Do n't be afraid , '' she said , for Ben paused and fumbled at the reins , feeling half ashamed to tell his fancy . `` You were saying prayers , '' he added , wishing she had not caught him . `` So I was . Do n't you , when you are happy ? `` No , 'm . I 'm glad , but I do n't say any thing . '' `` Words are not needed ; but they help , sometimes , if they are sincere and sweet . Did you never learn any prayers , Ben ? '' `` Only ` Now I lay me . ' Grandma taught me that when I was a little mite of a boy . '' `` I will teach you another , the best that was ever made , because it says all we need ask . '' `` Our folks was n't very pious ; they did n't have time , I s ` pose . '' `` I wonder if you know just what it means to be pious ? '' `` Goin ' to church , and readin ' the Bible , and sayin ' prayers and hymns , ai n't it ? '' `` Those things are a part of it ; but being kind and cheerful , doing one 's duty , helping others , and loving God , is the best way to show that we are pious in the true sense of the word . '' `` Then you are ! '' and Ben looked as if her acts had been a better definition than her words . `` I try to be , but I very often fail ; so every Sunday I make new resolutions , and work hard to keep them through the week . That is a great help , as you will find when you begin to try it . '' `` Do you think if I said in meetin ' , ' I wo n't ever swear any more , ' that I would n't do it again ? ''
asked XXXXX , soberly ; for that was his besetting sin just now .
Ben Bible God every help meetin prayers readin reins sense