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 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 -♦♦♦- 
 
 SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, 
 
 200 MULBEURY-STUEET, NEW YOKK. 
 

HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 Will and Mary Okay had just gone 
 
 to live in a new home. In front of 
 the house there was a fine yard, 
 where they kept a dear little white 
 rabbit. The name of this rabbit was 
 Puss, and they loved Puss more than 
 anything else that they had in the 
 world. 
 
4 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 On one side of the house were 
 some line trees, and back of the 
 house was a nice garden, and Will 
 and Mary and their papa and mamma 
 thought it would be a good home for 
 them all. There was but one thing 
 that was bad, and that was that in 
 the house close to them on one 
 side lived a very cross man. He 
 had been so cross that no one would 
 live near him, and so the house into 
 which Mr. Gray had just moved had 
 stood empty a long time. But Mr. 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 5 
 
 Gray was a kind, good man, and ho 
 said that he thought lie could live in 
 peace even with so bad a man as 
 Mr. Hill, and Mrs. Gray said that she 
 would try it, and Will and Mary said 
 they would try and not do an}'thing 
 to annoy Mr. Hill, and so they all 
 went to live in the empty house. 
 
 "Now," said Mrs. Gray, "we 
 must all begin right. If we find out 
 anything that Mr. Hill does not 
 like we must be careful and not 
 do it. I hear that he does not like 
 
G HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 to have any one look over his fence ; 
 so you mind, children, when you are 
 in the yard, or in the garden, that 
 you never look to see what is going 
 on at Mr. HillV 
 
 " They tell us, papa, that he will 
 kill our Puss if she gets into his 
 garden," said Mary in a sad tone; 
 " and if Puss were to be killed what 
 should I do?" 
 
 " Well, we will hope better things, 
 my child," said Mr. Gray. Those 
 are not folks that love peace that 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 7 
 
 tell such tales, and you know that 
 "peace and love" is our motto. 
 
 This Puss was a great pet in the 
 house. They all loved her, and Will 
 most of all, for she was his rabbit. 
 He bought her of a rude boy who took 
 very little care of her, and who had 
 let her three little ones starve to 
 death. Will could not bear to see a 
 poor dumb beast ill-used, and he 
 loved poor Tuss all the more for 
 having saved her from harm. At 
 first she was quite wild, and they 
 
8 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 soon saw that it would not do to 
 keep her in the front yard, for she 
 might get through the fence into Mr. 
 Hill's garden. 
 
 Uncie Dan had said he would make 
 a cage for her, but he had so much 
 work to do that he put it off from time 
 to time, and so they at last put Puss 
 into the shed at the back of the 
 house. This did very well so long 
 as the door of the shed was kept 
 shut ; but when it was left open out 
 Puss would hop, and the next they 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 would see of her would be down in 
 the garden eating the pinks and let- 
 tuce, and she could do much harm 
 there. And then what a time they 
 would have trying to catch her. 
 But week after week went by, and 
 they were all so kind that Puss grew 
 tame, and came when she was called, 
 and did so little harm that they for- 
 got about a cage, and Puss ran 
 about as she liked. 
 
 And Will and Mary and the baby 
 
 were very fond of her. And Mrs. 
 
 1* 
 
10 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 Cray too, though she did not like 
 pets, could uot help liking this 
 one for May-bird's sake. 
 
 And who was May-bird? you will 
 ask. Ah, that was Will. And Mrs. 
 dray called him this pet name be- 
 cause he was always singing about 
 the house all day long. Will was 
 not a strong, healthy lad; he could 
 not go to school, nor did he very 
 often go off on the farm with his 
 papa and the men, but he was 
 mostly about the house with his 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 1 1 
 
 mamma and sister and the baby. 
 And all the day long be would bum 
 over some tune in a low tone, or 
 sing some pretty song ; and be could 
 sing very well, and be knew many 
 pretty songs. So bis mother called 
 him her May-bird, with his quiet, 
 loving ways, A May-bird he was 
 that would sing all the year round. 
 
 One fine day in June, after they had 
 lived in the new house almost three 
 months, Will and Mary and the 
 baby, who could just walk alone, were 
 
12 ITOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 going out to the hay-field, and 
 thought they would take Puss with 
 them. But Puss was nowhere to 
 be found. They hunted and looked 
 and called. They went up and down 
 the garden, and looked in every cor- 
 ner of the shed, but no Puss came. 
 After Will had looked a long time 
 he heard a whistle over the fence, 
 and looking up he saw poor Puss 
 hanging by its hind legs from a tree. 
 And there stood Mr. Hill with a 
 broad grin on his face. 
 
> 
 
 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 13 
 
 " That will teach you better than 
 to let your nasty beasts run in my 
 garden again," said he with a sneer; 
 "don't it look pretty?" 
 
 Will burst into a flood of tears for 
 a moment, and as soon as he could 
 speak he put up his hands and said, 
 " Please, sir, give me my rabbit even 
 though she is dead." 
 
