“Well, my husband, you know, was always looking out for ways of doing good,—­lending a helping hand,—­and he used to talk with the children a great deal of such things.  One day he came across a beautiful little story that he read to them.  It was the story of a child who made the acquaintance of a poor, half-starved student and brought him home with her to share her Thanksgiving dinner.  It made a deep impression on the children.  They talked about it continually, and acted it out in their play.  But they were in the habit of doing that with any fresh story that pleased them, so it was nothing new to us, and we hadn’t a thought of their carrying it further.  But the next week was Thanksgiving week; and when Thanksgiving Day came, what do you think those little things did,—­for they were quite little things then,—­what do you think they did but bring in just before dinner the half-blind old apple-pedler who had a stand on the corner of the street?

“They were so happy about it, and they thought we should be so happy too, that we couldn’t say a word of discouragement in the way of advice then; but later, when we had given the old fellow his dinner, and he had gone, we had a talk with the dear little souls, when we tried to show them that it would be better to let us know when they wanted to invite any one to dinner or to tea,—­that that was the way other girls and boys always did.  They were rather crestfallen at our suggestions; for, with the keen, sensitive instinct of children, they felt that their beautiful plan, as they thought it, had somewhere failed, and, though they promised readily enough to consult us ‘next time,’ we could see that they were puzzled and depressed over all this regulation, when we had seemed to have nothing but admiring appreciation for the similar act of the child in the story.  My husband, seeing this, was very much troubled to know just what to say or do; for he thought, as I did, that it might be a serious injury to them to say or do anything to chill or check their first independent attempt to lend a helping hand to others.  Then all at once out of his perplexity came this idea of allowing the children from that time forward to have the privilege of inviting a guest of their own choosing every Thanksgiving Day, and that this guest should be some one who needed, in some way or other, home-cherishing and kindness.  They should have the privilege of choosing, but they must tell us the one they had chosen, that we might send the invitation for them.  This plan delighted them; and from this start, five years ago, the thing has gone on until it has grown into the present ‘guest day,’ where each one of the children may invite his or her particular guest.  It has got to be a very pleasant thing now, though at first we had some queer times.  But as the children grew older, they learned better how to regulate matters, and to make necessary discriminations, and a year ago we found we could trust them to invite their guests without any older supervision, and they are very proud of this liberty, and very happy in the whole thing; and such an education as it has been.  You’ve no idea how they have learned to think of others, to look about them to find those who are in need not merely of food or clothing but of loving attention and kindness.”