Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX. A MOTHER FOR EASTER. Carl Thompson was a little sad-eyed boy. Carl not only had sad eyes, but he was sad inside. The boy was sad because he wanted something, and he wanted that something more than anything else in the world. Most of you boys and girls have what Carl wanted, and I can understand why the ten-year-old boy was always sad. Listen to his story.
Carl lived in a neat five-room house with his grandfather and grandmother. Both grandparents were very old, and, besides, his grandmother was very sick. The old people were good to the boy, but they were poor, and they couldn't give him very much. But that really didn't bother Carl. What the boy wanted most of all was something that money cannot buy. Carl wanted his mother. All the other children had mothers, mothers who lived with them,
played with them, went to church with them, mothers who loved them, mothers whom they loved very much. Carl wished that he were like other children, who knew that life would be different if he only had his mother. Many times a little boy thought about his mother. He had never seen his mother, and he wondered about her. Was his mother tall or short? Was she kind and pleasant? Could she sing? Could his mother tell stories? Could she make apple
pie and chocolate cake? Why did his mother stay away? Why didn't she ever come to visit him? These and many more questions bothered the little boy and made him very unhappy. Oh, how he wished that things would change. Carl Thompson wanted his mother. Well, one day Carl had an idea. It was the week before Easter, and Carl decided to do something. Now you'll never guess what the little boy did, so I'll tell you. Carl wrote a letter.
Yes, he wrote a letter to the newspaper, and here is what the little boy said. Dear Mr. I am a little boy ten years old, and my name is Carl Thompson. I am sending you my picture, and I want you to put it in the paper. Everyone who has a mother has good luck, and I want my mother because my grandma was old and sick. Maybe my mother will see my picture in the paper and will come home for Easter. Please help me, Mr.
Your little friend Carl Thompson. Yes, the newspaper man put Carl's picture in the paper, and thousands of people saw the picture and read about Carl. I suppose you were wondering whether Carl's mother saw the picture. Well, here is what happened. While Carl was eating his breakfast on Easter Sunday, the door opened and a very beautiful woman entered the room. Now I don't think that I have to tell you the rest of the story. Yes, the beautiful
woman was the boy's mother, and Carl Thompson had his mother for Easter. And that isn't all. Carl still has his mother, and today that little boy is the happiest boy in this world. Carl Thompson is happy because he has his mother. Boys and girls, we all have a mother, a very beautiful mother, the best mother in the world, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Blessed Virgin belongs to each of us because Jesus gave her to us to be our mother. Mary
loves us. She wants to be near us. She wants to help us save our souls. Mary is always around to help us. Mary, you know, never leaves us. But once in a while, some boys and girls leave Mary. They run away from their mother because they think they can get along without her. Yes, boys and girls run away from Mary when they don't pray to her. Of course, when boys and girls act that way, Mary worries because she knows that children need her.
Every mother worries about her children, and Mary doesn't want any of her children to get into trouble. So don't you ever make the mistake of running away from Mary. Children are always happy when they are with their mother. If you love Mary and keep close to her, you'll learn to hate sin, and you'll be the happiest boys and girls in this world. You can't love Mary and like sin too. That's why Jesus wants you to keep close to Mary. He knows that if
you hate sin, you will save your soul. Boys and girls, pray to Mary every day. Ask Mary to be a real mother to you. Ask her to watch over you and protect you and keep you from sin. Remember, Mary is your best friend, and she will take you to Jesus, and that's what you want. It's a terrible thing to be without a mother, and it will be terrible for you if you don't keep Mary for your mother. Mary, the best mother in the world, wants you to keep close
to her. Keep close to Mary by praying to her often. End of chapter 9.
