Story of the Apples
Henry stood under the apple-tree]
Just opposite Mr. Fairchild's parlour window was a young apple-tree,which had never yet brought forth any fruit; at length it produced twoblossoms, from which came two apples. As these apples grew they becamevery beautiful, and promised to be very fine fruit.
"I desire," said Mr. Fairchild, one morning, to his children, "thatnone of you touch the apples on that young tree, for I wish to see whatkind of fruit they will be when they are quite ripe."
That same evening, as Henry and his sisters were playing in the parlourwindow, Henry said:
"Those are beautiful apples indeed that are upon that tree."
"Do not look upon them, Henry," said Lucy.
"Why not, Lucy?" asked Henry.
"Because papa has forbidden us to meddle with them."
_Henry._ "Well, I am not going to meddle with them; I am only lookingat them."
_Lucy._ "Oh! but if you look much at them, you will begin to wish forthem, and may be tempted to take them at last."
_Henry._ "How can you think of any such thing, Lucy? Do you take me fora thief?"
The next evening the children were playing again in the parlour window.Henry said to his sister, "I dare say that those beautiful apples willtaste very good when papa gathers them."
"There, now, Henry!" said Lucy; "I told you that the next thing wouldbe wishing for those apples. Why do you look at them?"
"Well, and if I do wish for them, is there any harm in that," answeredHenry, "if I do not touch them?"
_Lucy._ "Oh! but now you have set your heart upon them, the devil maytempt you to take one of them, as he tempted Eve to eat the forbiddenfruit. You should not have looked at them, Henry."
_Henry._ "Oh, I shan't touch the apples! Don't be afraid."
"_There was one he could just reach._"--Page 26.]
Now Henry did not mean to steal the apples, it is true; but when peoplegive way to sinful desires, their passions get so much power over themthat they cannot say, "I will sin so far, and no further." That night,whenever Henry awoke, he thought of the beautiful apples. He got upbefore his parents, or his sisters, and went down into the garden.There was nobody up but John, who was in the stable. Henry went andstood under the apple-tree. He looked at the apples; there was onewhich he could just reach as he stood on his tip-toe. He stretched outhis hand and plucked it from the tree, and ran with it, as he thought,out of sight behind the stable. Having eaten it in haste, he returnedto the house.
When Mr. Fairchild got up, he went into the garden and looked at theapple-tree, and saw that one of the apples was missing; he looked roundthe tree to see if it had fallen down, and he perceived the mark of achild's foot under the tree. He came into the house in great haste,and looking angrily, "Which of you young ones," said he, "has gatheredthe apple from the young apple-tree? Last night there were two upon thetree, and now there is only one."
The children made no answer.
"If you have, any of you, taken the apple, and will tell me the truth,I will forgive you," said Mr. Fairchild.
"I did not take it, indeed, papa," said Lucy.
"And I did not take it," said Emily.
"I did not--indeed I did not," said Henry; but Henry looked very redwhen he spoke.
"Well," said Mr. Fairchild, "I must call in John, and ask him if he cantell who took the apple. But before John is called in, I tell you oncemore, my dear children, that if any of you took the apple and willconfess it, even now I will freely forgive you."
Henry now wished to tell his father the truth; but he was ashamed toown his wickedness, and he hoped that it would never be found out thathe was the thief.
When John came in, Mr. Fairchild said:
"John, there is one of the apples taken from the young apple-treeopposite the parlour window."
"Sir," said John, "I did not take it, but I think I can guess which wayit went." Then John looked very hard at Henry, and Henry trembled andshook all over. "I saw Master Henry this morning run behind the stablewith a large apple in his hand, and he stayed there till he had eatenit, and then he came out."
"Henry," said Mr. Fairchild, "is this true? Are you a thief--and aliar, too?" And Mr. Fairchild's voice was very terrible when he spoke.
Then Henry fell down upon his knees and confessed his wickedness.
"Go from my sight, bad boy!" said Mr. Fairchild; "if you had told thetruth at first, I should have forgiven you, but now I will not forgiveyou."
Then Mr. Fairchild ordered John to take Henry, and lock him up in alittle room at the top of the house, where he could not speak to anyperson. Poor Henry cried sadly, and Lucy and Emily cried too; but Mr.Fairchild would not excuse Henry.
"It is better," he said, "that he should be punished in this worldwhilst he is a little boy than grow up to be a liar and a thief."
