Soon afterwards Henry saw the sun go down behind the hills, and he heard the rooks as they were going to rest in their nests at the top of some tall trees near the house. Soon afterwards it became dusk, and then quite dark. "Oh! dear, dear," said Henry, when he found himself sitting alone in the dark, "what a wicked boy I have been to-day! I stole an apple, and told two or three lies about it! I have made my papa and mamma unhappy, and my poor sisters, too! How could I do such things? And now I must spend all this night in this dismal place; and God will not take care of me because I am so naughty." Then Henry cried very sadly indeed. After which he knelt down and prayed that God would forgive him, till he found himself getting more happy in his mind. When he got up from his prayer he heard the step of someone coming upstairs; he thought it was his mother, and his little heart was very glad indeed. Henry was right: it was indeed his mother come to see her poor little boy. He soon heard her unlock the door, and in a moment he ran into her arms. "Is Henry sorry for his naughtiness?" said Mrs. Fairchild, as she sat down and took him upon her lap. "Are you sorry, my dear child, for your very great naughtiness?" "Oh, indeed I am!" said Henry, sobbing and crying; "I am very sorry, pray forgive me. I have asked God to forgive me; and I think that He has heard my prayer, for I feel happier than I did." "But have you thought, Henry, of the great wrong which you have done?" "Yes, mamma, I have been thinking of it a great deal; I know that what I did this morning was a very great sin." "Why do you say this morning?" said Mrs. Fairchild; "the sin that you committed was the work of several days." "How, mamma?" said Henry; "I was not two minutes stealing the apple, and papa found it out before breakfast." "Still, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild, "that sin was the work of many days." Henry listened to his mother, and she went on speaking: "Do you remember those little chickens which came out of the eggs in the hen's nest last Monday morning?" "Yes, mamma," said Henry. "Do you think," said Mrs. Fairchild, "that they were made the moment before they came out?" "No, mamma," said Henry; "papa said they were growing in the egg-shell a long time before they came out alive." _Mrs. Fairchild._ "In the same manner the great sin you committed this morning was growing in your heart some days before it came out." "How, mamma?" said Henry. "I do not understand."