LAMBTON HALL was a fine old country mansion, and connected with it there was a rich estate. Many families lived and worked on the estate, and they felt great anxiety because the heir of Lambton was a wild young fellow who cared neither for law nor religion. On Sunday, instead of attending church, it was his habit to go fishing, and if he failed to be successful in his Sabbath sport loud and many were his curses.

One Sunday morning, when he was engaged in fishing as usual, he for a considerable time paced up and down the shore of a river that flowed along near the highway, without getting a single fish. The longer this ill-luck continued, the worse grew his language, and the people passing on their way to church were horrified at his words.

Finally young Lambton felt a mighty tug at his line. "At last," said he, "here is a bite that I trust means a handsome fish in my basket."

He pulled and he pulled, and it was only with the greatest exertion that he landed his prize. Then, to his disgust, he saw that it was no fish, but a great, ugly worm, fully a yard long, and with a curious, wide-mouthed head. He removed it from the hook and holding it off at arm's length began swearing at it, when he was surprised to hear it speak. "Let me go," the worm said. "Put me back in the river."

"No, I will not!" exclaimed young Lambton.

"You had no business to get on my hook, and you shall be punished."

"You will regret it if you do not put me back in the stream," responded the worm.

But the young man strode up the bank to an old well near by and threw the worm into that. Then he went home, and not many days afterward he departed to the wars in the Holy Land.

The worm did not die in the well. It grew larger and larger until it was so big the well would not contain it. So it crawled forth and returned to the river where it continued to increase in size till its length was twenty rods or more. All day it lay coiled round a rock in the middle of the stream, but at night it betook itself to the land, where it sucked the milk from the pasturing cows, devoured lambs and frightened the people who chanced to see it. At last it grew so bold it would come right up to Lambton Hall, where the old Lord of Lambton now lived with none to keep him company but the servants. He ordered that the worm should be driven away. The men gathered weapons, and there was shrieking of women, barking of dogs and the terrified neighing of horses; but when all was ready, the worm looked so big and powerful no one durst approach it. As they stood watching the creature from a safe distance, the steward said, "Is it not plain that the worm only comes here seeking something to eat? If we give it food it will do us no harm."

So he called the dairy maids and said, "Bring hither all the milk you got this day from the nine cows in the lord's stable."

This they did, and he had them pour it into a long stone trough that was in the courtyard. They had scarcely finished when the worm sniffed the milk and came to the trough. It soon swallowed every drop and then slowly crawled away.

Henceforth, the worm came from the river every night to the stone trough at the Hall, and if the trough contained less than the milk of nine cows, the worm was very angry. It would hiss and rave and lash itself among the trees of the park, and in its fury would uproot the stoutest oaks.