Elisabeth Elliot: "But when he came to the blackberry bushes, where the sweetest berries grow, something seemed to whisper to him, 'Stop, Carl, and eat.' 'But I am taking a plate of pancakes for my father's dinner,' said Carl, speaking aloud. 'A moment or two will make no difference. You can run fast,' came the whisper again."

Lisa Barry: That was a small segment of the story Elisabeth Elliot is about to read today. The title is A PLATE OF PANCAKES. If any of you children listening have ever agreed to do something for your parents, but then got sidetracked, you'll appreciate this tale. All this week, Elisabeth is reading stories for young and old. So if you fall into one of those categories, today's program is for you. A PLATE OF PANCAKES is coming right up on this Wednesday edition of Gateway To Joy. Here's Elisabeth to get us started.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, reading a third story this week. I told you the story of little maid Hildegard the first day, and then yesterday, the two brothers. Today we're going to talk about a plate of pancakes.

But before we get to that, I want to read you some verses from the Bible. Don't make a face. You didn't want to hear verses from the Bible, did you? Well, these are some good ones and I think you'll see why I wanted to read them.

It's from chapter 30 of Deuteronomy. It begins with verse 11. "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it."

This is a story called THE PLATE OF PANCAKES. "Once upon a time, a woman was frying some pancakes. As she turned the last cake in the pan, she said to her little boy, 'If you were a little older, I should send you with some of these fine cakes for your father's dinner. But as it is, he must wait till supper for them.'

'Oh, do let me take them,' said the little boy, whose name was Carl. 'Just see how tall I am. And only yesterday my grandmother said I was old enough to learn my letters. Do let me go.' And he begged and begged, till at last she selected the brownest and crispest cakes. And putting them into a plate with a white napkin over them, she bade him take them.

Now the path that led from Carl's home to the sawmill where his father worked was straight enough and plain enough, but it ran through the wood that was called Enchanted. Fairies lived there, so some people thought, and goblins that liked to work mischief. Never before had the little boy been allowed to go there alone.

As he hurried along with the plate of pancakes in his hand, he glanced into every green thicket that he passed, half hopeful and half fearful that he might find a tiny creature hidden in the leaves. Not a glimpse of fairy or goblin did he see.

But when he came to the blackberry bushes where the sweetest berries grow, something seemed to whisper to him, 'Stop, Carl, and eat.' 'But I am taking a plate of pancakes for my father's dinner,' said Carl, speaking aloud. 'A moment or two will make no difference. You can run fast,' came the whisper again.

'Oh, yes, I can run fast,' said Carl. And he put the plate down under the bushes and began to pick berries. They were as ripe and sweet as they had looked, and every one that the little boy put into his mouth made him wish for another. And if he turned away from the bushes, the whisper was sure to come, 'One more, and then go.'

The pancakes grew cold in the plate and the sun, which had been high in the sky when Carl started from home, slipped farther and farther into the west. But still he lingered, till suddenly the evening whistle of the mill sounded sharp and shrill in his ears. 'Why, it is time for my father to come home!' he cried. 'Dear me, dear me! What shall I do?'

There was nothing for him to do but to go home, so home he went with the plate of cold pancakes in his hand and the tears rolling down his cheeks. When he told his mother and grandmother what had happened, they looked at each other wisely as if they thought more about it than they would say. But they bade him dry his tears. 'You will be more careful another time,' they said. And so the matter ended.

But Carl did not forget it. It was many a month before his mother fried pancakes again, but no sooner did he see her turning the cakes in the pan than he said, 'I wish my father had some of these fine cakes for his dinner. Don't you, Mother?' 'Indeed, I do,' said she, smiling at his grandmother as she spoke. And as soon as the cakes were done, she selected the brownest and crispest. Putting them in a plate with a white napkin over them, she bade him take them.

