{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_49010/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_49010","id":"gutenberg_49010","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49010","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fables -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"[Illustration: THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE APE\n\n(See page 153)]\n\n\n\n\n\u00c6sop\u2019s Fables\n\n A Version for\n Young Readers\n\n _By_\n J. H. Stickney\n\n Illustrated by\n Charles Livingston Bull\n\n Ginn and Company\n\n Boston\u2014New York\u2014Chicago\u2014London\n Atlanta\u2014Dallas\u2014Columbus\u2014San Francisco\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY GINN AND COMPANY\n ALL RIGHTS RESERVED\n 321.11\n\n\n THE Athen\u00e6um Press\n GINN AND COMPANY\u00b7PROPRIETORS\u00b7BOSTON\u00b7U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nTHE good fortune which has attended the earlier edition of this book\nis a proof that there is less occasion now than formerly to plead the\ncause of fables for use in elementary schools. And yet their value\nis still too little recognized. The homely wisdom, which the fables\nrepresent so aptly, was a more common possession of intelligent people\nof a generation or two ago than it is at the present time. It had\nthen a better chance of being passed on by natural tradition than\nis now the case among the less homogeneous parentage of our school\nchildren. And there has never been a greater need than now for the\nkind of seed-sowing for character that is afforded by this means. As\nin the troubled times in Greece in \u00c6sop\u2019s day, twenty-five centuries\nago, moral teaching to be salutary must be largely shorn of didactic\nimplications and veiled with wit and satire. This insures its most\nvital working wherever its teaching is pertinent. To be whipped,\nwarned, shamed, or encouraged, and so corrected, over the heads of\nanimals as they are represented in the expression of their native\ntraits, is the least offensive way that can fall to a person\u2019s lot.\nAmong several hundred episodes, knowledge of which is acquired in\nchildhood as a part of an educational routine, most conservative\nestimates would allow for large, substantial results in practical wit\nand wisdom, to be reaped as later life calls for them.\n\nIt is well recognized by scholars, and should be taught to children,\nthat not all the fables attributed to \u00c6sop are of so early a date.\nImitations of his genius all along the centuries have masqueraded under\nhis name. Facts about him appear in the Introduction.\n\nNo occasion has been found to change in this edition the style of\npresentation so highly approved in the original one; but, as a\nconsiderable number of the stories, especially in the earlier pages\nof the book, are amplified somewhat in language form to accommodate\nthem to the needs of children unfamiliar with the animals portrayed,\nit has been thought wise to present these in the briefer form in which\nthey are generally known to adult readers. These are to be found in\nan Appendix to the present volume. The ingenious teacher will find\nnumerous ways in which this duplication of stories may be turned to\naccount. Comparison of the two forms will suggest many exercises to\nbe performed by the pupils themselves, in which the longer forms of\nthe fables may be built up from the shorter forms, and vice versa. The\nteacher who is interested in dramatic work will find also that many of\nthe fables will make excellent material for dramatic presentation in\nthe classroom.\n\n THE EDITOR\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n PAGE\n The Wolf and the Lamb 3\n The Fox and the Lion 5\n The Dog and his Shadow 6\n The Crab and his Mother 8\n The Fox and the Grapes 9\n The Wolf and the Crane 11\n The Ants and the Grasshoppers 13\n The Frogs who asked for a King 15\n The Donkey in the Lion\u2019s Skin 19\n The Mice in Council 20\n The Kid and the Wolf 23\n The Hawk and the Nightingale 24\n The Crow and the Pitcher 25\n The Ant and the Dove 26\n The Ox and the Frog 28\n The Bat and the Weasels 30\n The Fox and the Goat 33\n The Woman and her Hen 36\n The Dog in the Manger 37\n The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk 38\n The Shepherd\u2019s Boy and the Wolf 42\n The Fisherman and the Little Fish 44\n The Fox and the Crow 46\n The Partridge and the Fowler 48\n The Thirsty Pigeon 49\n The Three Tradesmen 49\n The Hares and the Frogs 50\n The Eagle and the Arrow 53\n The Eagle and the Fox 55\n The Drum and the Vase of Sweet Herbs 57\n The Two Frogs 58\n The Lion and the Mouse 61\n The Mouse, the Cat, and the Cock 63\n The Ax and the Trees 65\n The Jackdaw and the Sheep 66\n The Cat and the Cock 67\n The Wolf and the Goat 68\n The Hen and the Swallow 70\n Stone Broth 71\n The Mule and the Grasshoppers 73\n The Gnat and the Bull 74\n A Fox and a Crab 75\n The Donkey and the Frogs 75\n The Nurse and the Wolf 76\n The Cat and the Martins 77\n The Cock and the Fox 78\n The Horse and his Rider 80\n The Fox and the Stork 81\n The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox 83\n The Fly and the Moth 86\n The Boy Bathing 87\n The Hare and the Tortoise 88\n The Arab and his Camel 90\n The Fox who had lost his Tail 92\n The Boys and the Frogs 94\n The Swallow and the Other Birds 95\n The Farmer and the Snake 97\n The Raven and the Swan 98\n The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat 99\n The Man, his Son, and his Donkey 100\n The Country Mouse and the City Mouse 103\n The Cock and the Jewel 107\n The Old Hound 108\n The Vain Jackdaw 109\n The Donkey and the Lap Dog 111\n The One-Eyed Doe 112\n The Camel 114\n The Wolf and the House Dog 115\n The Oak and the Reed 117\n The Dog and the Hare 118\n The Hawk, Kite, and Pigeons 120\n The War Horse and the Mule 121\n The Wind and the Sun 123\n The Bear and the Two Travelers 124\n The Two Goats 126\n The Bull and the Calf 126\n The Fawn and his Mother 127\n The Mule and his Shadow 129\n The Blind Man and the Lame Man 130\n The Two Pots 131\n The Quack Frog 132\n The Wolf in Sheep\u2019s Clothing 133\n The Boy and the Filberts 134\n The Miser 135\n The Widow and her Little Maids 136\n The Charcoal Burner and the Fuller 137\n The Porcupine and the Snakes 138\n The Bundle of Sticks 140\n The Mischievous Dog 142\n The Dog and the Oyster 143\n The Fox and the Leopard 144\n The Dogs and the Hides 144\n The Woodman and the Trees 145\n The Milkmaid and her Pail of Milk 146\n The Cat and the Fox 148\n The Monkey and the Cat 151\n The Wolf and the Shepherd 152\n The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape 153\n The Blind Man and the Whelp 154\n The Spendthrift and the Swallow 155\n The Boar and the Fox 156\n Hercules and the Wagoner 156\n The Mules and the Robbers 157\n The Swallow and the Crow 158\n Jupiter and the Bee 159\n The Two Travelers 160\n The Kid and the Wolf 161\n The Gourd and the Pine 162\n The Hare and the Hound 163\n The Owl and the Grasshopper 164\n The Mule eating Thistles 166\n The Sick Stag 167\n The Wolf and the Shepherds 169\n The Boy and the Nettle 169\n The Hares and the Foxes 170\n Mercury and the Woodman 171\n The Rat and the Elephant 173\n The Husbandman and the Stork 175\n The Satyr and the Traveler 176\n The Stag at the Lake 179\n The Peasant and the Apple Tree 180\n Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva, and Momus 181\n The Farthing Rushlight 183\n The Horse and the Groom 184\n The Trumpeter taken Prisoner 184\n The Boasting Traveler 185\n The Hedge and the Vineyard 186\n The Mouse and the Weasel 186\n The Wolf and the Sheep 187\n A Widow and her Sheep 188\n The Man and the Lion 189\n The Lioness 190\n The Boy who stole Apples 190\n The Goose with the Golden Eggs 191\n The Old Man and Death 192\n A Father and his Two Daughters 193\n The Sick Lion and the Fox 194\n The Mountain in Labor 195\n Jupiter and the Camel 195\n The Moon and her Mother 196\n The Horse and the Stag 196\n The Council held by the Rats 197\n The Rain Cloud 201\n The Elephant in Favor 202\n The Cuckoo and the Eagle 203\n The Fox in the Ice 206\n The Inquisitive Man 208\n The Squirrel in Service 209\n The Wolf and the Cat 211\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n\n PAGE\n Note 215\n The Wolf and the Lamb 216\n The Fox and the Lion 217\n The Dog and his Shadow 217\n The Crab and his Mother 217\n The Fox and the Grapes 218\n The Wolf and the Crane 218\n The Ants and the Grasshoppers 219\n The Frogs who asked for a King 220\n The Donkey in the Lion\u2019s Skin 221\n The Mice in Council 221\n The Kid and the Wolf 222\n The Hawk and the Nightingale 223\n The Crow and the Pitcher 223\n The Ant and the Dove 224\n The Ox and the Frog 224\n The Bat and the Weasels 225\n The Fox and the Goat 226\n The Woman and her Hen 226\n The Dog in the Manger 227\n The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk 227\n The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf 228\n The Fisherman and the Little Fish 229\n The Fox and the Crow 229\n The Partridge and the Fowler 230\n The Thirsty Pigeon 230\n The Three Tradesmen 231\n The Hares and the Frogs 231\n The Eagle and the Fox 232\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nTHE HISTORY OF FABLE\n\n\nMODERN versions of \u00c6sop go back no further than 480 A.D. In their\nearliest use they are related to the folklore current among all\nprimitive peoples. This folklore had risen in Greece to the rank of\nliterary form a thousand years before the above-mentioned revival\nin Germany, France, and England. As the creation of \u00c6sop it was the\nanswer to a need for trenchant, but veiled, characterization of men\nand measures in the dangerous times of the Tyrants. In mirth-provoking\nutterances, quite apart from personal criticism, things could be\nintimated with all the force of specific judgments, yet in such veiled\nform that to resent them was tacit confession that they applied. Later\non, when free speech became safer, the grammarians and rhetoricians\nraised these clever, pithy stories to the literary form they have since\nmaintained.\n\nThere is for \u00c6sop\u2019s Fables no authorized original version. Always, it\nappears, they were subject to interpolations and special versions.\nThey took on metrical forms in Latin, and in later times in French.\nIt is the particular distinction of a real fable that it bears this\namplification, yet can at any time and from any true version shake\noff the accessories of particular phrasing and in its bare facts meet\nall the requirements of a literary and artistic whole. It is this\nstatic character which has made the fable of such value to language\nstudents. Even little children, comparing different versions, learn\nto distinguish the raw material of a real story from its varying\nrenderings. Subjoined is an account of \u00c6sop, called the Inventor and\nFather of Fable in its present form.\n\n\n\u00c6SOP, THE FATHER OF THE FABLE\n\nThe life of \u00c6sop, like that of Homer, the most famous of Greek poets,\nis involved in much obscurity. Sardis, the capital of Lydia; Samos,\na Greek island; Mesembria, an ancient colony in Thrace; and Coti\u00e6um,\nthe chief city of a province of Phrygia, contend for the distinction\nof being his birthplace. Although the honor thus claimed cannot be\ndefinitely assigned to any one of these places, yet there are a few\nincidents now generally accepted by scholars as established facts\nrelating to the birth, life, and death of \u00c6sop. He is, by an almost\nuniversal consent, allowed to have been born about the year 620 B.C.\nand to have been by birth a slave. He was owned by two masters in\nsuccession, Xanthus and Jadmon, both inhabitants of Samos, the latter\nof whom gave him his liberty as a reward for his learning and wit. One\nof the privileges of a freedman in the ancient republics of Greece was\nthe permission to take an active interest in public affairs; and \u00c6sop,\nlike the philosophers Ph\u00e6do, Menippus, and Epictetus in later times,\nraised himself from the indignity of a servile condition to a position\nof high renown. In his desire alike to instruct and to be instructed,\nhe traveled through many countries, and among others came to Sardis,\nthe capital of the famous king of Lydia, the great patron, in that day,\nof learning and of learned men. At the court of Cr\u0153sus he met with\nSolon, Thales, and other sages, and is related so to have pleased his\nroyal master by the part he took in the conversations held with these\nphilosophers that Cr\u0153sus applied to him an expression which has since\npassed into a proverb\u2014\u03bc\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u1f41 \u03a6\u03c1\u1f51\u03be, \u201cThe Phrygian has spoken better\nthan all.\u201d\n\nOn the invitation of Cr\u0153sus he fixed his residence at Sardis, and was\nemployed by that monarch in various difficult and delicate affairs of\nstate. In his discharge of these commissions he visited the different\npetty republics of Greece. At one time he is found in Corinth, and\nat another in Athens, endeavoring, by the narration of some of his\nwise fables, to reconcile the inhabitants of those cities to the\nadministration of their rulers. One of these missions, undertaken at\nthe command of Cr\u0153sus, was the occasion of his death. Having been sent\nto Delphi with a large sum of gold for distribution among the citizens,\nhe was so indignant at their covetousness that he refused to divide the\nmoney and sent it back to his master. The Delphians, enraged at this\ntreatment, accused him of impiety and, in spite of his sacred character\nas ambassador, executed him as a public criminal. But the great\nfabulist did not lack posthumous honors, for a statue was erected to\nhis memory at Athens, the work of Lysippus, one of the most famous of\nGreek sculptors. These few facts are all that can be relied on with any\ndegree of certainty in reference to the birth, life, and death of \u00c6sop.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe fable on pages 197-200 is a translation of La Fontaine\u2019s metrical\nversion of one of the most popular of the \u00c6sop Fables. La Fontaine, who\ndied at Paris in 1695, was a popular writer of drama and the most noted\nof the French fabulists. Following this, on pages 201-214, are fables\nfrom the Russian of Kriloff, a writer who for nearly twenty years was\none of the librarians at the Imperial Public Library at St. Petersburg,\nin which city he died in 1844.\n\n\n\n\n\u00c6SOP\u2019S FABLES\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n\u00c6SOP\u2019S FABLES\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE LAMB\n\n\nONE day a Wolf and a Lamb happened to come at the same time to drink\nfrom a brook that ran down the side of the mountain.\n\nThe Wolf wished very much to eat the Lamb, but meeting her as he did,\nface to face, he thought he must find some excuse for doing so.\n\nSo he began by trying to pick a quarrel, and said angrily: \u201cHow dare\nyou come to my brook and muddy the water so that I cannot drink it?\nWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\nThe Lamb, very much alarmed, said gently: \u201cI do not see how it can be\nthat I have spoiled the water. You stand higher up the stream, and the\nwater runs from you to me, not from me to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe that as it may,\u201d said the Wolf, with a snarl, \u201cyou are a rascal all\nthe same, for I have heard that last year you said bad things of me\nbehind my back.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear Mr. Wolf,\u201d cried the poor Lamb, \u201cthat could not be, for a year\nago I was not born; I am only six months old.\u201d\n\nFinding it of no use to argue any more, the Wolf began to snarl and\nshow his teeth. Coming closer to the Lamb, he said, \u201cYou little wretch,\nif it was not you it was your father, so it\u2019s all the same\u201d; and he\npounced upon the poor Lamb and ate her up.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE LION\n\n\nA LITTLE fox was out playing one day, when a Lion came roaring along.\n\u201cDear me,\u201d said the Fox, as he hid behind a tree, \u201cI never saw a Lion\nbefore. What a terrible creature! His voice makes me tremble.\u201d\n\nThe next time the Fox met the Lion he was not so much afraid, but he\nkept a safe distance and said to himself, \u201cI wish he would not make\nsuch a noise!\u201d\n\nThe third time they met, the Fox was not frightened at all. He ran up\nto the Lion, and said, \u201cWhat are you roaring about?\u201d\n\nAnd the Lion was so taken by surprise that, without saying a word, he\nlet the Fox walk away.\n\nIt would not be safe for little foxes always to follow the example of\nthis one; but it is often true that what our fear makes seem a lion in\nthe way has no danger in it if we meet it bravely.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOG AND HIS SHADOW\n\n\nA DOG once had a nice piece of meat for his dinner. Some say that it\nwas stolen, but others, that it had been given him by a butcher, which\nwe hope was the case.\n\nDogs like best to eat at home, and he went trotting along with the meat\nin his mouth, as happy as a king.\n\nOn the dog\u2019s way there was a stream with a plank across it. As the\nwater was still and clear, he stopped to take a look at it. What\nshould he see, as he gazed into its bright depths, but a dog as big as\nhimself, looking up at him, and lo! the dog had meat in his mouth.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll try to get that,\u201d said he; \u201cthen with both mine and his what a\nfeast I shall have!\u201d As quick as thought he snapped at the meat, but in\ndoing so he had to open his mouth, and his own piece fell to the bottom\nof the stream.\n\nThen he saw that the other dog had lost his piece, too. He went sadly\nhome. In trying to grasp a shadow he lost his substance.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER\n\n\n\u201cMY child,\u201d said a Crab to her son, \u201cwhy do you walk so awkwardly? If\nyou wish to make a good appearance, you should go straight forward, and\nnot to one side as you do so constantly.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do wish to make a good appearance, mamma,\u201d said the young Crab; \u201cand\nif you will show me how, I will try to walk straight forward.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, this is the way, of course,\u201d said the mother, as she started off\nto the right. \u201cNo, this is the way,\u201d said she, as she made another\nattempt, to the left.\n\nThe little Crab smiled. \u201cWhen you learn to do it yourself, you can\nteach me,\u201d he said, and went back to his play.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE GRAPES\n\n\nIT WAS a sultry day, and a Fox was almost famishing with hunger and\nthirst. He was just saying to himself that anything would be acceptable\nto him, when, looking up, he spied some great clusters of ripe, black\ngrapes hanging from a trellised vine.\n\n\u201cWhat luck!\u201d he said; \u201cif only they weren\u2019t quite so high, I should\nbe sure of a fine feast. I wonder if I can get them. I can think of\nnothing that would so refresh me.\u201d\n\nJumping into the air is not the easiest thing in the world for a Fox to\ndo; but he gave a great spring and nearly reached the lowest clusters.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll do better next time,\u201d he said.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHe tried again and again, but did not succeed so well as at first.\nFinding that he was losing his strength and that he had little chance\nof getting the grapes, he walked slowly off, grumbling as he did so:\n\u201cThe grapes are sour, and not at all fit for my eating. I\u2019ll leave them\nto the greedy birds. They eat anything.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE CRANE\n\n\nONE day a Wolf, who was eating his dinner much too fast, swallowed a\nbone, which stuck in his throat and pained him very much. He tried to\nget it out, but could not.\n\nJust then he saw a Crane passing by. \u201cDear friend,\u201d said he to the\nCrane, \u201cthere is a bone sticking in my throat. You have a good long\nneck; can\u2019t you reach down and pull it out? I will pay you well for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll try,\u201d said the Crane. Then he put his head into the Wolf\u2019s mouth,\nbetween his sharp teeth, and reaching down, pulled out the bone.\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d said the Wolf, \u201cI am glad it is out; I must be more careful\nanother time.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go now, if you will pay me,\u201d said the Crane.\n\n\u201cPay you, indeed!\u201d cried the Wolf. \u201cBe thankful that I did not bite\nyour head off when it was in my mouth. You ought to be content with\nthat.