"I desire," said Mr. Fairchild, one morning, to his children, "that none of you touch the apples on that young tree, for I wish to see what kind of fruit they will be when they are quite ripe." That same evening, as Henry and his sisters were playing in the parlour window, Henry said: "Those are beautiful apples indeed that are upon that tree." "Do not look upon them, Henry," said Lucy. "Why not, Lucy?" asked Henry. "Because papa has forbidden us to meddle with them." _Henry._ "Well, I am not going to meddle with them; I am only looking at them." _Lucy._ "Oh! but if you look much at them, you will begin to wish for them, and may be tempted to take them at last." _Henry._ "How can you think of any such thing, Lucy? Do you take me for a thief?" The next evening the children were playing again in the parlour window. Henry said to his sister, "I dare say that those beautiful apples will taste very good when papa gathers them." "There, now, Henry!" said Lucy; "I told you that the next thing would be wishing for those apples. Why do you look at them?" "Well, and if I do wish for them, is there any harm in that," answered Henry, "if I do not touch them?" _Lucy._ "Oh! but now you have set your heart upon them, the devil may tempt you to take one of them, as he tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. You should not have looked at them, Henry." _Henry._ "Oh, I shan't touch the apples! Don't be afraid." [Illustration: "_There was one he could just reach._"--Page 26.] Now Henry did not mean to steal the apples, it is true; but when people give way to sinful desires, their passions get so much power over them that they cannot say, "I will sin so far, and no further." That night, whenever Henry awoke, he thought of the beautiful apples. He got up before his parents, or his sisters, and went down into the garden. There was nobody up but John, who was in the stable. Henry went and stood under the apple-tree. He looked at the apples; there was one which he could just reach as he stood on his tip-toe. He stretched out his hand and plucked it from the tree, and ran with it, as he thought, out of sight behind the stable. Having eaten it in haste, he returned to the house. When Mr. Fairchild got up, he went into the garden and looked at the apple-tree, and saw that one of the apples was missing; he looked round the tree to see if it had fallen down, and he perceived the mark of a child's foot under the tree. He came into the house in great haste, and looking angrily, "Which of you young ones," said he, "has gathered the apple from the young apple-tree? Last night there were two upon the tree, and now there is only one." The children made no answer. "If you have, any of you, taken the apple, and will tell me the truth, I will forgive you," said Mr. Fairchild. "I did not take it, indeed, papa," said Lucy. "And I did not take it," said Emily. "I did not--indeed I did not," said Henry; but Henry looked very red when he spoke.