Master Sunshine | Page 7

meals myself. I always
thought that if you gave a dog a bone now and then he would get along
all right."

By this time Master Sunshine was busy with Tim, propping him on his
hind legs, and rewarding him each time he held himself erect for a
second with a kind word or a pat on the head; and when at last Tim
balanced himself for a whole half-minute, his teacher flew to the
kitchen for a lump of sugar, which the dog crunched with great
enjoyment between his sharp white teeth.
It was quite dark before they noticed how the time was going. The
clock was just striking six when Almira Jane put her head in at the
dining-room door.
"Mrs. Dane is calling for Tommy," she announced; "and before he goes
I must give you each a bit of lunch." And whipping open the oven door
with a corner of her apron, she drew out a couple of puffy apple
turnovers, all fragrant with cinnamon and gummy with sugar, and
sizzling with hot apple-juice. Tommy glanced slyly at her as he bit into
his dainty.
"Your Almira Jane has nice ways, even if her eyes are sharp," he said
to Master Sunshine as he bade him good-by.

CHAPTER IV.
A SUNDAY WITH FATHER.
What a welcome day Sunday was to Master Sunshine!
To be sure he did not always enjoy going to church, for sometimes the
sermon seemed long and tiresome; but there was always the singing to
look forward to, and the breaking up of the congregation after the
benediction had been said. It was always so pleasant then, for the ladies
in their pretty gowns and the men in their black Sunday coats
exchanged kindly greetings with one another; and Master Sunshine, in
his best blue blouse, with golden anchors embroidered on the shoulders,
would follow sedately with his family, and shake hands with the
minister, and nod to his boy and girl acquaintances in a very grown-up

manner.
Though there were many things about the service that he could not
understand, yet it always pleased him to think that so many people had
come together to do honor to God. It seemed so like the Old Testament
times, when the people went up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
Sunday-school took up another hour of the day, and the lessons there
were always easy to understand. Miss Bell, his young teacher, had
always pictures to show them of the places they read about; and there
were texts and hymns to recite, and the class missionary box to put
pennies in.
But what Master Sunshine looked forward to most of all was the
Sunday afternoon walk with his father. Usually they would ramble off
to the woods or to some quiet by-road, and talk over all the doings of
the week. And if Master Sunshine had done anything that was mean or
selfish, he was sure to tell about it then.
"Any boy can be good on Sunday, when his father is with him,"
explained Master Sunshine; "it's on the week-days, when there isn't a
man round, that he is most apt to get into trouble. And I tell you the
worst about me, father, so you won't think I'm a better boy than I really
am."
It was always so comforting to talk things over, even if he had been
doing wrong; for he was always sure of understanding and sympathy
and good advice.
"I often wish every boy and his father were chums like us," he said
once. "Now, when Tommy Dane gets in trouble, he is always afraid to
go to his father, and his mother is too busy to be bothered; so he just
has to go to some of the school-boys. Of course, they don't know much
better than he does; and their advice is just as apt as not to be wrong,
and poor Tommy finds himself in worse trouble than ever.
"Only last week he burst the class foot-ball by standing on it, and the
boys said he must buy another. He had no money; but they told him to

sell something of his own, and use the money to buy another ball. So he
sent the silver mug that his aunt gave him when he was a baby, up to
town, and it sold for enough to buy a new ball. Then the teacher wanted
to know how it was that the boys happened to have so much money,
and Mrs. Dane missed the silver mug. Mr. Dane came to the school and
took Tommy home, and he was, oh, so angry with him! He said, 'he
was disgraced because his son was a thief,'" and Master Sunshine's tone
grew very indignant.
"You see, father, that if Tommy had