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nGentle, kindly folk sometimes have to learn that kindness must be mixed\nwith caution.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPERS\n\n\nTHE Ants and the Grasshoppers lived together in the great field. The\nAnts were busy all the time gathering a store of grain to lay by for\nwinter use. They gave themselves so little pleasure that their merry\nneighbors, the Grasshoppers, began at last to take scarcely any notice\nof them.\n\nWhen the frost came, it put an end to the work of the Ants and the\nchirping and merrymaking of the Grasshoppers. But one fine winter\u2019s\nday, when the Ants were employed in spreading their grain in the sun to\ndry, a Grasshopper, who was nearly perishing with hunger, chanced to\npass by.\n\n\u201cGood day to you, kind neighbor,\u201d said she; \u201cwill you not lend me a\nlittle food? I will certainly pay you before this time next year.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow does it happen that you have no food of your own?\u201d asked an old\nAnt. \u201cThere was an abundance in the field where we lived side by side\nall summer, and your people seemed to be active enough. What were you\ndoing, pray?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the Grasshopper, forgetting his hunger, \u201cI sang all the day\nlong, and all the night, too.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then,\u201d interrupted the Ant, \u201cI must not deprive my own family\nfor you. If Grasshoppers find it so gay to sing away the summer, they\nmust starve in winter,\u201d and she went on with her work, all the while\nsinging the old song, \u201cWe ants never borrow; we ants never lend.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE FROGS WHO ASKED FOR A KING\n\n\nTHERE were once some Frogs who lived together in perfect security in a\nbeautiful lake. They were a large company, and were very comfortable,\nbut they came to think that they might be still happier if they had a\nKing to rule over them.\n\nSo they sent to Jupiter, their god, to ask him to give them a King.\n\nJupiter laughed at their folly, for he knew that they were better off\nas they were; but he said to them, \u201cWell, here is a King for you,\u201d and\ninto the water he threw a big Log.\n\nIt fell with such a splash that the Frogs were terrified and hid\nthemselves in the deep mud under the water.\n\nBy and by, one braver than the rest peeped out to look at the King, and\nsaw the Log, as it lay quietly on the top of the water. Soon, one after\nanother they all came out of their hiding places and ventured to look\nat their great King.\n\nAs the Log did not move, they swam round it, keeping a safe distance\naway, and at last one by one hopped upon it.\n\n\u201cThis is not a King,\u201d said a wise old Frog; \u201cit is nothing but a stupid\nLog. If we had a King, Jupiter would pay more attention to us.\u201d\n\nAgain they sent to Jupiter, and begged him to give them a King who\ncould rule over them.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nJupiter did not like to be disturbed again by the silly Frogs, and this\ntime he sent them a Stork, saying, \u201cYou will have some one to rule\nover you now.\u201d\n\nAs they saw the Stork solemnly walking down to the lake, they were\ndelighted.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d they said, \u201csee how grand he looks! How he strides along! How he\nthrows back his head! This is a King indeed. He shall rule over us,\u201d\nand they went joyfully to meet him.\n\nAs their new King came nearer, he paused, stretched out his long neck,\npicked up the head Frog, and swallowed him at one mouthful. And then\nthe next\u2014and the next!\n\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d cried the Frogs, and they began to draw back in terror.\n\nBut the Stork with his long legs easily followed them to the water, and\nkept on eating them as fast as he could.\n\n\u201cOh! if we had only been\u2014\u201d said the oldest Frog. He was going to add\n\u201ccontent,\u201d but was eaten up before he could finish the sentence.\n\nThe remaining Frogs cried to Jupiter to help them, but he would not\nlisten. And the Stork-King ate them for breakfast, dinner, and supper,\nevery day, till in a short time there was not a Frog left in the lake.\nPoor, foolish Frogs, not to have known when they were well off.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DONKEY IN THE LION\u2019S SKIN\n\n\nA DONKEY once put on a Lion\u2019s skin which some hunters had spread out\nto dry. It did not fit the Donkey very well, but he found that in it\nhe could frighten all the timid, foolish little animals, so he amused\nhimself by chasing them about.\n\nBy and by he met a Fox, and tried to frighten him by roaring.\n\n\u201cMy dear Donkey,\u201d said the wise Fox, \u201cyou are braying, and not roaring.\nI might, perhaps, have been frightened by your looks, if you had not\ntried to roar; but I know your voice too well to mistake you for a\nLion.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MICE IN COUNCIL\n\n\nSOME little Mice, who lived in the walls of a house, met together\none night, to talk of the wicked Cat and to consider what could be\ndone to get rid of her. The head Mice were Brown-back, Gray-ear, and\nWhite-whisker.\n\n\u201cThere is no comfort in the house,\u201d said Brown-back. \u201cIf I but step\ninto the pantry to pick up a few crumbs, down comes the Cat, and I have\nhardly time to run to my nest again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can we do?\u201d asked Gray-ear. \u201cShall we all run at her at once and\nbite her, and frighten her away?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said White-whisker; \u201cshe is so bold we could not frighten her. I\nhave thought of something better than that. Let us hang a bell round\nher neck. Then, if she moves, the bell will ring, and we shall hear it,\nand have time to run away.\u201d\n\n\u201cO yes! yes!\u201d cried all the Mice. \u201cThat is a capital idea. We will bell\nthe Cat! Hurrah! hurrah! No more fear of the Cat!\u201d and they danced in\nglee.\n\nWhen their glee had subsided a little, Brown-back asked, \u201cBut who will\nhang the bell round her neck?\u201d\n\nNo one answered. \u201cWill you?\u201d he asked of White-whisker.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think I can,\u201d replied White-whisker; \u201cI am lame, you know. It\nneeds some one who can move quickly.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you, Gray-ear?\u201d said Brown-back.\n\n\u201cExcuse me,\u201d answered Gray-ear; \u201cI have not been well since that time\nwhen I was almost caught in the trap.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho will bell the Cat, then?\u201d said Brown-back. \u201cIf it is to be done,\nsome one must do it.\u201d\n\nNot a sound was heard, and one by one the little Mice stole away to\ntheir holes, no better off than they were before.\n\nWhen there is trouble there is need of some one to act, as well as some\none to advise.\n\n\n\n\nTHE KID AND THE WOLF\n\n\nA KID coming home alone one night met a big Wolf. \u201cOh, oh, I know you\nwill kill me,\u201d said the little Kid; \u201cbut please play me a tune, so that\nI may have one more dance before I die; I am so fond of dancing.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Wolf, \u201cI will try, for I should like to see you\ndance before I eat you.\u201d\n\nThen the Wolf took up the shepherd\u2019s pipe that was lying near, and\nbegan to play. But while he was playing, and the Kid was dancing a jig,\nthe Dogs heard the sound, and came running up.\n\n\u201cIt is my own fault,\u201d said the Wolf, as the Dogs caught him. \u201cMy\nbusiness is to kill Kids and eat them, and not to play for them to\ndance. Why did I try to be a Piper, when I am really only a Butcher?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t play very well, either,\u201d said the Kid.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HAWK AND THE NIGHTINGALE\n\n\nA NIGHTINGALE sitting on the top of an oak, singing her evening song,\nwas spied by a hungry Hawk, who swooped down and seized her. The\nfrightened Nightingale prayed the Hawk to let her go.\n\n\u201cIf you are hungry,\u201d said she, \u201cwhy not catch some large bird? I am not\nbig enough for even a luncheon.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you happen to see many large birds flying about?\u201d said the Hawk.\n\u201cYou are the only bird I have seen to-day, and I should be foolish\nindeed to let you go for the sake of larger birds that are not in\nsight. A morsel is better than nothing.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE CROW AND THE PITCHER\n\n\nA THIRSTY Crow once spied a pitcher, and flew to it to see if by chance\nthere was any water in it.\n\nWhen she looked in, she saw that there was water, but that it was so\nfar from the top that she could not reach it, though she stretched her\nneck as far as she could.\n\nShe stopped, and thought to herself, \u201cHow shall I get that water? I am\nperishing with thirst, and there must be some way for me to get some\nof it.\u201d Some pebbles were lying on the ground; and, picking them up in\nher beak, she dropped them one by one into the pitcher.\n\nThey sank to the bottom; and at last the water was pushed up by them to\nthe top, so that the Crow could easily drink it.\n\n\u201cWhere there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a way,\u201d said the Crow.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANT AND THE DOVE\n\n\nAN Ant, walking by the river one day, said to himself, \u201cHow nice and\ncool this water looks! I must drink some of it.\u201d But as he began to\ndrink, his foot slipped, and he fell in.\n\n\u201cOh, somebody please help me, or I shall drown!\u201d cried he.\n\nA Dove, sitting in a tree that overhung the river, heard him, and threw\nhim a leaf. \u201cClimb up on that leaf,\u201d said she, \u201cand you will float\nashore.\u201d\n\nThe Ant climbed up onto the leaf, which the wind blew to the shore, and\nhe stepped upon dry land again.\n\n\u201cGood-by, kind Dove,\u201d said he, as he ran home. \u201cYou have saved my life,\nand I wish I could do something for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-by,\u201d said the Dove; \u201cbe careful not to fall in again.\u201d\n\nA few days after this, when the Dove was busy building her nest, the\nAnt saw a man just raising his gun to shoot her.\n\nHe ran quickly, and bit the man\u2019s leg so hard that he cried \u201cOh! oh!\u201d\nand dropped his gun.\n\nThis startled the Dove, and she flew away. The man picked up his gun,\nand walked on.\n\nWhen he was gone, the Dove came back to her nest.\n\n\u201cThank you, my little friend,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have saved my life.\u201d\n\nAnd the little Ant was overjoyed to think he had been able to do for\nthe Dove what the Dove had so lately done for him.\n\n\n\n\nTHE OX AND THE FROG\n\n\nAN Ox, drinking at a pool, chanced to set his foot on a young Frog, and\ncrushed him to death.\n\nHis brothers and sisters, who were playing near, ran at once to tell\ntheir mother what had happened. \u201cOh, Mother,\u201d they cried, \u201ca very huge\nbeast, with four great feet, came to the pool, and crushed our brother\nto death in an instant, with his hard, cloven heel.\u201d\n\nThe old Frog was very vain. She was rather large, as Frogs go, and gave\nherself airs on account of it. \u201cWas the cruel beast so very large?\u201d she\nsaid. \u201cHow big?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said the young Frogs. \u201cIt was a terrible monster!\u201d\n\n\u201cWas it as big as this?\u201d she said, blowing and puffing herself out.\n\n\u201cOh, much bigger,\u201d replied the young Frogs.\n\n\u201cAs big as this, then?\u201d she added, puffing and blowing with all her\nmight.\n\n\u201cA great deal bigger,\u201d they answered.\n\n\u201cWell, was it _so_ big?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Mother!\u201d cried the Frogs; \u201cpray do not try to be so big. If you\nwere to puff till you burst, you could not make yourself half so big as\nthe creature we tell you of.\u201d\n\nBut the silly old Frog would not give up. She tried again to puff\nherself out, saying, \u201cAs big as\u201d\u2014and she did indeed burst.\n\nIt is useless to attempt what is impossible.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BAT AND THE WEASELS\n\n\nA BAT, trying to fly one day, fell to the ground, and a Weasel caught\nhim. The Bat begged the Weasel not to kill him.\n\n\u201cThere is nothing I hate like a bird,\u201d said the Weasel; \u201cI always kill\nthem.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cBut I am not a bird,\u201d said the Bat, as he folded his wings close to\nhis sides; \u201cbirds don\u2019t come tumbling down as I did; and besides, don\u2019t\nyou see my little smooth head, and my ears?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes,\u201d said the Weasel, \u201cI did not notice them at first. I see,\nyou are a mouse\u201d; so he let the Bat go.\n\nSome time after, the Bat took another flight, and again fell to the\nground. Another Weasel came out of his hole and caught him.\n\n\u201cPray don\u2019t kill me,\u201d said the Bat.\n\n\u201cCertainly I shall,\u201d said the Weasel; \u201cI kill mice wherever I find\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut stop a moment,\u201d said the Bat, spreading his wings; \u201cI am not a\nmouse. Don\u2019t you see my great wings? A mouse can\u2019t fly, can it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI beg your pardon,\u201d said the Weasel; \u201cI did not know that you were a\nbird; I thought you were a mouse. I see I was mistaken.\u201d Then he let\nhim go.\n\nSo the cunning Bat escaped a second time, but it is not often safe to\nuse such arguments.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE GOAT\n\n\nA FOX once happened to fall into a deep well. He tried in every way to\nget out, but at last began to think that it was impossible, and that he\nmust die there, a prisoner. While he was thinking how sad that would\nbe, a thirsty Goat came and looked down into the well, wishing that he\ncould get some water. He soon saw the Fox.\n\n\u201cHalloo,\u201d said the Goat, \u201cwhat are you doing down there? Is the water\ngood?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe best I ever tasted,\u201d answered the Fox. \u201cIt is cool, and clear, and\ndelicious. Come down and try it yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the Goat, \u201cfor I am nearly dead with thirst.\u201d\n\nSo he jumped down, and drank as much water as he wanted.\n\n\u201cOh, how refreshing!\u201d cried he.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Fox; \u201cand now, if you have finished drinking, let me\nask how you expect to get out of this well again.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know,\u201d replied the Goat. \u201cHow do you expect to get out?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is what I have been wondering about for the last hour,\u201d said the\nFox, \u201cand have just now thought of a good plan. If you will put your\nforefeet high up on the wall, I will climb up your back, and so get\nout, and then, of course, I can help you out.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Goat, who was a simple creature, \u201cthat is a good\nplan. How I wish I had your brains!\u201d He put his forefeet on the wall,\nand the Fox easily climbed out and started to go on his way.\n\n\u201cWait a moment,\u201d called the Goat; \u201cyou forgot to help me out.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou foolish fellow!\u201d said the Fox, with a mocking laugh; \u201cyou ought to\nhave thought how you would get out, before you jumped down. I fell in,\nbut you went down of your own accord. Look before you leap next time,\u201d\nand off he ran.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOMAN AND HER HEN\n\n\nA WOMAN had a Hen that laid an egg every day. The eggs were large, and\nsold for a good price. The Woman often thought, as she took them to\nmarket: \u201cHow glad they all are to get my eggs! I could sell as many\nmore just as easily.\u201d\n\nIt began to look a small thing to her to get but a single egg each day.\n\u201cIf I were to give a double allowance of barley, the Hen might be made\nto lay two eggs a day instead of one,\u201d she said.\n\nSo she doubled the food, and the Hen grew very fat and sleek; but she\nstopped laying eggs.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOG IN THE MANGER\n\n\nA SLEEPY Dog went to the barn, and jumped into a manger full of hay,\ncurling himself up there for an afternoon nap.\n\nWhen he had been sleeping comfortably for some time, the Oxen came in\nfor their supper.\n\nThe Dog awoke in a great rage at being disturbed, and began to growl\nand bark at them. He would not let them get at the hay.\n\n\u201cStop a moment,\u201d said one of the Oxen. \u201cDo you want to eat this hay?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Dog; \u201cI shouldn\u2019t think of such a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then,\u201d said the Ox, \u201cwe do want to eat it, for we are\nhungry and tired.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, go away,\u201d growled the Dog, \u201cand let me sleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat an ugly, snappish fellow!\u201d said the Ox. \u201cHe will neither eat the\nhay himself nor let us eat it!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOUSE, THE FROG, AND THE HAWK\n\n\nA MOUSE, who had always lived on the land, and a Frog, who passed most\nof his time in the water, became friends.\n\nThe Mouse showed the Frog his nest and everything he could think of\nthat was pleasant to see; and the Frog invited the Mouse to go home\nwith him and see all the beautiful things that are under the water.\n\n\u201cCan you swim?\u201d asked the Frog.\n\n\u201cNot much,\u201d said the Mouse.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cNo matter,\u201d said the Frog; \u201cI will tie your foot to my foot with a\npiece of this strong grass, and then I can pull you along nicely.\u201d The\nFrog laughed as he said this. He thought it would be good fun for him,\nbut he well knew that the Mouse would not enjoy it.\n\nWhen the Frog had tied the Mouse\u2019s foot to his own, they started\ntogether across the meadow. They soon came to the edge of the water,\nand the Frog jumped in, pulling the Mouse in with him.\n\n\u201cOh, how cool and nice the water is, after the dry, hot land!\u201d said the\nFrog, as he swam gayly about. But the poor Mouse was frightened.\n\n\u201cPlease let me go,\u201d said he, \u201cor I shall die.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, never mind,\u201d said the unkind Frog; \u201cyou will get used to the\nwater. I just love it.\u201d\n\nBut soon the poor Mouse was drowned, and floated up to the top of the\nwater, while the Frog frisked about down below.\n\nJust then a Hawk saw the Mouse, and pounced upon it.\n\nAs he flew away with it the Frog was dragged out of the water, too, for\nhe was still tied to the Mouse.\n\n\u201cStop, stop!\u201d cried the Frog. \u201cLet me go. It is the Mouse you want.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome along,\u201d said the Hawk; \u201cI want you both. I will eat you first,\nfor I like Frog meat even better than I do Mouse.\u201d\n\nIn a few moments the Hawk had made a good supper, and there was nothing\nleft of either the false Frog or the foolish Mouse.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SHEPHERD\u2019S BOY AND THE WOLF\n\n\nA MAN who had a fine flock of Sheep put them all into a field, and\nhired a Boy to take care of them, while he worked near by with his Men.\n\nThe Sheep went nibbling the grass all day, up and down the hills and\nalong the brook; and all that the Boy had to do was to look out for the\nWolf, and see that he did not come prowling into the field.\n\nAfter a while the Boy began to wish that something would happen, it\nwas so tiresome staying there all alone, with no one to speak to and\nnothing to do. He wished he could be with the Men in the next field,\nor that they could come and stay with him. All at once he thought to\nhimself, \u201cI will make them think the Wolf has come. That will be great\nfun.\u201d\n\nSo he called out as loudly as he could, \u201cHelp! help! The Wolf!\u201d and all\nthe Men came running up.\n\nWhen they found it was only a joke, they laughed, and went back to\ntheir work.\n\nOn the next day the Boy tried the same trick again. As before, the Men\ndropped their mattocks and spades, for fear there might be danger, and\nran to the help of the Boy. He only laughed at them for their pains,\nand this time they did not relish the joke. Still the Boy did not give\nit up. Again he shouted \u201cWolf! Wolf!