Chapter 24
CHAPTER XXIV. A MOTHER'S NOTE. Rita and Tom Burke were partners. Everything they did, they did together. Rita and Tom were brother and sister, and they had lots of fun being partners.
They studied together. They played together. They worked together. They never quarreled. They were just two swell partners.
Every Saturday morning Rita and Tom helped their mother around the house. They washed windows and they raked the yard. They cleaned the cellar and they ran errands. Even though they worked, they had swell times, too. They had swell times together.
When their work was finished, their mother would pay them. Every Saturday noon, Rita and Tom each received a quarter, which was their pay for helping mother. They had grand times working together, and it was always swell to get that quarter on Saturday noon.
One Saturday, Mrs. Burke had to go away. Rita and Tom did their work just the same. When they finished, their mother was not there to pay them. So they made out a bill. On a piece of paper, they wrote this note to their mother.
For sweeping and dusting, Mother owes Rita and Tom ten cents each. For washing windows, Mother owes Rita and Tom ten cents each. For cutting the grass, Mother owes Rita and Tom five cents each. Total, Mother owes Rita and Tom twenty-five cents each. The children put this piece of paper under their mother's plate on the table, where she
would surely find it when she came home. Then Rita and Tom went out to play. At four o'clock the children came home. Mother was there, but she was busy upstairs. Rita and Tom looked under their mother's plate.
There they found two brand new quarters and a piece of paper. It wasn't their piece of paper. It was a new piece of paper. They picked up the paper, and here's what they read. For cooking and baking every day, Rita and Tom owe Mother nothing.
For sewing, ironing, and making beds, Rita and Tom owe Mother nothing. For taking care of them when they were sick, for doing a million other things, Rita and Tom owe Mother nothing. Rita and Tom finished reading the paper. They said nothing.
They were ashamed. Terribly ashamed. Awfully ashamed. Yes, they even ran upstairs, threw their arms around their mother, and told their mother that they were ashamed.
Yes, they even cried. But isn't that just the way all mothers work? Your mother, my mother, why, they are all alike. God made them all the same. All mothers are so kind.
They work so hard. They never complain. They never find fault. They never look for pay. God certainly did a fine job when He made our mothers.
Boys and girls, be good to your mother. Obey your mother. Help your mother. She never asks you to do very much. Just think of all that she does for you.
The only pay she ever asks from you is love. That's all she wants. She wants you to love her. Oh, let show our mother that we think that she is the best mother in the world. Your mother is the best mother in the world.
You wouldn't want to trade mothers with someone else, would you? I should say not. No, sir. You don't have to tell your mother that you love her. When you show your mother that you love her, she'll understand.
Somebody once said that all mothers go to heaven. I hope that's true. They deserve to go to heaven. They always do such a swell job being a mother. Be good to your mother.
Be kind to your mother. Obey her. Respect your mother. Love your mother. Show your mother that you are the best boy or girl in the world.
That's what she thinks about you. Show her that you know that she is the best mother in the world. She is the best, isn't she? End of chapter 24.
