Fireside Stories for Girls in Their Teens

by Margaret W. Eggleston

  ON THE ROAD TO WOMANHOOD

  In their hands the girls carried a scroll; on their backs they carried abundle, and they were five in number--five girls with rosy cheeks andhealthy bodies. But now their cheeks were browned by the sun and theirshoulders drooped as they walked by the way.

  For they had walked and walked and walked as the morning had turned intonoon, and now the afternoon shadows were already falling on the way. Thenas the search seemed almost useless, they saw her--the one for whom theyhad come; the one into whose hands they wished to place their scrolls.Eagerly they watched her as she came slowly toward them dressed in shiningwhite--the Angel Who Rights Things.

  When she smiled, they found courage to speak.

  "We have come to search for you but we thought we should never find you,"said the oldest of the girls. "We can never grow strong and beautiful ifwe carry these heavy burdens on our backs. They are much too large for usand we do not like them. We have come to ask you to take them away andmake us free. Lo! we have written it all here in our scrolls."

  But the Fairy Who Rights Things drew back as the five handed to her thescrolls which they carried.

  "Take away the burdens!" said she. "Oh, no, I could never do that. He thatcarrieth no burden gaineth no strength. All must carry if they wouldgrow."

  "But we do not like them. If we must have a burden, might we not exchangethem? Surely all our friends do not have burdens to carry. We havewatched them and we know they have none," said another girl.

  "You are quite mistaken," said the fairy. "All have burdens to carry. ButI can let you choose if you will exchange your own. Let me see what youhave brought."

  "Well," said the first. "Here is mine. I have to go to school. Now fatherhas plenty of money and I shall never have to work. Why should I study anddo all the hard work of the school? I hate it all and I want to be freefrom it. I want to live at home and read, and play, and do as I like."

  "And here is mine," said the second, lifting it from her back. "I have togo to church every Sunday when I want to sleep. There is nothing there forme and I am so tired of it. But father and mother insist that I go, atleast in the morning. I want to be free from the church."

  "Oh," said the third. "I don't mind school and I don't mind going tochurch but I do mind having to help at home. It is iron and sweep and washdishes; then wash dishes and sweep and iron. Always something to do when Iam in the house. I hate housework and I want to be free from doing it.Mother says all girls should help at home. But it is a big burden."

  "My burden is quite different from the others," said the fourth. "I cannotdress as I choose. I must wear heavy clothes and low heels. I must dressmy hair as if I were old and tidy. All the girls do differently and I wantto be like them. Really my burden makes me very unhappy. Please let mechange it."

  Then the fairy turned to the last girl, who had been resting her burdenagainst a stone wall.

  "What have you here, dear?" she said kindly. "Your burden seems weighingyou down. Let me help you open it."

  "Oh dear," said the girl, and the big tears welled up in her eyes. "Thisis my home life. Nobody seems to understand me. They scold and fret andfuss all the time. Mother is cross and the children are always botheringme. I want to go away from home and work for my living and then board asthe other girls do. I should love to have a little room in aboarding-house where the girls could come to see me. My burden growsheavier and heavier and I am also very unhappy."

  "Well, well, well," said the Fairy Who Rights Things. "It looks as if Ihad a big task. All of you seem to be unhappy, but then we are usuallyunhappy because we look at ourselves instead of others. Let's try whatthese magic spectacles can do. They will show you the burdens some of yourfriends carry and also show you how they carry them."

  Then she fitted a pair to the eyes of each girl and they looked at thepassers-by.

  There was Kate, who was always smiling and happy. Her burden was almost aslarge as she. There was a sick mother away back on the little farm in thecountry. Kate was trying to support her and still have enough to keep herown expenses paid. Her days were full of work. In her room, she was sewingto make extra money. She was very lonely, for she loved the little motherand longed to be with her, but she must earn money. Oh! what a pile ofworries she had on every side! How could she ever carry them? But beneaththe pile as it rested on her back they saw a little lever that was liftingall the time--and the lever was _Love_.

  And here was May. They had money and automobiles and everything to makeher happy. She had never seemed to have any burden but now she wascarrying a very large one. She wanted to go to college, she wanted to makeher life worth while, but her parents wanted her to stay at home and playthe hours away. They would not let her go and as the months went by shelonged more and more to study and serve. Did she have a lever to helpcarry hers? Indeed she did. It was right under the burden and it wascalled _Vision_.

  Then there was Tom, the baseball star. He too carried a burden. They hadnever known that he had a father. But he carried the burden of a fatherwho drank and drank. Oh, what a shame to take him through the streets insuch a helpless condition! Did Tom have a lever? All looked eagerly to seeand they saw _Ideals_--he would have a spotless character and retrieve thefamily name.

  And there was Helen. Her people used profane language and she loved thepure. They loved the world and she loved the ideals of the church. Theymade fun of her faith and tried to change it. How heavily she was loaded,yet they had never dreamed of it when they had seen her teaching herlittle class in the Church School. But _Belief in God_ was helping her tocarry her load.

  So they passed along the way before the five girls. All were carryingsomething but not all were carrying their load alike. Some smiled, andsome sang as they staggered beneath a heavy load; others groaned andfretted with the weight of a much lighter one. Some were not only carryingtheir own load but helping to carry others.

  "And now," said the Angel Who Rights Things, "do you see a load that youwould prefer? If so, then I will ask the bearer to exchange with you. Willyou choose by the size of the burden or the ease with which it iscarried?"

  But though they searched long and diligently, they found no load easierthan their own.

  At last one turned to the Angel and said, "We find no one to choose. Andsince we must carry a burden, will you tell us how best we may carrythese?"

  Then the face of the Angel lighted with pleasure till it glowed like thesun. "When one asks _how_ to carry and not _why_ he must carry, alreadythe load is lighter," she replied. "If you will, your school can give toyou a vision that will make your load seem very easy; your church can giveto you a love that will make you eager to go there and learn to serve;your home cares can give you ideals for your own little home some day;your mother can show you how to grow into beautiful womanhood if you willbut give her a chance; your troubles at home can give to you a sympathythat will not only lift your own burden but help with those of others. Allthese levers that you have seen helping to lift loads have been right atyour hand to help you if you would only have given them an opportunity.

  "How shall you bear your burdens? With a smile on your face, and love inyour heart, and any _lifter_ that you can find."

  Then the Angel Who Rights Things went on her way to find others whogroaned beneath their burdens because they had never learned how to carrythem.