\u201d till the Men took no notice of\nhim when he called them, no matter how loudly or how long he shouted.\n\nAfter a while, the Wolf did get into the field. Then in real terror the\nBoy called and called: \u201cPray do come and help me. The Wolf is killing\nthe sheep. The Wolf! the Wolf!\u201d But no one gave heed to his cries.\nFinding only a terrified coward in care of the flock, the Wolf left few\nof them uninjured.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FISHERMAN AND THE LITTLE FISH\n\n\nALL day long a Fisherman had been toiling and had caught nothing.\n\n\u201cI will make one more effort,\u201d thought he, \u201cand then I must go home.\u201d\n\nHe threw in his line, and soon drew up a very small perch.\n\nThe little Fish was terribly frightened when he found himself out of\nwater, and with a sharp hook sticking in his mouth; and he said to the\nFisherman:\n\n\u201cO sir, take pity upon me, and throw me into the water again! See what\na little thing I am. I should not make one mouthful for you now; but\nif you leave me in the water, I shall grow large and stout, and then I\nshall be worth catching. You can make a dinner of me then, or sell me\nfor a good price.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d said the Fisherman, \u201cit is true you are small, but I have you\nsafely now. If I should throw you back, I might never catch you again.\nYou are better than nothing. I will keep you\u201d; and he put the little\nFish into his basket, and took him home with him.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE CROW\n\n\nA CROW stole a piece of cheese one day, and flew with it up into a\ntree, so as to eat it at her leisure.\n\nAs she sat there, holding it in her beak, a Fox chanced to pass by, and\nlooking up saw her. \u201cHow good that cheese smells!\u201d thought he; \u201cI\u2019ll\nhave it, sure as I\u2019m a Fox.\u201d\n\nComing close to the tree, he said, \u201cMy dear Madam, what a beautiful\ncreature you are! I was not aware till this moment what rare beauty\nyour family possesses. What eyes! What glossy feathers! What grace of\nform! Is your voice as charming to hear, as your person is to look\nupon? If it is, you well deserve to be called the Queen of Birds. Will\nyou not do me the favor to sing to me?\u201d\n\nNow it is well known that the Caw! Caw! of the Crow family is not\nmusical. She ought to have been on her guard, but so delighted was she\nwith the flattery of the Fox that she forgot to be wary. She opened her\nmouth to show the Fox the sweetness of her voice, when\u2014down fell the\nbit of cheese, which was exactly what was expected.\n\nThe Fox ate it at one mouthful, then stopped to say, \u201cThank you, madam.\nI am quite satisfied. Your voice is well enough, I have no doubt. What\na pity it is you are so sadly wanting in wit!\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe Crow learned that we do well to be on our guard when people flatter\nus.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PARTRIDGE AND THE FOWLER\n\n\nA FOWLER caught a Partridge, and was just going to kill it.\n\n\u201cWait a moment,\u201d said the Partridge; \u201cdon\u2019t kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d said the Fowler.\n\n\u201cBecause I like to live,\u201d said the Partridge; \u201cand, besides, if you let\nme go, I will bring some of my friends and neighbors here, and you can\ncatch them, and that will be better than only one poor bird.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are willing, then, that your friends and neighbors should die, to\nsave your own life?\u201d said the Fowler. \u201cWicked Partridge! you have lived\nlong enough.\u201d And he killed it.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THIRSTY PIGEON\n\n\nA PIGEON who was very thirsty saw a goblet of water painted on a\nsignboard.\n\nWithout stopping to see what it was, she flew to it with a loud whir,\nand dashing against the signboard, jarred herself terribly. Having\nbroken her wings, she fell to the ground, and was caught by a man, who\nsaid, \u201cYour zeal should never outrun your caution.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE TRADESMEN\n\n\nA GREAT city was once besieged, and all its inhabitants were gathered\ntogether to consider by what means it might be protected from the\nenemy.\n\nA Bricklayer earnestly recommended bricks as the best materials for\nsuccessful defense.\n\nA Carpenter with equal energy proposed timber as a preferable means of\ndefense.\n\nHearing which, a Currier stood up and said, \u201cSirs, I differ with you\nwholly. There is no material for resistance equal to a covering of\nhides, and nothing in the present case so good as leather.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nEvery man for his own trade.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HARES AND THE FROGS\n\n\nIN A FOREST, deep, shady, and still, there once lived a company of\nHares.\n\nWhenever a leaf fell rustling to the ground, or a squirrel, jumping in\nthe branches, broke a twig, the Hares started and trembled, they were\nso timid.\n\nOne day there came a great wind, rushing through the tops of the trees\nwith a roaring noise, and waving the branches back and forth.\n\nIt frightened the Hares so much that they all started together, running\nas fast as they could to get out of the forest, which had been their\nhome.\n\n\u201cWhat a sad state is ours,\u201d they said, \u201cnever to eat in comfort, to\nsleep always in fear, to be startled by a shadow, and fly with beating\nheart at the rustling of the leaves. Better death, by far. Let us drown\nourselves in yonder lake.\u201d\n\nBut when they came to the lake, it happened that there were scores\nof frogs sporting on the banks; who, when they heard the sound of\nfootsteps, jumped into the water.\n\nThe timid Hares were startled by the splash; but, as they saw the frogs\ndive to the bottom of the lake, a wise old Hare said, \u201cStop a moment!\nlet us consider. Here are creatures that are more timid than we\u2014they\nare afraid even of us. See, they are drowning themselves for fear of\nus! It may not be so bad with us as we thought. Perhaps we have been\nfoolish, as foolish as the frogs, who are alarmed when there is no\ndanger. Let us make the best of our lot, and try to be brave in it.\u201d So\nback they went again to the forest.\n\n\n\n\nTHE EAGLE AND THE ARROW\n\n\nA MOST rapacious Eagle had his eyrie on a lofty rock. Sitting there, he\ncould watch the movements of the animals he wished to make his prey,\nand, waiting his opportunity, seize them and bear them away.\n\nThe poor creatures had no protection from such a foe. But an archer saw\nhim one day watching, from his place of concealment, the movements of\nan unsuspicious hare; and, taking aim, he wounded him mortally.\n\nThe Eagle gave one look at the Arrow that had entered his heart, and\nsaw that its feathers had been furnished by himself, when descending to\nsecure prey.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d said the Eagle, \u201cit is indeed a double grief that I should perish\nby an Arrow feathered from my own wing.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE EAGLE AND THE FOX\n\n\nONE day a mother Eagle came flying out of her nest to look for food for\nher babies. She circled round and round, far up in the air, looking\ndown upon the earth with her keen eyes.\n\nBy and by she saw a little baby Fox, whose mother had left it alone\nwhile, like the Eagle, she went for food.\n\nDown came the bird, whir went her wings, and away she soared again,\nwith the little Fox clutched fast in her claws.\n\nThe poor mother Fox just at that moment came running home to her child,\nand saw it being carried away.\n\n\u201cO Eagle!\u201d she cried, \u201cleave me my one little baby. Remember your own\nchildren, and how you would feel if one of them should be taken away.\nOh, bring back my poor cub!\u201d\n\nBut the cruel Eagle, thinking that the Fox could never reach her, in\nher nest high in the pine tree, flew away with the little Fox, and left\nthe poor mother to cry.\n\nBut the mother Fox did not stop to cry long. She ran to a fire that was\nburning in the field, caught up a blazing stick of wood, and ran with\nit in her mouth to the pine tree where the Eagle had her nest.\n\nThe Eagle saw her coming, and knew that the Fox would soon have the\ntree on fire, and that all her young ones would be burned. So, to save\nher own brood, she begged the Fox to stop, and brought her back her\nlittle one, safe and sound.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DRUM AND THE VASE OF SWEET HERBS\n\n\nA DRUM once boasted to a Vase of Sweet Herbs in this way: \u201cListen to\nme! My voice is loud and can be heard far off. I stir the hearts of\nmen so that when they hear my bold roaring they march out bravely to\nbattle.\u201d\n\nThe Vase spoke no words, but gave out a fine, sweet perfume, which\nfilled the air and seemed to say: \u201cI cannot speak, and it is not well\nto be proud, but I am full of good things that are hidden within me,\nand that gladly come forth to give cheer and comfort. People are drawn\nto me in their need, and they remember me afterward with gratitude. But\nyou have nothing in you but noise, and you must be struck to make you\ngive that out. I would not boast so much if I were you.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWO FROGS\n\n\nONCE there were two Frogs who were dear friends.\n\nOne lived in a deep pond in the woods, where the trees hung over the\nwater, and where no one came to disturb him.\n\nThe other lived in a small pool. This was not a good place for a Frog,\nor any one else, to live in, for the country road passed through the\npool, and all the horses and wagons had to go that way, so that it was\nnot quiet like the pond, and the horses made the water muddy and foul.\n\nOne day the Frog from the pond said to the other, \u201cDo come and live\nwith me; I have plenty of food and water, and nothing to disturb me;\nand it is so pleasant in my pond. Now here there is very little food,\nand not much water, and the road passes through your pool, so that you\nmust always be afraid of passers-by.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d said the other Frog; \u201cyou are very kind, but I am quite\ncontent here. There is water enough; those who pass never trouble me;\nand as to food, I had a good dinner day before yesterday. I am used to\nthis place, you know, and do not like change. But come and see me as\noften as you can.\u201d\n\nThe next time the Frog from the pond came to visit his friend, he could\nnot find him.\n\n\u201cToo late!\u201d sang a Bird, who lived in a tree that overhung the pool.\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d said the Frog.\n\n\u201cDead and gone!\u201d said the Bird. \u201cRun over by a wagon and killed, two\ndays ago, and a big Hawk came and carried him off.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas! if he had only taken my advice, he might have been well and\nhappy now,\u201d said the Frog, as he turned sadly towards home; \u201cbut he\nwould have his way, and I have lost my friend.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE LION AND THE MOUSE\n\n\nIT ONCE happened that a hungry Lion woke to find a Mouse just under his\npaw. He caught the tiny creature, and was about to make a mouthful of\nhim, when the little fellow looked up, and began to beg for his life.\n\nIn most piteous tones the Mouse said: \u201cDo not eat me. I meant no harm\ncoming so near you. If you would only spare my life now, O Lion, I\nwould be sure to repay you!\u201d\n\nThe Lion laughed scornfully at this, but it amused him so much that he\nlifted his paw and let his brave little prisoner go free.\n\nIt befell the great Lion, not long afterward, to be in as evil a case\nas had been the helpless Mouse. And it came about that his life was to\nbe saved by the keeping of the promise he had ridiculed.\n\nHe was caught by some hunters, who bound him with a strong rope, while\nthey went away to find means for killing him.\n\nHearing his loud groans, the Mouse came promptly to his rescue, and\ngnawed the great rope till the royal captive could set himself free.\n\n\u201cYou laughed,\u201d the little Mouse said, \u201cat the idea of my being able to\nbe of service to you. You little thought I should repay you. But you\nsee it has come to pass that you are as grateful to me as I was once to\nyou. The weak have their place in the world as truly as the strong.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOUSE, THE CAT, AND THE COCK\n\n\nA YOUNG Mouse, that had not seen much of the world, came home one day\nand said: \u201cO mother! I have had such a fright! I saw a great creature\nstrutting about on two legs. I wonder what it was! On his head was a\nred cap. His eyes were fierce and stared at me, and he had a sharp\nmouth.\n\n\u201cAll at once he stretched his long neck, and opened his mouth so wide,\nand roared so loud, that I thought he was going to eat me up, and I\nran home as fast as I could. I was sorry that I met him, for I had\njust seen a lovely animal, greater even than he, and would have made\nfriends with her. She had soft fur like ours, only it was gray and\nwhite. Her eyes were mild and sleepy, and she looked at me very gently\nand waved her long tail from side to side. I thought she wished to\nspeak to me, and I would have gone near her, but that dreadful thing\nbegan to roar, and I ran away.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear child,\u201d said the mother, \u201cyou did well to run away. The fierce\nthing you speak of would have done you no harm. It was a harmless Cock.\nBut that soft, pretty thing was the Cat, and she would have eaten you\nup in a minute, for she is the worst enemy you have in the whole world.\nAppearances are not always to be trusted.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE AX AND THE TREES\n\n\nONCE upon a time a man came to a forest to ask the Trees if they would\ngive him some wood to make a handle for his Ax.\n\nThe Trees thought this was very little to ask of them, and they gave\nhim a good piece of hard wood. But as soon as the man had fitted the\nhandle to his Ax, he went to work to chop down all the best Trees in\nthe forest.\n\nAs they fell groaning and crashing to the ground, they said mournfully\none to another, \u201cOur kindness was misplaced. We suffer for our own\nfoolishness.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE JACKDAW AND THE SHEEP\n\n\nA JACKDAW sat chattering upon the back of a Sheep.\n\n\u201cPeace, I pray you, noisy bird,\u201d said the Sheep. \u201cYou are wearing my\nlife out If I were a dog, you would not think of serving me so.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d replied the Jackdaw; \u201cyou are right. I never meddle\nwith the surly and revengeful; but I love to plague gentle, helpless\ncreatures like you, that can not do me any harm in return.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wonder if all cowards are not like the Jackdaw,\u201d mused the Sheep, as\nit went on contentedly browsing on the hillside.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CAT AND THE COCK\n\n\nA HUNGRY Cat, who had tried in vain to find a Mouse for her supper, at\nlast caught a young Cock.\n\n\u201cYou are a noisy creature,\u201d she said to him, \u201cand have lived long\nenough. You disturb every one in the house by your loud crowing in the\nmorning.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are mistaken,\u201d answered the Cock; \u201cI disturb no one. I crow to\nwake the family. They would not know when to get up but for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said the Cat; \u201cdon\u2019t trouble yourself to make excuses; I\nhave had no breakfast and no dinner; I shall eat you for my supper.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE GOAT\n\n\nA WOLF saw a Goat feeding at the top of a steep precipice, where he\ncould not reach her.\n\n\u201cMy dear friend,\u201d said the Wolf, \u201cbe careful! I am afraid you will fall\nand break your neck. Do come down to the meadow, where the grass is\nfresh and green.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you very hungry?\u201d said the Goat. \u201cAnd is it your dinner time? And\nwould you like to eat me? I think I will not go down to the meadow\nto-day, thank you.\u201d\n\nAnd she capered contentedly about on the edge of the rock, as safe from\nfalling as she was from the greedy Wolf with his false care for her.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE HEN AND THE SWALLOW\n\n\nA HEN who had no nest of her own found some eggs, and, in the kindness\nof her heart, thought she would take care of them, and keep them warm.\n\nBut they were the eggs of a viper; and by and by the little snakes\nbegan to come out of the shell.\n\nA Swallow, who was passing, stopped to look at them.\n\n\u201cWhat a foolish creature you were, to hatch those eggs!\u201d said the\nSwallow. \u201cDon\u2019t you know that as soon as the little snakes grow big\nenough, they will bite some one\u2014probably _you_ first of all?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the Hen, as she stood on one leg and looked at the ugly\nlittle snakes, first with one eye and then with the other, \u201cyou think\nI have done more harm than good?\u201d\n\n\u201cI certainly do,\u201d said the Swallow, as she flew away. \u201cGood judgment is\nbetter than thoughtless kindness.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nSTONE BROTH\n\n\nONE very stormy day a Poor Man came to a rich man\u2019s house to beg.\n\n\u201cAway with you!\u201d said the servants; \u201cdo not come here troubling us.\u201d\n\nThen said the Man, \u201cOnly let me come in and dry my clothes at your\nfire.\u201d This, the servants thought, would not cost them anything; so\nthey let him come in.\n\nThe Poor Man then asked the cook to let him have a pan, so that he\ncould make some stone broth.\n\n\u201cStone broth!\u201d said the cook. \u201cI should like to see how you can make\nbroth out of a stone\u201d; so she gave him a pan. The Man filled it with\nwater from the pump, and then put into it a stone from the road. \u201cBut\nyou must have some salt,\u201d said the cook.\n\n\u201cDo you think so?\u201d courteously replied the stranger. She gave him the\nsalt, and before long she added some peas, some mint, and thyme. At\nlast she brought him all the scraps of meat she could find, so that the\nPoor Man\u2019s broth made him a good dinner.\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said the Man, \u201cthat if you only try long enough, and are\ncheerful, making the best of what you have, you may at last get what\nyou want.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MULE AND THE GRASSHOPPERS\n\n\nA MULE, hearing some Grasshoppers chirping, was much pleased with the\nsound, and wished that he could make such sweet music.\n\n\u201cWhat sort of food do you eat,\u201d said he to the Grasshoppers, \u201cthat your\nvoices are so charming?\u201d\n\nThe Grasshoppers replied, \u201cWe live upon dew.\u201d\n\nThe Mule then decided that he too would live upon dew. And in a short\ntime he died of hunger, just from trying to do what he saw others\ndoing, without first learning their reason for it.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GNAT AND THE BULL\n\n\nA GNAT, who had flown about until he was tired, sat down to rest on the\nhorn of a Bull.\n\nAfter sitting there a long time, he thought he would go home. So he\nmade a loud buzzing noise and said to the Bull, \u201cWould you like to have\nme stay longer, or shall I go now?\u201d\n\n\u201cJust as you please,\u201d said the Bull. \u201cI did not know when you came, and\nI am sure I shall not miss you when you go away.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat an amount of self-importance for such a tiny creature,\u201d thought\nthe sleepy Bull.\n\n\n\n\nA FOX AND A CRAB\n\n\nA HUNGRY Fox surprised a Crab, who had left the sea and was lying upon\nthe beach.\n\n\u201cWhat good luck, to find a breakfast so easily,\u201d said the Fox, as he\npounced upon him.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the Crab, when he found that he was to be eaten, \u201cthis\ncomes of going where I have no business; I should have stayed in the\nwater, where I belonged.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE DONKEY AND THE FROGS\n\n\nA DONKEY was one day walking through a pond, with a load of wood on his\nback, when his foot slipped and he fell.\n\n\u201cHelp, help!\u201d cried the poor Donkey, as he struggled and kicked in the\nwater. But his load was so heavy that he could not rise, and he groaned\naloud.\n\nThe Frogs heard his groans but showed no pity. \u201cWhat a foolish fellow,\u201d\nsaid they, \u201cto make such a fuss about a little fall into the water.\nWhat would you say if you had to live here always, as we do?