through Paradise, and of the
happiness of those who live there."

"What do you say! How can you know anything about that?" said the old
man, looking at Elsli in amazement.

"I know what is said about it in a beautiful song; I have known it a
long time. One of my friends taught it to me, and she has gone there
already. Shall I repeat it to you?"

The old man nodded assent, and Elsli was glad to repeat the song again
to some one who must be interested to hear it, since he was so soon
going there himself, he said. She began directly, and, as the old man
listened with great attention, she kept on to the end. He shook his head
several times during the recitation, and, when it was finished, he
said:--

"That will not be for me."

Elsli was very much startled. "But why not, why not?" she asked,
anxiously. "It is certainly for every one; we must all die some time,
and then how happy we shall be, when we go there."

He shook his head again.

"Not for me; it is only for the good." He said no more for some minutes,
and Elsli sat in silence. At last he spoke again.

"I could tell you something, but I don't think you would understand me.
If a man doesn't get along well in life, and he thinks that God can help
him but does not, he says to himself that there's no use in praying, and
he must help himself as he can; and so he grows reckless and does things
that are wrong and that he shouldn't do; then when he comes to die, and
he has not thought for a long time anything about God and Heaven, then
the door of Paradise does not open to him, and he cannot go in to that
happy life. But why do I talk to you of this? You cannot understand."

But Elsli did understand partly, for she remembered hearing her
step-mother once say it was easy enough for those to pray who had all
they wanted, for they could see that God helped them; but he had never
helped her. And Elsli could hear again the sorrowful tones of her
father's voice as he answered:--

"If we think that, it will be worse and worse for us; that is not the
right way to think."

These thoughts made Elsli very sad; but presently she roused herself and
said she would go into the house and see if she could do something for
the sick woman; she would come back by and by, and help him into the
house again. The old man would not let her go, however; he drew her down
again upon the fallen tree on which he was sitting.

"No, no; stay here," he said. "Let us talk a little more; you ar