Mother Stories | Page 8

the mill; so he hastened there, and called to the dusty
miller:--
"_Miller! Miller! I've come to you; My little gray pony has lost a shoe,
And I want some coal the iron to heat, That the blacksmith may shoe
my pony's feet_."

The miller came to the door in surprise; and when he heard what was
needed, he said:--
"_I have wheels that go round and round, And stones to turn till the
grain is ground, But I've no coal the iron to heat, That the blacksmith
may shoe your pony's feet_."
[Illustration: When she came near the man she stopped to ask him his
trouble.]
Then the man turned away sorrowfully and sat down on a rock near the
roadside, sighing and saying:--
"_What shall I do? What shall I do? My little gray pony has lost a
shoe_!"
After a while a very old woman came down the road, driving a flock of
geese to market; and when she came near the man, she stopped to ask
him his trouble. He told her all about it; and when she had heard it all,
she laughed till her geese joined in with a cackle; and she said:--
"_If you would know where the coal is found, You must go to the
miner, who works in the ground_."
Then the man sprang to his feet, and, thanking the old woman, he ran to
the miner. Now the miner had been working many a long day down in
the mine, under the ground, where it was so dark that he had to wear a
lamp on the front of his cap to light him at his work! He had plenty of
black coal ready and gave great lumps of it to the man, who took them
in haste to the blacksmith.
The blacksmith lighted his great red fire, and hammered out four fine
new shoes, with a cling! and a clang! and fastened them on with a rap!
and a tap! Then away rode the man on his little gray pony,--clippety,
clippety, clap!

HOW THE HOME WAS BUILT MOTTO FOR THE MOTHER
_The priceless blessing of a happy home can be won only by struggle,
endurance, and self-sacrifice_.
FROEBEL.
_Blow's Commentaries_.
Once there was a very dear family,--Father, Mother, big Brother Tom,
little Sister Polly, and the baby, who had a very long name, Gustavus
Adolphus; and every one of the family wanted a home more than
anything else in the world.

They lived in a house, of course, but that was rented; and they wanted a
home of their very own, with a sunny room for Mother and Father and
Baby, with a wee room close by for the little sister; a big, airy room for
Brother Tom; a cosy room for the cooking and eating; and, best of all, a
room that Grandmother might call her own when she came to see them.
A box which Tom had made always stood on Mother's mantel, and they
called it the "Home Bank," because every penny that could be spared
was dropped in there for the building of the home.
This box had been full once, and was emptied to buy a little piece of
ground where the home could be built when the box was full again.
The box filled very slowly, though; and Gustavus Adolphus was nearly
three years old when one day the father came in with a beaming face
and called the family to him.
Mother left her baking, and Tom came in from his work; and after
Polly had brought the baby, the father asked them very solemnly: "Now,
what do we all want more than anything else in the world?"
"A home!" said Mother and Brother Tom.
"A home!" said little Sister Polly.
"Home!" said the baby, Gustavus Adolphus, because his mother had
said it.
"Well," said the father, "I think we shall have our home if each one of
us will help. I must go away to the great forest, where the trees grow so
tall and fine. All Winter long I must chop the trees down, and in the
Spring I shall be paid in lumber, which will help in the building of the
home. While I am away, Mother will have to fill my place and her own
too, for she will have to go to market, buy the coal, keep the pantry full,
and pay the bills, as well as cook and wash and sew, take care of the
children, and keep a brave heart till I come back again."
The mother was willing to do all this and more, too, for the dear home;
and Brother Tom asked eagerly: "What can I do?--what can I do?" for
he wanted to begin work right then, without waiting a moment.
"I have