JUN IOR K IN G '| | B U $ l f e
x
big dark ness
by Bertha Pentney
E v e r s i n c e he cou ld rem ember — and probably before, too— -Danny had gone to bed at n igh t in pretty m u ch the same w ay. Th ere had al ways been a story, u sually a Bible story, for he liked them the best. W h en he was very little, M oth er had said a little prayer b y his bedside before she left him , and w hen h e got old enough, D anny had learned to pray, too. T h en M oth er w ou ld turn out the ligh t in the room and go away, bu t she always left the hall ligh t on and the door open un til he w ent to sleep. So D anny was used to having the ligh t there. It was just a habit, but he had never gone to sleep in the dark in his w h ole life. T h e summer that D anny was six years old, M oth er becam e very ill, and the doctor said she should go to the hospital. So Father sent a tele gram to Grandm other and asked her whether she w ou ld like to have a little boy visit her fo r a w h ile, and that is the w a y D anny happened to g o to the B ig Farm in U n cle F red’s car, w ith a little suitcase to carry his clothes because h e m igh t stay quite a lon g time. D anny loved his Grandm other and she loved D anny very much. There
were lots of things on the B ig Farm for a little b oy to see and explore, and it was fun the first day to see and to do new things until the sun slid down beh ind the hills and it began to get dark. Th en, in the b ig liv in g room of the farmhouse, D anny had a surprise. In stead o f g oin g over to the w a ll and pushing a button or even pressing a little red button on the side of the lamp, Grandfather lifted the shade and a glass ch im ney off the lam p and touched a ligh ted match to the part inside. T h en when he put the ch im ney and the shade back on the lamp, the room was ligh ted b y the bright flame. By the ligh t of the lamp, G rand father and D anny drew anim al p ic tures for a h a lf hour or so, and then Grandm other said, “ T im e for bed, D anny Boy,” and the animals were all put in a safe place fo r the night. Grandm other ligh ted another of those funn y lamps, this time a smaller one w h ich did not give such a bright ligh t, and carried it into the bedroom where D anny was to sleep. W h en he was all ready for bed. G randmother told h im the story of Moses, the baby b o y w h o was put in a basket and float ed in the river, comm itted to the care
of God. D anny knew the story al ready, but he liked to hear it again, and listened eagerly for the part where the Princess said, “ I shall keep the baby for m y own, and he w ill g row up in the palace and be m y son.” T h en Grandm other took D anny’s hand in hers, and together they prayed: for M other in the hospital, for D addy at home, fo r D an n y ’s teach er and his friends, and fo r themselves, and especially th ey thanked God for all the blessings H e had sent to them. G r a n d m o t h e r said, “ Goodnight, D anny,” picked up the lamp, and w ent out, but she shut the door be hind her, and the room was dark! D anny wasn’t exactly afraid o f the dark, but the ligh t had always been there and he was used to it. N ow , in a strange room and a strange bed, w ith M oth er not there and w ith no ligh t to turn on, he noticed that sud denly the darkness seemed very big, and he felt very m u ch alone. Instead o f g oing to sleep, D anny becam e quite w ide awake. Out in the liv in g room , Grandfath er and Grandm other sat b y the big table reading. T h e room was quiet and still, and neither o f them looked up as the door to the hall opened a
38
THE KING 'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online