MR. MILLER was an old Christian man who kept a little fish market. One day, when school was out, young Harry came up to him and asked, “Do you need a boy to help you? I think I can sell fish.”
“Can you give accurate weight to my customers; are you honest and can you take care of the cash?” asked Mr. Miller.
“Yes, Sir,” answered Harry; and the result was that he got the job for the summer. He weighed up the fish, and kept the little shop in order.
It was the day before the fourth of July. “Just think,” exclaimed Harry to himself, as he buttoned his white apron around him, “A whole day for fun and firecrackers tomorrow!”
That morning another boy, Steve, entered the shop and flung down on the counter a fine big trout that he had caught in the river.
“Here’s a swell trout, Harry,” said Steve. “I caught it myself. You can have it for a quarter. Just hand over the money, because I’m in a hurry to buy my firecrackers.”
Mr. Miller was out, but Harry had made purchases for him before, so the quarter was spun across to Steve who was off like a shot. A little while later, Mrs. Murphy came in and seeing the nice trout, she asked, “How much?”
“Fifty cents, Ma’am,” replied Hay. Soon Mrs. Murphy was on her way home with the trout and the half-dollar was in the cash drawer.
But here Harry paused. He thought: “A quarter was cheap enough for that fish. I’ll tell Mr. Miller it cost thirty-five cents; he’ll be satisfied and I’ll have ten cents to put toward some firecrackers.”
Mr. Miller was pleased with Hay’s bargain; and when the market closed each went his way for the night. But the dime in Harry’s pocket burned like a hot coal: he could not enjoy his supper, and he was unhappy. Finally he could stand it no longer, and that evening, walking rapidly, he tapped at the door of Mr. Miller’s cottage.
Before his open Bible sat the old Christian man. Harry’s heart almost failed him. But he told his story, and with tears of sorrow he laid the coin in Mr. Miller’s hand. Turning over the pages of his Bible, old Mr. Miller read: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
“You have my forgiveness, Harry,” he said. “Now go home, and confess it all to the Lord. But, remember, you must forsake as well as confess. And,” he added, “you can keep this little coin as long as you live, to remind you of this temptation.”
ML-07/17/1966