eorge.

"We won't leave a bit," said James.

"It is almost all gone," said George.

"There is hardly any left," said James.

All the time they were talking George had been stuffing his brother and
himself with the sugar.

Just then their Mother opened the door. She had opened it softly, and
the little boys had not heard her. When she saw them so busy--with their
round faces stuck all over with crumbs of sugar, and George sitting on
the table, dealing it out so fairly--she could not keep from laughing.

The twins heard her laugh, so they laughed too; and George cried out,
"Mother, this sugar is nice--I like it."

"And so do I," said James.

Their Mother lifted George from the table, and told them they must not
do so again, for so much sugar would make them sick. She washed their
faces, and sent them to play in the garden. There was a fine large
garden at the back of the house, where they could play without danger.

Three years after this, the twins were sent to school, where they soon
became great favourites, because they were amiable and good, and always
willing to do as they were told. They looked so exactly alike, and were
dressed so exactly alike, that often very funny mistakes were made. I
will tell you something that happened, that was not funny, but it will
show you how hard it was to tell which was George, and which was James.

One day, the teacher gave the twins a spelling lesson, and told them
that they must know it perfectly that morning.

Now George, for the first time, was naughty, and instead of learning
the lesson, he was making elephants and giraffes on his slate; but James
studied his lesson, and soon knew it. Presently the teacher said,
"James, do you know your lesson?"

"Yes, sir," said James. He went up to the desk and said it very well.

"You know it perfectly," said his teacher; "you are a good boy. Now go
to your seat."

In a few moments he said, "George, come and say your lesson."

But George did not know a word of it; and James whispered to him, "I
don't want you to be punished, brother; I will go for you and say it
again."

So James went and repeated his lesson. The teacher thought of course it
was George; he said, "Very well, indeed, George; you know it just as
well as James: you are _both_ good boys."

When George heard this praise, which he did not deserve, he was
troubled. He had been taught never to deceive. He did not think at first
how wrong he had been; _now_, he saw