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE NURSE AND THE WOLF\n\n\nA WOLF, prowling about to find something for supper, heard a Child\ncrying in a house. Listening, he heard the Nurse say, \u201cStop crying this\nminute, or I will throw you out of doors to the Wolf.\u201d\n\nThe Wolf sat down near the door, thinking within himself, \u201cI shall soon\nhave a good supper.\u201d\n\nThe Baby cried and cried, till at last it went to sleep; and then the\nWolf heard the Nurse say: \u201cThere, that\u2019s a good Baby. If the naughty\nold Wolf comes for my darling, we\u2019ll beat him, so we will.\u201d\n\nThe Wolf trotted sadly home. On his way he met the Fox.\n\n\u201cWhat makes you look so sour and so forlorn, my friend?\u201d said the Fox.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t speak to me!\u201d growled the Wolf. \u201cI have lost my supper just\nbecause I believed what a Nurse said to a Baby.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE CAT AND THE MARTINS\n\n\nA CAT, hearing that some Birds who lived in a martin box near by were\nill, put on his spectacles and his overcoat, and made himself look as\nmuch as possible like a doctor, and went and knocked at their door.\n\n\u201cI hear that you are all sick,\u201d said he, \u201cand have come to call on you.\nLet me in, and I will give you some medicine and cure you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d said the Birds, who saw his whiskers and knew he was\ntheir enemy the Cat; \u201cwe are well enough\u2014much better than if we should\nopen our door and let you in.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE COCK AND THE FOX\n\n\nA FOX went prowling about a farmyard, not seeing a trap which the\nfarmer had hidden there to catch him. Snap! went the trap, and the Fox\nfound himself held fast by a strong cord. He howled horribly and was\nalmost beside himself with rage.\n\nA Cock, hearing the noise, flew to the top of the fence. Looking over,\nhe saw the Fox and was terribly frightened\u2014not daring to go near him,\neven when he found that his old enemy could not move. But he could not\nrefrain from giving an exulting crow.\n\nThe Fox, looking up, said: \u201cDear Mr. Cock, you see how unlucky I have\nbeen, and all because I came here to inquire after your health. Do\nplease help me to break this string, or at least do not let any one\nknow that I am caught until I have time to gnaw it with my teeth.\u201d\n\nThe Cock said nothing, but went as fast as he could and told his master\nall about it. So the crafty Fox was served as the Cock thought he\ndeserved to be.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HORSE AND HIS RIDER\n\n\nA CAVALRY officer took the greatest of pains with his charger. As long\nas the war lasted, the Horse was looked upon as a companion and fellow\nhelper. He was carefully groomed every day, and fed with hay and oats.\n\nBut when the war was over, the allowance of grain and hay ceased, and\nthe Horse was fed with chaff and whatever he might find by the wayside.\nHe was made a drudge too, and was often forced to carry loads much too\nheavy for his strength.\n\nWhen, in course of time, war was again proclaimed, the soldier brought\nhis military trappings and put them on his charger; and, after having\narrayed his own person with his heavy coat of mail, he mounted to ride\nto battle.\n\nBut the Horse, no longer equal to the burden, fell down straightway\nunder the weight.\n\n\u201cYou must go to the war on foot,\u201d he said to his master, \u201cfor you have\ntransformed me from a horse into an ass.\u201d\n\nHe who slights his friends when he does not need their best offices\nmust not expect them to serve him when he needs them again.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE STORK\n\n\nTHE Fox and the Stork were on what seemed to be friendly terms. The\nFox invited the Stork to a dinner for which nothing was provided but a\nsoup, which was served on a wide, shallow dish.\n\nThe Fox presided at the feast with great dignity, and, as if to set\nhis friend an example, proceeded to lap the soup. This _he_ could do\nwith the greatest ease; but the Stork, who could only dip the tip of\nhis bill in the dish and get the tempting odor, fared badly. He praised\nthe dinner, but soon took leave, saying to his friend that he should do\nhimself the honor to return the compliment.\n\nThis he did in a few days, but ordered that nothing be brought to the\ntable but some minced meat in a glass jar, the neck of which was so\nnarrow and deep that, though he himself could eat very well, the Fox\ncould not reach it, and so could only lick the brim for the bits that\nclung to it.\n\nReynard could not conceal his vexation, but was obliged to own that he\nhad been rightly used.\n\nThey who practice cunning must expect to suffer by it, and he laughs\nbest who laughs last.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOG, THE COCK, AND THE FOX\n\n\nA DOG and a Cock, who were neighbors, once made a little journey\ntogether.\n\nWhen night came on, the Cock flew up into the branches of a tree to\nsleep; and the Dog found a hollow in the trunk, into which he could\ncreep and lie down. They slept well, and as soon as the morning dawned,\nthe Cock, as usual, began to crow.\n\nA Fox, hearing the sound and thinking he was sure of a good breakfast,\ncame and stood under the branches. \u201cGood morning,\u201d said he to the Cock.\n\n\u201cHow glad I am to make the acquaintance of the owner of such a voice!\nWill you not come down here where we can chat a little?\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, I cannot just yet,\u201d replied the Cock; \u201cbut if you would\nlike to come up here, go around the tree trunk, and wake my servant. He\nwill open the door and let you in.\u201d\n\nThe Fox did as he was requested; but as he approached the tree, the Dog\nsprang upon him, and tore him to pieces.\n\n\u201cTwo can play at the same game,\u201d said the Cock, as he looked down upon\nthe scene.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FLY AND THE MOTH\n\n\nA FLY alighted one night upon a pot of honey, and finding it very much\nto his taste, began to eat it along the edges.\n\nLittle by little, however, he had soon crept away from the edge and\ninto the jar, until at last he found himself stuck fast. His legs and\nwings had become so smeared with the honey that he could not use them.\n\nJust then a Moth flew by, and seeing him struggling there, said: \u201cOh,\nyou foolish Fly! Were you so greedy as to be caught like that? Your\nappetite was too much for you.\u201d\n\nThe poor Fly had nothing to say in reply. What the Moth said was true.\nBut by and by, when evening came, he saw the Moth flying round a\nlighted candle in the giddiest way, and each time a little closer to\nthe flame, until at last he flew straight into it and was burned.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said the Fly, \u201care you foolish, too? You found fault with me\nfor being too fond of honey; yet all your wisdom did not keep you from\nplaying with fire.\u201d It is sometimes easier to see the foolishness of\nothers than to detect our own.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOY BATHING\n\n\nA LITTLE Boy once went in bathing where the water was too deep for him.\nWhen he found himself sinking, he cried out to a Man who was passing\nby, to come and help him.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you swim?\u201d asked the Man.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the Boy, \u201cI don\u2019t know how.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow foolish you were, then,\u201d said the Man, \u201cto go into deep water!\nDidn\u2019t you know better?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, good sir, please help me now, or I shall drown!\u201d cried the Boy.\n\u201cYou can scold me when I am safe on shore again.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE HARE AND THE TORTOISE\n\n\nA HARE one day made himself merry over the slow pace of the Tortoise,\nvainly boasting of his own great speed in running.\n\nThe Tortoise took the laughing and boasting in good part. \u201cLet us try a\nrace,\u201d she said; \u201cI will run with you five miles for five dollars, and\nthe Fox out yonder shall be the judge.\u201d\n\nThe Hare agreed, a course was arranged, and away they started together.\nTrue to his boasting the Hare was out of sight in a moment.\n\nThe Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but jogged along with a slow,\nsteady pace, straight to the end of the course. Full of sport, the Hare\nfirst outran the Tortoise, then fell behind. Having come midway to the\ngoal, he began to nibble at the young herbage, and to amuse himself in\nmany ways. After a while, the day being warm, he lay down for a nap,\nsaying: \u201cShe is behind me now. If she should go by, I can easily enough\ncatch up.\u201d\n\nWhen the Hare awoke, the Tortoise was not in sight; and running as fast\nas he could, he found her comfortably dozing at their goal.\n\nThose who are very quick are apt to be too sure. Slow and steady often\nwins the race.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ARAB AND HIS CAMEL\n\n\nAS AN Arab sat in his tent one cold night, he saw the curtain gently\nlifted, and the face of his Camel looking in.\n\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d he asked kindly.\n\n\u201cIt is cold, master,\u201d said the Camel; \u201csuffer me, I pray thee, to hold\nmy head within the tent.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy all means,\u201d replied the hospitable Arab; and the Camel stood with\nhis head inside the tent.\n\n\u201cMight I also warm my neck a little?\u201d he entreated after a moment.\n\nThe Arab readily consented, and the Camel\u2019s neck was thrust within the\ntent.\n\nHe stood, moving his head from side to side uneasily, and presently\nsaid: \u201cIt is awkward standing thus. It would take but little more room\nif I were to place my forelegs inside the tent.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may place your forelegs within the tent,\u201d said the Arab. And now\nhe had to move a little to make room, for the tent was small.\n\nThe Camel spoke again: \u201cI keep the tent open by standing thus, and make\nit cold for us both. May I not stand wholly within?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Arab, whose compassion included his beast as well as\nhimself; \u201ccome in wholly if you wish.\u201d But now the tent proved to be\ntoo small to hold both.\n\n\u201cI think, after all,\u201d said the Camel, as he crowded himself in, \u201cthat\nthere will not be room here for us both. You are the smaller; it will\nbe best for you to stand outside. There will be room then for me.\u201d So\nhe pushed a little, and the Arab with all haste went outside the tent.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX WHO HAD LOST HIS TAIL\n\n\nA FOX was once caught in a trap by his tail. He succeeded in getting\naway, but was forced to leave his \u201cbrush\u201d behind. He soon realized that\nhis life would be a burden, from the shame and ridicule to which his\ntailless condition would expose him.\n\n\u201cI must not own that it is a misfortune not to have a bushy tail,\u201d he\nsaid to himself.\n\nSo he set about to induce all the other Foxes to part with theirs. At\nthe next assembly he boldly made a speech, in which he set forth the\nadvantages of his present state.\n\n\u201cThe tail,\u201d he said, \u201cis no real part of our persons, and besides being\nvery ugly to see, it exposes us to danger from the dogs. I have never\nmoved about with such ease as since I gave up my own.\u201d\n\nWhen he had ended his speech, a sly old Fox arose, and giving his own\nbrush a graceful wave, said, with the kind of sneer which all Foxes\nknow so well how to give, that if he had lost by accident his own tail,\nhe should, without doubt, agree with his friend; but that, as the brush\nwas a fox\u2019s chief ornament and distinction, until such a mishap should\noccur as had befallen his friend, he should retain his own and should\nadvise the others to do the same. And the vote to retain the tails was\ngiven by a wave of the brush. Yet many fashions have been set by Foxes\nwho have met with some such accident.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOYS AND THE FROGS\n\n\nSOME Boys, playing near a pond, saw a number of Frogs sporting in the\nwater.\n\n\u201cLet us see if we can hit them; it is great fun to make them dive,\u201d\nsaid one; and they all began to pelt them with stones.\n\nAt last, after several Frogs had been hit, one of them put his head up\nout of the water, and said: \u201cPray stop, Boys. Throwing stones at us may\nbe great sport for you, but it is death to us. We have done you no\nharm, and alas! you have already killed or wounded three of our family.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE SWALLOW AND THE OTHER BIRDS\n\n\nA WISE Swallow, seeing a man sow seed in a field, went behind him and\npicked up one of the seeds to see what it was.\n\nShe found that it was flax. \u201cWhen this flax has grown,\u201d she said to\nherself, \u201cthe man will make it into linen thread and use it to make\nnets for catching us Birds.\u201d\n\nSo she went to all the Birds and told them what she had discovered,\nbegging them to come and help her eat up the flaxseed before it should\nsprout. \u201cThis field,\u201d she said, \u201cis as much ours as it is his. And\nwhile one of us can do but little, all working together can quickly\nremove our danger.\u201d\n\nBut the Birds would not listen to her. Not one of them could she\npersuade to help her pick up the seeds which the farmer had sown.\n\nBy and by the flax sprang up, and the Swallow tried again to persuade\nthe Birds to pull the young flax before it grew large. But they all\nmade fun of her caution and let the flax keep growing.\n\nWhen she saw how heedless all the Birds were, the Swallow would have\nnothing more to do with them, but left the woods where they lived and\ncame among men, building her nests in barns and along the eaves of\nhouses.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FARMER AND THE SNAKE\n\n\nONE wintry day a Farmer found a Snake lying on the frozen ground, quite\nstiff and nearly dead with cold.\n\nIn a fit of compassion the Farmer brought him carefully to his house,\nand laid him near the fire. But as soon as the Snake began to feel the\npleasant warmth, he raised his head and tried to bite his kind friend.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said the Farmer, \u201cis that the way you repay me for my trouble?\nYou are a venomous creature, I am sure, and the sooner you die the\nbetter.\u201d And he killed him with one blow of his stick.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RAVEN AND THE SWAN\n\n\nA RAVEN saw a snowy Swan floating on the lake.\n\n\u201cNo wonder the Swan is so white,\u201d thought the Raven, as he looked at\nhis own black feathers. \u201cI dare say _I_ should be, if I were all the\ntime washing myself. I believe I\u2019ll try it.\u201d\n\nThen he left his home, where he always found plenty to eat, and came\nand lived by the lake. He washed himself from morning till night, but\nhe grew no whiter; and, as he found nothing to eat, he came near dying\nfor want of food.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIRDS, THE BEASTS, AND THE BAT\n\n\nTHERE was once a big battle between the Birds and the Beasts.\nHesitating as to which to join, the Bat kept away from the contest and\nlooked on till he thought the Beasts would win the day.\n\nThen he went among them. When they saw him, they said, \u201cBut you are a\nBird.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, indeed,\u201d said the Bat. \u201cLook at my body covered with hair and at\nmy mouth with its sharp teeth.\u201d\n\nAfter a while, as the fight went on, the Birds began to have the best\nof it, and then away flew the Bat to their side. \u201cWhat Beast comes\nhere?\u201d said the Birds.\n\n\u201cI am not a Beast,\u201d said the Bat; \u201cI am a Bird. Look at my wings. This\nis my battle as truly as it is yours.\u201d\n\nBut the Birds would have nothing to do with him. And to this day the\nBat seems ashamed to show himself in the daytime but hides in lonely\nplaces, away from all other creatures, and only flits about noiselessly\nin the dark, when both Birds and Beasts are asleep.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAN, HIS SON, AND HIS DONKEY\n\n\nA MAN and his Son were once driving their Donkey along a country road,\nto sell him at the fair. They soon passed some girls, who were drawing\nwater at a well.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d said one of the girls; \u201csee those silly people trudging along\nin the dust, while their Donkey walks at his ease.\u201d\n\nThe Man heard what they said, and put his boy on the Donkey\u2019s back.\nThey had not gone far before they came to some old men.\n\n\u201cSee here, now,\u201d said one of them to the others, \u201cthis shows that what\nI said is true. Nowadays the young take no care of the old. See this\nboy riding while his poor old father has to walk by his side.\u201d\n\nHearing this, the Man told his Son to get down, and he mounted the\nDonkey himself. In a little while they met three women with children in\ntheir arms.\n\n\u201cFor shame!\u201d said the women. \u201cHow can you let that poor boy walk when\nhe looks so tired, and you ride like a king?\u201d\n\nThe Man then took the boy up behind him on the saddle, and they rode on\nto the town. Just before they got there, some young men stopped them\nand said:\n\n\u201cIs that Donkey yours?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Man.\n\n\u201cOne would not think so,\u201d said they, \u201cby the way you load him. You look\nmore fit to carry him than he to carry you.\u201d\n\nSo the Man and the boy got off, tied the Donkey\u2019s legs with a rope,\nfastened him to a pole, and, each taking one end of the pole, carried\nhim along, while every one they met laughed outright.\n\nBy and by they came to a bridge. Then the Donkey began to kick, and\nbreaking the rope, fell into the water and was drowned.\n\nThe old Man and his Son made their way home as best they could,\nthinking to themselves, \u201cWhen we try to please everybody, we please\nnobody.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE\n\n\nA MOUSE from the city went on a visit to a friend in the country.\n\nThe Country Mouse, with many apologies, brought out the best that he\nhad and waited on his guest.\n\nThere was plenty of oatmeal and peas, a nice scrap of bacon, and even a\nparing of cheese for dessert. While the guest was dining, the Country\nMouse, out of politeness, would eat none of these dainties, for fear\nthere should not be enough for both, but nibbled a piece of straw to\nkeep his guest company.\n\nWhen the dinner was over, the City Mouse said: \u201cOld friend, I thank you\nfor your courtesy, but I must have a plain talk with you. I do not see\nhow you can bear to live so poor a life in this little hole. Why not\ncome with me to the city, where you will have all sorts of good things\nto eat and a gay time? You are wasting your life. When you have once\nseen the city you will never be willing to return to this quiet place.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAfter being urged a long time, the Country Mouse at last agreed to go\nto the city that very night. So they started off together, and about\nmidnight came to the great house where the City Mouse lived. In the\ndining room was spread a rich feast; and the City Mouse, with many\nairs and graces, ran about the table, and, picking out the nicest bits,\nwaited upon his country friend, who, amazed at the good things, ate to\nhis heart\u2019s content.\n\nAll at once the doors of the dining room were flung open, and in came a\ncrowd of people, followed by a big dog, who barked loudly and ran about\nthe room.\n\nThe Mice rushed for the hole, to escape, and the little field Mouse\nalmost died of fright. As soon as he was able to speak, he said:\n\n\u201cWell! if this is city life, I have seen enough of it. Stay in this\nfine place if you like. I shall be only too glad to get home to my\nquiet, safer, country house and my plain oatmeal and peas.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE COCK AND THE JEWEL\n\n\n\u201cCOME, my dears,\u201d said a Cock to his hens one morning; \u201cI am hungry,\nand so are you. Let us go out. I will scratch up some nice worms and\nbeetles for our breakfast.\u201d\n\nThe hens stood waiting while he scratched.\n\nBut the first thing that he found was neither a beetle nor a worm but a\nprecious stone. It may have been a ruby or an emerald.\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d said the Cock; \u201cwhat is this? a Jewel! How glad anybody\nelse might be to have found such a prize; but I have no need of it. I\nwould rather have a few kernels of good corn than all the Jewels in the\nworld.