Look, kid," the shaft told him, "I've got plenty of other
parts holding on to me. I shouldn't have to support you, too."

So finally the little nut decided to unscrew himself and go
away. He dropped off the shaft and fell through a hole in the
bottom of the machine. "Good riddance," said the motor.

"Yeah, good riddance," all the other parts agreed.

Rather quickly the nut was forgotten and things went on as they
had for awhile. But in a few hours, the shaft began to feel funny.
At first he began to vibrate. Then he started sliding and slipping.
He called for help to the other parts attached to him, but they
could do nothing. Presently the shaft fell completely out of his
mounting hole, causing many levers and gears and cams to slip out
of alignment and crash against each other, and forcing the whole
machine to grind to a halt with an awful noise. The motor tried
his best to keep things going--he tried so hard that he bent many
of the parts--and then as he tried even harder, he burned himself
out. "This is all the fault of that little nut," the ruined parts
all agreed.

"I'll give ya three bucks for it," said the junk man to the
office manager.

Stewardship

A wise man approached three young men standing around idly.
"Here is a coin worth a hundred dollars," the wise man said to the
first youth. "What should I do with it?"

"Give it to me," he said at once.

"Rather than reward such selfishness and greed," responded the
wise man, "it would be better to throw the money into the sea." And
with this, the wise man threw the coin into the water. "Now," he
said to the second youth, "here is another coin. What should I do
with it?"

The second youth, feeling shrewd, answered, "Throw it into the sea."

But the wise man said, "That would be a careless waste. To
follow a bad example only because it is an example is folly. Better
than throwing this money away would be to give it to the poor." And
he gave the money to a beggar sitting nearby. "I have one last
coin," the wise man went on, talking to the third youth. "What
shall I do with it?"

The third youth had been paying attention, and, thinking he
would get the money if he avoided the greed and wastefulness implied
in the answers of his friends, said, "Why, give it to the poor."

"That is a very wise and kind answer," said the wise man,
smiling. And because you have answered so well" (at this the youth
brightened with expectation), "I wi