Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Cijc G$oob ftocb N the forest pool were many fishes, and one little fish that did wear herself out trying to help the other fishes, and to be withal a gold fish, carrying light into each crevice. Often the little fish was very weary and did go with great thankfulness into the shadow of a rock which stands by the pool, and did rest therein. But the rock refused to see anything, and grumbled, saying, Behold, I am a useless, ugly mass, covered with gray lichens. I will throw myself into the pool, and no longer intercept the rays of the sun I The little fish lay very close to the rock and loved it. And another fish there was, who did love the little tired fish, and did wait in the edge of the shadow in silent thankfulness. When Mother Nature heard the ungrateful grumbling of the rock she was much grieved, and with sad patience did see to it that the foundation of the rock was secure. And the trees and the lichens grew and waved in the sunshine, and?listen!?there is a sound of happy, childish voices playing about The good gray Rock! Con olbini ROSE, in all her crimson glory, scorned a bee, And mocked him as a slave of indus- try; Then daringly, her face turned toward the sun While all her petals shook de- risively. At twilight, in their robes of lifeless gray, With thoughts more gray and hopes more lifeless still, The monks, in that old garden, took their ease, And spoke, with dull and soulless tone, of Death. Then one, who moved not as a funeral train, Whose dreary length respects not Father Time, And whose clear countenance made him seem at odds With those sad men, reached out to pluck the rose. The abbot stern restrained him as he bent, And coldly bade him Leave the senses sleep; Abhor the passionate red and seek the pure? Adore th…
