Honour your Parents
The story of Katherine and Rosa
The story of Katherine and Rosa
Prov 1:8 " Hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy Mother; for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck."
Mary, a governess in charge of the education of a rich and beautiful young girl, one day grew very impatient with her young charge after a usual display of spoiled temper.
The day had begun when Katherine threw her plate of eggs and toast across the room in a huff and ordered the maid who delivered the breakfast to pick up the mess declaring, "My eggs were undercooked again! If that good-for nothing cook cannot make a decent egg, then I shall have to tell Mama to let her go, and you as well for not seeing that my plate was exactly the way I like it!" The maid quietly cleaned up the eggs and recalled that yesterday Katherine said her eggs were overcooked and threw a similar temper tamptrum.
Later, the handmaid entered Katherine's room to dress the young beauty and was ordered out because she did not do up Katherine's hair precisely as she wanted.
Shortly after, Katherina's mother, came in into the room in her calm and gentle way and admonished , "Katherine, my darling, you must learn to lower your voice. The maids are all chattering down below about your behavior."
" Oh, Mother, if I am ever to be a lady, you must hire proper help or I shall be forced to tell Papa that you are an ungrateful Mama who cared nothing for me!" Lady Preston's face turned pale at her daughter's words, "Get out, Mama! I shall not have you trifling with my hair or my ribbons, today, I shall be left to do as I please! Come Mary, you shall help me dress, for you are the only one who can please me; everyone else is too stupid."
Mary stepped between Mother and daughter to tie up Katherine's silk ribbons and said, "Lady Preston, would it be alright with you if I took Katherine on an outing today, there is something I should like for her to see that would be beneficial to her education, only first I must make a slight detour to visit a friend."
"Do what you will, Mary. I cannot do anything more here, I see." was the hurried answer Mary received as Lady Preston whisked out of the room.
Without any question, Mary soon gathered up Katherine's things and ordered the carriage be ready to carry them off as soon as possible. They drove on for a time passing the country side and then came to the shabbiest homes Katherine had ever seen. The carriage came to a stop and the young girls blue eyes grew large as she was ordered to stepped out before the tiniest in the village. Katherine pinched her nose and sidestepped the muddy holes as they entered.
Soon her face grew pensive as she quietly looked around. The one room home was a well cared for space. The room was certainly tiny, but it was cozy with a crackling fire blazing in the fireplace in one corner , a cane chair was neatly propped before the fire and all manner of dried herbs hung from the ceiling. On one side of the room, a bed was neatly made up with a colorful quilt and in it, a thin and fragile woman lay with her head resting on a pillow.
Mary ordered her pupil to be seated by the fire and stay put while she cared for her friend. "How are doing today, Mrs. Hart?" came Mary's voice in a tender and affectionate tone.
The lady opened her feeble eyes and smiled, "Mary! Oh, I am tolerable well, thanks to the good broth you sent with my Rosa yesterday. I am stronger; prop my pillow for me so my eyes can look on you a little better."
Mary fluffed the paper thin pillow which hardly raised the poor woman's head at all. Just then a humbly dressed girl came in carrying an empty basket and ran to greet her guest, "Mary! Oh, how good it is to see you!" and she kissed Mary on her cheek heartily.She was as thin as air, poorly dressed, but a happier and cheerier face was not to be found. A rare light shone in her eyes and her smile illuminated her sun browned face.
The three women chatted and laughed in a companionable spirit while Rosa fluttered about the house sweeping, cooking a simple broth and smoothing blankets and quite regularly leaning over to kiss her Mother's forehead and smooth back her hair in a loving gesture.
After some time, Mary finally called out to the silent statue beside the fire that the time had come to leave and it was with a less careful foot that Katherine stepped out of the house and into the carriage.
