s much larger and more beautiful than their own; and
he was happy now, because he had been good here on earth, and they
were glad of it. John saw them fly away out of the green trees into
the wide world, and he longed to fly with them; but first he cut out a
large wooden cross, to place on his father's grave; and when he
brought it there in the evening, he found the grave decked out with
gravel and flowers. Strangers had done this; they who had known the
good old father who was now dead, and who had loved him very much.

Early the next morning, John packed up his little bundle of
clothes, and placed all his money, which consisted of fifty dollars
and a few shillings, in his girdle; with this he determined to try his
fortune in the world. But first he went into the churchyard; and, by
his father's grave, he offered up a prayer, and said, "Farewell."

As he passed through the fields, all the flowers looked fresh
and beautiful in the warm sunshine, and nodded in the wind, as if they
wished to say, "Welcome to the green wood, where all is fresh and
bright."

Then John turned to have one more look at the old church, in which
he had been christened in his infancy, and where his father had
taken him every Sunday to hear the service and join in singing the
psalms. As he looked at the old tower, he espied the ringer standing
at one of the narrow openings, with his little pointed red cap on
his head, and shading his eyes from the sun with his bent arm. John
nodded farewell to him, and the little ringer waved his red cap,
laid his hand on his heart, and kissed his hand to him a great many
times, to show that he felt kindly towards him, and wished him a
prosperous journey.

John continued his journey, and thought of all the wonderful
things he should see in the large, beautiful world, till he found
himself farther away from home than ever he had been before. He did
not even know the names of the places he passed through, and could
scarcely understand the language of the people he met, for he was
far away, in a strange land. The first night he slept on a haystack,
out in the fields, for there was no other bed for him; but it seemed
to him so nice and comfortable that even a king need not wish for a
better. The field, the brook, the haystack, with the blue sky above,
formed a beautiful sleeping-room. The green grass, with the little red
and white flowers, was the carpet; the elder-bushes and the hedges
of wild roses looked like