'I'll get there in time for my father's dinner today,' he said as he started out. But in a very short while he was back with an empty plate in his hand and the tears rolling down his cheeks. 'I only put the plate down for a minute while I chased a rabbit that said, "If you catch me, you may have me." When I came back, every pancake was gone,' he sobbed.

His mother and grandmother looked at each other wisely when they heard this. 'It is just as I thought the first time,' said the mother. 'The goblins are at work in the wood. You must never go there again.'

But to this the grandmother would not agree. 'Leave it to me,' she said. The very next day she fried pancakes. And selecting the brownest and crispest, she put them in a plate with a white napkin over them and bade Carl go take them to his father. 'And if anybody tells you to stop or stay or turn your feet from out your way, say but the word that is spelled with the fourteeneth and fifteenth letters of the alphabet three times in a loud voice. All will go well with you.'

'All right,' said Carl, nodding his head proudly, for he knew all his letters by this time and he could spell hard words like cat and mat. 'All right,' but he did not stop to count the letters then, for he was in a great hurry to be off.

'I guess my father will be glad to get such fine pancakes for his dinner,' he said. And he ran so fast that he was halfway to the mill before he knew it. There was no whispering voice in the wood that day and no talking rabbit to tempt him to a chase. But as he came to a place where another path crossed his own, a bird called out from the heart of the wood, 'Quick! Quick! Come here, here, here!' 'Where? Where?' cried Carl.

He was just about to start in search of the bird when he remembered what his grandmother had said. 'If anyone bids you stop or stay or turn your feet from out your way, say but the word that is spelled with the fourteenth and fifteenth letters of the alphabet three times in a loud voice and all will go well with you.'

'ABCDEFG,' he chanted, counting the letters on his fingers as he said them." Now you children who are listening, say them with me. "'HIJKLMNO.' N was the fourteenth letter and O was fifteenth. NO. That was easy. 'No, no, no!' he shouted. And do you believe it? In less time than it takes to tell it, he was at the mill door with every pancake safe and hot.

And the story goes that though he came and went through the enchanted wood all the days of his life, he was never hindered by anything there again. And he never saw a goblin, though he lived to be as old as his grandmother had been when he was a little boy."

Now that's an interesting story. Do you think there are really goblins in the wood? Are there really rabbits who talk? No. I don't think so. Carl found out that there weren't any such things. But can you tell me what it was that was whispering in his ear and telling him to go ahead and eat those berries or follow that bird? What was it that was whispering in his ear?

Has your daddy or your mother asked you to do something and told you exactly where to go and what to do and how to do it? You've said yes; you would do it. But you got sidetracked. Somebody called you from outside. "Come out and let's skate" or let's do this or that. "Let's play ball." They were drawing you away from the duty, from the job that you had promised to do.

Then even if you don't hear a voice outside, there's a voice inside us that God has put there. It's called conscience. Conscience tells you what's right and what's wrong. The Bible says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Sometimes my mother would have to say, "Now you go and take that downstairs and put it on the kitchen counter. Keep your mind on that one thing. Don't do anything else until you get there."

What had happened when this little boy had listened to those whispers in his ear? The pancakes got cold, didn't they? The father didn't get his dinner. The whistle blew in the mill. I think you've learned some lessons today out of that story, haven't you? Please don't forget them.

Lisa Barry: And the best way to be sure you don't forget the lessons of today's program is to have an audio copy of the story for yourself. We've got this cassette all ready for you to purchase, when you write and ask for the tape entitled STORIES FOR YOUNG AND OLD.

We'd also be happy to send you a copy of our newest book and tape catalog. That way, if you'd like to purchase something we haven't been mentioning for a while, you can still find it and order it when you want to. It's also a great resource for gift-giving. All you need to do to receive your complimentary copy of the book and tape catalog is to ask for it when you write to us. The catalog is free. The cost of the current tape series is $7.

You can send that, along with your request, to Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or call toll-free: 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Tomorrow we'll read another story entitled THE APPLE DUMPLING. Let's meet back here then for another Gateway To Joy.