“Oh, of course you don’t know how pleasant it is, because you don’t have such flowers where you live, and strawberries don’t grow wild there; but you will enjoy going out to pick them; you can’t help it, it seems as if you could never pick enough; it’s such fun that you hate to have it time to go home.” “Yes, I always think it must be beautiful to be out-of-doors,” said Nora thoughtfully. “But when I go it tires me terribly, and there’s not a bit of fun when I’m all tired out.” Emma looked at her companion as puzzled as if she were speaking in a foreign tongue. “Tired” was a word unknown to Emma’s vocabulary. Her greatest sorrow when evening came, was that the day was done and she must go to bed. No day was long enough to tire her nimble feet, and her only regret was that she ever had to stop walking and running and climbing. She stared at Nora a moment, not knowing what to say, and then the very face at which she was gazing put a thought into her head, and she said cheerfully:-- “I see now what you mean, but that is only because you are not strong and well; pretty soon you will be well, and then you will feel very differently; you will be like me, and I am never tired.” Nora shook her head. “I shall never be like you. I was always so, always tired. I can’t bear even to think about running; the very thought tires me. I shall never enjoy it.” Emma began to feel very much worried. “Oh, but there must be something that you enjoy doing; you must have something to think about at night that you are going to do the next day; some plan, some game, some fun or other! Oh, my father will make you well and strong, and you must believe that he will, or else you won’t be happy and will grow worse and worse.” “I do have something that I love to think about and to look forward to. When I see other children jumping and running easily, as you did when you came up the hill just now, I think how much more beautiful it is in heaven than it is here; and how I shall not be sick or tired there, but can run about as much as I please among the beautiful flowers that grow there; roses and lilies that never fade. Sha’n’t you be glad to go to heaven?” Emma was nonplussed. She knew that it was beautiful in heaven, to be sure; but she did not want to go there now; the earth too was beautiful and she was happy enough here; she had not half exhausted the pleasures and delights of her life. Nora seemed waiting for an answer, and Emma stammered out:-- “I never thought about it at all!” Nora looked disappointed. “Oh! that is too bad that we cannot talk about heaven. There is no one but Clarissa whom I can speak to about it, and she did not come with us; I don’t mention it to mamma, because she begins to cry directly. I thought when you came you would like it; I’m sorry you don’t.” Emma did not answer. She was trying to think of something which Nora would like to talk about instead of heaven. A gleam of hope came to her.