I like to rest on a country seat
Up on a hill quite near me.
I watch the world go by
And revel in all the green I see.

One morning while I sat resting 
A sad looking lady passed by
With a taut rictus smile on her face
She looked like she needed to cry.

A group of ladies were walking ahead
And the sad lady went to pass 
Suddenly one of the group stopped,
Looked, and sat down on the grass.

She indicated to her friends then
That they should walk on a bit
And called out to the fraught lass
"Come over here to me and sit".

With just a moment's hesitation
The troubled lady sat down too
"I'm Betty," said the kind woman
"Tell me dear - who are you?"

"I'm Alice," she replied and began to cry
The tears of the broken-hearted.
All her pain came flowing out as if
She couldn't stop now she'd started.

Betty rose and said "why not join us?"
Alice gave an indifferent shrug.
"You'll feel better walking with my crowd,
But first, I'll give you a hug."

Alice at first stiffened and then relaxed
Into the tight grip of her new friend
Her sobbing eased and I could see
Her mind was starting to mend.

They all went off in a chattering line
It was obvious Alice was losing her pain
I sat and marvelled at the kindness of a stranger.

I never saw them again.