Page:Short stories for little folks, or, Little tales calculated to excite juvenile minds to the love and practice of virtue.pdf/14

(14) mountains; and it muſt for ever flow, becauſe the ſources from which it is derived are inexhauſtible.

Thus the idle and irreſolute youth trifles over his books, or waſtes in play his precious moments; deferring the taſk of improvement, which at firſt is eaſy to accompliſh, but which will become more and more difficult, the longer it is neglected.

Sloth contraſted with Induſtry.

Sloth is an animal of South America, and is ſo ill formed for motion, that a few paces are often the journey of a week; and ſo indiſpoled to move, that he never changes his place, but when impelled by the fevereſt ſtings of hunger. He lives upon the leaves, fruit, and flowers of trees, and often on the bark itſelf, when nothing beſides is left for his ſubſiſtence. As a large quantity of food is neceſſary for his ſupport, he generally ſtrips a tree of all its verdure in leſs than a fortnight. And being then deſtitute of food, he drops down, like a lifeleſs maſs, from the branches to the ground. After remaining torpid ſome time, from the ſhock received by the fall, he prepares for a journey to ſome neighbouring tree, to which he crawls with a motion almoſt imperceptible. At length arrived, he aſcends the trunk, and devours with famiſhed appetite,