Six-year-old Jane's voice was shrill with
anger. She screamed and tears came into
her eyes. Her baby brother had taken the pretty little
slippers from her very best doll, and he was
getting them dirty, trying to put feet into them. Her
mother hurried into the room, and seeing the
trouble picked up Jane's little brother.
"Mother he's ruined them," said Jane
between sobs. "My best doll's slippers, and now
they are spoiled. He's mean. I hate him!" She stamped her
feet as she looked at her small brother,
and he, too, began to sob frightened by her actions.
Mother sat down on the bed, and handing
little brother a cracker, spoke softly. Jane, I'm
sorry he took the slippers, but he hasn't hurt them too
much. It's wrong for you to say the things
you did."
The little brother, happy with the cracker,
let mother take the tiny slippers off the tip of
his foot. He watched quietly while Mother carefully wiped
the grimy fingermarks off the little
white slippers, but Jane still sobbed. "But Mother, see,
he's torn them. Now, my doll won't look
pretty."
Mother looked at her little daughter.
"Dear Jane, you shouldn't let yourself become angry
and excited. You make very ugly thought patterns when you
do. They are like little arrows falling
all around which hurts others, and in turn come back to
hurt you. You know that, for I have
taught you about it."
"But I can't help it, Mother. It hurts to
have my doll spoiled. It's mine, and I want it
pretty," said Jane resentfully.
Mother nodded. "I know you want it kept
pretty, dear, but your brother is too little
to understand. He didn't mean any harm. Besides, the
slipper isn't spoiled. I can mend it, and they
are both cleaned nicely. There — see?"
Jane looked doubtfully at the slippers and
then wiped the tears from her eyes.
Mother continued. "You see, Jane, it is
easier to repair the physical damage done
than it is to repair the damage you have done with your
angry thoughts."
"But, Mother," Jane protested, "everyone
gets angry and says things. I didn't mean I — I
hated my brother, really. I just said that." The little
girl was beginning to look repentant.
Her Mother regarded her gravely.
"Yes, dear, that's the whole trouble.
People do say things, and then, not really meaning
them, think their words are forgotten and don't amount to
anything. They don't realize that our
words make patterns around us. When the words are angry
ones and mean ugly things the
patterns are ugly, too. These patterns aren't just wiped
out as soon as one's anger is gone. They
linger and fasten onto one. They become easier to repeat,
and then if not stopped they become a
part of one's character. Worse, these patterns affect
other people. They encourage them to do
mean things, and make them unhappy. It is wrong to create
ugliness, when we should make
patterns of beauty and happiness."
Jane looked at her mother shamefacedly.
"I'm sorry, Mother, truly I am. I'll try to make
better thought-patterns — beautiful ones!"
"I'm sure you will, dear," said Mother,
giving her little daughter a quick hug.
That night after Jane went to bed she had a
dream which helped her to remember this
promise. In her dream she saw a small angel just her
size. The little angel wore a long white robe,
and sat on a chair. In her hand the angel had a garment.
It was a dress, and the angel was sewing
designs on it. As she sewed many little things buzzed
around her.
Some of the things were of a beautiful
shape and color, but others looked more like
monstrous insects. They were evil and ugly to look at.
From time to time the angel reached out
and chose one of the swirling swarm about her. Sometimes
she picked a lovely creature and when
she sewed that on the dress it looked very beautiful.
however, at other times she chose one of the
ugly looking insect-things, and these she sewed into
place along-side of the beautiful patterns
already on the dress.
In her dream Jane cried out every time
she saw an ugly pattern sewed on the dress.
"You're spoiling the dress putting those
horrible things right with those beautiful
designs," she said to the angel.
To her surprise the angel nodded and
replied, "Yes, and isn't it a shame to spoil a lovely
dress with such horrible designs?"
"Yes, it is," quickly agreed Jane.
"Why do you pick them out to put on the dress? Why
don't you just sew the beautiful patterns on the dress?"
The angel smiled sweetly and said, "That is
what I 'd like to do. It would be very
pleasant work if there were only beautiful patterns to
sew onto this dress, but you see, I have to
sew on the patterns that are made for the garment."
"But who makes you take the ugly ones?"
Jane eagerly inquired.
Again the angel smiled, but this time
rather sadly as she replied, "You do, Jane. These
are your thoughts. This garment is a symbol of your
soul. When you think beautiful loving
thoughts, then I have lovely patterns to work with. When
you are angry, or impatient, or say evil
things, and perhaps act thoughtlessly and selfishly, then
one of these ugly patterns form, and it has
to be put into the garment."
Jane trembled. She was frightened at the
ugliness of the swarm, and of the number of
monstrous designs spoiling the beautiful dress the angel
sewed on. She felt very unhappy, about it
all.
"Can't I ever get rid of the ugly ones?"
she asked slowly.
The angel's smile was very bright. "Oh,
yes indeed, dear Jane. You can learn always to
control your thoughts and your emotions so that they will
make beautiful patterns, and then I can
take out these ugly designs and sew in the new and
beautiful ones."
And then may I have the beautiful dress
to wear as my very own." Jane asked eagerly.
The angel nodded. "You have it, already.
It is your thought garment. You wear it
through life, if you only realized it. And when you go to
the heaven world after your life here on
earth is completed it goes with you, and that which is
good and fine in it becomes a part of the
real you — your Spirit."
Suddenly, Jane awoke, the dream still
vivid in her memory. How beautiful the angel
had been, and how shining some of the thought patterns on
the garment! She thought it all over
and decided to try hard in the future to control her
thoughts.
When she felt cross, or selfish, or
wanted to become angry, she remembered the
angel sewing on the thought garment and immediately tried
to think good thoughts. She tried to
be unselfish, too, and patient. Sometimes she failed,
but she kept trying, for Mother had told her,
"There is no failure save in ceasing to try." As time
went on it became easier and easier for her to
think good thoughts, and she found herself much happier
because of it. The little angel is very
happy, too, because Jane 's thought garment is growing
more beautiful all the time.
Now, dear little reader, what about
your thought garment? Is it lovely to look at,
and do you suppose the angel is happy when she works on
it?
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