There was an old woman at a well, who, when a little girl came to draw
water, asked for a drink, and the kind little maiden lifted the jug to
the old woman's lips, and told her to take as much as she wished. Then
the old woman blessed her for her kindness, and said that whenever the
child spoke, pearls and diamonds should fall from her lips. Then another
girl came to the well, and again the old woman asked to drink, but the
girl said, "No! draw water for yourself". That was rude and unkind, was
it not?
The old woman, who was really the Queen of the Fairies, could not bless
=this= girl for her kindness, because she had showed none, so she said
that whenever the girl spoke, toads and vipers should fall from her
lips. That is like the people who do not speak good, pure language; the
bad words that fall from their lips are like toads and vipers. I hope
you have never heard such words, but if you ever should, do not stop to
listen, for wicked words are like the pitch that Martin tried to play
with (Story Lesson 63); the person who says them cannot be pure and
true, for bad words are not =clean=.
A lady was travelling in a railway train one day, and several young men
were in the carriage, who spoke and looked like gentlemen. But by-and-by
they began to swear dreadfully, and the lady asked if they would be kind
enough to say the bad words in Greek or Latin, so that she could not
understand them. She did not want to hear the bad words, you see; they
were like toads and vipers to her, because she loved what was pure and
clean.
(Blackboard.)
Keep your Language Pure. Do not Listen to Bad Words.