Aunt Fanny

“ Any picture of a little fat Cupid will show you how Johnny looked when he was a baby.
When Johnny was almost a year old, his mamma and papa took him to church to be christened. Do you know what that [Pg 38] means? It means that they would promise before all the people in church, and what is a great deal more solemn, before God, our Father in Heaven, to do their best to make little Johnny a good child, to teach him to love, fear, and serve Him all the days of his life. They would give their dear child to God. ”

“ Lillie laughed, and polished his nose with her napkin; and rubbed it so hard, that it made Willie wink, and said:
"Because people must learn to read and spell, and you must learn too—I'm going to teach you; come, spell 'cat.'"
"But I tant," said Willie.
"But you must," said Lillie, "you must spell 'cat,' and you [Pg 75] must learn to read the Bible; and you and I will read the Bible every single morning, and a great many times besides."
"Come, begin: spell 'cat.'"
Willie looked gravely down, with very large eyes, at the cat, as if he thought that she might tell him ”

“ This is a school [Pg 23] where poor little children are washed and fed and taught; who have scarcely any clothes to wear; sometimes no shoes or stockings; and are so very, very poor and dirty, that they cannot go to any other school. Minnie is so young, she will not understand it all. Now, shall I tell a baby story instead?"
"Oh, yes! yes! yes!" shouted all the good brothers and sisters, "let Minnie have a [Pg 24] nightcap, or a 'nightcat' as she calls it; dear little darling! isn't she a darling, mamma?"
"And what do you say, my Charley?" ”

“ The dear little thing called him "Grandpa," because she thought all old gentlemen must be grandfathers.
"I can't hear a word, my poor child; I am deaf. Oh dear! what is it she wants? she must be lost," said the poor little old gentleman.
[Pg 127]
"Yes, I am lost," said the child; "and mamma wants Susy. She can't do without me. Papa, too. I'm his little mouse. I bring him his slippers when he comes home, and I sing to him about 'Three little kittens, lost their mittens.' Come, grandpa, take Susy home; ah, do;" ”

“ Lillie was very fond of singing. She could sing most delightfully, "Old Dog Tray," "I want to be an Angel," "Pop goes the Weasel," and many other beautiful airs. She had taught Willie to sing "Pop—go—a—dee—sell," as he called it, and was unwearied in her efforts to amuse him, for he was a delicate little fellow, and had been sick a great deal. In this, Lillie was imitating her sister [Pg 68] Annie, (do you see the importance of a good example?) ”

“ So Jack began to knock, and Carlo began to bark, and Minnie began to mew, and Bunny began to squeak, and Jenny began to chip, and Ninny began to gabble; but for all the knocking, and barking, and mewing, and squeaking, and chipping, and gabbling, nobody came to the door; and poor [Pg 111] little Jack began to think he would never get his loaf of bread after all. ”

“ The little old gentleman kissed Susy, and thanked the ladies; then taking off his hat, he made [Pg 133] them a low bow, and then they drove away.
"Can you tell me where you live?" said the lady.
"Oh, yes; I live with mamma and papa," said Susy, "and my kitty, and my doll; we all live together."
The lady smiled, and said—"Well, dear, we'll try to find them." So they rode on a little way, and soon came where the houses were nearer each [Pg 134] other. Susy looked out of the carriage window, and did not cry any more; because she thought she would very soon see her dear mamma. ”

“ Minnie so tired." Then her mamma would lift her tenderly into her lap and say, "Poor little kitten! so tired:" and she would unfasten her clothes quickly, and slip on her little night-dress, and then she would kiss her four or five times to waken her, and say, "Come, darling, kneel in mamma's lap and say your little prayer." [Pg 18] Then Minnie would smile and tumble about in a funny way, till she got on her knees, and then she would fold her hands and say, "God bess my dear mamma and papa, my bedders and sisters, and poor lame Charley, my dear bedder ”

“ With a grieved cry, Annie rushed to her mother and threw her arms around her neck, and [Pg 58] kissed her, and wiped the tears away, and said, "Hush! hush! dear mother. Oh! do stop crying! and I will never, never do so again," and little Lillie, who was only three years old then, and hardly knew how wrong she had acted, in her desire to imitate her sister, in everything, clung to her mother and said, "What for you ki, mamma? ”

“ Then I have heard other little stories, that are sad; because you know in this world we cannot [Pg 10] always have perfect happiness: things will sometimes happen to grieve even a tender little child; but although your sweet lip may tremble as mine does when I am writing, or listening to a sad story, you will not love me less, I hope, because I have told the truth ”

“ So Jack the boy, and Carlo the dog, and Minnie the cat, and Bunny the rabbit, and Jenny the wren, made a jolly little party, all going to the baker's [Pg 107] together. I wish I had been there, don't you?
Pretty soon they came to where Ninny the goose lived. "Ninny, Ninny," called Jack; "do you want to go to the baker's with us to buy a loaf of bread?" ”

“ What a pity! because he was such a kind, little old gentleman. If he saw a little child like you, he would smile, and put his hand in his pocket, and take out a piece of candy, and [Pg 122] say—"Do you love candy?" ”

“ So it does everybody else, for the matter of that! Who likes to see any one cross or angry, with a face flaming with rage, and talking in so sharp a voice that it sounds like a pack of fire-crackers, going off? Why, nobody. So, suppose you and I try which can keep the brightest and sweetest face all this next year. Will you? you dear little thing!
[Pg 96]
Well, Jack had a pretty little brown dog, named Carlo, and a nice little white cat, named Minnie ”