Guests were visiting for Sunday dinner, and Marty had embarrassed her mother by misbehaving. Her punishment was to eat her dinner alone at a small table in the corner of the dining room.
The rest of the family and guests paid little attention to her until they heard her saying grace before eating: "I thank Thee, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of mine enemies."

Because it seems to me mouths have
So many things to do--
All the time they want to talk
They are supposed to chew!
--Dorothy Aldis

To beauty and sweetness it grows under care,
Neglected, 'tis ragged and wild.
'Tis a plant that is tender, but wondrously rare,
The sweet, wistful soul of a child.

Be tender, O gardener, and give it its share
Of moisture, of warmth and of light,
And let it not lack for the painstaking care,
To protect it from frost and from blight.

A glad day will come when its bloom shall unfold,
It will seem that an Angel has smiled,
Reflecting a beauty and sweetness untold
In the sensitive soul of a child.

"How much do babies cost?" said he
The other night upon my knee;
And then I said; "They cost a lot;
A lot of watching by a cot,
A lot of sleepless hours and care,
A lot of heart-ache and despair,
A lot of fear and trying dread,
And sometimes many tears are shed
In payment for our babies small,
But everyone is worth it all.

"For babies people have to pay
A heavy price from day to day--
There is no way to get one cheap.
Why, sometimes when they're fast asleep
You have to get up in the night
And go and see that they're all right.
But what they cost in constant care
And worry, does not half compare
With what they bring of joy and bliss--
You'd pay much more for just a kiss.

A young English boy was called "Carrot Top" by other students and given "little chance of success" by some teachers. He ranked third lowest in class: Grade averages for English was 95%, history 85%, mathematics 50%, Latin 30%.
His teacher's report reads: "The boy is certainly no scholar and has repeated his grade twice. He has also a stubborn streak and is sometimes rebellious in nature. He seems to have little or no understanding of his school work, except in a most mechanical way. At times, he seems almost perverse in his ability to learn. He has not made the most of his opportunities."
Later, the lad settled down to serious study and soon the World began to hear about Winston Churchill.

An aged, white-haired mother sat with a smile on her face, waiting for her famous son, Dwight Eisenhower, to arrive. Someone said to her, "You must be proud of your great and illustrious son?" Upon which she asked, "Which son?" Each one was equally great to that noble mother.