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd so would we,\u201d said the hens. \u201cNothing can do us good if it is not\na thing that we ourselves want.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE OLD HOUND\n\n\nONCE there was a beautiful Hound. He had long, silky ears and a smooth,\nbright skin; and he was not only beautiful but strong and swift, and\na faithful servant. Whenever his master went hunting, the Hound went\nwith him and chased the deer. After many years the Hound grew old and\nfeeble, but still he followed his master, with the other dogs.\n\nOne day a stag had been chased till it was almost tired out, and\nthe old Hound came up with it and seized it; but his teeth were old\nand broken and could not hold fast, so that the stag gave a sudden\nbound and got away. Just then the master rode up, and seeing what had\nhappened, was very angry. He took his whip to strike his faithful old\nHound.\n\n\u201cHold! hold! O dear Master,\u201d said he, \u201cdo not strike me. I meant to do\nwell. It is not my fault that I am old. Remember what I have been, if\nyou do not like me as I am now.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE VAIN JACKDAW\n\n\nJUPITER having determined, it is said, to appoint a sovereign over\nthe birds, proclamation was made that on a certain day the candidates\nshould present themselves before him, and he would choose the most\nbeautiful to be king.\n\nThe Jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, yet wishing to rule over the\nbirds, searched through woods and fields for feathers which had fallen\nfrom the wings of his companions, and stuck them all over his body.\n\nWhen the appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembled, the\nJackdaw made his appearance in his many-feathered finery, and Jupiter\nproposed to make him king.\n\nUpon seeing this, the other birds were indignant, and each plucking\nfrom the Jackdaw his own kind of feathers, they left the proposed king\na plain Jackdaw with no claim to superior beauty.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DONKEY AND THE LAP DOG\n\n\nTHERE was once a man who had a Donkey and a little pet Dog. The Donkey\nworked all day in the fields and slept in the barn at night.\n\nBut the Lap Dog frisked about and played, jumping in his master\u2019s lap\nwhenever he pleased, feeding from his hand, and sleeping by his bed at\nnight.\n\nThe Donkey grumbled a great deal at this. \u201cHow hard I work!\u201d said he,\n\u201cand I never get any pay but blows and hard words. Why should I not be\npetted like that wretched little Dog? It may be partly my own fault.\nPerhaps if I played with my master as he does, I too might be treated\nlike him.\u201d\n\nSo the Donkey pushed his way into the house, and jumped up on his\nmaster\u2019s knee, putting his forefeet on his shoulders and giving a loud\nbray.\n\nThe master, almost deafened by the noise and in danger from the great\nclumsy creature, called out, \u201cHelp! help!\u201d and the servants, running\nin, drove the Donkey out of doors with sticks and stones.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ONE-EYED DOE\n\n\nA DOE, blind in one eye, used to graze as near as she could to the edge\nof a cliff, so that she might keep her blind eye to the water, while\nwith the other she kept watch against the approach of hunters or hounds\non the shore.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSome boatmen sailing by saw her standing thus on the edge of a cliff,\nand finding that she did not perceive their approach, they came very\nclose, and taking aim, shot her.\n\nFinding herself wounded, she said, \u201cO unhappy creature that I am, to\ntake such care as I did against the dangers of the land, and then,\nafter all, to find this seashore, to which I had come for safety, so\nmuch more perilous!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE CAMEL\n\n\nWHEN man first beheld the Camel, he was so awed by his vast size that\nhe fled away from him in terror.\n\nBut after a time, perceiving the meekness and gentleness of the\nanimal\u2019s temper, he summoned courage to approach him. The Camel so\nreadily obeyed the commands that were given him, and seemed so wanting\nin spirit, that at last the man put a bridle in his mouth and set a\nchild to guide him.\n\nSince then Camels are valued for the service they render.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE HOUSE DOG\n\n\nA WOLF met a Dog, and seeing that he looked fat and sleek, said to\nhim, \u201cHow does it happen, my friend, that you are so plump, while I,\nalthough I run after game day and night, am half starved?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said the Dog, \u201cI do not have to run after my food. I only guard\nthe house at night, and all the family pet me and feed me with scraps\nfrom their own plates. Come and live with me, and you shall be as well\noff as I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I should like,\u201d said the Wolf. \u201cI will at least go with you and\ntry the life.\u201d\n\nAs they trotted along the road together, the Wolf saw a mark on the\nDog\u2019s neck, and asked him what it was.\n\n\u201cOh, that is nothing,\u201d said the Dog; \u201conly a little mark made by the\nfretting of my chain.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you wear a chain?\u201d asked the Wolf; \u201cand do you mean to say that you\nare tied up?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, yes,\u201d said the Dog; \u201cthey tie me in the daytime, but at night I\ncan go where I please. It is a bit annoying at first, but one soon gets\nused to it.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-by,\u201d said the Wolf; \u201cthat is enough for me. Though I may not be\nfat, I will at least be free.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE OAK AND THE REED\n\n\nON THE bank of a river grew a tall Oak Tree. It stood with its roots\nfirm in the ground, and its head high in the air, and said to itself:\n\u201cHow strong I am! Nothing shall make me bow. I look down upon all the\nother trees.\u201d\n\nBut one day there was a storm. The terrible unseen wind came and struck\nthe proud Oak. Crash! went the trunk, down came all the beautiful\nbranches, and the Tree fell into the river. As the water carried it\naway, it passed a Reed that grew on the bank. The little Reed stood up\ntall and slender, and looked at the poor broken Tree.\n\n\u201cO Reed,\u201d said the Tree, \u201chow did it happen that you were not broken\ndown and spoiled when the wind came? You are so little and weak, and I\nwas so strong and proud.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, poor Tree!\u201d said the Reed, \u201cthat is just the reason that the wind\ndid not hurt me. I bent low until it had gone by, but you stood stiff\nand tried to stop it on its way. No one can stop the wind. It must go\nwhere it is sent, but it will not hurt those who are not proud and\nstubborn.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOG AND THE HARE\n\n\nA DOG once gave chase to a Hare. Having not long since made a good\nmeal, the Dog was not hungry, and so was not in haste to end the sport\nby killing the Hare.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAt times he would snap at his prey, and at times play with him and\nlick him with his tongue, till at last the bewildered Hare cried:\n\n\u201cPray tell me, are you an enemy or a friend? If a friend, why do you\nbite me so? and if an enemy, why do you caress me?\u201d\n\nNo one can trust a person who is neither the one thing nor the other.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HAWK, KITE, AND PIGEONS\n\n\nTHE Pigeons, terrified by the frequent appearance of a Kite, asked the\nHawk to help them.\n\n\u201cYou are the only bird of our acquaintance,\u201d they said, \u201cthat can\nprotect us from our enemy. If you will take care of us, we shall feel\nsafe.\u201d\n\nThe Hawk at once consented, and took up his abode in the dovecote. But\nwhen the Pigeons had let him come in, they found that he slew more\nof them in a single day than the Kite could possibly pounce upon in a\nwhole year.\n\nThe oldest, wisest pigeon among them said: \u201cWhen we are in trouble,\nwe must not forget that there are other dangers than the ones we are\nsuffering from. There is a proverb among men that tells them to avoid a\nremedy that is worse than the disease.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WAR HORSE AND THE MULE\n\n\nA WAR Horse, ready for battle, with his splendid saddle and jingling\nbridle, came galloping swiftly along the highroad, his hoofs sounding\nlike thunder on the hard ground.\n\nA poor old Mule, with a heavy load on his back, was going slowly down\nthe same road.\n\n\u201cOut of my way,\u201d said the War Horse, \u201cor I will trample you in the\ndust!\u201d\n\nThe poor Mule made room for him as fast as he could, and the Horse went\nproudly on his way.\n\nNot long after this the Horse was shot in the eye; and, as he was no\nlonger fit for the army, his fine saddle and bridle were taken off, and\nhe was sold to a farmer, who made him drag heavy loads.\n\nSince he had not been trained to the work, it came hard to him, and he\ncomplained bitterly.\n\nThe Mule, meeting him soon after, knew him and called out: \u201cAha! is it\nyou? I thought pride would have a fall some day.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WIND AND THE SUN\n\n\nTHE North Wind and the Sun once fell into a dispute as to which was the\nstronger of the two. They related their most famous exploits, and each\nended as he began, by thinking he had the greater power.\n\nJust then a traveler came in sight, and they agreed to test the matter\nby trying to see which of them could soonest make the traveler remove\nhis cloak.\n\nThe boastful North Wind was the first to try, the Sun meanwhile\nwatching behind a gray cloud. He blew a furious blast and nearly tore\nthe cloak from its fastenings; but the Man only held his cloak more\nclosely, and old Boreas spent his strength in vain.\n\nMortified by his failure to do so simple a thing, the Wind withdrew at\nlast in despair. \u201cI don\u2019t believe you can do it, either,\u201d he said.\n\nThen out came the kindly Sun in all his splendor, dispelling the clouds\nthat had gathered and sending his warmest rays down upon the traveler\u2019s\nhead.\n\nThe Man looked up gratefully, but, growing faint with sudden heat, he\nquickly flung aside his cloak, and hastened for comfort to the nearest\nshade.\n\nPersuasion is often better than force.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BEAR AND THE TWO TRAVELERS\n\n\nTWO men were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly crossed their\npath.\n\nOne of the men climbed quickly into a tree, and tried to conceal\nhimself in its branches.\n\nSeeing that he must be attacked, the other one fell flat upon the\nground; and when the Bear came up, felt him with his snout, and smelt\nhim all over, the man held his breath, feigning death.\n\nThe Bear soon left him, for it is said a Bear will not touch a dead\nbody.\n\nWhen the Bear had gone, the man in the tree came down to join his\ncompanion, and, as a pleasant joke, inquired, \u201cWhat was it that the\nBear whispered in your ear when he bent over you for so long?\u201d\n\nHis friend replied very gravely: \u201cHe gave me this bit of advice, \u2018Never\ntravel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWO GOATS\n\n\nTWO Goats started at the same moment, from opposite ends, to cross a\nrude bridge that was only wide enough for one to cross at a time.\n\nMeeting at the middle of the bridge, neither would yield to the other.\nThey locked horns and fought for the right of way, until both fell into\nthe torrent below and were drowned.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BULL AND THE CALF\n\n\nA BULL was once striving with all his might to squeeze himself through\na narrow passage which led to his stall.\n\n\u201cI will go through,\u201d said a young Calf, \u201cand show you the way. I have\ndone it many a time.\u201d\n\n\u201cSave yourself the trouble,\u201d said the Bull; \u201cI knew the way before you\nwere born.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE FAWN AND HIS MOTHER\n\n\nA YOUNG Fawn once said to his Mother: \u201cI do not see, Mother, how it is\nthat you should be so afraid of the dogs. You are larger than a dog,\nand swifter; and you are much more used to running. Why is it that the\nmere mention of a hound puts you into such a terrible fright?\u201d\n\nThe Mother smiled upon her brave young son. \u201cI know very well,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cthat all you say is true. I look at my long legs, and remember\nall the advantages that you mention, yet when I hear the bark of but a\nsingle dog, I faint with terror.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE MULE AND HIS SHADOW\n\n\nONE very hot day a Traveler hired a Mule with his driver to carry some\nmerchandise to a distant place.\n\nThe way lay across a sandy plain, and the day being intensely hot, the\nTraveler called upon the driver to stop for rest. To escape from the\ndirect heat of the sun, which was shining in all its strength, the\nTraveler proceeded to sit down in the shadow of the Mule.\n\nBut a violent dispute arose, for the shadow was sufficient for but one,\nand the driver, a lusty fellow, rudely pushed the Traveler one side,\nclaiming the spot for himself, saying: \u201cWhen you hired this Mule of me,\nyou said nothing about the shadow. If now you want that too, you must\npay for it.\u201d\n\nThe discussion grew so violent that they forgot the Mule, who took\nadvantage of his freedom and ran away. And so, in disputing about the\nshadow they lost the substance.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BLIND MAN AND THE LAME MAN\n\n\nA BLIND Man, being stopped in a bad piece of road, met a Lame Man,\nand entreated him to help him out of the difficulty into which he had\nfallen.\n\n\u201cHow can I,\u201d replied the Lame Man, \u201csince I can scarcely drag myself\nalong? I am lame, and you look very strong.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am strong enough,\u201d said the other. \u201cI could go if I could but see\nthe way.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, then we may help each other,\u201d said the Lame Man. \u201cIf you will take\nme on your shoulders, we will seek our fortunes together. I will be\neyes for you, and you shall be feet for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith all my heart,\u201d said the Blind Man. \u201cLet us render each other our\nmutual services.\u201d So he took his lame companion upon his back, and they\ntraveled on with safety and pleasure.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWO POTS\n\n\nA RIVER carried down, in its stream, two Pots, one made of Earthenware\nand the other of Brass.\n\nThe Brass Pot was disposed to be social. \u201cSince we must be companions,\nlet us be friendly,\u201d he said. \u201cIn union is strength. Though we are\ncarried away against our will, it is of no use to repine. We may yet\nsee much good.\u201d\n\nBut the Earthen Pot said: \u201cI beg you not to come so near me. I am as\nmuch afraid of you as of the river; for if you do but touch me ever so\nslightly, I shall be sure to break. To be really social and friendly\npeople must have ways and needs in common.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE QUACK FROG\n\n\nTHERE was once a Frog who made proclamation that he was a learned\nphysician, able to heal all diseases.\n\nHe went so far as to tell the beasts that it was their own fault that\nthey were ill, since if they would but submit to his treatment, he\nwould restore them to perfect health.\n\nA Fox, hearing it, asked: \u201cHow is it, since you can do such great\nthings for others, you do not first try to mend your own ugly gait and\nyour wrinkled skin? They who assume to help others should first improve\nthemselves.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF IN SHEEP\u2019S CLOTHING\n\n\nA WOLF once clothed himself in the fleece of a sheep, and being\nmistaken for one of the flock, got into the fold. He had a chance to\nmake way with as many sheep as he liked; but his time for doing so\nwas short, for the Shepherd, coming into the fold during the night,\ndiscovered him.\n\nTying him to a tree, he left him hanging there, still in his sheep\u2019s\ndress, as a warning to other wolves who might be prowling about.\n\nSome shepherds who chanced to pass by saw him there, and stopped to\ninquire why sheep should be thus served. As they came nearer and saw\nthat it was not a sheep but a Wolf, the Shepherd said, \u201cThis is the way\nI serve a Wolf, even though I find him wearing the habit of a sheep.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOY AND THE FILBERTS\n\n\nA BOY once thrust his hand into a pitcher nearly filled with Filberts.\nHe grasped as many as his hand could possibly hold; but when he tried\nto draw out his closed fist, the narrowness of the neck prevented him\nfrom doing so. Unwilling to lose his nuts, yet unable to get them by\ndrawing out his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his\nhard fortune. A person standing by finally gave him this wise and\nreasonable advice:\n\n\u201cBe satisfied to take half as many, my boy, and you will get them\neasily.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MISER\n\n\nA MISER who had buried a lump of gold in the ground came to the spot\nevery day to look at it.\n\nFinding one day that it had been stolen, he began to tear his hair and\nlament loudly.\n\nA neighbor, seeing him, said: \u201cPray do not grieve so. Bury a stone in\nthe same hole and fancy it is the gold. It will serve you just as well,\nfor when the gold was there you made no use of it.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WIDOW AND HER LITTLE MAIDS\n\n\nA WIDOW who had great reputation as a housekeeper, because she was so\nfond of cleaning, was waited upon by two little Maids.\n\nShe herself was wakened before dawn by the crowing of the cock, and\nwould rise at once and call her Maids.\n\nThe Maids, who had no taste for such excessive tidiness, and who were\nkept weary by such constant labor, held a spite against the poor cock\nfor rousing their mistress so early.\n\n\u201cIf it were not for him,\u201d they said, \u201cthe mistress would sleep till the\nsun is well up. Let us kill the cock, since there is no other way to\nstop his loud crowing.\u201d\n\nBut the mistress, no longer hearing the cock, was unable to tell the\ntime, and so often woke her Maids in the middle of the night and set\nthem to work.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CHARCOAL BURNER AND THE FULLER\n\n\nA CHARCOAL Burner carried on his trade at his own house. One day he met\na friend who was a Fuller, and begged him to come and live with him.\n\n\u201cWe shall be far better friends if we live together,\u201d he said, \u201cand\nthen our housekeeping expenses will be greatly lessened.\u201d\n\nThe Fuller replied: \u201cThe arrangement would not suit me in the least,\nfor whatever I should take pains to whiten, your charcoal would\nimmediately blacken. I am afraid we should not grow better friends\nunder such circumstances.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE PORCUPINE AND THE SNAKES\n\n\nA PRICKLY Porcupine came wandering along one day, looking for a place\nto live.\n\nHe found a family of Snakes in a warm cave, and asked them to let him\nshare their shelter.\n\nThe Snakes consented, though much against their will, and the Porcupine\ncrept into their home. But it was not long before they found that his\nsharp quills stuck into them and hurt them, and they wished they had\nnever let him in.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cDear Porcupine, please go away,\u201d they said; \u201cyou are so large and so\nprickly.\u201d\n\nBut the Porcupine was very rude, and said: \u201cOh, no. If you do not like\nit here, you can go away. I find it very comfortable.\u201d\n\nIt was too late that the Snakes learned that it is easier to keep an\nintruder out than to compel him to go when you have once let him in.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BUNDLE OF STICKS\n\n\nAN Old Man had many Sons, who were often quarreling. He tried to make\nthem good friends, but could not. As the end of his life drew near, the\nold Man called them all to him and showed them a bundle of sticks tied\ntightly together.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the Father, \u201csee if you can break this bundle of sticks.\u201d\n\nEach of the Sons in turn took the bundle and tried with all his might\nto break it, but could not. When all had tried and given it up, the\nFather said, \u201cUntie the bundle, and each of you take a stick and see\nif you can break that.