THE JOURNEY OF LIFE.

AN ALLEGORY.

Once upon a time, a good many years ago, there was a traveler,
and he set out upon a journey. It was a magic journey, and was to
seem very long when he began it, and very short when he got
halfway through.

He traveled along a rather dark path for some little time,
without meeting anything, until at last he came to a beautiful
child. So he said to the child, "What do you here?" And the child
said, "I am always at play. Come and play with me."

So he played with the child the whole day long, and they were
very merry. The sky was so blue, the sun was so bright, the water
was so sparkling, the leaves were so green, the flowers were so
lovely, and they heard so many singing birds, and saw so many
butterflies, that everything was beautiful. This was in fine
weather.

When it rained, they loved to watch the falling drops and smell
the fresh scents. When it blew, it was delightful to listen to
the wind, and fancy what it said, as it came rushing from its
home, whistling and howling, and driving the clouds before it,
bending the trees, rumbling in the chimneys, shaking the house
and making the sea roar in fury.