Section 1
John was feeling awfully sad because his father was very sick, and he didn’t think he would get better. John was sitting by himself in a small room with his sick father and it was very late at night, so the lamp they were using for light was almost out of fuel.
The sick father spoke to John and said, “You have been an amazing son, John, and God will guide you in life.” He looked at John with gentle and serious eyes, let out a big breath, and then passed away. Even though he had died, it looked like he was just sleeping.
John cried really hard because he felt very sad. He didn’t have anyone in the whole world, not even his father, mother, brother, or sister. He kneeled down beside his father's bed, kissed his father's hand, and cried a lot of bitter tears. Eventually, he closed his eyes and fell asleep with his head leaning against the hard part of the bed. Later, John had a weird dream where he saw the sun shining on him and his father was there, alive and healthy. He even heard his father laughing, just like he used to do when he was really happy. In his dream, John saw a pretty girl wearing a shiny golden crown on her head, and her hair was long and beautiful. She reached out her hand to John, and his father said that she was going to be his wife. His father also said that the girl was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. When John woke up, all the beautiful things he saw in his dream disappeared, and he realized his father was dead and gone forever. Oh, poor John!
The man who had died was put into a box called a coffin, and a week later, he was buried. The son, who loved his father very much, followed the coffin as it was carried to its resting place. He watched as dirt was put on top of the coffin and he couldn’t see it anymore. This made the son very sad because he knew he would never see his father again. The son was very sad and felt like his heart was going to break because he was missing his father so much. But then, the people who were standing around the grave started to sing a beautiful and comforting song called a psalm. The song was so nice that it made the son cry, but these were good tears that made him feel better and not so sad anymore. The sun was shining very brightly on the trees that were colored green, almost as if it was talking to John. It said, “Don’t be too sad, John. Look at the beautiful blue sky above you. Your father is up there, and he’s praying to the kind and loving Father of everyone. He wants you to be happy and do well in the future.”
John said, “I promise to always be good, and then when it’s my time to go to heaven, I will be with my father again. It will be such a happy moment when we see each other again! There will be so many things for us to talk about, and my father will be able to tell me about all the amazing things in Heaven, just like he used to teach me about things on Earth. I can’t wait for that day to come; it will bring me so much joy!”
John thought about what it would be like to see his father again in heaven so much that he could see it like a picture in his mind. It made him so happy that he even smiled, even though he was still crying.
After the funeral, the little birds in the chestnut trees were singing a happy song that said, “Tweet, tweet!”. Even though they saw the sad funeral, they seemed to know that the man who died was now in heaven. They believed that the man had big and beautiful wings now, even more amazing than their own, and that he was very happy there. They knew he was happy because he was always good when he was alive on earth, and the birds were happy for him. John watched as the birds flew away from the green trees and into the big, wide world. He wished he could fly with them too. But first, he made a big cross out of wood to put on his father’s grave. When he went to the grave in the evening to put the cross there, he saw that someone had decorated it with pretty stones and flowers. Some people who didn’t know John had decorated the grave. These people had known John’s father when he was alive and had liked him very much.
