Your ShelfYour Projects

A Birthday Party

4%

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 14, 1910

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 28.

Read the full edition

A Birthday Party

By MRS. L. FLORA PLUMMER

MRS. L. FLORA PLUMMER
“O MAMA!” cried little Ruth Lee, “next Thursday is my birthday! I’ll be ten years old. May I have a party, and a nice supper, and lots of presents, as Mabel Murray did?”
Mrs. Lee looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “How would my little daughter like to have a Good Samaritan party?”
“What kind is that, mama?” But without waiting for a reply, Ruth clapped her hands, saying, “O, I know I shall like it! May I have one? When may I invite the girls?”
Mrs. Lee explained that this kind of party was different from any that Ruth had ever attended, and said she would make all the arrangements for it. A part of the plan was that Ruth should say nothing about it to any one else. Ruth found it pretty hard to keep from talking about it, as it was in her mind almost all the time. But she was happy in thinking how she would enjoy the company, and supper, and presents, when the time came.
On Thursday, Mrs. Lee made some nice biscuits, and some of Ruth’s favorite cookies cut in squares and diamond shapes, each with a little hollow in the center filled with bright-colored jelly. Then there were apples, oranges, and nuts, and a few pretty flowers.
“And here are the presents, Ruth,” said Mrs. Lee, uncovering a basket.
Ruth took out a pair of warm mittens, a gay-colored little shawl, a pair of warm house slippers, and a few other articles of clothing. In the bottom of the basket was a picture-book that Ruth had grown tired of.
“Why, mama, what do you mean?” and Ruth’s eyes filled with tears. “Where are the girls and my new presents? I do not need these things, and some of them are old.”
“Never mind, dear, we are not at the party yet. Get your hat, while I pack the supper and the presents in baskets, and then we will go.”
“O, it’s at some other house!” Ruth wondered, but brightened up, and they soon started. She said nothing when her mother turned down a narrow street, but walked close by her side; but when they stopped at a poor-looking house, she whispered, “Why, mama, the party isn’t here, is it?”
The door was opened by a pleasant-faced woman, who seemed very glad to see them. Lying on a cot was a little girl about Ruth’s age. Mrs. Lee went up to her and took her hand.
“How is Mary to-day?” she asked.
Mary’s mother said she thought her little girl was better, and added, “She gets so tired lying there with nothing to do.”
Ruth thought of the picture-book, and in a moment it was in Mary’s hands. In a little while the gay-colored shawl was around her shoulders, and some of the fruit, cakes, and flowers were on a low table near her. You could not have told which looked the happier, Mary or Ruth.
When Mrs. Lee and Ruth were again in the street, Ruth said: “This is a splendid party, mama. Where shall we go next?”
At the next place they stopped there was a poor woman sitting alone by the fire. Mrs. Lee called her “auntie,” and visited quite a while with her. Ruth was wondering what she had in her basket that would be nice for her, when a little boy came in and held his hands, blue with cold, over the fire to warm them.
Auntie said: “Johnnie is a good boy. He does all the chores for me. It’s pretty cold for his hands sometimes, but he is real brave.”
Ruth began at once to hunt for something in the basket of presents. She soon found what she was looking for, and with a bright smile she said, “Will these fit you?” Johnnie put the mittens on, and they did fit him just as if they had been knit for him.
“Do you suffer much with the cold, auntie?” said Mrs. Lee.
“Only my feet. The floor is so cold I can hardly keep them warm.”
Ruth knelt at her feet and in a moment the thin shoes were off and the warm house slippers on. Then she took a plate from the table, and piled it high with some of the dainties she had brought. The thanks of poor auntie and the smiles on Johnnie’s face made Ruth feel very happy.
They made several other calls, Ruth finding a place for all the things she had brought.
When they got home, Ruth threw her arms around her mother’s neck, saying, “You are the dearest mama, and this is the best kind of party that ever was.”
“My daughter, when Jesus was here on earth, he said something about giving and receiving presents. You can read about it in the last part of the twentieth chapter of Acts. See if you can find the verse.”
Takoma Park, D. C.