American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Sunday schools -- United States -- Periodicals
"'Where is a bandage?' said some one. So the leader took out of his
pocket a very large handkerchief, and wound it tightly just above the
wound. The blood stopped flowing. 'Where is a string to tie it with?'
he said. No one had one, but Fred put his hand to his coat, and taking
me from it, said, 'Here is a pin, Tom. Pin it quick!'
"So the handkerchief was pinned tightly around the leg, and the blood
didn't ooze out any more. However, the wound pained the poor boy very
much. The others fixed him pretty comfortably on the soft body of the
deer, while two of them went for a doctor as fast as possible.
"It was two hours before he came.
"'Not very serious,' he said, at which every body drew a long breath of
relief. 'But it would have been,' he continued, 'if you hadn't pinned
this bandage on so securely. He would certainly have bled to death.'
[Illustration: A BUTTERFLY FLEW ALONG.]
"You may imagine that I felt proud then. I had saved a life! If it had
not been for me the boy would have died! To be sure, another pin would
have done, but then it was--_me_! I felt that I was doing wrong to be
so proud, and like everyone who sins, I got my punishment. When the
doctor undid the bandage, he carelessly threw me on the ground, and
paid no more attention to me, for when he replaced a better bandage on
the limb, he used a wide strip of cloth to fasten it with.
"You can not imagine my feelings then! There I was, cast on the ground
in the woods, where nobody would ever find me. I would rust, and fall
to pieces! I would never be moved from that lonesome, dreary place.
And it was my fault! I felt that it was my punishment for feeling so
proud. To be sure, the doctor did not know that I was proud when he
threw me on ground, but I felt 'in my bones,' as it were, that it was
my punishment for feeling so lofty because I had been the humble means
of saving a life. The agony of those few moments will be a lesson to me
through life, and if I ever feel lofty and haughty again, I shall be
surprised.
"I say 'those few moments,' for soon, some of the boys came to remove
the body of the deer, and Fred, who was among them, happening to see me
on the ground said:
"'Halloo! I guess I'll pick you up. I've learned how useful a pin may
be.'
"So my stay on the ground in the woods was not long, for he returned me
to the lining of his coat."
TO PANSY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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