LITTLE Daniel was particularly fond of having his own way, and though not on the whole disobedient, he had a habit of not doing what he was told at once. Thus if he were looking at pictures in a book, and his mother called him, he would answer “Yes, mamma,” but would not come, until he had finished looking over the pictures. He did what he wanted first, and what his mother wanted by-and-bye. Daniel had been told many times that this was wrong, and at last he began to try and leave it off, and to obey immediately, and it was well for him that he did, as you shall hear.
He was staying on the sea-coast, and one day he went with a kind friend to a pretty little bay where the sea runs into a hollow in the land, and where all round the water there are high cliffs. The flowers and grass grow on the top of the cliffs and you may walk almost to the very edge before seeing the water underneath. When Daniel came to this place and saw the smooth green grass sloping down like a beautiful lawn, he thought it would be a nice place for a run, and off he set skipping and racing, and in a few minutes more, he would have run right over the edge of the cliff and have fallen into the sea.
The lady he was with, called loudly to him to stop, which he did at once, and waited for her to come up. She then gently led him to the edge of the precipice, and little Daniel was amazed and terrified when he saw the deep water far below where they were standing. “Now,” said he, “if this had happened six months ago I should have been killed, because instead of stopping at once when you called, I should have said, “I will just have my little run first, and then come back.”
ML 04/14/1918