grandma. Next week mother and Aunt Nettie were going over to Aunt
Anna's in Junction City for a few days; during their absence Missy
was to stay with her grandparents. And to surprise them, she was
learning by heart a whole Psalm.

She planned to spring it upon them the first night at family
prayers. At grandma's they had prayers every night before going to
bed. First grandpa read a long chapter out of the Holy Bible, then
they all knelt down, grandpa beside his big Morris chair, grandma
beside her little willow rocker, and whoever else was present beside
whatever chair he'd been sitting in. Grandpa prayed a long prayer;
grandma a shorter one; then, if any of the grandchildren were there,
they must say a verse by heart. Missy's first verse had been, "Jesus
wept." But she was just a tiny thing then. When she grew bigger, she
repeated, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me." Later she
accomplished the more showy, "In My Father's house are many
mansions; I go there to prepare a place for you."

But this would be her first whole Psalm. She pictured every one's
delighted and admiring surprise. After much deliberation she had
decided upon the Psalm in which David sings his song of faith, "The
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

How beautiful it was! So deep and so hard to understand, yet,
somehow, all the more beautiful for that. She murmured aloud, "I
will fear no evil--for Thou art with me--Thy rod and Thy staff they
comfort me"; and wondered what the rod and staff really were.

But best of all she liked the last verse: