TWO boys were roaming through the woods one day, when they saw a bird’s nest high up in a tree. Now, their parents had told them not to hunt for nests, or to climb the trees for them, as it was cruel to take away their tiny houses; and if Alfred and Frank had been obedient boys they would have remembered this, and left the nest where it was.
But Alfred was determined to get the nest almost as soon as he caught sight of it. With some difficulty he managed to climb the trunk and reach the upper branches where the nest was lodged. He was pleased to find four pretty eggs in it, and at once began to pull the nest away from the twigs by which it was held.
While doing this, however, he did not notice that he had placed his foot on a dead and rotten branch; and as his weight began to bear more directly upon it, a sudden crack was heard, and before Alfred could save himself by grasping another and firmer branch, he dropped the nest and the eggs, which were all smashed on the path, and he fell nearly twenty feet to the ground.
I think both boys will remember that day, especially as they could not hide from their dear parents what they had been doing. I trust it will remind them that all wrong-doing will meet its due reward. The Bible says,
This is the course of things; the punishment may be withheld for a time, but it will be sure to come at last, unless there is confession of our sins, and the happy result of confession—forgiveness. O, how sweet is forgiveness, and if my readers have not tasted it, I trust they may soon do so.
ML 03/13/1927