\u201d This they could do very easily. Then said the\nFather:\n\n\u201cYou saw when the sticks were bound together how strong they were; but\nas soon as they were untied, you broke them easily. Now, if you will\nstop quarreling and stand by each other, you will be like the bundle of\nsticks\u2014no one can do you any harm; but if you do not keep together, you\nwill be as weak as is one of the little sticks by itself, which any one\ncan break.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MISCHIEVOUS DOG\n\n\nTHERE was once a Dog who used to run at every one whom he met, but so\nquietly that no one suspected harm from him till he began to bite his\nheels.\n\nIn order to give notice to strangers that the Dog could not be trusted,\nand at the same time to punish the Dog himself, the master would\nsometimes hang a bell about his neck and compel him to drag a heavy\nclog, which he firmly attached to his collar by a chain.\n\nFor a time the Dog hung his head; but seeing that his bell and clog\nbrought him into notice, he grew proud of them, and ran about the\nmarket place to display them and attract attention to himself. He even\nwent so far as to give himself airs with the other dogs, who had no\nsuch mark of distinction.\n\nAn old Hound, seeing it, said: \u201cWhy do you make such an exhibition of\nyourself, as if your bell and clog were marks of merit? They do indeed\nbring you into notice; but when their meaning is understood, they are\nmarks of disgrace\u2014a reminder that you are an ill-mannered cur. It is\none thing to be renowned when our virtues give occasion for it; it is\nquite another to become notorious for our faults.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOG AND THE OYSTER\n\n\nA DOG, seeing an Oyster, took it to be an egg and swallowed it. Soon\nafter, suffering great pain, he said, \u201cIt was my greedy haste that\nbrought me this torment.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE LEOPARD\n\n\nTHE Fox and the Leopard once disputed who was the more beautiful. The\nLeopard exhibited, one by one, the various spots which covered his\nskin. The Fox, who was even more proud of his wits than of his person,\ninterrupted him at last by saying: \u201cYet when all is said, how much more\nbeautiful am I, who am decorated not simply in body but in mind. The\nperson should be of more value than his coat.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOGS AND THE HIDES\n\n\nSOME Dogs, famished with hunger, saw cowhides steeping in a river,\nclose by a tannery, and thought they might be eaten. Not being able to\nreach them, they set to work first to drink up the river, but burst\nthemselves with drinking long before they reached the hides.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOODMAN AND THE TREES\n\n\nA WOODMAN came into a forest, and made a petition to the Trees to\nprovide him a handle for his ax.\n\nThe Trees, honored by his civility, acceded to his request, and held a\nconsultation to decide which of them should be given him.\n\nWithout a dissenting voice, they chose the Ash, who, it seems, is not a\nfavorite among the Trees. Some of them were bold enough to say that bad\nluck went with the Ash, and that at heart they were not bound to be in\nsympathy with woodcutters.\n\nThe Woodman cut down the Tree, and fitted the handle to his ax; then to\nthe dismay of the Trees, set to work and, with strong strokes, quickly\nfelled all the noblest giants of the forest.\n\nLamenting too late the fate of his companions, an old Oak remarked to a\nneighboring Cedar:\n\n\u201cThe first step has lost us all. If we had not so willingly given up\nthe rights of the Ash, we might have stood for ages.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MILKMAID AND HER PAIL OF MILK\n\n\nDOLLY the Milkmaid having been a good girl and careful in her work, her\nmistress gave her a pail of new milk for herself.\n\nWith the pail upon her head, Dolly tripped gayly along on her way to\nthe town, whither she was going to sell her milk.\n\n\u201cFor this milk,\u201d said Dolly, \u201cI shall get a shilling, and with it I\nwill buy twenty of the eggs laid by our neighbor\u2019s fine fowls. The\nmistress will surely lend me a hen, and, allowing for all mishaps, I\nshall raise a good dozen of chicks. They will be well grown before the\nnext fair-time comes around, and it is then that chickens bring the\nhighest price. I shall be able to sell mine for a guinea.\n\n\u201cThen I shall buy that jacket that I saw in the village the other day,\nand a hat and ribbons too. And when I go to the fair, how smart I shall\nbe!\n\n\u201cRobin will be there, and will come up and offer to be friends again.\nBut I won\u2019t make up too easily; and when he wants me for a partner in\nthe dance, I shall just toss up my head and\u2014\u201d\n\nHere Dolly gave her head the least bit of a toss, when down came the\npail, and all the milk was spilled upon the ground.\n\nPoor Dolly! it was her good-by to eggs, chickens, jacket, hat, ribbons,\nand all.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CAT AND THE FOX\n\n\nTHE Cat and the Fox were once talking together in the middle of the\nforest.\n\n\u201cI do not care what happens,\u201d said the Fox, \u201cfor I have a thousand\ntricks, any one of which would get me out of difficulty. But pray, Mrs.\nPuss,\u201d he added, \u201cwhat would you do if there should be an invasion?\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cI have but one course,\u201d Puss replied. \u201cIf that would not serve me, I\nshould be undone.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am sorry for you,\u201d said the Fox. \u201cI would gladly teach you one or\ntwo of my tricks, but it is not wise to trust another. We must each\ntake care for himself.\u201d\n\nThese words were hardly spoken, when a pack of hounds came upon them in\nfull cry.\n\nThe Cat, by means of her one well-proved safeguard, ran up a tree and\nsat serenely among the branches. \u201cThis is my way,\u201d she said to the Fox.\n\u201cWhat is yours to be?\u201d\n\nThe Fox, with all his thousand tricks, was not able to get out of\nsight, and fell a prey to the dogs.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MONKEY AND THE CAT\n\n\nA MONKEY and a Cat lived in the same family, and it was hard to tell\nwhich was the greater thief.\n\nOne day, as they were roaming together, they spied some chestnuts\nroasting in the ashes of a fire.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the cunning Monkey, \u201cwe shall not go dinnerless to-day.\nYour claws are better than mine for the purpose; pull the chestnuts out\nof the ashes and you shall have half.\u201d\n\nPuss pulled them out, burning her paws very much in doing so. When she\nhad stolen every one, she turned to the Monkey for her share of the\nbooty; but, to her chagrin, she could find no chestnuts, for he had\neaten them all.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE SHEPHERD\n\n\nFOR a long time the Wolf had followed the Sheep without attempting to\ninjure one of them.\n\nThe Shepherd stood on his guard against him for a while, and kept\nstrict watch that he did not come too near. But as day after day passed\nand the Wolf showed no disposition to injure any of the flock, he\nallowed him to approach nearer, till at last he came among the Sheep,\nand seemed to watch over them like a dog.\n\n\u201cHe is really quite a help to me,\u201d said the Shepherd to himself; \u201cand\nI have never seen him make the slightest effort to seize a sheep or a\nlamb.\u201d\n\nSo, having occasion to go to town one day, he left his flock in the\ncare of the Wolf, whom he regarded as a guardian over them.\n\nBut no sooner was the man gone, than the Wolf, seeing his opportunity,\nfell upon the Sheep and destroyed the greater part of them.\n\n\u201cI have been rightly served,\u201d said the Shepherd, on his return. \u201cWhy\ndid I not know better than to trust my Sheep to their worst enemy? Soon\nor late, nature will show itself.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE APE\n\n\nA WOLF accused of theft a Fox, who utterly denied the charge, whereupon\nan Ape undertook to adjudge the matter in question.\n\nWhen each had fully stated his case, the Ape pronounced this sentence:\n\n\u201cI am fully satisfied that you, Wolf, never lost what you claim.\u201d Then\nturning to the Fox, he said, \u201cAnd I believe you to have done that which\nyou so stoutly deny.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE BLIND MAN AND THE WHELP\n\n\nA BLIND Man was accustomed to distinguish different animals by touching\nthem with his hands.\n\nThe whelp of a wolf was brought him, with the request that he should\nfeel it and tell what it was.\n\nBeing in doubt, he said, \u201cI do not quite know whether it is the cub of\na fox or the whelp of a wolf; but this I know full well, that it would\nnot be safe to admit it to the sheepfold.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE SPENDTHRIFT AND THE SWALLOW\n\n\nA YOUNG man who had been a great spendthrift, and had run through\nall the money he had inherited, and even sold all his outer clothing\nexcept his cloak, saw a Swallow skimming over the meadows in the early\nspringtime and twittering gayly. Believing that summer was really come,\nhe sold his cloak also.\n\nThe next day there happened to be a severe frost, and, shivering\nhimself, he found the Swallow lying frozen and stiff upon the ground.\n\n\u201cUnhappy bird,\u201d he said, \u201chad you not come before your time, I should\nnot now be so wretched, and you might have escaped your fate. A single\nswallow does not make a summer.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOAR AND THE FOX\n\n\nA BOAR stood whetting his tusks against a tree.\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean,\u201d asked a Fox, \u201cby such warlike preparation? There is\nno enemy in sight.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen the enemy is in sight,\u201d said the Boar, \u201cit is time to think of\nsomething else.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nHERCULES AND THE WAGONER\n\n\nAS A WAGONER drove his wagon through a miry lane, the wheels stuck fast\nin the clay, so that the horses could proceed no further.\n\nThe Man, without making the least effort to remedy the matter, fell\nupon his knees and began to call upon Hercules to come and help him\nout of his trouble.\n\n\u201cLazy fellow,\u201d said Hercules, \u201clay your own shoulder to the wheel. Stir\nyourself and do what you can. Then, if you want aid from the gods,\nyou shall have it. Remember the proverb, Heaven helps those who help\nthemselves.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MULES AND THE ROBBERS\n\n\nTWO Mules, laden with packs, were trudging along the highway. One\ncarried panniers filled with money, the other sacks of grain.\n\nThe Mule that carried the treasure walked with head erect and stately\nstep, jingling the bells about his neck as he went.\n\nHis companion followed at a quiet, easy pace.\n\nSuddenly a band of Robbers sprang upon them, attracted by the strong,\nproud step and the jingling bells. The Mule that carried the gold made\nso great an ado that the Robbers seized his pack, wounding him with\ntheir weapons, and, hearing footsteps, fled.\n\n\u201cI am glad,\u201d said the other, \u201cthat I was thought of so little\nconsequence, for I have lost nothing, nor am I hurt with any wound.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE SWALLOW AND THE CROW\n\n\nTHE Swallow and the Crow were once contending about their plumage.\nThe Crow finally put an end to the dispute by saying, \u201cYour feathers\nare well enough now while it is warm, but mine protect me against the\nwinter.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nJUPITER AND THE BEE\n\n\nA BEE made Jupiter a present of a pot of honey, which was so kindly\ntaken that he bade her ask what she would in exchange.\n\nThe Bee, who was nursing a private spite for the loss of some of her\nwinter\u2019s store, desired of Jupiter that wherever she should set her\nsting it might be mortal.\n\nJupiter was loath to leave mankind at the mercy of a little spiteful\ninsect, and was annoyed at the ill nature shown in her wish. He said,\ntherefore, that while, for his promise\u2019s sake, he would give her the\npower to harm, she must be careful how she used the power, for where\nshe planted her sting, she would leave it, and would thereby risk her\nown life.\n\nIll will often does greater harm to the one who acts from it than to\nthe one on whom it falls.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TWO TRAVELERS\n\n\nAS TWO men were traveling through a wood, one of them took up an\nax which he saw lying upon the ground. \u201cLook here,\u201d said he to his\ncompanion; \u201cI have found an ax.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t say _I_ have found it,\u201d said the other, \u201cbut _we_. As we are\ncompanions, we ought to share it between us.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the first, \u201cI found the ax. It is mine.\u201d\n\nThey had not gone far when they heard the owner of the ax pursuing\nthem, and calling out to them in great passion.\n\n\u201cWe are in for it now,\u201d said he who had the ax.\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said the other; \u201csay _I_ am in for it, not _we_. When you\nthought you had a prize, you would not let me share it with you, and\nnow you cannot expect me to share in the danger.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE KID AND THE WOLF\n\n\nA KID, mounted on a high rock where she felt safe, bestowed all manner\nof abuse upon a Wolf on the ground below.\n\nThe Wolf replied: \u201cDo not think, silly little creature, that you can\nannoy me. This ill language that you are using I regard as coming, not\nfrom you, but from the safe place on which you stand. You would be in a\ndifferent mood if you were down here by my side.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOURD AND THE PINE\n\n\nA GOURD was once planted close beside a large and noble Pine Tree.\nThe season was kindly, and the Gourd shot itself up in a short time,\nclimbing by the boughs and twining about them, till it covered and\novertopped the Tree itself.\n\nThe leaves were so large and the flowers and fruit so fair that the\nGourd, comparing them with the slender needles of the Pine, had the\nassurance to think itself of greater value in the comparison.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said the Gourd, \u201cyou have been more years in growing to this\nstature than I have been days.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said the Pine; \u201cbut after the many winters and summers\nthat I have endured, the many blasting colds and parching heats, you\nsee me the very same that I was long years ago. Nothing has overcome\nme. But when your race is put to the proof, the first blight or frost\nis sure to bring down that pride of yours. In an hour you are stripped\nof all your glory.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE HARE AND THE HOUND\n\n\nA HOUND, having started a Hare which proved to be a capital runner, at\nlength gave up the chase. His master, seeing it, said, \u201cThe little one\nis the best runner, eh?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, Master,\u201d answered the Dog, \u201cit\u2019s all very well to laugh; but you\ndo not see the difference between us. He was running for his life,\nwhile I was only running for my dinner.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE OWL AND THE GRASSHOPPER\n\n\nAN Owl, who was sitting in a hollow tree, dozing away a long summer\nafternoon, was much disturbed by a rogue of a Grasshopper, singing in\nthe grass below.\n\nSo far from moving away at the request of the Owl, or keeping quiet,\nthe Grasshopper sang all the more, saying that honest people got their\nsleep at night.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe Owl waited in silence for a while, and then artfully addressed the\nGrasshopper thus: \u201cI suppose I ought to be angry with you, my dear,\nfor I confess I would rather sleep than listen to your singing. But if\none cannot be allowed to sleep, it is something to be kept awake by\nsuch a pleasant little pipe as yours. And now it occurs to me that I\nhave some delicious nectar with which to reward a musician who sings\nso sweetly. If you will take the trouble to come up, you shall have a\ndrop. It will clear your voice nicely.\u201d\n\nThe silly Grasshopper came hopping up to the Owl, who at once caught\nand killed him, and so finished her nap in comfort.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MULE EATING THISTLES\n\n\nA MULE, laden with choice provision of several sorts, was on his way\nto the field. His master and the reapers were at work there, and the\nprovision that he carried was for the refreshment of both man and beast.\n\nSeeing a large, strong thistle by the roadside, he stopped to eat it.\n\u201cMany people would wonder,\u201d thought he, \u201cthat, with such dainty food\nupon my back, I should have appetite for the despised thistle; but to\nme the bitter, prickly weed has a more savory relish than anything\nelse in the world. Let others choose what they will, but give me a\nfine, juicy thistle like this, and I shall be content. Every one to his\ntaste. It is wisely ordered that what one rejects should be the choice\nof another. A wise man has said that a weed is a plant that people have\nnot yet found a use for.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE SICK STAG\n\n\nA STAG, whose joints had become stiff with age, was at great pains\nto gather an abundant supply of food\u2014enough, as he thought, for the\nremainder of his days.\n\nHe stretched himself beside it, in a quiet, sunny corner of his\npasture, and now dozing, now nibbling, was passing a happy old age.\n\nHe had been a favorite among his companions, and they now came often,\nand in great numbers, to call upon him and wish him good luck. He made\nthem welcome in a hospitable manner, and each, as often as he came,\nhelped himself to a little of the food so abundantly provided.\n\nThe end of the matter was, that the poor Stag died, not so much from\neither sickness or old age as from want of the food which his friends\nhad eaten for him. Before doing a thing, it is well sometimes to\nconsider, \u201cWhat if every one should do it?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE SHEPHERDS\n\n\nA WOLF, passing by, saw some Shepherds in a hut, eating for their\ndinner a haunch of mutton. Approaching them, he said: \u201cAh! gentlemen,\nyou are feasting on mutton. I like your taste. But what a hue and cry\nyou would raise if _I_ were to do it.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOY AND THE NETTLE\n\n\nA BOY was once stung by a Nettle. Crying with pain, he ran home and\ntold his mother, saying, \u201cAlthough it pains me so much, I did but touch\nit ever so gently, for I had been hurt by it before.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was just it,\u201d said his mother. \u201cIt was that which gave you so\nbad a sting. The next time you have occasion to touch a Nettle, grasp\nit boldly, with courage and resolution. It will be as soft as silk in\nyour hand and will not hurt you in the least. And you will meet many\npersons, as well as things, that must be handled in the same way, if\nyou would escape discomfort from them.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE HARES AND THE FOXES\n\n\nTHE Hares waged war with the Eagles and called upon the Foxes to help\nthem.\n\nThe Foxes replied: \u201cWe would willingly have helped you, if we had not\nknown so well who you were and with whom you were fighting. Before we\ncan commit ourselves, we must count the cost.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nMERCURY AND THE WOODMAN\n\n\nA WOODMAN, felling a tree by the side of a river, let his ax drop by\naccident into the stream.\n\nBeing thus suddenly deprived of the tool by means of which he gained\nhis livelihood, he sat down upon the bank and lamented his hard fate.\n\nTo his surprise Mercury appeared and asked him what was the matter.\nHaving heard the story of the man\u2019s misfortune, he dived to the bottom\nof the river, and bringing up a golden ax, inquired if that was the one\nhe had lost.\n\nOn his saying that it was not his, Mercury dived a second time, and\nreturning with a silver ax in his hand, again demanded of the Woodman\nif it was his.\n\nThis also the Woodman refused, saying that it was none of his. Mercury\ndisappeared a third time and brought up the ax that the man had lost.\nThis the poor man took with joy and thankfulness.\n\nSo pleased was Mercury with the honesty of the man, that he gave him\nthe other two axes in addition to his own.