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THE RAINBOW BOOK |
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He bent his head—and she whispered.
" Bless my soul!" was all Father Christmas replied, but he looked very pleased and jolly.
" And I should like to pay for it," continued Eva ; " I've got five shillings all but three farthings."
" Never mind about that, my dear."
" But I'm sure I ought," she replied dubiously. " Dear Father Christmas, you are always doing kindnesses ; could you tell me how to do something like giving a cot to a hospital, or a free library, or something ? That's what I really came to ask you about, only I forgot it until now. I'm so often in trouble, and I've so often tried to do some good, but it doesn't come off somehow," and she sighed.
" What you ask me is a secret," he answered. " Some people are quick to find it out for themselves. Some people never find it out. But I will tell it to you, dear, because I know that by to-morrow you will be on the high road to guessing it. It is this: You need not give things. You needn't try to be good. Try only not to be troublesome. If you are sweet, and gentle, and kind, you give happiness—not only do you give it, but you can then only find happiness yourself." Somehow, it didn't sound a bit like a sermon; it was more like being told the delightfully easy
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