Fill in the blanks with the words from the box. You may need to change the form of the words. You may need to use one word more than once.

notice	the	neglect	in	from
against	mend	require	tear	epitome

A stitch in time saves nine. It is a proverb. It is the (a) ______ of using and misusing time. If a piece of cloth is (b) _____ even slightly, it should be stitched at once. Otherwise the tear will get wider and wider and may (c) ______ more stitches to repair it. The tear may even get too wide for (d) _____ and the cloth may get altogether useless. So the proverb teaches us to take prompt action (e) ______ all ills at their earlier stage. This will save us (f) ______ serious troubles in the future. When a person feels ill, he should take proper steps from the very first to control the illness. Otherwise, the illness may take an acute turn. What could have been cured with a few doses of medicine take in time may end (g) ______ death in spite of the best but untimely medical help. The same is (h) _______ case with the evil habit of man. It can be easily checked at the early stage. If it is (i) _____ at this stage, it takes deep root and cannot be shaken off. So prompt steps should be taken whenever anything wrong is (j) ________ .