her and give us more and better.

PART II

_Her Religion_

XI

THE GIRL AND THE UNIVERSE

When Wonder suggests its first questions to her they are large
questions. They have to do with the Universe. They are eternal and
unanswerable questions. They fall from baby lips but they baffle sages.
It may be on some bright summer morning that she stands amidst the
daisies scarcely taller than they, listening intently to the words of
wisdom which tell her that God made the daisies every one, and all the
flowers and the butterflies and the cows in the meadows. After a time of
silence she puts her question, her clear eyes searching the face of her
would-be teacher. "Who made God?" she asks, and while the teacher wavers
she repeats her question until some sort of answer comes. That night
when she is tucked into bed her mind returns by way of her evening
prayer, to the subject of the morning. She hurls another question,
"Where is God?" Since she cannot be evaded she is so often told that
God is everywhere and accepting it with all the faith of the literalist
she begins her search for Him. She strives to solve the mysterious fact
that He can be everywhere and yet in all the places where one searches
He is not to be found.

Then her grandmother who sat in the sunny room upstairs as long as the
little girl can remember is taken sick. Some days pass and her mother
with tears streaming down her face tells her little daughter that
grandmother has gone to heaven. The mystery bearing down upon the little
soul deepens. "What is Heaven?" and "where is Heaven?" she asks. They
tell her of its beauties, its peace, happiness and joy. They say that
grandmother wanted to go and then they cry again. The little girl cannot
understand it all, but she tries. If grandmother is happy and really
wanted to go, why does mother look so sad, why the closed blinds, why is
everything so quiet? She asks the question in the presence of her
practical unimaginative aunt, who bids her be quiet and adds in her
even, impressive voice, "Your grandmother is dead." The word has an
awful sound and she raises her eyes to the severe face above her and
asks, "What _is_ dead?" But the aunt does not answer, and the little
girl goes to the window to think it all over. She knows that _dead_ is
dreadful--grandmother has gone, the house is quiet, father will not play
with her and mother cries. She is only a very little girl but she has
met the unanswerable q