Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/376

360 rated, each seeking a still more enchanting spot.

The first of the young men was so overcome by the beauty that surrounded him that he thought only of present enjoyment, forgetting entirely the advice of the man who had first addressed them before entering the garden. His only idea was to eat, sleep, be merry and cast away all care.

In his wanderings the second youth discovered gold, silver and precious stones in such abundance that neither the beauty of the flowers, with their fragrance, nor the lusciousness of the fruit appealed to him at all. He was dazzled by the treasures he found, and his only thought was of how much he could gather together and take away with him. He, too, forgot the warning of the second man who had spoken to them.

But the third young man bore in mind all the advice given them by the three guards, and he did not agree with the habits into which his companions had fallen. He certainly enjoyed his life in the garden, and took great pleasure in studying all that it contained. And the more he studied the