A lady owned a canary which she greatly valued and to which she was affectionately devoted because it sang so beautifully. Mellow and trilling were the cheery notes with which the lovely little creature brightened her day.

A neighbor boy had caught a sparrow and placed it in a cage, hoping to keep it as a pet. Then the lady and the lad thought it would be a good idea to try to teach the sparrow to sing like the canary.

So they placed the cages side by side, hoping that the glorious songs of the canary would be a "good example" to the sparrow whose musical repertoire was more limited.

Well, it just didn't work out that way. After three weeks, not only did the sparrow fail to sing like the canary, but our yellow-feathered friend was capable of only a mild "cheep, cheep."

Good is not always a stronger influence than "evil."