A lady once had a son who (by her explicit command) was always given whatever he wanted. In this way he soon became a little tyrant, and grew furious when he was refused the least thing. Uselessly did her husband and friends try to warn her of the injury she was causing her child by yielding to his every whim. Their warnings were in vain; the unfortunate woman heeded none of it. She was determined to give her son whatever he desired, for she wanted him to always be happy. But the truth of the matter is the opposite, as she was soon to discover.

It happened one evening that this lady, while in her room, heard a noise coming from the yard. It was her little son, crying and screaming as if he had been burned. Immediately she rushed outside, and there she beheld her boy throwing such a tantrum that, in his rage, he had even scratched his own face. Turning to the servant who was with him, she demanded an explanation for her son's behavior. Quite coolly, the servant informed his mistress that he had refused the boy something he wanted.

“You are very impertinent,” she told him impatiently, “to refuse my son what he asks for! Give it to him immediately!”

With the same, calm resolution the servant replied. “If he cried 'til tomorrow, madam, he couldn’t have it.”

At these words the lady herself became furious, and ran off into the house in search of her husband. The gentleman was, at this time, in the parlour with some of his friends. What a sight met the company when the lady burst in, flustered and out of breath. Going straight to her husband, she demanded that he instantly dismiss the impudent servant who had opposed her will. Excusing himself from his visitors, he left with his wife and followed her out into the yard. The guests all went over to the window, curious to see how the matter would turn out.

“You saucy fellow,” said the master, approaching the servant, “how dare you disobey your mistress by not giving the boy what he asked for?”

“Indeed, sir, the mistress cannot give it to him herself. For- ” he said, pointing, “over there, a little while ago, the boy saw the moon shining in that pail of water, and -” he said, half concealing a smile “he insists that I must give it to him.”

At these words the gentleman burst into a laugh, and a roar of laughter was heard from the guests, who had seen the whole thing. And even the lady herself, angry as she was, could not help laughing with the rest. But her laughter concealed the embarrassment that she felt. She was so ashamed of the ludicrous scene to which she had subjected herself, that she learned from her mistake. God, in his infinite goodness, had shown her by this humiliation the miserable person she was making of her child. She at once corrected herself, and with proper raising soon made the little rebel an amiable and engaging child.