Julia and her brother James were very early, one cold winter morning, sitting in the basement. They were not wicked children, but they were very thoughtless, and sometimes they did a great deal of mischief.

I am afraid they were doing mischief now, for Julia was sitting by the window, cutting up Mamma's apron to make a dress for her doll; and James was kneeling on the rug, pulling pieces of worsted out of it and throwing them into the fire, and seemed very much amused as he watched them rolling about and curling up with the heat.

While they were thus employed, two children passed the window.

"Only look, brother," said Julia, "at these poor children. How cold they must be! see, the little boy has no hat on, and his toes are coming out of his shoes, and the little girl's frock is all ragged."

"Let us call them in," said James, "and they can warm themselves by the fire."

As James said this, he tapped on the window, and the little children came to the basement door. James ran and opened the door, and said, "Come in, poor children, and warm yourselves." He placed his own and his sister's little chair for them by the fire, and then Julia and he went into a corner of the room to consult together what they should give them, to make them warm.

Now the Father of these children had had the misfortune to lose his hair, and he was obliged to wear a wig. Every night, when he went to bed, he used to take off his wig, and hang it upon a nail in his dressing-room, and put on a white night-cap with a long tassel at the end of it.

The morning that I am telling about, he was not yet up, as it was very early; and the wig was hanging on the nail, as I have told you.

James looked at the poor little boy. He saw that his ears were very red with the cold, and he said to his sister, "I will go up stairs, and find something to put on his head."

So he ran up stairs very fast, and went into his Father's dressing-room and looked all round. Presently he saw the wig hanging on the nail. "Oh!" said he to himself, "that is just the thing. It will come all over the poor boy's ears, and keep them very warm indeed."

So this thoughtless little fellow climbed up on a chair, and pulled the wig off the nail, and then went into the closet and got a pair of new boots of his own; and running down as fast as he could, he pulled the wig over the poor boy's ears, and helped him on with the boots. They fitted exactly, for James and he were very nearly of the same size.

While he was doing this, Julia had dressed the little girl in a nice warm frock of her own, and also made her a present of her school muff, and the little beggar children went away, highly delighted with their good fortune, and were out of sight long before any one had come into the room to prevent all this mischief.

When their Father got up, he opened the door of his bed-room, which led into the dressing-room, and began to dress himself. Presently he went to the side of the room where he had hung up his wig the night before. The nail was empty. There was no wig on it. He looked down on the carpet, and on all the chairs, and in all the drawers, but there was no wig to be found. He rang the bell, and said to the servant, "Do you know any thing about my wig?"

But the servant said she had not been in the room. She did not know where it was.

Now only see, what trouble these children had made for their kind Father; and how ashamed and frightened they were, when they saw him come into the basement room with his night-cap on, and their Mother with him, looking very grave, for she was afraid that the children knew more about the wig than any body else.

"James," said his Father, "do you know where my wig is?"

At first James was afraid to speak; but although these children were heedless, and fond of doing mischief, they were not liars. So James came close to his Father, and said, "Dear Papa, I will tell you the truth. I am afraid I have been very naughty. I gave your wig to a poor boy who had no hat, and I gave him my new boots too, for his shoes were full of holes. I am very sorry, Papa. Please to punish me, and forgive Julia."

"Why, what has Julia been doing?" said her Mamma and Papa at the same time.

"I gave the little girl my new frock, and my school muff," said Julia, "she looked so cold. Her little hands were nearly frozen."

"My dear children," said their Father, "I do not blame you for wishing to be kind to the poor, but do you not see how wrong it is to be so thoughtless, and what trouble you give your Mother and me by such conduct? If you do not think before you act, you will always be in mischief, and perhaps do a great deal of injury. To make you remember this—you, Julia, must go to school for two weeks without a muff, and wear your old dress; and you, James, must have your old boots patched, and wear them instead of the new ones which you gave to the poor boy."

The children submitted to this punishment without a murmur; but they were dreadfully grieved when they saw the trouble they had made for their dear Father, who could not leave the house, or attend to his business for two whole days, as it took all that time to have another wig made for him. They even could not laugh when the kitten climbed up the back of his chair, and tried to play with the tassel of his night-cap; and ever after, when they were going to do a thoughtless thing, they would recollect their Father's wig in time to stop; and at last they got to be as careful and thoughtful, as they were before heedless and mischievous.