A long, long time ago a girl named Mary lived in a little village in France. The people that lived near her did not love the Lord Jesus or read the Bible. Even Mary’s family did not love Jesus. Mary had accepted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour while visiting her grandmother the summer before.
Mary wanted to have a Bible so much. Her parents would not get one for her. Even if they would, Bibles were hard to find in those days. Mary could not go to town and buy a Bible. None of the stores sold them, and she did not have any money with which to buy one.
One day someone told Mary, “I know where you can buy a Bible. Over in Nimes there is a man who sells them. They only cost three francs.” How happy Mary was to know where she could get a Bible, but it would cost three francs. How could she get three francs? She did not have any money of her own. She knew neither her father nor her mother would give her any.
Mary tried to figure out how she could get three francs. Then she thought of her two little rabbits. They were so cute. She really loved them, but it was more important to her to have a Bible. Perhaps the man would trade a Bible for two rabbits.
Now Mary had to figure out how to get to Nimes. It was 70 miles away. They did not own a horse and cart. There weren’t any trains or cars in those days. People traveled in carts, but Mary did not have the money to pay for a ride. So she decided she would just have to walk the 70 miles.
Early one morning Mary left with her aunt and uncle to walk to Nimes. Since there were no other children going, they had finally agreed to let Mary go along. She put her rabbits in a basket and said good-bye to her parents.
When the rabbits got hungry along the way, she would pick grass for them to eat. On and on they walked. Each night they would sleep in a farmer’s barn and work for a little food. Everyone treated them kindly and helped them as much as they could.
Mary and her aunt and uncle had walked many miles. Up hill and down hill they walked. Mary was getting so tired. On and on they went. Then the road turned and started to go down another hill. They could see a village down in the valley. It was Nimes!
Mary forgot all about being tired. She started to walk faster. Soon she was in the town. Mary went from one shop to another. At last she found the place where Bibles were sold.
“Please, sir,” she asked, “would you trade a Bible for two rabbits?”
“All right, little girl,” the man said kindly.
So Mary handed over her rabbits and got her Bible. How happy she was! As soon as her aunt and uncle had finished their business, the three of them started for home. She was so happy to have her Bible that the 70 miles back did not seem long at all. When she got home she read it every day. It made her so happy, and soon her parents were reading it, too. It wasn’t long until they accepted Mary’s Saviour for themselves.
I wonder how many of you children reading this story read your Bible every day. If you love the Lord Jesus and He is your Saviour, then you should learn all you can about Him. The best place to learn about our wonderful Saviour is in the Bible. God’s own words are written down in it, telling us about who He is, how He loves us, and what He did for us. It also helps us to want to live for Him, too, because we can read what He wants us to do. We cannot be happy like Mary was unless we read our Bibles every day.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:11In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1). 14.
ML-11/29/1981