Part 12 (1/2)
THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
Marty and Edith often accompanied Miss Alice when she visited Jennie.
Sometimes they each took a doll to visit Laura Amelia, also carrying some of their dishes and having a dolls' tea-party. This always pleased Jennie very much, though at first she scarcely knew how to play in this quiet, lady-like fas.h.i.+on, as she had only been accustomed to playing in the street with rough children before she was hurt. Of course she had had no chance at all to play during the last year.
Sometimes the girls read little stories to her. This she viewed as a surprising accomplishment, as she could only spell her way along, not being able to read well enough to enjoy it. So in one way or another they entertained her, making her forget her weakness.
Sometimes they talked about other things, telling her of the mission-band, though, as it was something so outside of her experience, she could, with all their explanation, hardly form any idea of it. She took more interest in descriptions of the country, the green fields, shady woods, and pretty gardens. She was very fond of flowers, and during the early summer her friends kept the poor room quite bright with them. An old lady living near Mrs. Ashford, and having an unusually large yard for the city, had a great many flowers, and hearing of Marty's sick friend in Landis Court, told her whenever she was going over there to come and get some flowers for Jennie. This delighted both little girls extremely.
One day when they were all with Jennie, she picked up one of her cards that had on it a picture of a shepherd leading his flock and carrying a lamb in his arms. She wanted to know what it meant, and what a shepherd was, and what sheep were. After it had been explained, she said,
”'Shepherd' makes me think of a hymn they used to sing in the Sunday-school down in the Harbor.”
”Did you ever go to Sunday-school?” asked Marty.
”I went a little while when we lived down in the Harbor. My teacher had a lovely velvet cloak trimmed with fur.”
”Didn't she tell you about the Good Shepherd?” Edith inquired.
”No. She didn't seem to know about any kind of shepherd. Leastways she never let on that she did. But they used to sing beautiful hymns, and one was about a shepherd.”
”Was it 'Saviour, like a shepherd lead us'?” asked Marty.
”That was the very one!” exclaimed Jennie in delight. ”How did you know that was it?”
”I thought it might be.”
”Would you like to have us sing it now?” Miss Alice inquired.
”Oh, yes, indeed!”
So they sang it, Jennie joining in whenever they came to the words, ”Blessed Jesus,” which, besides the first line, was all she knew.
”Is blessed Jesus a shepherd?” she asked.
”He is the Good Shepherd,” replied Edith.
”Where's his sheep?”
”All who believe on Him are his sheep, for the Bible says, 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.'”
Miss Alice saw that Jennie did not altogether understand Edith, so in a few simple words she explained that Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd, and calls us to follow him. Then taking up the picture again she repeated what she had said about shepherds and their flocks, and also went over some of the hymn they had been singing, until Jennie began to get into her little muddled brain quite a clear idea of Jesus, our Shepherd.
”Where is your Bible? I will show you the chapter about the Good Shepherd.”
”I ha'n't got one. Mother has one, but I guess it's locked up in that little black trunk. It's a purple one with clasps that somebody gave her long ago, and she always had to keep it hid for fear papa'd sell it for whiskey.”
Jennie said all this very coolly, she was so much accustomed to the kind of life in which there was more whiskey than Bible; but Edith and Marty looked much shocked.
”Never mind,” said Miss Alice, ”I will bring my Bible the next time I come and read the chapter to you.”