THE YOUTH'’S CABINET.

143

Harry and his Dog;

OR THE EVILS OF DISOBEDIENCE,

 

BY KATE SUTHE RLAND.

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he passed out of the house, with
his satchel in his hand; “come,
old fellow !’

Nero sprang instantly to his feet, and,
dishing past the boy, ran a few rods
from the house, and then pausing, turn-
ed, and with a look half human in its
pleasure and intelligence, waiied for
Harry to come up with him.

Now, Henry’s mother had more than
once told him, that he must not take
N ro away when he went to school.
But it was so pleasant to have the dog’s
company along the road to the school-
house, that the lad every now and then
disobeyed this injunction, trusting that
he would escape punishment.

Nero was quite as willing to go with
his young master, as the latter was to
have him in company; and he bounded
away, as has been seen, at the first
word of encouragement, But the two
friends had not proceeded far, before
the mother of Henry saw them from her
windows, and instantly came out, and
called after Nero, She was offended at
the disobedience of ber son, and uftered
some threatening words to both him and
the dog.

Nero did not at. first show much incli-
nation to obey the authoritative voice
of Mrs. Long; and if Harry had only
s-oken a single word, would have gone
with him, in spite of all opposition.
But that word Harry dared not speak ;
and so the dog stood still, looking back
first towards M:s, Long, and then wist-

a iA} ome, Nero!” said Harry Long, as

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fully after his young master. Finally
Nero returned slowly to the house, and
Henry went on as slowly, and equally as
much disappointed, to school.

When Henry returned home, a few
hours afterward, his mother received him
kindly, yet with a serious countenance.
His first thought was of his disobedience
in trying to get Nero to follow him to
school; and, as* he expected, she began
at once to speak on that subject.

“Henry,” said she, “I hardly think
you can have forgotten what I said to
you last week, about taking Nero away
from home.” |

Harry hung his head, and did not at-
tempt to offer an excuse for his conduct.

“I am extremely sorry,” continued
Mrs. Long, “that my son should have
acted so, disobediently—sorry for his
sake; for disobedience brings evil into
the heart, and this creates unhappiness.
And I am also sorry, for another cause :
to disobey, is to do wrong; and wrong-
doing, in almost every case, injures
others,”

Harry looked up into his mother’s
face, with a glance of inguiry.

“Yes, my son,” she added, “ wrong-
doing, in almost every case, injures
others.”

“It couldn’t have hurt anybody, if I
had taken Nero to school with me; how
could it, mother?” said the boy.

Mrs. Long gazed for a few moments
into the face of Harry, and then, reach-
ing her hand towards him, said—

* Come !”