“Shall I take back my gift?” she asked.
“Oh, no, no, no!” he cried. He was
rested now, and he did not feel so much discouraged.
“If you still wish to go on working, take this
ring,” said the fairy. “My sister
sends it to you. Wear it, and it will greatly
assist the charm.”
He took the ring, and the fairy was gone. The
ring was set with a beautiful blue stone, which reflected
everything bright that came near it; and he thought
he saw inside the ring the one word—“Hope.”
Many more years passed. The young man’s
mother died, and he went far, far from home.
In the strange land to which he went people thought
his pictures were wonderful; and he had become a great
and famous painter.
One day he went to see a large collection of pictures
in a great city. He saw many of his own pictures,
and some of them had been painted before he left his
forest home. All the people and the painters praised
them; but there was one that they liked better than
the others. It was a picture of a little child,
holding in its hands several water lilies.
Toward evening the people departed one by one, till
he was left alone with his masterpieces. He was
sitting in a chair thinking of leaving the place,
when he suddenly fell asleep. And he dreamed that
he was again standing near the little lake in his
native land, watching the rays of the setting sun
as they melted away from its surface. The beautiful
lily was in his hand, and while he looked at it the
leaves became withered, and fell at his feet.
Then he felt a light touch on his hand. He looked
up, and there on the chair beside him stood the little
fairy.
“O wonderful fairy!” he cried, “how
can I thank you for your magic gift? I can give
you nothing but my thanks. But at least tell me
your name, so that I may cut it on a ring and always
wear it.”
“My name,” replied the fairy, “is
Perseverance.”
Jean Ingelow.
* * * *
*
[Illustration:]
Name the different objects you see in the picture.
What did the artist desire to tell? What is the
central object? Where is the scene of the picture
placed? What time of the day and of the year does
it show?
Describe the boy. How old is he? What impresses
you most about him?
Suppose your teacher took the class to this lake for
a day’s outing.
Write a composition on how the day was spent.
* * * *
*
74
Memorize:
“How
shall I a habit break?”
As you did
that habit make.
As you gathered,
you must lose;
As you yielded,
now refuse.
Thread by
thread the strands we twist
Till they
bind us, neck and wrist;
Thread by
thread the patient hand
Must untwine,
ere free we stand.
As we builded,
stone by stone,
We must
toil, unhelped, alone,
Till the
wall is overthrown.
