"Nay now, do not ask any questions!--
Let me just lay this lammie in bed,
And when we have had a nice supper,
I'll tell you, dear, all how it sped."
And so, when the supper was over--
That supper!--I'll never forget
The warm, glowing fire--oh, so cozy--
I can see every coal of it yet--
We knelt down, and John thanked the dear Father
For all He had sent us that day;--
Yes: e'en for thee dear, pretty baby
His own little lamb gone astray!
And then, in a few words, John told me
Of his desperate walk in the storm--
Every minute believing, expecting,
That God would His promise perform;--
Of the merchant up town who had hailed him,
(One of his men being sick,)
And hired him to run of a message;
And, because he'd been trusty and quick,
Had trebled his wages, and told him
To come the next morning again;
"Just because," added John, softly laughing,
"I'd been willing _to work in the rain!_"
Well, long ere the morning dawned on us,
The child had grown frantic with pain;
And for many long days she lay moaning
With the fever that burned in her brain.
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