"Miss Mary?" came the thoughtful question after some time, " I understand you tricked me into coming to see this pitiful scene. How can you bear it? No telling what kind of illness and disease is lurking in that house! I do want to ask one question which puzzles me. How can that girl care for her mother in such a way as to tend to every little thing the dreary woman might need without one care as to her own comfort? The Mother was despicably sickly, I should be horrified If I were forced to tend to my Mother in such a way."
Mary sighed, " Despite her poor garments and her thin frame, Rosa is the most beautiful girl I have ever met. Her family was once a well-to-do and well bred family, but by some unfortunate circumstance her father lost all of his fortune and then later died from shock. Her Mother soon after became ill and unable to work, and so out of pity and because someone remembered the constant kindness of the family when they were rich, this home was given to them.
Rosa hires herself out to do any little task she could perform in order to buy bread enough to feed them both. Mrs. Hart, in her day was a woman who was kind to the poor and needy and took great pains to teach her daughter to love God and Honor her Parents. Rosa took the lessons to heart and in her love for her Savior, she delights in Honoring her Mother. She shows untiring gratitude to her Mother by doing all she can for her; by working hard for small wages, by keeping the tiny home a cozy and tidy abode for the bed-ridden woman and by kissing that face she loves more than anyone, even herself. You see, soon Rosa will have to live alone and will no longer have a Mother to honor, yes, Mrs. Hart will not live much longer, but Rosa will not live with the regret that an otherwise proud and unloving little girl may live with if she does not learn the lesson of Honor."
Discussion Questions
1. How did Rosa appear so beautiful? (Nothing will make you appear so lovely in the eyes of others as a loving and caring daughter to your parents.) How can you make yourself lovely?
2. Was Katherine, with all of her fine clothing and pretty face, a lovely young lady? (Nothing will make you appear so unlovely as a disrespectful and dishonoring attitude toward parents)
3. To Honor your parents is to exercise a tender and loving feeling toward them such as the feelings you exercise toward God- what does this mean, and how can you exercise your feelings?
4. What do think would happen if Katherine does not heed Rosa's story? What will happen if she takes Rosa's story to heart and makes a change?
Mary, a governess in charge of the education of a rich and beautiful young girl, one day grew very impatient with her young charge after a usual display of spoiled temper.
The day had begun when Katherine threw her plate of eggs and toast across the room in a huff and ordered the maid who delivered the breakfast to pick up the mess declaring, "My eggs were undercooked again! If that good-for nothing cook cannot make a decent egg, then I shall have to tell Mama to let her go, and you as well for not seeing that my plate was exactly the way I like it!" The maid quietly cleaned up the eggs and recalled that yesterday Katherine said her eggs were overcooked and threw a similar temper tamptrum.
Later, the handmaid entered Katherine's room to dress the young beauty and was ordered out because she did not do up Katherine's hair precisely as she wanted.
Shortly after, Katherina's mother, came in into the room in her calm and gentle way and admonished , "Katherine, my darling, you must learn to lower your voice. The maids are all chattering down below about your behavior."
" Oh, Mother, if I am ever to be a lady, you must hire proper help or I shall be forced to tell Papa that you are an ungrateful Mama who cared nothing for me!" Lady Preston's face turned pale at her daughter's words, "Get out, Mama! I shall not have you trifling with my hair or my ribbons, today, I shall be left to do as I please! Come Mary, you shall help me dress, for you are the only one who can please me; everyone else is too stupid."
Mary stepped between Mother and daughter to tie up Katherine's silk ribbons and said, "Lady Preston, would it be alright with you if I took Katherine on an outing today, there is something I should like for her to see that would be beneficial to her education, only first I must make a slight detour to visit a friend."
"Do what you will, Mary. I cannot do anything more here, I see." was the hurried answer Mary received as Lady Preston whisked out of the room.