\n\nThe Woodman, on his return home, related to his companions all that had\nhappened. One of them resolved to see if he could secure the same good\nfortune to himself.\n\nHe ran to the river and threw his ax in, then sat down upon the bank to\nlament his sad fate.\n\nMercury appeared as before and demanded to know the cause of his grief.\nAfter hearing the man\u2019s account, he dived and brought up a golden ax\nand asked the man if that was his.\n\nTransported at the sight of the precious metal, the fellow eagerly\nanswered that it was, and greedily attempted to snatch it. The god,\ndetecting his falsehood and greed, not only declined to give him the\ngolden ax but refused to recover for him his own.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RAT AND THE ELEPHANT\n\n\nA RAT, traveling on the highway, met a huge Elephant, bearing his royal\nmaster and the master\u2019s favorite dog, cat, parrot, and monkey. Behind\nthem came a retinue of servants and many courtiers.\n\nAn admiring crowd followed the great beast and his attendants, so that\nthe entire road was filled.\n\n\u201cHow foolish you are,\u201d said the Rat to the people, \u201cto make such a fuss\nat seeing an elephant. Is it his great bulk that you so much admire?\nMere size is nothing. At most it can only frighten little girls and\nboys, and I can do that as well. I am a beast as well as he. I have as\nmany legs, and ears, and eyes. If you will take the trouble to compare\nus, you will see that I have finer parts. What right, then, has he to\ntake up all the highway, which belongs to me as well as to him?\u201d\n\nAt this moment, the Cat from her high place spied the Rat. She jumped\nto the ground and soon convinced him that he was not an Elephant.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HUSBANDMAN AND THE STORK\n\n\nA HUSBANDMAN pitched a net in his fields, to take the cranes and wild\ngeese that came daily to feed upon the newly sown corn.\n\nIn this net he captured several cranes and geese, and among them, on\none occasion, was a Stork. The cranes and geese accepted their lot as\none of the chances to which such lives as theirs were subject; but the\nStork was in very sad case and pleaded hard for his life.\n\nAmong other reasons why he should not be put to death, the Stork urged\nthat he was neither goose nor crane but a poor, harmless Stork, who\nperformed his duty to his parents as well as ever he could, feeding\nthem when they were old, and carrying them, when required, from place\nto place upon his back.\n\n\u201cAll this may be true,\u201d replied the Husbandman; \u201cbut, as I have taken\nyou in bad company, and in the same crime, you must expect to suffer\nthe same punishment.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE SATYR AND THE TRAVELER\n\n\nA SATYR, ranging in the forest in winter, once came across a Traveler\nwho was half starved and nearly frozen.\n\nHe took pity upon him and invited him to come to his cave for food and\nshelter.\n\nOn their way, the Man kept blowing upon his fingers. \u201cWhy do you do\nthat?\u201d said the Satyr, who had seen but little of the world of men.\n\n\u201cTo warm my hands,\u201d replied the Man; \u201cthey are nearly frozen.\u201d\n\nArriving at the cave, the Satyr poured out a smoking mess of pottage\nand set it before the Traveler, who eagerly seized it and began to blow\nupon it with all his might.\n\n\u201cWhat, blowing again!\u201d exclaimed the Satyr. \u201cIs it not hot enough?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is, indeed,\u201d answered the Man; \u201cthat is the very reason why I am\nblowing it. I want to cool it enough to be able to eat it.\u201d\n\nUpon this the Satyr exclaimed in alarm, \u201cBe off with you! I will have\nno part with a Man who can blow hot and cold from the same mouth.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE STAG AT THE LAKE\n\n\nA STAG, one hot day, came to drink from a clear lake, and stopped to\nlook at his own image in the water.\n\n\u201cHow beautiful are my fine spreading horns!\u201d said he. \u201cHow strong and\ngraceful they are, branching from each side of my head! What a pity it\nis that my legs should be so thin and ugly!\u201d\n\nJust at this moment a lion came crashing through the forest and made\nready to spring upon him. Away went the stag! and the legs that he had\ndespised would soon have carried him out of danger; but when he came to\nthe thick woods, his beautiful antlers, of which he had been so vain,\ncaught in the branches and held him fast until the lion came up and\nseized him.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PEASANT AND THE APPLE TREE\n\n\nA PEASANT had in his garden an Apple Tree which for year after year\nhad borne no fruit, but served only as a harbor for sparrows and\ngrasshoppers.\n\nSeeing no good to himself in the tree, he resolved to cut it down, and,\ntaking his ax in his hand, he made a bold stroke at its roots.\n\nEach in his own way, the grasshoppers and sparrows entreated him not\nto cut down the tree that sheltered them. \u201cWe will do our best to make\nup to you the worth of the wood, if you will spare it,\u201d they said,\n\u201clightening your labor by our cheering songs.\u201d But he paid no heed to\nthem and gave a second and a third blow with his ax.\n\nWhen he reached the hollow of the tree, he found a hive full of honey.\nHe tasted the honeycomb and at once threw down his ax. From that time\nthe greatest of care was taken of the tree, and the sparrows and\ngrasshoppers still found shelter in it. They could not forget, however,\nthat the man had only saved their home for them from self-interest.\n\n\n\n\nJUPITER, NEPTUNE, MINERVA, AND MOMUS\n\n\nACCORDING to an old legend, the first man was made by Jupiter, the\nfirst bull by Neptune, and the first house by Minerva.\n\nOn the completion of their labors, a dispute arose as to which had made\nthe most perfect work.\n\nThey agreed to rest the decision with Momus, a judge, and to abide by\nhis word.\n\nMomus, however, being very envious of the handicraft of each, found\nfault in turn with all.\n\nHe criticized the work of Neptune because he had not made the horns\nof the bull below the eyes, that the animal might better see where to\nstrike.\n\nHe condemned the work of Jupiter because he had not placed the heart of\nman on the outside, so that every one might read the thoughts of the\nevil-disposed and take precautions against intended mischief.\n\nAnd last of all, he inveighed against Minerva, not because of any fault\nin the house itself but because she had not contrived iron wheels in\nits foundation, so that its inhabitants might more easily remove if a\nneighbor proved unpleasant.\n\nIndignant at such inveterate fault-finding, Jupiter drove Momus from\nhis office as judge and expelled him from the mansions of Olympus.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FARTHING RUSHLIGHT\n\n\nA RUSHLIGHT, in love with its own brilliancy, once boasted that its\nlight was brighter even than that of the sun, the moon, and the stars.\n\nJust then a door opened, and a puff of wind blew it out.\n\nAs the owner relighted it, he said: \u201cCease now your boasting. Be\ncontent to shine in silence. Heavenly lights do not blow out. Know that\nnot even the stars need to be relit.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE HORSE AND THE GROOM\n\n\nA GROOM, who used to steal a Horse\u2019s corn and sell it, was yet very\nbusy all the day long in grooming and wisping him. \u201cIf you really wish\nme,\u201d said the Horse, \u201cto look sleek and fine, give me less currying and\nmore corn.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE TRUMPETER TAKEN PRISONER\n\n\nA TRUMPETER who had been taken prisoner in a battle begged hard for\nhis life. \u201cSpare me, I entreat you,\u201d said he; \u201cput me not to death\nwithout cause. I have killed no one, nor do I carry arms, but only this\ntrumpet.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor that very reason,\u201d said they who held him captive, \u201cyou shall the\nmore surely die; for though without the spirit to fight yourself, you\nstir up others to violence and bloodshed.\u201d\n\nHe who incites to strife is worse than he who takes part in it.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOASTING TRAVELER\n\n\nA MAN who had traveled in foreign parts bragged, on his return home,\nof the great feats he had performed in different places. In Rhodes,\nfor instance, he had taken so extraordinary a leap that no man could\napproach it; and, he said, he had witnesses there to prove that it was\nso.\n\n\u201cIt is quite possible,\u201d said one who heard him boasting of it, \u201cbut\njust suppose this to be Rhodes, and try the leap again.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE HEDGE AND THE VINEYARD\n\n\nA FOOLISH young Heir, who had come into possession of his wise father\u2019s\nestate, broke up all the Hedges about his Vineyard because they bore\nno grapes. The throwing down of these fences laid his grounds open\nto man and beast, and his vines were presently destroyed. The simple\nfellow learned, when it was too late, that it was quite as necessary to\nprotect his Vineyard as to possess it.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOUSE AND THE WEASEL\n\n\nA LITTLE starveling Mouse had made his way with some difficulty into a\nbasket of corn, where, finding the entertainment much to his liking, he\nstuffed and crammed himself to such an extent that when he was ready\nto get out again, he found the hole by which he had entered too small\nto allow his puffed-out body to pass through. A Weasel, who was drawn\nto the spot by his cries, thus counseled him: \u201cStay where you are, my\nfriend, and fast till you are thin; for you will never come out till\nyou reduce yourself to the same condition as when you went in.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE SHEEP\n\n\nA WOLF, that had been bitten by a dog and was unable to move, begged a\nSheep that passed by to take pity on his sad case and fetch him some\nwater from a stream. \u201cIf you will bring me a drink,\u201d said he, \u201cI will\nfind meat myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Sheep, \u201cI make no doubt of it; for if I come near\nenough to give you the drink, you will make mincemeat of _me_.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nA WIDOW AND HER SHEEP\n\n\nA CERTAIN widow, who had only a single Sheep and wished to make the\nmost of his wool, sheared him so closely as to cut his skin as well\nas his fleece. The Sheep, smarting under this treatment, cried out:\n\u201cWhy do you torture me thus? It is no gain to yourself. My blood will\nnot add to the weight of the wool. If you are after flesh send for\nthe Butcher, who will end my misery; but if it is only wool that you\nwant, send for the Shearer, who will clip my fleece without drawing my\nblood.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAN AND THE LION\n\n\nA MAN and a Lion were once journeying together and came at length to\nhigh words as to which was the braver and stronger creature of the two.\nAs the dispute waxed warmer they happened to pass, on the roadside, the\nstatue of a man strangling a lion. \u201cSee there,\u201d said the Man. \u201cWhat\nmore proof can you have of our undeniable superiority than that?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat,\u201d said the Lion, \u201cis a man\u2019s version of the story; let us be the\nsculptors, and for one lion under the feet of a man, you shall have\ntwenty men under the paws of lions.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIONESS\n\n\nA GREAT stir was once made as to which of the Beasts could boast of the\nlargest family. They came in turn to the Lioness. \u201cAnd how many,\u201d was\nasked, \u201cdo you have at a birth?\u201d\n\n\u201cOne,\u201d she replied; \u201cbut that one is a Lion!\u201d\n\nQuality is before quantity.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOY WHO STOLE APPLES\n\n\nAN Old Man once found a rude Boy in his Apple Tree and sternly ordered\nhim to come down. The young rogue answered that he would not.\n\n\u201cThen I will fetch you down,\u201d said the Old Man. So he threw twigs and\nbundles of grass up at him, but this only made the young scapegrace\nlaugh.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Old Man. \u201cIf neither words nor grass will bring\nyou down, I will try what virtue there is in stones.\u201d With that he\npelted the Boy heartily with stones, which soon brought him down from\nthe tree to beg the Old Man\u2019s pardon.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOOSE WITH THE GOLDEN EGGS\n\n\nA CERTAIN man had the good fortune to possess a Goose which laid him a\nGolden Egg each day of the year. For a while the man rejoiced in his\ndaily gain, but becoming impatient with so slow an income, he killed\nthe Goose, to get all at once the gold which he thought was inside\nher. When he had laid her open, he found that she was exactly like all\nother geese.\n\nWanting more, he lost all.\n\n\n\n\nTHE OLD MAN AND DEATH\n\n\nAN Old Laborer, bent with age and toil, was gathering brush in a\nforest. Growing tired and hopeless, he threw down his bundle and cried\nout: \u201cI can bear this no longer! If only Death would come and relieve\nme!\u201d\n\nAs he spoke Death came and asked him what it was that he wanted. \u201cPray,\ngood sir,\u201d replied the Man, \u201cdo me but the favor to lift this bundle of\nsticks to my back.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nA FATHER AND HIS TWO DAUGHTERS\n\n\nA MAN who had two Daughters married one to a Gardener, the other to a\nPotter. Going to visit at the Gardener\u2019s, he asked his Daughter how it\nfared with her. \u201cExcellently well,\u201d said she; \u201cwe have all that we want\nif only we may have a heavy rain to water our plants.\u201d\n\nGoing on to the Potter\u2019s, he asked his other Daughter how matters went\nwith her. \u201cThere is nothing that we want but that this fine weather and\nhot sun may continue, so that our tiles will bake well.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d said the Father, \u201cif you wish for fine weather, and your sister\nfor rain, which shall I myself pray for?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE SICK LION AND THE FOX\n\n\nA LION who was too old and feeble to hunt for prey saw that he must\nget it, if at all, by cunning. He crept into a corner of his den and\nfeigned sickness. All the animals that came by went in to take a look\nat him, and, as they came, he sprang upon them and ate them up. Now,\nwhen this had happened to a good many, the Fox, who had guessed the\ntrick, came by. From a safe distance he called to the Lion, asking how\nhe did. The Lion said he was very sick and asked the Fox to come in and\nsee him. \u201cSo I would, gladly,\u201d replied the Fox, \u201cbut I notice that all\nthe footprints point into the den, and there are none pointing out.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOUNTAIN IN LABOR\n\n\nIN DAYS of old, a mighty rumbling was heard in a Mountain. It was said\nto be in Labor, and multitudes of people flocked together, from near\nand from far, to see what the great Mountain would produce. After long\nexpectation and wise conjecturing from the bystanders, out popped\u2014a\nmouse.\n\nA magnificent promise, but a paltry performance.\n\n\n\n\nJUPITER AND THE CAMEL\n\n\nTHE Camel, in days of yore, besought Jupiter to grant him horns,\nbecause it was a great grief to him to see other animals furnished with\nwhat he had not. Jupiter not only refused him horns but cropped his\nears short for his foolish importunity.\n\nBy asking for what we do not need, we may lose what we already have.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOON AND HER MOTHER\n\n\nTHE Moon once asked her Mother to make her a little coat that would\nfit her well. \u201cHow,\u201d replied the Mother, \u201ccan I make a cloak to fit\nyou, when now you are a New Moon, and then a Full Moon, and then again\nneither the one nor the other?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE HORSE AND THE STAG\n\n\nA HORSE once had the whole range of a meadow to himself; but when a\nStag came and threatened to damage the pasture, the Horse asked a Man\nto assist him in ridding him of the Stag. \u201cI will,\u201d said the Man, \u201cif\nyou will let me put a bit in your mouth and get upon your back so as\nto go and find weapons.\u201d The Horse consented, and the Man accordingly\nmounted. But instead of being revenged on the Stag, the Horse has been\nfrom that time the slave of Man.\n\nRevenge is dearly punished at the price of liberty.\n\n\n\n\nTHE COUNCIL HELD BY THE RATS\n\n\n Old Rodiland, a certain Cat,\n Such havoc of the Rats had made\n \u2019Twas difficult to find a Rat\n With nature\u2019s debt unpaid.\n The few that did remain,\n To leave their holes afraid,\n From usual food abstain,\n Not eating half their fill.\n And wonder no one will\n That one who made on Rats his revel,\n With Rats passed not for Cat, but devil.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n Now, on a day, this dread rat-eater,\n Who had a wife, went out to meet her.\n And while he held his caterwauling,\n The unkilled Rats, their chapter calling,\n Discussed the point, in grave debate,\n How they might shun impending fate.\n Their dean, a prudent Rat,\n Thought best, and better soon than late,\n To bell the fatal Cat;\n That, when he took his hunting round,\n The Rats, well cautioned by the sound,\n Might hide in safety under ground.\n Indeed, he knew no other means;\n And all the rest\n At once confessed\n Their minds were with the dean\u2019s.\n No better plan, they all believed,\n Could possibly have been conceived.\n No doubt the thing would work right well\n If any one would hang the bell.\n But one by one said every Rat,\n \u201cI\u2019m not so big a fool as that.\u201d\n The plan knocked up in this respect,\n The council closed without effect.\n And many a council I have seen,\n Or reverend chapter, with its dean,\n That, thus resolving wisely,\n Fell through like this, precisely.\n\n To argue or refute,\n Wise councilors abound.\n The man to execute\n Is harder to be found.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RAIN CLOUD\n\n\nA GREAT Cloud passed rapidly over a country which was parched by heat,\nbut did not let fall a single drop to refresh it. Presently it poured\ncopious streams of rain into the sea and, when it had done so, began to\nboast of its generosity in the hearing of the neighboring Mountain.\n\nBut the Mountain replied: \u201cWhat good have you done by such generosity?\nand how can any one help being pained at the sight of it? If you\nhad poured your showers over the land, you might have saved a whole\ndistrict from famine. But as to the sea, my friend, it has plenty of\nwater already, without additions from you.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE ELEPHANT IN FAVOR\n\n\nONCE upon a time the Elephant stood high in the good graces of the\nLion. The forest immediately began to talk of the matter, and, as\nusual, many guesses were made as to the means by which the Elephant had\ngained such favor.\n\n\u201cIt is no beauty,\u201d say the beasts to each other, \u201cand it is not\namusing; and what habits it has! what manners!\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it had possessed such a bushy tail as mine, I should not have\nwondered,\u201d says the Fox.\n\n\u201cOr, sister,\u201d says the Bear, \u201cif it had gotten into favor on account of\nits claws, no one would have found the matter at all extraordinary; but\nit has no claws at all, as we all know well.\u201d\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t it its tusks that have gotten it into favor?\u201d thus the Ox broke\nin upon their conversation. \u201cHaven\u2019t they, perhaps, been mistaken for\nhorns?\u201d\n\nThen said the Ass, shaking its ears, \u201cIs it possible that you don\u2019t\nknow how it has succeeded in making itself liked, and in becoming\ndistinguished. Why, I have guessed the reason. If it hadn\u2019t been\nremarkable for its long ears, it would never in the world have gotten\ninto favor.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE CUCKOO AND THE EAGLE\n\n\nTHE Eagle promoted the Cuckoo to the rank of a Nightingale, and at\nonce, proud of its new position, the Cuckoo seated itself upon an aspen\nand began to exercise its musical talents.\n\nAfter a time it looked around. All the other birds were flying away,\nsome laughing and others abusing it. The Cuckoo grew angry, and\nhastened to the Eagle with a complaint against the birds.\n\n\u201cHave pity on me!\u201d it begged. \u201cI have been appointed Nightingale to\nthese woods, and yet the birds dare laugh at my singing.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d answered the Eagle, \u201cI am a king, but I am not a god. It\nis impossible for me to remedy the cause of your complaint. I can order\na Cuckoo to be styled a Nightingale, but to make a Nightingale out of a\nCuckoo\u2014that I cannot do.