Star was a brown Shetland pony with a long white mane and tail. But right in the middle of his forehead was a spot of white that looked like a star, and this is how he got his name.
Star lived on a farm with lots of bigger horses until one day a family bought Star and took him to their house. They built a nice stable for Star that was just big enough for one pony. The children, Elly and Sue and their little brother Stu, soon loved Star. They fed him and brushed him. To them Star was the best pony in the whole world. Soon Star loved them too, because of all the loving care they gave him.
Elly and Sue worked patiently with Star and trained him to do different tricks. They could make Star kneel on his front knees like he was taking a bow. They trained him to rear up on his hind legs and remain standing on his two hind feet. They could even stand on his back, balancing while he slowly walked.
Sometimes they treated Star almost as if he were a real person. One afternoon Elly thought Star needed a nap, so she did her best to make him comfortable. She brought out her own blanket and pillow and made Star lay down on his side. Then she put the pillow under his head and tucked the blanket in all around him. Star seemed to enjoy it even though ponies usually sleep standing up.
Another afternoon Elly came up with a strange idea. She decided Star should come into the house for a bowl of milk at the kitchen table! Sue didn't think it was a good idea at all. "We'll only get into trouble, Elly!" Sue said.
Elly answered, "We were never told not to bring Star in the house. And besides, don't you think Star deserves the very best we have? Anyway, Mom and Dad will never know. They won't be home for at least another hour."
It didn't take much convincing from Elly for Sue to change her mind.
They led Star up the steps of the back stairway and through the back door. First they gave Star a tour of the house, thinking that it was quite natural for the pony to be interested in the place where they lived.
Then they brought him into the kitchen where they poured milk into their mother's favorite mixing bowl and set it on the table in front of Star. He was delighted and slurped it up with his long pony tongue.
Star wasn't very neat, so some of the milk splattered on the floor. Then when he was almost finished...he sneezed and knocked the bowl off the table! It landed on the floor and broke with a crash!
Now the girls were in trouble.
They decided it was time to take Star out of the house. They led him to the back porch, but he would not go back down the steps. The girls tugged on his lead rope, but he wouldn't budge! Going up the steps had been easy, but going back down was a different matter. They tried standing at the bottom of the steps and pleading with Star to come down, but he just stood still, blinking his eyes. Star must have been afraid of falling.
In thinking over their problem, Sue remembered that the steps to the front door were wider. She suggested to Elly that maybe Star would walk down those steps.
So they led him to the front of the house. But no matter how hard they coaxed him, he would not go down those steps either.
The girls were almost in tears. They knew their parents would be home any minute, and they knew full well that they would be in more trouble than just over the broken bowl if their parents found Star in the house! They even tried coaxing Star with carrots and sugar cubes, but nothing worked. Star just would not go down the steps.
Just then the two girls saw their parents' car pull into the driveway.
Let's stop here for a moment and think how the girls got themselves into trouble. It was easy to get Star up the steps and into the house, and didn't the girls have a good time! But when it was time to take him back outside, they couldn't get Star to go down the steps. It's also easy for boys and girls to get into trouble, sin trouble. And how impossible it is for them to get out of it... unless God's Son, the Lord Jesus, helps them.
In fact, every person on earth (except the Lord Jesus) has gotten into sin trouble. The Bible tells us, "There is none righteous [good], no, not one" (Rom. 3:1010As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10)), and, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:2020The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:20)). When a person sins, it's just as if they got a stain on their heart and there is no way they can get rid of that ugly stain. But God has seen our need, and because He loves us so much, He sent His Son to die on the cross to bear the punishment for the sins of anyone who will believe that He died for them. That is why it is so important to believe in the Lord Jesus. When we believe in Jesus, His blood which He shed on the cross cleans us, once and for all, from every stain of sin and makes us ready for heaven.
It is very important to know this: One sin is enough to keep a boy or girl out of heaven, while a million sins will not keep a boy or girl out of heaven if they accept Jesus as their own Savior. If you have not yet accepted Him, now is the very best time to settle the matter. After you become a believer, why don't you tell someone, like a friend or your parents, how you have accepted Jesus as your Savior.
Now it's time to tell you what happened to Star and the girls. When their dad got to the house and heard the girls' tearful story, he tied a blindfold over Star's eyes. Then he carefully and slowly led him down the steps and then off to the stable where he belonged. Elly and Sue were so glad their dad was able to get Star safely back to his stable, but they both were punished and never again thought of bringing their pony into the house.