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The little one looked up, and saw the stars, spangling the blue veil of the sky; bright as candles they burned, and yellow as gold.
Oh, father, cried the child; what are those lovely things?
Those are stars, said the father. Those are Gods little lights.
But why have I never seen them before?
Because you are a very little child, and have never been out in the night before.
Can I see the stars only at night, father?
Only at night, my child!
Do they only come then, father?
No; they are always there, but we cannot see them when the sun is shining.
But, father, the darkness is not terrible here, it is beautiful!
Yes, dearie; the darkness is always beautiful, if we will only look up at the stars, instead of into the corners.
BUTTERCUP GOLD
Half an hour before, she had called to her mother, who was just going out, and begged her to come and look at the cupperty-buts.
They are brighter than ever, Mamma! Do just come and look at them! golden, golden, golden! There must be fifteen thousand million dollars worth of gold just on the lawn, I should think.
And her mother, pausing to look out, said, very sadly,
Ah, my darling! if I only had this day a little of that gold, what a happy woman I should be!
And then the good mother went out, and there little Jessy stood, gazing at the flowers, and repeating the words to herself, over and over again,
If I only had a little of that gold!
She knew that her mother was very, very poor, and had to go out to work every day to earn food and clothes for herself and her little daughter; and the childs tender heart ached to think of the sadness in the dear mothers look and tone. Suddenly Jessy started, and the sunshine flashed into her face.
Why! she exclaimed, why shouldnt I get some of the gold from the cupperty-buts? I believe I could get some, perfectly well. When Mamma wants to get the juice out of anything, meat, or fruit, or anything of that sort, she just boils it. And so, if I should boil the cupperty-buts, wouldnt all the gold come out? Of course it would! Oh, joy! how pleased Mamma will be!
Jessys actions always followed her thoughts with great rapidity. In five minutes she was out on the lawn, with a huge basket beside her, pulling away at the buttercups with might and main. Oh! how small they were, and how long it took even to cover the bottom of the basket. But Jessy worked with a will, and at the end of an hour she had picked enough to make at least a thousand dollars, as she calculated. That would do for one day, she thought; and now for the grand experiment! Before going out she had with much labor filled the great kettle with water, so now the water was boiling, and she had only to put the buttercups in and put the cover on. When this was done, she sat as patiently as she could, trying to pay attention to her knitting, and not to look at the clock oftener than every two minutes.
They must boil for an hour, she said; and by that time all the gold will have come out.
Well, the hour did pass, somehow or other, though it was a very long one; and at eleven oclock, Jessy, with a mighty effort, lifted the kettle from the stove and carried it to the open door, that the fresh air might cool the boiling water. At first, when she lifted the cover, such a cloud of steam came out that she could see nothing; but in a moment the wind blew the steam aside, and then she saw, oh, poor little Jessy! she saw a mass of weeds floating about in a quantity of dirty, greenish water, and that was all. Not the smallest trace of gold, even in the buttercups themselves, was to be seen. Poor little Jessy! she tried hard not to cry, but it was a bitter disappointment; the tears came rolling down her cheeks faster and faster, till at length she sat down by the kettle, and, burying her face in her apron, sobbed as if her heart would break.
Presently, through her sobs, she heard a kind voice saying, What is the matter, little one? Why do you cry so bitterly? She looked up and saw an old gentleman with white hair and a bright, cheery face, standing by her. At first, Jessy could say nothing but Oh! the cupperty-buts! oh! the cupperty-buts! but, of course, the old gentleman didnt know what she meant by that, so, as he urged her to tell him about her trouble, she dried her eyes, and told him the melancholy little story: how her mother was very poor, and said she wished she had some gold; and how she herself had tried to get the gold out of the buttercups by boiling them. I was so sure I could get it out, she said, and I thought Mamma would be so pleased! And now
Here she was very near breaking down again; but the gentleman patted her head and said, cheerfully, Wait a bit, little woman! Dont give up the ship yet. You know that gold is heavy, very heavy indeed, and if there were any it would be at the very bottom of the kettle, all covered with the weeds, so that you could not see it. I should not be at all surprised if you found some, after all. Run into the house and bring me a spoon with a long handle, and we will fish in the kettle, and see what we can find.