Selfishness is an ugly stone to have in your Temple, dear children. Just as Thoughtfulness is one of the most beautiful stones, so Selfishness is one of the ugliest. Try not to let it come into your lives at all. No one likes a selfish child, but everybody loves the child who forgets self and thinks of others.
(Blackboard.)
Try to be Glad when Others Win, as well as when you Win Yourself.
77. The two Boxes of Chocolate.
It was Christmas time, and on Christmas Eve the children hung up their stockings as usual. Next morning they were awake early, and eagerly turned out the stockings to see what they contained. Among other things Horace and Stanley found that they each had a beautiful large picture-box full of lovely chocolate creams.
After dinner on Christmas Day Stanley brought out his box, and handed it round to everybody, and by the next day his chocolates were all finished.
But Horace hid his box away in a drawer, and kept going to it, and taking out a few at a time, so his chocolates lasted much longer than Stanley's, and he ate them all himself, but we are obliged to say that he was rather selfish. "Shared joy is double joy," and of the two boys we are sure that Stanley would be the happier.
Shall I tell you a little secret? Selfishness will spoil the other stones if you let it come into your Temple, and as to the gold—the lovely gold of "Kindness" that the little "Gold-wings" brought—Selfishness will eat it all away in time. I am sure we all hate selfishness; let us write down
(Blackboard.)
We will not have the Ugly Stone "Selfishness" in our Temple.
78. Eva.[15]
Eva was not a very big girl, and her boots were generally cleaned by the older ones, but one day her mother said, "Eva, I wish you would brush your own boots this morning, we are all so busy".