raise ye the Lord! Praised be His holy name!"

"Ker-awk!" cried an old blue heron among the cowslips below me. I had
almost scared it to death, and it arose on flapping wings and paid me
back by frightening me so I screamed as I dodged its shadow.

"What is all this?" asked father behind me.

"Come up and take a seat, and I'll try to tell you," I said.

So he stepped on my pulpit and sat on the top rail, while I stood
between his knees, put my arms around his neck, took off his hat and
loosened his hair so the wind could wave it, and make his head feel
cool and good. His hair curled a little and it was black and fine.
His cheeks were pink and his eyes the brightest blue, with long lashes,
and heavier brows than any other man I ever have seen. He was the best
looking--always so clean and fresh, and you never had to be afraid of
him, unless you had been a bad, sinful child. If you were all right,
you would walk into his arms, play with his hair, kiss him all you
pleased, and there wasn't a thing on earth you couldn't tell him,
excepting a secret you had promised to keep.

So I explained all this, and more too. About how I wanted to hunt for
the flowers, to see which bloomed first, and watch in what order the
birds came, and now it was a splendid time to locate nests, because
there were no leaves, so I could see easily, and how glad mother would
be to know where the blue goose nested, and her white turkey hen;
because she wanted her geese all blue, and the turkeys all white, as
fast as she could manage.

Every little thing that troubled me or that I wanted, I told him.

He sat there and he couldn't have listened with more interest or been
quieter if I had been a bishop, which is the biggest thing that ever
happened at our house; his name was Ninde and he came from Chicago to
dedicate our church when it was new. So father listened and thought
and held his arms around me, and--

"And you think the Lord was at the bottom of the thing that makes you
happy?"

"Well, you always go to Him about what concerns you, and you say,
'Praise the Lord,' when things go to please you."

"I do indeed!" said father. "But I had thought of this running short
of school funds as a calamity. If I had been praying about it, I would
have asked Him to show me a way to raise money to continue until middle
May at least."

"Oh father!"

I just crumpled up in his arms and began to cry; to save me I couldn't
help it. He held me ti