Two Little Boys

Two little boys had two little toys
Each had a wooden horse
Gaily they played, each summers day
Warriors both of course
One little chap then had a mishap
Broke off his horse’s head
Wept for his toy, then cried with joy
As his young playmate said

“Did you think I would leave you crying
When there’s room on my horse for two?
Climb up here, Jack, and don’t be crying
I can go just as fast with two
When we grow up, we’ll both be soldiers
And our horses will not be toys
And I wonder if we’ll remember
When we were two little boys”

Long years passed, war came so fast
Bravely they marched away
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd
Wounded and dying lay
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out
Out from the ranks so blue
Gallops away to where Joe lay
Then came a voice he knew

“Did you think I would leave you dying
When there’s room on my horse for two?
Climb up here Joe, we’ll soon be flying
I can go just as fast with two
Did you say, Joe I’m all a-tremble?
Perhaps it’s the battle’s noise
But I think it’s that I remember
When we were two little boys

I heard ‘Two Little Boys’ in 1969… Written in 1902 it tells a story about…  

…Jack and Joe, who fought in the Boer War

…love and friendship… putting the needs of my friend before my own… that leads to support, empathy and understanding, that responds to the friend’s need and gives whatever the danger, inconvenience or cost…

…loyalty… sticking with friends whatever their situation or difficulty… that endures through and is not diminished by time… that risks vulnerability, takes the initiative, breaks ranks and stands alone to help the friend.

Jesus said: ‘Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.’ Jack and Joe illustrate this. I’m called to follow Jesus’ example.