the top of this
boy's house, fixing the roof. The roof was covered with loose pieces of
slate, and nails, and rubbish.

"Presently one of the men on the roof cried out, 'Go in, little boy; go
in.' But the boy was looking at a kite that some other boys had in the
street, and he did not choose to go in. The man thought that he had
minded what he told him, and without looking again, he tumbled down a
great heap of slates and rubbish. The house was quite high, and a large
and sharp piece of slate came down very swiftly, and struck the boy on
the side of his head, and cut off nearly the whole of his ear. In a
moment the blood poured down his neck and over his clothes, and I
thought he would bleed to death. Oh Emma! what a dreadful punishment for
not minding quickly!

"For a long time he went about with his head bound up, and when he got
well again the side of his face looked very bad indeed, for where his
ear had been there was a dreadful scar that never went away. Now he is a
man, and he often tells children how he got this dreadful scar, and all
because he did not mind quickly."

The tears had rolled down Emma's face, while her Mother was telling her
this story. When she had finished it, Emma put her arms around her
mother's neck, and told her that indeed she would try to obey at once,
and be a good little girl, so that her dear Mother would never be
unhappy about her again.

Her Mother kissed her, and took her down stairs, and gave her some
breakfast, and all this day, and ever after, she did try very hard to
be good. Whenever she felt herself going about any thing slowly, the
thought of the poor boy who had lost his ear would come into her mind,
and she would jump up at once, when her Mother called her, and do
whatever she wanted her to do, pleasantly and quickly.

[Illustration: "Presently their mother opened the door."]

THE TWINS.

"Well, Susan," said her Father one day, as she came home from school, "I
am glad to see you; I wish to inform you that two young gentlemen
arrived here to-day."

"What are their names, Father?" asked Susan.

"I do not know," answered her Father--"I do not believe they have got
any names. They are very small--so small, that at this moment they are
both asleep in the great chair."

"Both asleep in the great chair?" cried Susan, astonished at what her
Father had said. "I do believe you have been buying two little monkeys."

"No, I have not," said her Father, laughing.