The 13th Resolution

by Charles M Sheldon

  “If it’s one of your compositions, play it now,” replied Mr. Blaisdell.

  “Words and music all my own,” said Richard, winking at Rachel:

  “Oh, there was a happy family

  In Eden years ago,

  It hadn’t any past, for there wasn’t any, you know;

  It hadn’t any neighbors,

  To bother it at all,

  And every day was summer

  Until there was a fall;

  It celebrated New Year’s

  With jollity and fun,

  And there wasn’t another family in all the world

  As happy as this one.

  Oh, this family in Eden

  Wasn’t anybody’s fool,

  But they never went to college

  For there wasn’t any school;

  And it never had to worry

  Over any income tax

  For there wasn’t any income

  To supply the country’s lacks.

  And it might have been all summer

  If it hadn’t been for fall,

  For of all the families living

  ’Twas the happiest of all.”

  Mr. Blaisdell looked across the table at Mary, who wore the “permanent wave” smile. It was there to stay all through the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and thirty.

  About the Author

  Charles M. Sheldon (1857–1946) was an American social reformer who was best known for his authorship of the best-selling inspirational novel In His Steps (1897). A longtime pastor in Topeka, Kansas, he was an early advocate of civil rights and social services for African Americans and a firm believer in putting one’s religion into practice in daily life.

  THE THIRTEENTH RESOLUTION

  Published by David C Cook

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  Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

  David C Cook Distribution Canada

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  David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

  Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

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  All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, resold, or distributed by or through any print or electronic medium without written permission from the publisher. This ebook is licensed solely for the personal and noncommercial use of the original authorized purchaser, subject to the terms of use under which it was purchased. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This story is a work of fiction. Characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.

  eISBN 978-1-4347-0659-1

  © 1928, 2012 David C Cook

  First printed edition published by David C Cook in 1928.

  Written by Charles M. Sheldon

  First Digital Edition 2012