“Yes,” said Mary; “it is a long journey back to God and to Paradise, and sometimes there are very rough places to get over; and our Saviour loves his little lambs so dearly, that he carries them in his arms over all the rough places, and if we keep close to him, he can bring us safely into the Paradise of God.” Mary’s little scholars seemed full of love, and they did not want to go home, they felt so safe and happy at school; but Mary told them their fathers and mothers would be waiting for them, and now they must bid one another good-bye. Carry Deacon said they must have two kisses apiece from Mary; so she kissed them all twice, and then they went home. It is good to begin the day with thoughts of God, if we would have his blessing upon its close. [Illustration: THE END.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ =TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:= Italics, bold letters, blackletter font and small capitals are represented by _ = ~ and ALL CAPS respectively. Perceived typos have been silently corrected. Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.