Bettys Bright Idea | Page 4

may play
with all these. Why, here's ever and ever so much green, enough to play
house. Let's play build a house for father and mother."
"I'm going to build a big house for 'em when I grow up," said Tottie,
"and I mean to have glass bead windows in it."
Tottie had once had presented to him a box of colored glass beads to
string, and he could think of nothing finer in the future than unlimited
glass beads.
Meanwhile, his sister began planting pine branches upright in the snow,
to make her house.
"You see we can make believe there are windows and doors and a
roof," she said, "and it's just as good. Now, let's make believe there is a
bed in this corner, and we will lie down to sleep."
And Tottie obediently couched himself in the allotted corner and shut
his eyes very hard, though after a moment he remarked that the snow
got into his neck.
"You must play it isn't snow--play it's feathers," said Elsie.
"But I don't like it," persisted Tottie, "it don't feel a bit like feathers."
"Oh, well, then," said Elsie, accommodating herself to circumstances,
"let's play get up now and I'll get breakfast."
Just now the door opened again, and the sexton began sweeping the
refuse out of the church. There were bits of ivy and holly, and ruffles of
ground-pine, and lots of bright red berries that came flying forth into

the yard, and the children screamed for joy. "O Tottie!" "O Elsie!"
"Only see how many pretty things--lots and lots!"
The sexton stood and looked and laughed as he saw the little ones so
eager for the scraps and remnants.
"Don't you want to come in and see the church?" he said. "It's all done
now, and a brave sight it is. You may come in."
They tipped in softly, with large bright, wondering eyes. The light
through the stained glass windows fell blue and crimson and yellow on
the pillars all ruffled with ground-pine and brightened with scarlet
bitter- sweet berries, and there were stars and crosses and mottoes in
green all through the bowery aisles, while the organist, hid in a thicket
of verdure, was practicing softly, and sweet voices sung:
"Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the new-born King."
The little ones wandered up and down the long aisles in a dream of awe
and wonder. "Hush, Tottie!" said Elsie when he broke into an eager
exclamation, "don't make a noise. I do believe it's something like
heaven," she said, under her breath.
They made the course of the church and came round by the door again,
where the sexton stood smiling on them.
"You can find lots of pretty Christmas greens out there," he said,
pointing to the door; "perhaps your folks would like to have some."
"Oh, thank you, sir," exclaimed. Elsie, rapturously. "Oh, Tottie, only
think! Let's gather a good lot and go home and dress our room for
Christmas. Oh, _won't_ mother be astonished when she comes home,
we'll make it so pretty!"
And forthwith the children began gathering into their little aprons
wreaths of ground-pine, sprigs of holly, and twigs of crimson bitter-
sweet. The sexton, seeing their zeal, brought out to them a little cross,
fancifully made of red alder-berries and pine.

Then he said, "A lady took that down to put up a bigger one, and she
gave it to me; you may have it if you want it."
"Oh, how beautiful," said Elsie. "How glad I am to have this for mother!
When she comes back she won't know our room; it will be as fine as
the church."
Soon the little gleaners were toddling off out of the yard--moving
masses of green with all that their aprons and their little hands could
carry.
The sexton looked after them. "Take heed that ye despise not these
little ones," he said to himself, "for in heaven their angels--"
A ray of tenderness fell on the old man's head; it was from the Shining
One who watched the children. He thought it was an afternoon
sunbeam. His heart grew gentle and peaceful, and his thoughts went far
back to a distant green grove where his own little one was sleeping.
"Seems to me I've loved all little ones ever since," he said, thinking far
back to the Christmas week when his lamb was laid to rest. "Well, she
shall not return to me, but I shall go to her." The smile of the Shining
One made a warm glow in his heart, which followed him all the way
home.
The children had a merry time dressing the room. They stuck good big
bushes of pine in each window; they put a little ruffle of ground-pine
round mother's Bible, and