But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.-Luke 18:16

           The Grass and the Rosebush

In a very nice yard where children played, there, among the children’s toys lived a nice lawn and a beautiful rosebush.

One day, the Rosebush said imperiously to the lawn, "Grass, do you think the people here love you?"

"Of course they do," answered Grass.

"Oh, really?" said Rosebush, "if they did, they wouldn't always run and stomp all over you, would they? They would allow you to grow. They would give you special care like they give me. They water me, they prune me. They cover me in bad weather, and they put special food in my soil. They bring beautiful cuttings of my flowers into the house so that they can admire my fragrance and beauty. Do they do any of these things for you?"

"No", answered Grass sadly, as he pondered the way Rosebush was treated.

Soon, poor Grass began to turn from a rich green to a pale brown. He was very sad, for he thought that he was not loved, and not being loved is a very terrible thing indeed.

In the yard was also a very old and wise oak tree. Oak Tree saw that Grass was not looking very well these days, and asked him what was wrong.

"Oh, Oak Tree, I am so sad today," replied Grass.

"Now, what would make you so sad, my little friend?" asked Oak Tree.

"I am not loved," sobbed Grass.

"Not loved! That is ridiculous!" said Oak Tree. "Why ever would you think such a thing?"

"Well," sighed Grass, "I was talking to Rosebush, and she told me about all the special things the people do for her. They don't do those things for me. She also said that the only thing I am good for is for people to walk and run and stomp all over me. She said that they don't let me grow either. They let you grow, Oak Tree, see- they love you better too. I am really not loved!" sobbed Grass.

"Oh, my poor little friend," said Oak Tree, "Let me tell you some wonderful things that Rosebush didn't mention. First of all, you are loved; you are loved very much by the people. You know how much the people love their children. Do you not realize how much fun and enjoyment the children have playing on you? They play football, and soccer, and tag on you. They play cops and robbers, hide and seek, and they have races on you. They lie down on your softness and look up at the clouds and the stars at night, and they wonder about all kinds of things. They sit on you and have picnics. The people cut you so that you will look handsome. They cut you so that they can enjoy running and playing on you. You, Grass, are very strong, and you do not need the attention that Rosebush gets. So, you see, Grass, you are very much loved. I enjoy the children climbing on me and building forts in my branches. I like to give them shade in the summer, and somewhere cool to sit. This is why God made us, to make people happy, and especially their children. Without you, Grass, there would be no where for them to do all these things."

Well, Grass began to ponder all these new things and he began to feel very excited, not only was he loved, but he was loved very much. As he thought about these wonderful things, his pale brown blades began to turn into the most beautiful rich green again. He was overjoyed now, and filled with gladness.

Rosebush noticed Grass turn from brown to green, and this made her angry and jealous. She felt that it took away from her beauty.

"Grass,” called Rosebush "Why the sudden change of color?"

"I am loved, and loved very much!" announced Grass.

"You fool", sneered Rosebush, "Don't you remember what I told you?"

"You are wrong," said Grass," I talked to Oak Tree and he told me how the people and their children enjoy me and that without me they couldn't do many of the things that they enjoy doing outside."

"That old Oak Tree, he is even more foolish than you are. People are here to take care of us, and as far as their little brats go, they better not come near me or I will grab them with my thorns and prick them! You go ahead and believe what you want. I hope there's a drought and you wither away!" hissed Rosebush.

It was a beautiful day out. The children had come home from school, and were playing on Grass, so Grass ignored Rosebush and was happy.

The game the children were playing was hide and seek. One was hiding behind Oak Tree, another was hiding behind the gate, and the last one, the youngest, was hiding behind Rosebush.

Well, Rosebush kept her terrible promise, and reaching out, she grabbed the little boy with her big sharp thorns. She held on, and would not let him go. The poor child was crying and calling for help.

The other children ran to get Mother. She came out and untangled her child from the wicked thorns. As the young child walked on Grass to go back into the house, Grass felt the soft tears from the child fall on his green blades. This made Grass very angry with Rosebush.

"Rosebush!" called Grass, "That was a very mean thing to do! You should not have done that! You hurt that poor little boy!"

"Ha ha ha!" cackled Rosebush, "I told you they should not play near me!"

"You are going to get it," Grass was very serious.

"And what do you think you will do to me, Grass? Nothing!" sneered the arrogant Rosebush.

As the young child was inside, getting extra love, and lots of band aids, Mother said, "That nasty old rosebush, I'll speak to your Daddy. That mean old rosebush has gotten much too big, and besides, I think it would be nice to have a strawberry patch there instead."

When father came home, mother spoke to him. He saw that she was right, and he went straight away to the garage.

Rosebush was still gloating about pricking the young child as she noticed the father coming over to her with his gardening tools.

"You see, Grass, I can do whatever I want, and the people still give me special attention and care."

Well, Father put his tools down next to Rosebush. Then he picked up a tool Rosebush had never seen before. It was long with a big sharp piece of metal at one end. All of a sudden Rosebush became very nervous. Father swung back his axe, and with one huge chop, cut down the wicked rosebush.

Grass and Oak Tree looked on. They were sad that Rosebush couldn't have been nice, like other rosebushes, but, she would not change, and so they were glad that she was finally gone.

The people and their children picked up all the pieces from Rosebush, and put them down by the trash. Then they hoed and raked the soil where Rosebush had been. They planted new little plants and mulched the soil carefully around the baby plants, and then they watered the soil.

"Hello", said Grass, "my name is Grass, who are you?"

"Hi," said a soft little voice, "I am Patch, and I am scared."

"Don't be afraid," said Grass. "I will be your friend, and so will Oak Tree. You will like it here, the people and their children love you already, I can tell."

"Really?" asked Patch, "even though they know that I won't have berries for a year yet?"

"Of course!" said Grass.

So, Grass, Oak Tree and Patch lived peacefully together, enjoying the passing years, and giving joy to the people and their children.

Matthew Abrahams