Do not laugh at the poor little slave girl, children, or ridicule
the idea of her taking such a small thing to the Lord. If you,
and older people too, were in the habit of carrying all your
little troubles to the throne of grace, I am sure you would find
help that you little dream of. If the Lord in his greatness
regards the little sparrows, so that not one of them shall fall
to the ground without his notice, and if he numbers the hairs
of our heads, surely there is nothing that can give us uneasiness
of mind or sorrow of heart too small to commend to his notice.
I wish we might all follow Tidy's example, and I have no doubt
that our heavenly Father, who is quite willing to have his words
and his love tested, would answer us as he did her.

She went directly to the house, carefully looking this way and that,
as if expecting, as I said, that the ball would suddenly appear
before her,--of course it did not,--and passing across the veranda,
entered the hall. A great, old-fashioned, eight-day clock,
like the pendulum that hung in the farmer's kitchen so long,
and got tired of ticking, I imagine, stood in one corner.
Just at the foot of this, Tidy saw a white string protruding.
She forgot for the moment what she was hunting after,
and stooped to pick up the string. She pulled at it, but it
seemed to catch in something and slipped through her fingers.
She pulled again, when lo and behold! out came the ball of yarn.
Didn't her eyes sparkle? Didn't her hands twitch with excitement,
as she picked it up and carried it to her mistress?
So much for praying, said she to herself; I shall know what to do
the next time I get into trouble.

The next time the affair proved a more serious one.