"Here you see Frances, neither prudent nor aware of consequences,
has stuffed these little birds with improper food, both in quality
and quantity. The consequences are fatal; one is dead, another is
dying, and it is very uncertain whether the others also will not die.
She fed them without measure, and their crops and throats were gorged
so as to stop their breathing. They took it greedily, because they
knew not the fatal consequences.
"Frances, you are a greedy girl. You had been suffering for this
offence, and had not the wisdom to leave it to me to apportion your
food. You opened your mouth wide, but you must remember it is not
written that _you_ are to fill it according to your own desires.
'I will fill it,' saith the Lord. He knows what is good for us, and
he will measure his bounty according to his own wisdom."
Frances began to look ashamed and sorrowful.
"I was to you," her mamma continued, "in the affair of the cake,
endeavoring to fulfil this my duty, but you rebelled against my
discretion, and would covet more than was right. You _helped
yourself_, you gorged your stomach. You were cross and peevish,
and ill, and when the medicine had relieved you, as it was designed,
you, without reflection, sallied forth and suffocated the little
birds.
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