THREE little girls went out to spend their Saturday holiday together in the country.
Tripping along the road busily engaged conversing about their dolls, their games and their school, they did not observe a bull coming along towards them, tossing his head up with two, great horns, as if he meant mischief. Suddenly the three girls were startled by a loud roar, and looking in the direction from which it came, they saw the infuriated animal rushing towards them. A loud cry arose, then the three frightened children were seen running along toward the town, with the bull in full chase behind them. Very soon he would have overtaken them, and what the consequences might have been, is terrible to think. A farmer’s boy working in an adjoining field, had his attention attracted by the loud scream from the road, and seeing the mad animal rushing along, he was sure someone was in danger. So throwing his hoe down on the field, he ran toward the road, and just reached it in time to get between the bull and the three children. For a moment he hesitated, then seizing a stick which he found on the road, he raised it above his head, and for a moment the mad animal was arrested, but putting his head down, he made a rush at Charlie, the farm-boy, crushing him against the wall, and piercing one of his legs with his sharp horns. Poor Charlie lay there for over an hour, his leg bleeding and his arm sorely bruised, unable to rise. When the three girls reached home, they told what had happened, and the father of one having heard the story, set off along the road to see if the boy had been injured. He found Charlie as described, and without delay had him conveyed to the farm, where his wounds were attended to. But the doctor said it would be necessary to go to the hospital, as the wounds would take long to heal, and Charlie, who was an orphan, had no one to attend to him. So he was driven there in a cab, and next day the three little girls were allowed into the ward, to see the lad who had delivered them from the wild bull at such a cost to himself. For many weeks Charlie lay there, and was visited twice a week by at least one of the little girls, for whom he had suffered. One afternoon, Nellie, the youngest of the three, was accompanied by her father to Charlie’s ward. She was a sweet little singer, and in her simplicity, thinking Charlie would like to hear a hymn, she struck up—“Jesus loves me.”
Charlie listened with great interest, and several of the patients in the ward sat up to catch the words of the little singer. Anything of that kind was so unusual, that before Nellie had finished the hymn, most of the nurses had crept into the ward, and stood listening. When Nellie’s hymn was ended, she was astonished to find so many listeners. All were delighted and asked her to come again, so for many weeks Nellie and her two companions visited Charlie’s ward, and sang to him and the other patients, the “old, old story,” and Nellie’s father read the Word and spoke of Jesus who is Mighty to save.
There were some there who had possibly never heard the Gospel in its simplicity before; at any rate they had not believed it, but God used the little singers as His messengers to carry the wonderful words of life to weary hearts there. Before Charlie left the ward, he had trusted Jesus and known His saving power, and three or four in Charlie’s ward were made happy in the knowledge of salvation.
For many weeks and months that hospital ward was the scene of God’s saving power, patients, nurses, and visitors all being converted there. Nellie, now a tall young woman, delights to pay her weekly visit to “Charlie’s ward,” as they still call it, although Charlie is no longer a sufferer there, but a herald of salvation.
ML-04/11/1920