NOW I shall tell a story about good luck．We allknow good luck：some see it from year's end to year'send，others only at certain seasons，on a certain day；there are even people who only see it once in their lives，but see it we all do．

Now I need not tell you，for every one knows it，that God sends the little child and lays it in a mother'slap，—it may be in the rich castle，and in the well－to－dohouse，but it may also be in the open field where the coldwind blows．Every one does not know，however，but it istrue all the same，that God，when He brings the child，brings also a lucky gift for it：but it is not laid openly byits side；it is laid in some place in the world where onewould least expect to find it，and yet it always is found：that is the best of it．It may be laid in an apple；it was sofor a learned man who was called Newton：the apple fell，and so he found his good luck．If you do not know thestory，then ask some，one who knows it to tell it yon．Ihave another story to tell，and that is a story about apear．

Once upon a time there was a man who was born inpoverty，had grown up in poverty，and in poverty he hadmarried．He was a turner by trade and made，especially，umbrella handles and rings；but he only lived from handto mouth．"I never find good luck，"he said．This is astory that really happened，and one could name the coun－try and the place where the man lived，but that doesn'tmatter．

The red，sour rowan－berries grew in richest profu－sion about his house and garden．In the garden there wasalso a pear-tree，but it did not bear a single pear，andyet the good luck was laid in that pear－tree，laid in theinvisible pears．

One night the wind blew a terrible storm．They toldin the newspapers that the big stage－coach was lifted off theroad and thrown aside like a rag．It could very well happenthen that a great branch was broken off the pear－tree．

The branch was put into the workshop，and the man，as a joke，made a big pear out of it，and then another bigone，then a smaller one，and then some very little ones．"The tree must some time or other have pears，"the mansaid，and he gave them to the children to play with．

One of the necessities of life in a wet country is an umbrella．The whole house had only one for common use；if the wind blew too strongly，the umbrella turned inside－out；it also snapped two or three times，but the man soonput it right again．The most provoking thing，however，wasthat the button which held it together when it was down，too often jumped off，or the ring which was round it brokein two．

One day the button flew off；the man searched for iton the floor，and there got hold of one of the smallest ofthe wooden pears which the children had got to play with．"The button is not to be found，"said the man，"but thislittle thing will serve the same purpose．"So he bored ahole in it，pulled a string through it，and the little pear fit－ted very well into the broken ring．It was assuredly the verybest fastener the umbrella had ever had．