Anytime Tales Read Free Page A

so hard on the back that her heart flew out of her body, and landed on the grass beside the old woman. It was the queerest thing you ever saw! The old lady bent down and picked up the heart. She shook her head solemnly, and showed it to Queenie’s surprised mother.
    “Look there! Her heart is of stone! Feel it—it’s hard and cold. Do you wonder the child can’t feel sorry for anyone, and can’t do a kindness? Who could, with a cold, hard, stony heart like that! It’s the worst heart I have ever seen in my life, and I’ve looked into a good many. Here you are—take it back, little girl. You’ll never be happy till you melt that stony heart of yours.”
    “But how can she?” asked the mother, frightened and sad.
    “Only one way,” said the old woman, hobbling off. “Only one way. Be kind, even if you don’t feel like it. There’s nothing like kindness to melt a heart of stone!”
    “Oh, Queenie, you must try and do what the old woman says,” said her mother. “I do want people to love you, as they love other children. Please will you try to be kind, and see if your heart gets better?”
    “Well, I’ll try,” said Queenie, thinking the whole thing was a fuss and a bother. “I really will try. I didn’t very much like the look of my heart, I must say. You know, Mother, it has felt very heavy lately; and, of course, if it’s made of stone that’s the reason!”
    Well, you have no idea how hard it is to be kind if you don’t feel as if you want to be! Poor Queenie—it was difficult for her to say nice things to people, and
    to try and comfort them when things went wrong. But because she didn’t want her heart to feel heavier and heavier she tried.
    “When children fall down I must pick them up,” she planned. “When they get into trouble over their lessons I must help them. When Mother has a headache I must be quiet. It’s easy enough for the other children to do these things, because they
want
to do them—but I don’t. Still I will.”
    So she did. She had plenty of chances for kindness that week. Joan, who lived opposite, broke her leg and Queenie went across to see her. She took her one of her own dolls, and she read to Joan for half an hour from a book. She didn’t want to one bit, of course. It bored her very much.
    At the end of her visit, when she rose to go, Joan pulled her down to the couch and kissed her. “I never knew you could be so sweet and kind, Queenie!” she

    said. “I
love
the doll—and you do read so nicely. Please come again!”
    Queenie suddenly felt a curious pain in her heart, and she put her hand there. She felt pleased with Joan’s words, but she wished her heart wouldn’t hurt her so much. It would be too bad if it began to pain her just as she was trying hard to cure it.
    The next day she went to see her granny, and she rode in the bus. It was very full, and Queenie could only just find herself a seat. As she sat down she noticed an old man getting on the bus. There was no room for him at all. He would have to stand.
    Queenie would have let him stand in the ordinary way, but now she was trying to remember to be kind. So up she got at once.

    “Please have my seat,” she said; and the old fellow sat down.
    “Now there’s a kind little girl for you!” he said in such a loud voice that everyone heard. They stared at Queenie, and gave her warm smiles. She felt that funny pain round her heart again, and pressed it hard. Oh dear, it really did hurt!
    She went into her granny’s house. “How is your poor leg, Granny?” she said. “Don’t get up to get tea. I will get it for you, and I’ll make you some toast, too.”
    Queenie had planned all this on the bus. Her granny was most astonished. She sat and watched the little girl getting tea.
    “Well, you always were a pretty child, Queenie,” she said at last, “but now you’ve a bit of kindness in your eyes, you look a real darling. It’s a pleasure to have you with me!”
    Queenie’s heart hurt her