stance from the metropolis, lived a wealthy
husbandman, who had two sons, William and Thomas, of whom the former was
exactly a year older than the latter.

On the day that the second son was born, the husbandman set in his
orchard two young apple-trees of an equal size, on which he bestowed the
same care in cultivating, and they throve so much alike, that it was a
difficult matter to say which claimed the preference.

As soon as the children were capable of using garden implements, their
father took them, on a fine day, early in the spring, to see the two
plants he had reared for them, and called after their names. William and
Thomas having admired the beauty of these trees, now filled with
blossoms, their father told them that he made them a present of them in
good condition, and that they would continue to thrive or decay, in
proportion to the labour or neglect they received.

Thomas, though the younger son, turned all his attention to the
improvement of his tree, by clearing it of insects as soon as he
discovered them, and propping up the stem, that it might grow perfectly
upright. He dug all round it, to loosen the earth, that the root might
receive nourishment from the warmth of the sun and the moisture of the
dews. No mother could nurse a child more tenderly in its infancy, than
Thomas did his tree.

His brother William, however, pursued a very different conduct; for he
loitered away all his time in the most idle and mischievous manner, one
of his principal amusements being to throw stones at people as they
passed. He kept company with all the idle boys in the neighbourhood,
with whom he was continually fighting, and was seldom without either a
black eye or a broken shin. His poor tree was neglected, and never
thought of, till one day in the autumn, when, by chance, seeing his
brother's tree loaded with the finest apples, and almost ready to break
down with the weight, he ran to his own tree, not doubting but he should
find it in the same pleasing condition.

Great indeed was his disappointment and surprise, when, instead of
finding the tree loaded with excellent fruit, he beheld nothing but a
few withered leaves, and branches covered with moss. He instantly went
to his father, and complained of his partiality in giving him a tree
that was worthless and barren, while his brother's produced the most
luxuriant fruit. He therefore thought that his brother should at least
give him one half of his apples.

His f