encouraged in it by the approval of their friends and relatives.

But after Minnie had played a long time, her aunt said to her,--

"Come, Minnie, you have played long enough for the present; let us walk
back to the hotel."

When Minnie heard this summons, she did not pout, nor plead for more
time, as a self-willed child would have done; but she looked up to her
aunt with a smile, brushed the sand from her fingers, and said,--

"Yes, aunt, I will come directly."

The moment after, she was standing close to her aunt, ready to return to
the hotel.

As aunt Amy arose from the rock, which had served her for a seat, she
said,--

"We must now sow some good seed, Minnie, before we return home. It would
hardly be right to spend a whole day in seeking our own pleasure without
doing a little good to some one."

"But how can we sow good seed here on this beach?" asked Minnie,
somewhat puzzled by her aunt's remark.

"Do you see those little vessels down yonder, Minnie?" inquired aunt
Amy, as she pointed to a distant part of the beach.

"Yes, aunt, I see them, a little this side of those great rocks."

"And do you also see those persons on the beach near the vessels?"

"Yes, I see some men who look like sailors."

"Well, I have some tracts in this little package; and if we give these
tracts to those seamen, we shall sow some good seed; for the tracts may
lead them to God and heaven."

"Then sowing good seed means the same as being a sunbeam, don't it,
aunt?"

"Yes, my child. By speaking a kind word, by smiling upon persons who
need encouragement, or by giving a tract to do the same things for us,
we are sunbeams to those we act upon. So that being a sunbeam or sowing
good seed amounts to one and the same thing. But let us go and sow our
seed."

They now walked down the beach until they came to the spot where they
saw the sailors. Here aunt Amy gave Minnie a tract to carry to a stout
sailor, who had on a large tarpaulin hat. She ran up to the man, with
one of her sweetest smiles, and said,--

[Illustration]

"Please, sir, will you accept a tract?"

"A tract!" replied the man, looking at Minnie's happy face with
surprise.

"Yes, sir, a pretty tract, if you please."

"Yes, little miss, I'll take it to please you;" and the rough-looking
man stretched out his hand and took the tract, very much to the delight
of Minnie.

While Minnie was giving her tract to the sailor, aunt Amy gave another
to a fine-lookin