AUGUST, 1946
339
I O R K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
T HE WAGON was new, and red, and shiny, and beautiful. The wheels were big and white, the caps were silvery. The wagon was a gift from Uncle Lloyd, and the chil dren loved it. They played fire engine, ambulance, and train. Up and down the driveway they ran. Tipper, the black and white puppy, ran alongside. He barked at the wheels until Joe had to get a switch to wave at him so that lie would be quiet.
day, it happened. Jane and Jon were at school. The three babies were hav ing naps. Becky and Joe were outside playing. First Becky pushed Joe in the red shiny wagon, and then Joe pulled Becky. Up and down the driveway they went. Up to the garage, down to the mailbox and back again. Tipper ran and barked around and around the wagon. Sometimes he nipped at Joe’s brown leggings, and sometimes at Becky’s blue coat. It was all such fun. It was a shame it happened, but it did. Joe and Becky had a fight, and it was this way: Joe wanted the wagon all to himself; he was tired of taking turns. Becky wanted the wagon all to herself; she was tired, too. Becky’s r o u n d b l u e e y e s grew stormy. So did Joe’s brown ones. Two pairs of hands grabbed at the wagon and pulled hard. Becky screamed at Joe, and he yelled back at her. Daddy was working out of doors cleaning up the yard. He looked over at Joe and Becky to see what was going on. Tipper s a t b a c k on his haunches to see how things would come out. Mommie heard the racket ’way in the kitchen and wondered.
they screamed and slapped. Finally Joe stopped, caught his breath and said, “Becky, you can’t fight up in Heaven. We won’t talk this way there, and we’ll share our toys, too.” Daddy came over and straightened things out. Mommie went back to her dishes.
tires were big and black, and the hub
Tipper was a happy playmate. “Children are just like grown-ups, and grown-ups are just like children,” she said to herself. “We are all wait ing to be unselfish until we get to Heaven! Why can’t we be a little sweet, and loving, and kind down here?” And that is true. We say that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we love Him. Do we act like it? Do other people guess it from the way we act and speak? Then there is tjiis thing, too: What does the Lord Jesus think about it? He loves His children so much, and it makes His heart glad when they are happy together. It makes Him sad when they quarrel. There is a lovely verse in the Bible which says, “Be ye kind one to an other.” And it’s for you, ¿ecky and Joe; for you, Jane and Jon; for the twins, for Annette, and for all of us. Becky and Joe took turns again. The wagon was big, and shiny, and red
Annette loved to ride in the front of the wagon. Sometimes Jane, Jon and Joe loaded the four younger children into the wagon. Becky, almost four, sat in the back. The twins, almost three, sat in the middle, and baby Annette sat in front. Joe pushed, and Jon pulled, Jane kept Tipper away, and off they went. Timmie and Virginia, the twins, squealed and shook their curly heads. It was fun to coast down the little hill and through the orchard. Only the bigger children dared do this, for the path was full of b u m p s and curves. Lickety-split, down they came, dodging trees, and bumps, and Tip per! Oh, the new wagon was so won derful! It was fun taking turns rid ing in it. And then one beautiful sunshiny
The twins always rode together. She went to the diningroom window to look. Becky and Joe yanked and pulled;
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