at
day. It lit up the bed of my father, and ..." Bacha stopped and tears
ran down his cheek.

"And what, Bacha? Oh, what, Bacha?" with bitter cries both boys
exclaimed. The tears were already running down Ondrejko's pale face.

"There on the bed in the rays of the sun like a holy picture, rested
our Stephen, sleeping. Mother sat beside the bed. There was a humming
in my ears and blackness before my eyes, and if father had not jumped
and caught me I would have fallen over. It was long before they
brought me back to consciousness."

"So he didn't drown?" both boys were astonished and rejoicing.

"Didn't he fall into that swamp?"

"He fell in it, children. Oh, he fell in, and there was no man who
could have saved him. But we had a large dog called Whitie who went
around always with us, as Fido with you. When we left home we left him
behind, but he followed us, and the Lord God Himself sent him in that
moment when the stone under Stephen gave way, and he lost his balance
and fell. Whitie caught him by the hair and dragged him to the shore,
and whined and barked till the forester came.

"He carried Stephen to the brook, washed off the mud, and revived him,
for he was almost dead, and then carried him home. I expected father
would punish me but he did not. Mother kissed me crying, and gave me
breakfast. They were afraid something had happened to me. They thought
I had been drowned because I couldn't be found anywhere. I saw clearly
that they both loved me very much, but it did not please me, I was
afraid it would become known what I had intended to do. My parents
are already in eternity, and I can not now ask them for forgiveness
because after death there is no more forgiveness.

"Stephen never let it be known that I made him go that way, and from
that time on we loved each other as from the beginning. I was no
longer jealous of the love of father and mother to him. I knew and
felt now that they loved me also, and that I didn't deserve this love.

"From that time I couldn't look at the dog Whitie. It was always
painful to me that he, a dog, saved Stephen, when I wanted to drown
him. But though he didn't drown that time the Holy God took him to
Himself. He must be angry at me, a sinner, to this day. Thus I say,
'Never do any harm to animals; they are much better than people; they
are God's creatures; they never do wrong things before God but obey
always.' And now, boys, run and go to sleep."

Though the boys had man