Gilbert and his mother Author:Jacob Abbott Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: when she took out her Testament and spelled out a chapter in the Epistles, while breakfast was waiting for Gilbert to return from his morning's work in the barn,... more » it seemed to her, as she afterwards said, that she did really love the Redeemer whom she read about there. The change was begun. The current was turned. It seemed now as hard to be indifferent as it was before hard to love. Gilbert observed the subdued and softened tone of his mother's voice, and the mild and peaceful expression of her eye. But we will pause here, and make Gilbert himself the hero of another story. PART II. Gilbert stood at the door of the house, waiting for his mother. He sat down on one of the logs of the fence, and seemed to be looking very intently at something in the snow. Presently he looked up, and saw his mother at the door. She stood there a moment adjusting her shawl and tying her bonnet. ' Come, mother, come,' said Gilbert playfully, ' it is time to go.' ' Yes,' said she, looking up at the sun, ' it is rather late, I see.' ' You had better come round this way, mother, for it is very icy in the path.' 'Will the crust bear?' said she, stepping cautiously upon the snow. ' Bear !' said Gilbert, rising and jumping upon it, ' it would bear an ox-team. Just look here, mother,' continued he, as she approached him. He pointed to the surface of the snow where a wasp had fallen, and had sunk, by the heat which his body had absorbed from the sun, an inch or more into the snow, the little pit being exactly of the size of his body. ' What is it ?' said his mother. ' A wasp. I do not see how he happened to fall right exactly into that little hole.' 'Perhaps he crawled in,' said his mother, walking on. ' But come,—we must go.' ' Mother," said Gilbert, coming up behind her...« less