So poor Henry was locked up by himself in a little room at the very topof the house. He sat down on a small box and cried sadly. He hoped thathis mother and father would have sent him some breakfast; but they didnot. At twelve o'clock he looked out of the window and saw his motherand sisters walking in the meadows at a little distance, and he saw hisfather come and fetch them in to dinner, as he supposed; and then hehoped that he should have some dinner sent him; but no dinner came.Some time after he saw Betty go down into the meadow to milk the cow;then he knew that it was five o'clock, and that it would soon be night;then he began to cry again.
"Oh! I am afraid," he said, "that papa will make me stay here allnight! and I shall be alone, for God will not take care of me becauseof my wickedness."
Soon afterwards Henry saw the sun go down behind the hills, and heheard the rooks as they were going to rest in their nests at the top ofsome tall trees near the house. Soon afterwards it became dusk, andthen quite dark. "Oh! dear, dear," said Henry, when he found himselfsitting alone in the dark, "what a wicked boy I have been to-day! Istole an apple, and told two or three lies about it! I have made mypapa and mamma unhappy, and my poor sisters, too! How could I do suchthings? And now I must spend all this night in this dismal place; andGod will not take care of me because I am so naughty."
Then Henry cried very sadly indeed. After which he knelt down andprayed that God would forgive him, till he found himself getting morehappy in his mind.
When he got up from his prayer he heard the step of someone comingupstairs; he thought it was his mother, and his little heart was veryglad indeed. Henry was right: it was indeed his mother come to see herpoor little boy. He soon heard her unlock the door, and in a moment heran into her arms.
"Is Henry sorry for his naughtiness?" said Mrs. Fairchild, as she satdown and took him upon her lap. "Are you sorry, my dear child, for yourvery great naughtiness?"
"Oh, indeed I am!" said Henry, sobbing and crying; "I am very sorry,pray forgive me. I have asked God to forgive me; and I think that Hehas heard my prayer, for I feel happier than I did."
"But have you thought, Henry, of the great wrong which you have done?"
"Yes, mamma, I have been thinking of it a great deal; I know that whatI did this morning was a very great sin."
"Why do you say this morning?" said Mrs. Fairchild; "the sin that youcommitted was the work of several days."
"How, mamma?" said Henry; "I was not two minutes stealing the apple,and papa found it out before breakfast."
"Still, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild, "that sin was the work of manydays." Henry listened to his mother, and she went on speaking: "Do youremember those little chickens which came out of the eggs in the hen'snest last Monday morning?"
"Yes, mamma," said Henry.
"Do you think," said Mrs. Fairchild, "that they were made the momentbefore they came out?"
"No, mamma," said Henry; "papa said they were growing in the egg-shella long time before they came out alive."
_Mrs. Fairchild._ "In the same manner the great sin you committed thismorning was growing in your heart some days before it came out."
"How,
mamma?" said Henry. "I do not understand."
_Mrs. Fairchild._ "All wrong things which we do are first formed in ourhearts; and sometimes our sins are very long before they come to theirfull growth. The great sin you committed this morning began to beformed in your heart three days ago. Do you remember that that very dayin which your father forbade you to touch the apples, you stood in theparlour window and looked at them, and you admired their beautifulappearance? This was the beginning of your sin. Your sister Lucy toldyou at the time not to look at them, and she did well; for by lookingat forbidden things we are led to desire them, and when we desire themvery much we proceed to take them. Your father forbade you to touchthese apples; therefore, my dear child, you ought not to have allowedyourself to think of them for one moment. When you first thought aboutthem, you did not suppose that this thought would end in so very greata sin as you have now been guilty of."
"Oh, mamma," said Henry, "I will try to remember what you have said tome all my life."
Mrs. Fairchild kissed little Henry then, and said:
"God bless you, my child, and give you a holy heart, which may neverthink or design any evil."
Mrs. Fairchild then led Henry down into the parlour, where Mr.Fairchild and Lucy and Emily were waiting for them to go to tea. Mr.Fairchild kissed his little boy, and Lucy and Emily smiled to see him.
"Henry," said Mr. Fairchild, "you have had a sad day of it; but I didnot punish you, my child, because I do not love you, but because I do."
Then Mr. Fairchild cut a large piece of bread-and-butter for Henry,which he was very glad of, for he was very hungry.
"_Behind the stable._"--Page 26.]