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Show BP DaMy's EveiiiT3 faiiy Tale aynpm graham bome& w nmut Mivta wow ' . MIRIAM'S JOURNEY Miriam was a little girl with a low voice and soft gray eyes and dark-brown dark-brown hair. She had Just come home from a country far away where the people dearly loved their land but where they had suffered through poverty pov-erty and trouble. She had seen such lovely peasant people who had been so kind and so hospitable, people who had talked to her of their patriotism and their love of country as she had talked of hers. They showed her their farms and showed her how they hoped that this year surely the crops would be good for ruined crops were so sad, they told her, and Miriam knew that, too. And she met little girls, such nice little girls, and she saw so much beau- tlful scenery. Then she traveled home on a big boat and so after she got home every one gathered about her to hear of her travels and what she had seen. She told of beautiful country places and cunning little farm homes and of people she had seen In different countries coun-tries and of their different customs and different ways and looks and manner of dressing. But mostly she told of the place she had gone to last of all, a place far, far North where seldom the natives were visited by people from the outside. Here the children had kittens for pets and here, too, they had two little old dolls among a whole village full of children. chil-dren. For when some children had visited there some time ago they had given the children of the village two little dolls. One of the dolls now had no arms and the other had a crack In the head, but they were the dolls of the little hamlet and they were loved and owned by all. They had two little beds made of old boxes and they had coverings on their beds which had been made by their mothers from old rags. And they had a few American pennies which had been given to them by Miriam's daddy and these they saved as very curious and Interesting things. "I couldn't understand them and (bey couldn't understand me," Mi- "I Gave All These Away." rlam explained, "but they knew 1 wanted to be friendly and I knew they wanted to be friendly so we got along well tliut way. "But, oil dear, how I did wish I hnd taken more toys along with me. I had only taken a very few and only a few dolls but I gave all these awny except my dear rag doll which I've had since I wus a baby. "I asked Daddy if It was selfish to keep my rag doll and he said It wasn't for my rag doll was Just like a part of my real, alive family as I'd loved her so long and so devotedly, "But I gave the other things to these children. And sometimes now I think of them, way, way off and In such a little bit of a place and so funny and old and quaint and I think of them playing with a few more toys and dolls than they bad before." And It did mean a great deal to Miriam to think that she had helped other children to have a good time, children who had so very little. Once a yeor, of course, Santa Claus went to visit them, but they never got any other toys or gifts as their mothers moth-ers and daddies had little to give them. And mostly they asked SHnta Claus for things to weur, for the winters win-ters were long and hard and most of the clothes they had their mothers made. Somehow, too, It made Miriam think of how dreadful It would be to have so little and yet she had often thought she bud had very little. She had thought that she didn't have as many toys as lots of other children had, and she had thought that she didn't have as many dresses as other girls had. But now she knew there were children chil-dren In places so far away that It was all they could do to keep warm and get enough to eat during the long, hord, shut-In winters! And she was glad she had taken the wonderful Journey and trip, not only because she hud enjoyed all the gorgeous scenery and all the Interesting things she hnd seen, but because she would always remember that good luck had often come to a person and bad stayed with person so long that tliey had for-gotten for-gotten even to be grateful and to appreciate ap-preciate and be polite to good luck. Now she would never forget In the future to appreciate her good luck. |
