Master Sunshine | Page 8

only gone to some one like you at
the first, there would have been no trouble at all."
"And what do you think I would have advised in such a case?" asked
Mr. Norton, much interested in the little tale.
Master Sunshine looked at him wonderingly.
"Why, father," he said, "don't you remember about me breaking the
great pane of glass in the schoolhouse window? You lent me the money
to pay for having it put in, and I had to give you my allowance for ever
so long until I made it all up."
"But would Tommy's father have done as much for him?" questioned
Mr. Norton.
"If they were chums like you and me I am sure he would," answered
Master Sunshine promptly.
"And do you think Tommy did right to sell his mug?" asked Mr.
Norton, much interested as to what his son would say.
"The mug was his own, so I don't think it was stealing to take it," said
Master Sunshine slowly; "but of course it was not right for him to take
it away without letting his people know. There are lots of things in our
house that were given to me, and are mine to use and have; but they are
not mine to sell and give away like my toys and tops. You never told
me so, but I always knew there were two ways of owning things."

"We have no flowers for mother yet," said Mr. Norton, dismissing the
subject as he rose from the rock on which they had been resting. "I
wonder what we can find for her to-day."
How well they knew where to look, and how many happy exclamations
came from Master Sunshine as they discovered a clump of ferns just
unfolding from the green balls in which Dame Nature had securely
packed them.
In a marshy spot, a host of white violets sent up their dainty perfume;
and close by the bed of a tiny brook, a scarlet trilium showed its
velvety petals. A sunny hillside was covered with deep purple violets,
while under the roadside there were trails of winter-berry vines still
green and fresh in spite of the snows that had lain on them; and here
and there were the satiny blossoms of the glossy-leaved pigeon-berry.
A pair of keel-tailed blackbirds were building in a tall tree overhead;
and the sweet, clear notes of one of them delighted Master Sunshine
until he heard the mate answering back with a harsh, scraping noise not
unlike a dull saw making its way through a log of knotted wood. A
robin gave a mellow chirp; and the Peabody bird was filling the air
with its sweet, sad strain.
It was always very hard to leave the woods and fields at such times.
They were so full of life and brightness, and there always seemed a
special Sunday calm about.
But there were the home people to consider. Lucy would be awake now
from her afternoon nap, and would be longing for her romp with her
"fazzer man;" and mother would be so delighted with her flowers, and
Master Sunshine would be needed to help arrange them; while Almira
Jane was sure to be wondering what was keeping "the folks" so late.
The Sunday tea would be ready for them too--and a specially good tea
it always was. There would be slices of cold meat spread on a platter of
parsley; and the thinnest slices of bread-and-butter on the best
bread-plates, and frosted cake; and, most likely, peach or strawberry
preserves from the jam-cupboard.

Almira Jane was sure to be in good humor too; for there was little work
to do on Sunday, and she seldom got a chance to be "nervous" on the
day of rest, and like as not Jacob would walk home with her after
evening church; while in the cosey sitting-room mother would play on
the piano, and Master Sunshine and his father would join in singing
their favorite hymns.

CHAPTER V.
BEING A HERO.
"There'll be no rain to-day," said Almira Jane as Master Sunshine
slipped off gayly to school next morning. "Your geese are sure to be
good weather-prophets, and I notice that they are dressing their feathers
and diving comfortably in the little duck-pond."
"And what would they be doing if it were going to rain?" inquired
Master Sunshine.
"Geese always get noisy and fidgety before storms," answered Almira
Jane. "That was partly what was the matter with the Wanderer and his
Wife the day you brought them here. They were doing their best to tell
you that there was trouble in the air."
"There is a great lot of sense, after all, even in creatures that people
think are foolish," thought Master Sunshine to himself as he set off.
Then he