anybody
or anything, even of a dog. Be courteous: it is the mark of a gentleman,
of a lady, and it is often the passport to success.

LITTLE FOXES

In far-off Syria, a country lying northeast of Palestine, the land in
which Jesus was born, the farmers who keep vineyards are very much
troubled with foxes and bears, which destroy their crops at night. And
so, to protect their vineyards, they build high stone-walls about them,
and put broken bottles on the top to keep these animals out, much as
some people in this country who have orchards do, in order to keep out
small boys.

These fences keep out the bears, because they cut themselves on the
glass in trying to climb over, and they also keep out some of the foxes.
But after all, when the grapes are nearly ripe, the owners of the
vineyards and their men are obliged to build platforms up above the
trellises, and stay there all night, in order to guard their crops.
These watchers manage very well with all the other wild animals
excepting the little foxes. They can see the big foxes and drive them
off, but the little ones they cannot see, and so these destroy the
vines. I suppose that it was an experience something like that which led
one of the Bible-writers to say that the little foxes destroy the vines.

It seems to me that this is very true with sins, too; it is the little
sins that destroy us. When a big sin like stealing, lying or cheating
comes along we can see that easily enough, and we will not let it over
the fence into our lives. We drive it away, and are soon rid of it. But
when the little sins come, like little foxes, we do not see them, and so
they get in and destroy our character.

What are some of these little foxes? I think one is pride, which makes
you so conceited, because you live in a big house or have an automobile
or fine clothes, that you will not speak to or play with other boys and
girls who have not quite such fine things, although they may be just as
bright and just as good as you. Pride is a little fox that kills the
vine of brotherliness which Christ planted in our hearts.

Then another little fox is sulkiness. Sulkiness makes you frown and go
away in a corner. It sucks up all the sunlight there is, and makes the
world very gray and dull, like a day in November. This fox kills the
vine called "peace" which Christ planted.

One more little fox is jealousy. This makes boys and girls dislike
others who get higher marks than they in