he old rocking-horse was waiting, almost faint with joy; he was soon
to see his beloved master, to feel his caress.

The father placed his son on the floor, and advanced to his old
playmate.

"What an old scarecrow!" he exclaimed, laughing. "Whatever could your
aunt have been thinking of to send it! We will despatch it to be
chopped up for firewood, and buy you a new one."

So the old horse was carried off to the back yard.

But nobody knew that his heart was broken!

THE MESSAGE OF THE LILY

"Little flower, little flower," said the birdie, "why are you so silent
and sad?"

"I am not sad, sweet sister," whispered the flower gently; "ah! no, but
I have seen an angel. Yestere'en, as I slept, my birdie, being all
aweary with gazing up into your bird-land home among the branches, and
watching the merry sunlight come and go, and strike shafts of golden
flame among the green, I dreamt of heaven and of the holy angels; and
lo! when I awoke, one there was who stood beside me, beautiful even as
is the sunlight or the dawn, and her voice, when she spoke, was low and
tender, like the restful ripple of the rain. And to the flowers, as
you know, my birdie, the hearts of the pure lie ever open and unsealed,
and I saw into her heart, that the thought of it was white and spotless
as a lily, and I saw that her thought was a prayer, and that she said,
'Dear Lord, I thank Thee for making this little flower so fair and
lovely, and I ask Thee that I may be, in heart, as pure and holy as
she!'"

MORNING

"Wake up, little flower, and hear what I have to tell you," said the
bird gaily, "for I, too, have seen your angel--and angel is she none,
but the fairest maiden from the town beyond the hillside."

And to her the flower made low reply:

"Can any one as fair as she be found out of heaven? And, moreover, I
looked into her heart, and saw that the thought of it was white, and
pure as the morning."

[Illustration: Little girls picking flowers]

"It is only the flowers that can see into hearts," said the bird
gravely; "but this I know, that your angel is of earth, not heaven."
So saying, she spread her silken wings and flew away.

But the flower said, "Is there, in all heaven, anything more fair than
a maiden?"

NOON

"I would not pluck you to please my idle fancies, dear blossom," said
the maiden gently, "for I cannot bear to see the wild flowers wither
and fade! But I know of one who lies ill and dying, to