There are some people who think that taking =little= things is not
stealing. But it =is=.
There was a little boy, named Carl, who began his wrong-doing by taking
a piece of sugar. Then he took another piece, and another; but he always
did it when his mother was not looking. We always want to hide the doing
of wrong--we feel so ashamed.
One day Carl's mother sent him to the shop for something, and he kept a
halfpenny out of the change. His mother did not notice it; she never
thought her little boy would steal.
So it went on from bad to worse, until one day he stole a shilling from
a boy in the school, and was expelled.
As Carl grew older he took larger sums, and you will not be surprised to
hear that in the end he was sent to prison, and nearly broke his
mother's heart.