said Caleb, "there comes Lion, and he'll get away." So he
jumped up, and r