A Hen who had not nest of her own found
some eggs, and, in the
kindness of her
heart, thought she would take care
of them,
and keep them warm.
But they were the eggs of a viper; and by
and by the little snakes began to come out of
the shells.
A Swallow, who was
passing, stopped to
look at them.
"What a foolish creature you were, to hatch
those eggs!" said the Swallow. "Don't you
know that as soon as the little snakes grow
big enough, they will bite
some one---
probably you, first of all?"
"Then," said the Hen, as she stood on one
leg, and looked at the ugly little snakes, first
with one eye and then with the other, "you
think I have done more harm than good?"
"I certainly do," said the Swallow; and
she
flew away.
Good judgment is better than thoughtless
kindness.
|
