Summer Days in the Hills

A retelling for children, based on Mahmúd's Diary (entries from July and August of 1912).

For many weeks, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had been giving talks in the big, busy cities of America. Then, one summer evening in July, He arrived in a little town called Dublin, high in the green hills of New Hampshire.

A kind lady named Mrs Parsons had got two houses ready for Him. She hoped that nobody would find out He was there, so that He could have a little rest. But when 'Abdu'l-Bahá heard about her plan, He said:

We have come for work and service and not for leisure.

Mírzá Maḥmúd, who travelled with Him, wrote in his diary that from His second day there, visitors began to come in great numbers. In the afternoons 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to them at Mrs Parsons's home. They asked Him big questions, like what happens to our spirit after we die, and He answered them. Some of them liked His talks so much that they came to every single meeting.

He was busy in other ways too. He wrote letters, called Tablets, to Bahá'ís far away. He spoke to a club beside Lake Dublin, and at a church in the town. One morning He visited a summer school where the students, some as young as twelve, had their classes in tents in a big open field. The students crowded around His car to welcome Him. Later they asked if they could show Him their gymnastic exercises, and He stayed a long while and talked about education.

There were quiet moments, too. Mr and Mrs Parsons often came with their carriage to take Him for a ride. One day He said He would rather go for a walk, and He sent His companions on the ride instead. Another day He stood on the lawn looking out at the green hills and valleys, and He said how calm it was. When the breeze moves through the trees, He said, and the leaves rustle and the branches sway, it is as though everything is praising God.

After three weeks, it was time to go. On His last day the room was so full that there were no empty chairs left. Mrs Parsons told Him that the people were sad He was leaving and wished He would stay. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said He wished He could stay longer too, but there were many other places where He needed to share the message of God. The next morning, His friends woke up to hear Him chanting a prayer, and soon He was on His way.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Three Weeks at Dublin, New Hampshire".

Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání, M.. (1998). *Mahmúd's Diary: The Diary of Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání*. George Ronald.