 "Not I," said Mr. Hill; "I shall 
 let it hang for a scare-crow or a 
 scare-boy ;" but a better thought 
 came and he cut it down, and threw 
 
14 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 it over the fence and bid him be 
 
 gone. 
 
 Will took it up gently in his arms 
 and carried it to his mother. She felt 
 bad too, but tried to soothe him. 
 
 "Please, mother," said he, "help 
 me not to feel angry with that bad 
 man ; I want to feel right, but the 
 bad thoughts will come up. I know 
 that I ought to love him." 
 
 "Only Jesus can help you, dear," 
 said Mrs. Gray, "you must pray to 
 him. Do as your father does : try to 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 15 
 
 do Mr. Tl ill some good, and that will 
 make yon feel better toward him. 
 
 " I do him good, mother ? I, such 
 a little boy, and he such a great 
 rough man? What can I do for 
 
 him?" 
 
 "Who can tell?" said Mrs. Gray. 
 
 "Who can tell?" he said it after 
 her, and soon his voice grew more 
 gay, and he went out to bury his 
 little dead Puss in the garden. " I 
 will try to do him some good if I 
 can" he said to himself. " Poor man! 
 
10 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 how sad lie must be to have no one 
 to love him. No little boy or girl. 
 I wish T could love him. But he 
 won't let me. At least I can pray 
 for him." 
 
 Months went by, and it was a cold 
 night in the fall. All the birds but 
 the May-bird were gone. He sang 
 as gayly as ever, sitting there 
 by the tire when his father came in. 
 
 "Poor Hill!" said Mr. Gray; "I 
 have not seen him for a week. The 
 woman who kept his house is gone, 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 17 
 
 and left him with only an idle bit of 
 a grirl to wait on him. Make him 
 some of your nice jelly, wife, and let 
 ns see if he will take it." 
 
 " Well, I don't know who will 
 carry it in if I make it. He would 
 not take it from us, and the children 
 would not dare to go." 
 
 Little Will all at once stopped his 
 song to the baby and stood up and 
 said, " I will." So the jelly was 
 made, and the next day Will stood 
 at Mr. Hill's door. No one was 
 
18 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 there, and so "Will went in and tapped 
 on the stairs, and called to know if 
 he might come np. 
 
 "No! be oft"!" said Mr. Hill; but 
 the boy stood firm. 
 
 "Flease, sir, mother has sent you 
 some jelly." No reply. 
 
 " If you would let me come in and 
 do anything for you I would be very 
 glad." 
 
 Still no reply. 
 
 So the little boy went bravely on, 
 till with hope and fear in his face he 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 19 
 
 stood at the bed side. Mr. Hill took 
 the jelly in silence, and ate it and 
 seemed to like it. 
 
 "If you please, sir, my mother 
 said that if she could do anything for 
 u she would be very glad." 
 lie did not say no, and so Will 
 took it that he meant yes. and away 
 lie ran home to tell what he had 
 done. Soon Mrs. Hill went in and 
 made his bed, and gave him a cup 
 of tea, which he took very well, and 
 when she was going away he said, 
 
20 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 " Send in your boy, if 3 r ou like, to- 
 night. 
 
 So Will went in and sat down by 
 the fire, and waited till Mr. Hill 
 spoke. 
 
 "Can } r ou read ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, a little." 
 
 u You may read then a bit if you 
 like?" 
 
 But Will could find no book to 
 read in. 
 
 "Well, then sine me one of your 
 
 little songs 
 
 ?» 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 21 
 
 So Will sung a dear little hymn 
 about the love of Jesus, and then 
 when he asked him he sang it over 
 
 again. 
 
 "0 he doesn't love me ;" said Mr. 
 Hill with a groan. "That hymn is 
 not meant for me." 
 
 " Shall I sing some other ? or if 1 
 had the Bible." 
 
 "No, not now. Come here, child. 
 I am sorry 1 hung your rabbit. 
 When you go home ask God to for- 
 give me. I can't pray." 
 
22 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 " Please, sir, I did that long; ago." 
 
 " Did what? What made you 
 pray for me ? Did you think me so 
 bad?" 
 
 " no, not that alone, but I thought 
 you were not happy." 
 
 " Why ? because I killed your 
 rabbit?" 
 
 " no, but T thought you had not 
 many to love you, and I thought if 
 God loved you that would make up." 
 
 " But how could you pray for one 
 who had been so unkind to 3*011 ? 
 
 o)> 
 
HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 23 
 
 "Jesus told me to do so, sir." 
 There was no more said then, but 
 when Will went the next day the 
 Bible lay by the bedside, and Mr. 
 Hill asked him to read to him from 
 it. So he did then and every day, 
 for a long time, until he was able to 
 read for himself. When Mr. Hill left 
 that sick room he was a changed 
 man. Often now does he go in to sit 
 by the fireside of his kind friends 
 the Grays. Will's place is always 
 by 1 lis side, and often does that 
 
24 HOW TO MAKE PEACE. 
 
 great rough hand rest gently on the 
 3'oung head, and that once harsh 
 voice repeat, softly, " Blessed are the 
 peacemakers, for they shall be called 
 the children of God." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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