Without any question, Mary soon gathered up Katherine's things and ordered the carriage be ready to carry them off as soon as possible. They drove on for a time passing the country side and then came to the shabbiest homes Katherine had ever seen. The carriage came to a stop and the young girls blue eyes grew large as she was ordered to stepped out before the tiniest in the village. Katherine pinched her nose and sidestepped the muddy holes as they entered.
Soon her face grew pensive as she quietly looked around. The one room home was a well cared for space. The room was certainly tiny, but it was cozy with a crackling fire blazing in the fireplace in one corner , a cane chair was neatly propped before the fire and all manner of dried herbs hung from the ceiling. On one side of the room, a bed was neatly made up with a colorful quilt and in it, a thin and fragile woman lay with her head resting on a pillow.
Mary ordered her pupil to be seated by the fire and stay put while she cared for her friend. "How are doing today, Mrs. Hart?" came Mary's voice in a tender and affectionate tone.
The lady opened her feeble eyes and smiled, "Mary! Oh, I am tolerable well, thanks to the good broth you sent with my Rosa yesterday. I am stronger; prop my pillow for me so my eyes can look on you a little better."
Mary fluffed the paper thin pillow which hardly raised the poor woman's head at all. Just then a humbly dressed girl came in carrying an empty basket and ran to greet her guest, "Mary! Oh, how good it is to see you!" and she kissed Mary on her cheek heartily.She was as thin as air, poorly dressed, but a happier and cheerier face was not to be found. A rare light shone in her eyes and her smile illuminated her sun browned face.
The three women chatted and laughed in a companionable spirit while Rosa fluttered about the house sweeping, cooking a simple broth and smoothing blankets and quite regularly leaning over to kiss her Mother's forehead and smooth back her hair in a loving gesture.
After some time, Mary finally called out to the silent statue beside the fire that the time had come to leave and it was with a less careful foot that Katherine stepped out of the house and into the carriage.
"Miss Mary?" came the thoughtful question after some time, " I understand you tricked me into coming to see this pitiful scene. How can you bear it? No telling what kind of illness and disease is lurking in that house! I do want to ask one question which puzzles me. How can that girl care for her mother in such a way as to tend to every little thing the dreary woman might need without one care as to her own comfort? The Mother was despicably sickly, I should be horrified If I were forced to tend to my Mother in such a way."
Mary sighed, " Despite her poor garments and her thin frame, Rosa is the most beautiful girl I have ever met. Her family was once a well-to-do and well bred family, but by some unfortunate circumstance her father lost all of his fortune and then later died from shock. Her Mother soon after became ill and unable to work, and so out of pity and because someone remembered the constant kindness of the family when they were rich, this home was given to them.
Rosa hires herself out to do any little task she could perform in order to buy bread enough to feed them both. Mrs. Hart, in her day was a woman who was kind to the poor and needy and took great pains to teach her daughter to love God and Honor her Parents. Rosa took the lessons to heart and in her love for her Savior, she delights in Honoring her Mother. She shows untiring gratitude to her Mother by doing all she can for her; by working hard for small wages, by keeping the tiny home a cozy and tidy abode for the bed-ridden woman and by kissing that face she loves more than anyone, even herself. You see, soon Rosa will have to live alone and will no longer have a Mother to honor, yes, Mrs. Hart will not live much longer, but Rosa will not live with the regret that an otherwise proud and unloving little girl may live with if she does not learn the lesson of Honor."
Discussion Questions
1. How did Rosa appear so beautiful? (Nothing will make you appear so lovely in the eyes of others as a loving and caring daughter to your parents.) How can you make yourself lovely?
2. Was Katherine, with all of her fine clothing and pretty face, a lovely young lady? (Nothing will make you appear so unlovely as a disrespectful and dishonoring attitude toward parents)
3. To Honor your parents is to exercise a tender and loving feeling toward them such as the feelings you exercise toward God- what does this mean, and how can you exercise your feelings?
4. What do think would happen if Katherine does not heed Rosa's story? What will happen if she takes Rosa's story to heart and makes a change?
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