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Show 1 ! PETER CLINGS HARD TO FAITH. By Thornton W. Burges. Whate'er bctldo to faith hold fast, For faith once lost hope cannot last. Peter Rabbi! It is hard to hold fast to faith. wThen strange things which you cannot can-not understand at all happen. It was so with Peter Rabbit. One never-to-be-forgotten afternoon just before Bhadowtime Farmer Brown's Boy camo to tho pen where Peter was h prisoner, and fed him eomo dainties of which he was very fond. Then without Varniug he picked Peter up and put him ln a covered basket Peter was frightened- Of course he didn't know what a basket wad; There was just room enough for him in it and that was all. With the cover down of course ho could see nothing. He felt himself lifted and that gave him a queer feeling. He heard the gate of tho henyard slam and then e knew that he was belugj carried somewhere All sort6 of dreadful thoughts crept into Peter's head. What was going j to happen to him now? Reddy Fox, i who had visited Peter nearly every night to try to lease him, had hinted that Fanner Brown's Boy was getting him fat bo that he would make a better bet-ter dinner for him. Could it be that now Farmer Brown's Boy was taking him away to kill him" Peter shivered shiv-ered at the thought. Perhaps he was being taken to another prison Per-1 haps he was being taken where he' would never see any of his old friends again Fanner Brown's Boy was whistling; now. Somehow that whittle cheered Peter a little Often he had heard I Parmer Brown's Boy whistle and he had noticed that it was usually when Farmer Brown's Boy was doing some kindly deed. Anyway it was always when Fanner Brown's Boy was happy, and somehow he couldn't believo that Farmer Brown's Boy could be happy if he was planning to do him any harm. How Peter did long to peep out and . where they were going. But there wasn'l a chance. It 8eemed to him that journey never would end He wanted it lo end. yet he didn't want it to end You see he hadn't the least idea what would happen wh n it did end. But the only thing ho could do was to cling hard to faith. "!t Is going to be all right It is going to be all right." Peter kept' saying over and over to himself "Farmpr .Brown's Boy is a friend. I know ho Is a friend even if he ha", kept me a prisoner, iip is a friend if all the little people of the Green Forest and tho Green Meadows. He It wasn't altogether comfortable in that basket. won't let any real harm come to roe. I know it I know it. But oh dear.. I do wish I knew where we are goin. and what will happen when we get there " It wasn't altogether comfortable In that basket. In the first place there wasn't room to turn around Then, too, it was very unsteady although Fanner Brown's Boy did his best to i carry u sicuuiiy . u ciiiu on wiry went, i Peter heard Bowser the Hound bark-' bark-' ing and it sounded very, very far : away. That was because inside that basket Peter couldn't hear as woll as he could have had he ad his head outside. "It must be that he is taking me way, way off somewhere,'' thought Peter mournfully "I wonder if I will ever be able to find my way back " ( nce Farmer Brown's Boy let the baskei down. Peter thought thai this was the end of the journey and he dread to have that basket opened. But in a moment iw was picked up again and on they went. Peter did his very best to cling fast to faith in Fanner Brown's Boy, but the farther they went the harder it was. (I opyright, 1922, by T. W. Burges- ) The next story: "The Gladdest of Glad Surprises." |
