The Bed Time Story.
TWO little girls in their night-gowns,
As white as the newest snow,
And Ted in his little flannel suit,
Like a fur-clad Esquimaux,
Beg just for a single story
Before they creep to bed;
So, while the room is summer warm,
And the coal-grate cheery red,
I huddle them close and cozy
As a little flock of sheep,
Which I, their shepherd, strive to lead
Into the fold of sleep,
And tell them about the daughter
Of Pharaoh, the king,
Who went to bathe at the riverside,
And saw such a curious thing,
'Mong the water-flags half-hidden,
And just at the brink afloat;
It was neither drifting trunk nor bough,
Nor yet was an anchored boat.
Outside, with pitch well guarded,
Inside, a soft green braid;
'Twas a cradle woven of bulrushes,
In which a babe was laid.
Then the princess sent her maidens
To fetch it to her side;
And when she opened the little ark,
Behold the baby cried.
"This is one of the Hebrew children,"
With pitying voice she said,
And perhaps a tender tear was dropped
Upon his little head.
And then came the baby's sister,
Who had waited near to see
That harm came not, and she trembling asked,
"Shall I bring a nurse for thee?"
“Yes, bring a nurse." And the mother
was brought the very one
Who had made the cradle of bulrushes
To save her little son.
And the princess called him Moses.
God saved him thus to bless
His chosen people as their guide
Out of the wilderness.
For when he had grown to manhood,
And saw their wrongs and woes,
Filled with the courage of the Lord,
His mighty spirit rose,
And with faith and love and patience,
And power to command,
He placed their homeless, weary feet
At last in the promised land.
Clara Doty Bates.