Vice in its Proper Shape Or, The Wonderful and Melancholy Transformation of Several Naughty Masters and Misses Into Those Contemptible Animals Which They Most Resemble In Disposition.

A whimsical moral treatise opens with an eccentric lecture on the ancient belief that souls wander from human bodies into beasts after death, a notion still taken seriously in far‑off lands. A colourful courtroom anecdote—where an officer is tried for killing a heron that might house his father’s spirit—sets a playful yet cautionary tone, hinting at the strange consequences awaiting those who ignore such cosmic rules.

From this curious premise the book proceeds to recount, with gentle satire, the misadventures of several mischievous boys and girls. Each child’s folly earns them a fitting animal form—an ass, a raven, a fox—reflecting the very traits that led to their downfall. The narrator’s light‑hearted English adaptations of exotic names keep the stories accessible, while the underlying lesson remains clear: heed good behavior, lest you end up embodying the very vice you displayed. Suitable for young listeners, the work blends moral instruction with entertaining, slightly mischievous storytelling.