Little Pillows: Or Goodnight Thoughts for the Little Ones

How ‘Little Pillows’ Came to Be Written

A little girl was away from home on a week’s visit. We will suppose her name was Ethel. The first night, when she was tucked up in bed, and just ready for a good-night kiss, I said, ‘Now, shall I give you a little pillow?’

Ethel lifted her head to see what was under it, and said, ‘I have got one, Auntie!’

‘It was another sort of pillow that I meant to give you; I wonder if you will like it?’

So then Ethel saw it was not a question of feathers and pillow-case; still she did not understand, and so she laughed and said, ‘Do tell me at once, Auntie, what you mean; don’t keep me waiting to guess!’

Then I told her that, just as we wanted a nice soft pillow to lay our heads down upon at night, our hearts wanted a pillow too, something to rest upon, some true, sweet word that we might go to sleep upon happily and peacefully. And that it was a good plan always to take a little text for our pillow every night. So she had one that night, and the next night.

The third night I was prevented from coming up till long after Ethel ought to have been asleep. But there were the bright eyes peeping out robin-redbreast fashion, and a reproachful little voice said, ‘Auntie, you have not given me any little pillow to-night!’

‘Then do you really care about having the little pillows given you, Ethel?’

‘Oh, of course I do!’ was the answer. She did not seem to think there could possibly be any doubt about it. Certainly the way in which she said that ‘of course!’ showed that she had no doubt about it!

So it seemed that perhaps other little ones would like to have ‘little pillows’ put ready for every night. For even little hearts are sometimes very weary, and want something to rest upon; and a happy little heart, happy in the love of Jesus, will always be glad to have one of His own sweet words to go to sleep upon.

So here are thirty-one ‘little pillows,’ not to be used all at once, nor even two at a time, but one for every night in the month. The little texts are so short, that they will need no learning; but when you have read the explanation, you will be able to keep the text quite safely and quite easily in your mind.

Read the little book before you kneel down to say your evening prayers, because I hope what you read will always remind you of something to pray about. And then, when you lie down and shut your eyes, let your heart rest on the ‘little pillow’ till ‘He giveth His beloved sleep.’

When you have read this little book, another will be ready for you, Morning Bells, —little chimes of Bible music to wake you up! Some of them will, I hope, ring in your ears all the day, and help you to go happily and brightly through it, following Jesus at every step.