A Stag, whose joints had
become stiff with
age, was at great pains to
gather together
a supply of food,----enough, as he
thought, for
the remainder of his days.
He stretched himself upon
it, in a quiet,
sunny corner of his pasture-ground, and now
dozing, now nibbling, was passing
a happy
old age.
He had been a favorite
among his com-
panions, and they came now, often,
and in
great numbers, to call upon
him, and in
him farewell. He made them welcome
in a
hospitable manner, and each,
as often as he
came, helped himself to a little of the food so
abundantly provided.
The end of the matter
was, that the poor
Stag died, not so much
either of sickness or
old age, as from want of the food which
his
friends had eaten for him.
We need to
consider sometimes, before
doing a thing, "What if
every one should
do it?"
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