What Shall We Children Bring?

 The text of an anonymous, untitled hymn from The Book of Praise for Children (1881) reads:

The wise may bring their learning,

The rich may bring their wealth,

And some may bring their greatness,

And some bring strength and health;

We, too, would bring our treasures

To offer to the King;

We have no wealth or learning:

What shall we children bring?

We'll bring Him hearts that love Him;

We'll bring Him thankful praise,

And young souls meekly striving

To walk in holy ways:

And these shall be the treasures

We offer to the King,

And these are gifts that even

The poorest child may bring.

We'll bring the little duties

We have to do each day;

We'll try our best to please Him,

At home, at school, at play:

And better are these treasures

To offer to our King,

Than richest gifts without them;

Yet these a child may bring.

Yet what I can I give Him,

Give my heart.

(from "A Christmas Carol" by Christina Rossetti)

The Devil's Idiot

Ambrose Bierce identified an idiot as "A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. The Idiot's activity is not confined to any special field of thought or action, but 'pervades and regulates the whole.' He has the last word in everything; his decision is unappealable. He sets the fashions of opinion and taste, dictates the limitations of speech and circumscribes conduct with a dead-line."

A portrait of  R. (which could stand for rogue), the definitive, aforesaid idiot

(Photo copyright 2005 Evelyn M. Gilmer)

The source of the quotation above is The Devil's Dictionary (1911) by Ambrose Bierce.

I Have Lost My Younger Brother

I HAVE LOST MY YOUNGER BROTHER 

After Luke 15:18-19 and 21

(New King James Version)

My younger brother is

An abusive, arrogant rogue.

He has sinned and has sinned even more

Against heaven and before me,

And he is no longer worthy

To be called my brother.

The crimes he has committed against me 

Over a period of many years

Include assault and battery,

Theft and vandalism.

Is there a limit to the number

Of crimes he would commit against me?

My younger brother is

An abusive, arrogant rogue.

He has sinned and has sinned even more 

Against heaven and in my sight,

And is no longer worthy

To be called my brother.

Matthew 18:21-22

(New King James Version)

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

A portrait of my kid brother R. (which could stand for rogue),

the (childish) brother whom I have lost

(Photo copyright 2005 Evelyn M. Gilmer)

Time for Joy

Joy is the mainspring in the whole

Of endless Nature's calm rotation.

Joy moves the dazzling wheels that roll

In the great timepiece of creation.

Johann Friedrich von Schiller

Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes

PLEA FOR RELIEF FROM BITTER FOES

from the Bible: Psalm 120

(New King James Version)

In my distress I cried to the LORD,

And He heard me.

Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips

And from a deceitful tongue.

What shall be given to you,

Or what shall be done to you,

You false tongue?

Sharp arrows of the warrior,

With coals of the broom tree!

Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech,

That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!

My soul has dwelt too long

With one who hates peace.

I am for peace;

But when I speak, they are for war.

My younger brother Roger,

who is jealous of me

and who has long been jealous of me,

is my bitter foe.

I need relief from my bitter foe,

my jealous, younger brother Roger.

A Brainteaser for the Talkative and Their Listeners

 The Bible says there

is a time to be silent

and a time to speak.

The Cherokee say, "Listen!

Or your tongue will make you deaf."

A word meaning "full of excessive talk" can be dialed on a telephone (or on a cell phone) as 567-822-4687. What is that ten-letter word?

To read the answer to this brainteaser, click here.