273
July, 1936
THE KI NG' S BUSINESS
KING’S BUSINESS B y M a r t h a S. H o o k e r
THE TALE OF AN APRON SpL4 True Story) B y L ucy C. S tone above all others was a flowered blotter held under a little fountain of cologne! They loved the big pink pop-corn balls which Papa bought for them, but still more fascinating were the tiny biscuits and doll sized pancakes wh i c h t h e colored “Aunties” made in or on the big wood
M a n y years ago, in the days when no one had so much as seen an auto mobile, a little six-year-old girl whose name was Elizabeth stood close to the table watching her beloved Auntie cut an apron pattern. Now you may not think that there was anything very exciting about that, but you must know that this was to be a very extraordinary apron, at least as far as the size was concerned, for it was fitted to Elizabeth’s favorite dolly. A lit tle round apron it was to be, with the cutest little bib you can imagine. When the pattern was cut to her satis faction, Auntie laid it on some fine white goods and cut the little apron. She made also some narrow bias strips for finishing the edge, and then gave the apron and the strips to Elizabeth. Elizabeth picked out the finest “cam bric” needle she could find, and, threading it with Number 150 thread, she started her task. With painstaking care she set wee, wee stitches, so small and close that one could barely see them. The sharp needle point pricked her finger, and it was not easy to keep the work smooth and even, especially around the little heart-shaped bib. After a while the children called Elizabeth out to play, and she looked longingly at the cool shade of the wide spreading maple trees, but she shook her head and stuck to her task until it was quite done. She felt more than repaid when Auntie put •her arm around her and said, “I’m proud of you, my dear. You’ve done very, very well indeed.” Auntie seemed to be more pleased than even Elizabeth was, and showed the apron around to all the family. When Papa saw it, he said, “I hope, my dear, that in whatever you undertake, you’ll do your work as faithfully and well as you have done this.” In a few days, the little apron was all but forgotten in the excitement over the County Fair, which was one of the great events of the year, for children did not have as much in the way of amusement then as they do now. The Fair Grounds were about four miles away from where Elizabeth lived, and her father always took her and her brothers and sisters and her little cousin Lucia, and spent one whole day at the Fair. What a grand time they always had (that is, if it didn’t rain) ! The little girls would wear their stiffly starched dresses with pink or blue sashes and wide-brimmed leghorn hats trimmed with wreaths of daisies or forget-me-nots. They tried not to miss a thing and seemed never to grow tired as long as there was anything left to be seen. They went from tent to tent (for nearly all the exhibits were in big long tents gaily decorated with streamers of cheap red, white, and blue cotton). They tried to see which one of them could get' the largest number of adver tising cards, which were highly prized in those days, and the one which they valued
plate over, and what a surprise! There on the table under her plate was a little white doll apron to which was pinned a blue rib bon marked in gold letters, “FIRST PRIZE.” And on top of it was a new, crisp, five-dollar bill 1 It was more money than she had ever had in all her life, and how glad she was that she had stuck to her work!- Auntie had called it “persevering.” Elizabeth was only a little girl when she learned this great lesson, that faithfulness always brings a reward. The prize may not always be a gift of money or a beau tiful trophy or a high honor of some kind. In fact, it may not be anything that one can see at all. But particularly if the deed is done in the name of the Lord Jesus, the reward will be something very much worth while. Would you not like to receive the reward that He will give, some day, to those who have been really faithful in reading the Word, in daily prayer, and in speaking of Him to others? Then you must learn, as Elizabeth learned, to per severe, and your reward will be ever so much better than even a blue ribbon and a five-dollar bill would be. “I Am the Resurrection, and the Life” B y E d it h G o r eh a m C la rk e I a m su re you all love to explore caves. There is something very exciting about such an adventure. What strange and wonderful stories caves could tell us if they could only speak! Did you know that we find a great deal about caves in the Bible? Lot, the nephew of Abraham, lived in a cave for a time. Many years later, Obadiah hid fifty of God’s servants in a cave, and fed them there. Today, in imagination, we will visit a cave. It is in Bethany—quite a long jour ney from your home, isn’t it? Let us im agine that our cave can speak. It it talk ing to us. “Yes,” says the cave, “the most wonder ful thing that I ever saw has happened in this cave. I shall never forget it. There was such a crowd! Many people were weeping because a man named Lazarus had died. Although the real Lazarus had gone to Paradise, a beautiful place which God had provided for him to live, they brought his body (and the body, you know, was only the house he lived in while he was on the earth), and laid it carefully on one of my shelves. Then after a little while, all the people left, but before they left, they rolled a stone against my open ing, the cave entrance. “Well, the wonderful thing I am going to tell you about happened many hours afterwards—four days after Lazarus had died. There was the sound of many voices weeping. Then the sweetest, gentlest voice said, ‘Where have ye laid him?’ As this One whom they called Jesus was weeping, some of the people said, ‘Behold how he loved him!’
stoves. That does not mean that the stoves were made of wood, but it does mean that there was no such thing as gas or electric stoves, so wood was used as fuel; and, oh, how hot it was those July days! There were glass-blowers and trained animals and many other wonderful things. Elizabeth would have thought the occasion ,abso lutely perfect, but for one thing. The only way to get out to the Fair Grounds was to go on the horse cars, and Elizabeth never could enjoy the ride when she had to see the mules (for the “horse cars” were drawn by mules) pulling and straining to draw the overloaded cars. One evening about a month before the Fair, Elizabeth’s Papa brought home a “catalogue” which told all about the differ ent exhibits and the premiums to be offer ed. And, wonder of wonders I There was to be a prize of five dollars for the best piece of sewing by any little girl under fourteen years of age! Auntie looked at Elizabeth, and Elizabeth looked at Auntie, and I think you can guess the rest. Papa went out to the Fair and “entered” his lit tle girl’s apron, and when she went out, she saw it there along with ever so many other pieces of sewing. Because the premiums were not to be awarded until the last day, Papa made a special trip “just in case” ! He was so late getting home that although Elizabeth was allowed to sit up an hour later than usual, it was all in vain, and it was a very much disappointed little girl who finally went up to her room. In the morning when she came down to breakfast, the table was all set, with each plate turned upside down between the knife and fork, as they used to do in those days. Elizabeth looked at her Papa, but he only smiled and kissed her “Good morn ing,” and she hadn’t the heart to ask any questions. She was so disappointed that she could hardly keep back the tears when she bowed her head while the blessing was being asked. Then she started to turn her
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