Mrs. Brown begged to be allowed to quilt it when the patches were all nicely put together , and Patty was glad to have her , for that part of the work was beyond her skill . It did not come home till the morning Patty left , and Aunt Pen packed it up without ever unrolling it . ` We will look at it together when we show it to mamma , ' she said : and Patty was in such a hurry to be off that she made no objection . A pleasant journey , a great deal of hugging and kissing , some tears and tender laments for baby , and then it was time to show the quilt , which mamma said was just what she wanted to throw over her feet as she lay on the sofa . If there were any fairies , Patty would have been sure they had done something to her bed-cover , for when she proudly unrolled it , what do you think she saw ? Right in the middle of the white star , which was the centre-piece , delicately drawn with indelible ink , was a smiling little cherub , all head and wings , and under it these lines -- ` While sister dear lies asleep , Baby careful watch will keep . ' Then in each of the four gay squares that were at the corners of the strip that framed the star , was a white bit bearing other pictures and couplets that both pleased and abashed Patty as she saw and read them . In one was seen a remarkably fine bun , with the lines -- ` Who stole the hot bun And got burnt well ? Go ask the lilac bush , Guess it can tell . ' In the next was a plump , tailless bird , who seemed to be saying mournfully -- ` My little tail , my little tail ! This bitter loss I still bewail ; But rather ne'er have tail again Than Patty should deceive Aunt Pen . ' The third was less embarrassing , for it was a pretty bunch of flowers so daintily drawn one could almost think they smelt them , and these lines were underneath -- ` Every flower to others given , Blossoms fair and sweet in heaven . ' The fourth was a picture of a curly-haired child sewing , with some very large tears rolling down her cheeks and tumbling off her lap like marbles , while some tiny sprites were catching and flying away with them as if they were very precious -- ` Every tender drop that fell , Loving spirits caught and kept ; And Patty 's sorrows lighter grew , For the gentle tears she wept . ' ` Oh , aunty ! what does it all mean ? ' cried Patty , who had looked both pleased and ashamed as she glanced from one picture to the other . ` It means , dear , that the goods and bads got into the bed-quilt in spite of you , and there they are to tell their own story . The bun and the lost tail , the posy you took to poor Lizzie , and the trouble you bore so sweetly . It is just so with our lives , though we do n't see it quite as clearly as this . Invisible hands paint our faults and virtues , and by-and-bye we have to see them , so we must be careful that they are good and lovely , and we are not ashamed to let the eyes that love us best read there the history of our lives . '
As Aunt Pen spoke , and Patty listened with a thoughtful face , mamma softly drew the pictured coverlet over her , and whispered , as she held her little daughter close -- ` My XXXXX will remember this ; and if all her years tell as good a story as this month , I shall not fear to read the record , and she will be in truth my little comforter . '
Lizzie Patty Pen aunty bed-cover centre-piece couplets posy quilt third