Paul was a little boy who was very fond of having his own way, and when
he could not get it he used to throw himself into the most dreadful
tempers. He would take his pocket-handkerchief and tear it all to pieces
in his rage, not to mention lying on the floor and kicking with his
heels. One day his governess said to him, "Paul, I will tell you a true
story". Paul sat down ready to listen, for he loved stories, so the
governess began:--
"There was once a little boy, bright, honest and truthful, always ready
to run messages for his mother, or to help a schoolmate with his
lessons, he was so good-natured. But Henry (for that was his name) had
one great fault--he would get into violent passions when any one vexed
him, and as he grew older his passion became stronger, and had the
mastery of him more and more. He was a sailor, and as time went on he
had a ship of his own, and was captain of it. Henry could manage the
ship well; he knew just how to turn the wheel to make her go East or
West, and he knew also how to trim the sails to make the ship move
swiftly along. If he could have controlled his temper as he did his
ship, all might have been well. But he used to be very angry with the
sailors when they did not please him, and one day when the cabin-boy had
done something that vexed him, the captain in a fit of passion beat the
poor boy so cruelly that he died. When the ship came home the captain
was taken to prison, and in the end he lost =his= life for having taken
the boy's life."
The governess paused, and Paul gazed up into her face with wide-open,
anxious eyes. "Is =that= what happens to boys who get into a passion?"
he asked.
"It happened to the captain," said she.
"Then I will never give way to passion again if it has such a dreadful
ending," said Paul, and the governess told me that he kept his word.
(Blackboard.)
If Bad Temper gets the Mastery, it leads to sad Results.