One day, one of these children accused the other of improper talk. My mother reproved him severely, pointing out that one does not say such nasty things, because they are sinful and displease the Child Jesus; and that those who commit such sins and do not confess them, go to Hell. Little Jacinta never forgot that lesson.
The very next time the children came, Jacinta said: “Will your mother let you go today?”
“No.”
“Then, I’m going with Francisco over to our yard.”
“And why won’t you stay here?”
“Our mother doesn’t want us to stay when those other children are here. She told us to go and play in our own yard. She doesn’t want me to learn these nasty things, which are sins and which the Child Jesus doesn’t like.”
Then she whispered in my ear: “If your mother lets you, will you come over to our yard?”
“Yes.”
“Then go ask her.”
And taking her brother by the hand, she went home.
Speaking of Jacinta’s favorite games, one of them was “Forfeits.” As Your Excellency probably knows, the loser has to do whatever the winner tells him. Jacinta loved to send the loser chasing after butterflies, to catch one and bring it to her. At other times, she demanded some flower of her own choosing. One day, we were playing Forfeits at my home, and I won, so this time it was I who told her what to do. My brother was sitting at the table writing.
I told her to give him a hug and a kiss, but she protested: “That, no! Tell me to do some other thing. Why don’t you tell me to go and kiss Our Lord over there?”
There was a Crucifix hanging on the wall.
“Alright” I answered, “get up on a chair, bring the Crucifix over here, kneel down and give him three hugs and three kisses; one for Francisco, one for me and the other for yourself.”
“To Our Lord, yes, I’ll give him as many as you like,” and she ran to get the Crucifix.
She kissed it and hugged it with such devotion that I have never forgotten it.
Then, looking attentively at the figure of Our Lord, she asked: “Why is Our Lord nailed to the cross like that?”
“Because He died for us.”
“Tell me how it happened,” she said.