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX IN THE ICE\n\n\nVERY early one winter morning, during a hard frost, a Fox was drinking\nat a hole in the ice not far from the haunts of men.\n\nMeanwhile, whether by accident or from negligence does not matter, the\nend of its tail got wet and froze to the ice.\n\nNo great harm was done; the Fox could easily remedy it. It had only to\ngive a tolerably hard pull and leave about a score of hairs behind;\nthen it could run home quickly before any one came.\n\nBut how could it make up its mind to spoil its tail? Such a bushy tail\nas it was\u2014so ample, so golden! No; better wait a little. Surely men are\nsleeping still. It is even possible that a thaw may set in meanwhile.\nIn that case it will be able to withdraw its tail easily from the ice\nhole.\n\nSo it waits; it goes on waiting, but its tail only freezes all the\nmore. The Fox looks round; the day is already beginning to dawn.\nPeople are stirring; voices are to be heard. Our poor Fox begins to\nmove wildly about, now this way and now that. But still it cannot free\nitself from the hole.\n\nLuckily, a Wolf comes running that way.\n\n\u201cDear friend! father!\u201d cries the Fox; \u201cdo save me; I am all but lost!\u201d\n\nSo the Wolf stopped and set to work to rescue the Fox. Its method was a\nsimple one\u2014it bit the tail clean off.\n\nSo our foolish friend went home tailless, but rejoicing that its skin\nwas still on its back.\n\n\n\n\nTHE INQUISITIVE MAN\n\n\n\u201cGOOD day, dear friend; where do you come from?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom the Museum, where I have spent three hours. I saw everything they\nhave there, and examined it carefully. So much have I seen to astonish\nme that, if you will believe me, I am neither strong nor clever enough\nto give you the description of it. Upon my word, it is a palace of\nwonders.\n\n\u201cHow rich is Nature in inventions! What birds and beasts have I\nnot seen there! What flies, butterflies, cockroaches, and curious\nbeetles\u2014some like emeralds, others like corals! And what tiny cochineal\ninsects! Why, really, some of them are smaller than a pin\u2019s head.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut did you see the elephant? What did you think of it? I\u2019ll be bound\nyou felt as if you were at a mountain.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe elephant? Are you quite sure it is there?\u201d\n\n\u201cQuite sure.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, brother, you mustn\u2019t be too hard on me; but to tell the truth, I\ndidn\u2019t remark the elephant.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE SQUIRREL IN SERVICE\n\n\nA SQUIRREL once served a Lion\u2014I know not where or in what capacity. But\nthis much is certain\u2014the Squirrel found favor in the Lion\u2019s eyes, and\nto satisfy the Lion is certainly no light affair.\n\nIn return for this he was promised a whole wagonload of nuts.\n\nPromised\u2014yes; but meanwhile time continues to fly by. The Squirrel\noften suffers hunger and, while grinning in his masters presence, has\neyes full of tears.\n\nWhen he looks around in the forest, his former comrades show themselves\nhere and there, high up among the trees. He looks at them till his eyes\nbegin to blink, but they keep on cracking nuts.\n\nThe Squirrel takes a look at them\u2014he can do no more. At one time he is\ncalled away; at another, even dragged off in the Lion\u2019s service.\n\nBut see! At last the Squirrel has grown old and become tiresome to the\nLion. It is time for him to retire. They have granted the Squirrel\nhis discharge, and they have actually given him the full load of\nnuts\u2014excellent nuts, such as the world has never seen before; all\npicked fruit, one as good as another, a perfect marvel. Only one thing\nis unlucky\u2014the Squirrel has long ago lost all his teeth.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE CAT\n\n\nA WOLF ran out of the forest into a village\u2014not to pay a visit, but to\nsave its life; for it trembled for its skin.\n\nThe huntsman and a pack of hounds were after it.\n\nIt would fain have rushed in through the first gateway, but there was\nthis unfortunate circumstance in the way\u2014all the gateways were closed.\n\nThe Wolf saw a Cat on a partition fence and said pleadingly: \u201cVaska, my\nfriend, tell me quickly, which of the moujiks here is the kindest, so\nthat I may hide myself from my evil foes. Listen to the cry of the dogs\nand the terrible sound of the horns. All that noise is actually made in\nchase of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo quickly and ask Stefan,\u201d said Vaska, the Cat; \u201che is a very kind\nman.\u201d\n\n\u201cQuite true; only I have torn the skin off one of his sheep.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, try Demian.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid he\u2019s angry with me, too; I carried off one of his kids.\u201d\n\n\u201cRun over there, then; Trofim lives there.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrofim! I should be afraid of even meeting him. Ever since the spring\nhe has been threatening me about a lamb.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear me, that\u2019s bad! But perhaps Klim will protect you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\u201cOh, Vaska, I have killed one of his calves!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do I hear, friend? You\u2019ve quarreled with all the village,\u201d said\nVaska to the Wolf. \u201cWhat sort of protection can you hope for here? No,\nno; our peasants are not so destitute of sense as to be willing to save\nyou to their own hurt. And, really, you have only yourself to blame.\nWhat you have sown, that you must now reap.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n\nNOTE. Since the purpose of the fable is not merely to entertain but\nespecially to point some general truth or to draw a helpful lesson,\nno two versions of the same fable are exactly alike. In editions of\n\u00c6sop intended for young children, it has been the custom to elaborate\nthe slender story in such a way as to arouse thoroughly the child\u2019s\ninterest before the moral is drawn. Hence the modern popular versions\noften contain conversations and descriptive details not to be found\nin the accounts which are truest to the Greek versions. This popular\nelaborated form of the fable, however, needs no apology so long as\nthe editor is true to the spirit of the original. In the preceding\nfables, the spirit, if not the letter of the most trustworthy account\navailable, has been carefully adhered to, but the editor has had always\nin mind the youthful readers and has neglected no opportunity to make\nthe text fit their limited experience and understanding. But to both\nteacher and pupil the current short forms of some of the longer fables\nwill have interest. In this Appendix, therefore, have been collected\nthe short forms of the first fables which appear in the text. Much\npleasure and profit can be had from a comparison of the two renderings,\nand such a comparison will open the way to a discussion of the\ndifficulties in handing down literature orally and in preserving it in\ncorrect form.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE LAMB\n\n\nA WOLF and a Lamb came to a running brook to quench their thirst. The\nWolf stood high up the stream and the Lamb a little distance below.\nHaving made up his mind to seize the Lamb, the Wolf bethought himself\nhow he might justify his act of violence. Running down to her, he\nroared, \u201cHow dare you muddle the water so that I cannot drink it?\u201d\n\nThe Lamb, affrighted by the charge, humbly replied that she could not\nsee how that could be, since the water ran down from him to her and not\nfrom her to him. \u201cBe that as it may,\u201d retorted the Wolf. \u201cYou are a\nrascal, all the same, and I have heard that you said bad things of me\nlast year behind my back.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said the Lamb, \u201cthat could not have been, for a year ago I was\nnot born.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if it was not you it was your father, and that is all the same,\u201d\nreplied the Wolf, and he fell upon the Lamb and tore her to pieces.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE LION\n\n\nTHE first time the Fox saw the Lion, he was ready to die of fear. The\nsecond time he took courage and could even bear to look upon him. The\nthird time he had the impudence to come up to him, to salute him, and\nto enter into familiar conversation with him.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOG AND HIS SHADOW\n\n\nA DOG had stolen a piece of meat out of a butcher\u2019s shop and was\ncrossing a river on his way home, when he saw his own shadow reflected\nin the stream below. Thinking it was another dog with another piece of\nmeat, he resolved to secure it. He snapped at his supposed treasure,\nbut in doing so dropped the piece he was carrying and so lost all.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER\n\n\nSAID an old Crab to a young one, \u201cWhy do you walk so crooked, child?\nWalk straight!\u201d \u201cMother,\u201d said the young Crab, \u201cshow me the way, will\nyou? When I see you taking a straight course, I will try and follow.\u201d\n\nExample is better than precept.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE GRAPES\n\n\nA FOX came at vintage time to a place where ripe grapes were hanging\nin tempting clusters over the branch of a tree. \u201cI will get them,\u201d\nsaid the Fox. He made many a spring and jump, but failing each time to\nsecure the prize, he at length walked away, muttering, \u201cWell, what does\nit matter? The grapes are sour.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOLF AND THE CRANE\n\n\nA WOLF had a bone in his throat and ran up and down in the greatest\nagony, begging every animal he met to relieve him, hinting at the\nsame time that there would be a substantial reward. A Crane, moved\nby his entreaties, ventured her long neck down the Wolf\u2019s throat and\ndrew forth the bone. When she had done it, she modestly asked for the\npromised reward. To which the Wolf, grinning and showing his teeth,\nreplied, \u201cUngrateful creature, is it not enough that you have had your\nhead in a Wolf\u2019s mouth and brought it out safe?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPERS\n\n\nA COLONY of Ants were busily employed in the care and preservation of\ntheir food, which they exposed to the air in heaps around their country\nhabitation.\n\nA Grasshopper, who had chanced to out-live the summer and was ready to\ndie from cold and hunger, approached with great humility and begged\nthat they would relieve his necessity with one grain of wheat or rye.\nOne of the Ants asked him how he had disposed of his time in the\nsummer, that he had not taken pains and laid in a stock as they had\ndone.\n\n\u201cAlas! gentlemen,\u201d said he, \u201cI passed away the time merrily and\npleasantly in drinking, singing, and dancing, and never once thought of\nwinter.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that be the case,\u201d replied the Ant, \u201call I have to say is that they\nwho drink, sing, and dance in summer must starve in winter.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE FROGS WHO ASKED FOR A KING\n\n\nTHE commonwealth of Frogs, a discontented race, weary of liberty and\nfond of change, petitioned Jupiter to grant them a King.\n\nThe good-natured deity, in order to grant their request with as little\nmischief to them as possible, threw them down a Log. The splash sent\nthem into the greatest terror and amazement, and at first they regarded\ntheir new monarch with great reverence and kept at a respectful\ndistance. But by degrees, perceiving his amiable and peaceable\ndisposition, they gradually ventured to approach him with more\nfamiliarity, till at length they conceived for him the utmost contempt.\n\nDissatisfied with this state of things, they renewed their request to\nJupiter and entreated him to bestow upon them another King.\n\nIn his wrath the Thunderer sent them a Crane, who no sooner took\npossession of his new dominion than he began to devour his subjects,\none after another.\n\nThey were now far more dissatisfied than before. Applying to Jupiter\na third time, they were dismissed with the reproof that the evil of\nwhich they complained they had imprudently brought upon themselves; and\nthat now they had no other remedy but to submit to it with patience.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DONKEY IN THE LION\u2019S SKIN\n\n\nA DONKEY, having put on the skin of a Lion, which he found drying by\nthe roadside, roamed about the forest and amused himself by frightening\nall the animals that he met. At length, meeting a Fox, he tried to\nfrighten him also; but the Fox no sooner heard the sound of his voice\nthan he exclaimed, \u201cI might possibly have been frightened if I had not\nheard you bray.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MICE IN COUNCIL\n\n\nTHE Mice, being sadly distressed on account of their common enemy the\nCat, called a council to devise means of ridding themselves of the\nannoyance. Many plans were proposed and rejected, till at last it was\nsuggested by a young Mouse that a bell should be hung round the Cat\u2019s\nneck, that having notice of her coming, they might escape to their\nholes.\n\nThe proposal was hailed with applause and agreed to unanimously.\nWhereupon an old Mouse, who had sat in silence, got up and said, \u201cThat\nis well, but who will bell the Cat?\u201d The Mice looked one at another,\nbut no one answered.\n\nThe old Mouse said, \u201cIt is easy to advise; what is wanted is some one\nto act.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE KID AND THE WOLF\n\n\nA KID, coming alone from its pasture, was pursued by a Wolf. With great\npresence of mind the kid turned and said: \u201cI know, Friend Wolf, that\nyou mean to kill me; but as my life is to be short, let it be a merry\none. Do you pipe and let me have one more dance before I die.\u201d While\nthe Wolf was piping and the Kid was dancing, some Dogs, hearing the\nmusic, ran to the place to see what was going on; and the Wolf was glad\nto take himself off as fast as his legs would carry him.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HAWK AND THE NIGHTINGALE\n\n\nTHE Nightingale, sitting aloft upon an oak, was seen by a Hawk, who\nswooped down and seized her. The Nightingale earnestly prayed the Hawk\nto let her go, saying that she was not big enough to satisfy the hunger\nof a Hawk, who ought to find plenty of larger birds. \u201cDo you happen\nto see many large birds flying about?\u201d the Hawk asked. \u201cI should be\nfoolish, indeed, to let you go for the sake of larger birds that are\nnot in sight. A morsel is better than nothing.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE CROW AND THE PITCHER\n\n\nA CROW who was nearly perishing with thirst spied a pitcher with a\nlittle water in it. Reaching down, he found the water so low that,\nstooping and straining as he might, he was unable to reach it with his\nbeak. Thereupon he tried to overturn and break the Pitcher. This he was\nnot strong enough to do. At last, seeing some small pebbles, he brought\na great many and dropped them one by one, and so raised the water to\nthe brim and quenched his thirst.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANT AND THE DOVE\n\n\nGOING to a fountain to quench his thirst, an Ant tumbled in and was\nready to drown. But a Dove happened to be perching on a neighboring\ntree and saw the Ant\u2019s danger. Plucking a leaf, the Dove dropped\nit down into the water, so that the Ant mounting upon it was blown\nsafely to the shore. A Fowler, shortly after, spread his net to entrap\nthe unwary Dove. This the Ant perceived, and bit the Fowler\u2019s heel.\nDistracted by the pain, the Fowler dropped his net with a quick start,\nand the Dove, aroused to a sense of danger, flew away.\n\nOne good turn deserves another.\n\n\n\n\nTHE OX AND THE FROG\n\n\nAN Ox, grazing in a swampy meadow, chanced to set his foot among a\nnumber of young Frogs and trampled nearly all of them to death. One\nthat escaped ran off to his mother with the dreadful news. \u201cIt was a\nbeast\u2014such a big four-footed beast\u2014that did it.\u201d\n\n\u201cBig?\u201d asked the old Frog, and she puffed herself out, \u201cas big as this?\u201d\n\n\u201cA great deal bigger,\u201d said the little one.\n\n\u201cWell, was it so big?\u201d and she swelled herself out yet more.\n\n\u201cIndeed, Mother, but it was; and if you were to burst yourself you\nwould never reach half its size.\u201d Vexed that her child should disparage\nher powers, the Mother Frog made one more trial and burst herself\nindeed.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BAT AND THE WEASELS\n\n\nA BAT, falling to the ground, was caught by a Weasel, whom he entreated\nnot to take his life. The Weasel protested that it was against nature\nfor a weasel to let a bird go. Whereupon the Bat insisted that he was\nnot a bird, and to prove it, called attention to his mouselike head and\nears, which so confused the Weasel that he let the Bat go.\n\nSome time afterward, on another flight, the Bat fell again to the\nground, and another Weasel caught him. On perceiving that the Weasel\nthought he was a mouse, the Bat contended that he had wings and\ntherefore was not a mouse, and was again allowed to go free.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE GOAT\n\n\nA FOX who had fallen into a deep well was casting about to find how he\nshould get out again. At length a Goat came to the place, and seeing\nReynard, asked whether the water was good, and if there was plenty.\n\nHiding the real danger in his case, the Fox replied: \u201cThe best in the\nworld, and so much of it that it cannot be exhausted. Come down and\nsee.\u201d Whereupon the Goat jumped down without more ado. Upon this the\ncrafty Fox jumped upon her horns and nimbly leaped out, remarking to\nthe deluded Goat, \u201cIf you had brains to match your beard, you would\nhave looked before you leaped.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE WOMAN AND HER HEN\n\n\nA THRIFTY Woman kept a Hen that could be depended on to lay an egg\nevery morning. The watchful Woman thought within herself, \u201cIf I were to\ndouble my Hen\u2019s allowance of barley, she would lay twice a day.\u201d So she\ntried her plan, and the Hen became so fat and sleek that she left off\nlaying at all.\n\nThrift sometimes overreaches, and figures are not always facts.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DOG IN THE MANGER\n\n\nA DOG once made his bed in a manger and lay there snarling and growling\nat whoever came by. The Oxen coming for their provender said: \u201cWhat a\nmiserable cur! neither to eat the grain himself nor to let any one else\neat it!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE MOUSE, THE FROG, AND THE HAWK\n\n\nA MOUSE in an evil day made the acquaintance of a Frog, and together\nthey set off on their travels. On pretense of affection and of keeping\nhis companion safe from harm, the Frog tied the Mouse\u2019s forefoot to\nhis own hind leg, and thus they proceeded. It worked well enough till\nthey came to some water, and the Frog, bidding the Mouse to have\ngood courage, plunged in and began to swim across. They were barely\nhalfway when the Frog took a sudden plunge to the bottom, dragging the\nunfortunate Mouse after him. But the struggling of the Mouse made so\ngreat a commotion in the water that it attracted the attention of a\nHawk, who, pouncing down and bearing away the Mouse, carried the Frog\nalso.\n\nAlliances that are ill-matched generally end in disaster; and the one\nwho compasses the destruction of his neighbor is often caught in his\nown snare.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF\n\n\nA SHEPHERD boy, tending his flock on the edge of a village, used to\namuse himself at times by crying out, \u201cWolf! Wolf!\u201d Twice or thrice his\ntrick succeeded. The whole village ran to his assistance, only to be\nlaughed at for their pains. At last, one day, the Wolf came indeed. The\nBoy cried out as before, and this time in earnest. But the villagers,\nsupposing him to be at his old sport, paid no heed to his cries, and\nthe Wolf devoured the sheep.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FISHERMAN AND THE LITTLE FISH\n\n\nAFTER toiling all day and catching nothing, a Fisherman pulled up a\nlittle Fish. The Fish besought him to let him go, for he was small now,\nbut by and by he would grow to be a big fish and so be worth catching.\nBut the Fisherman answered, \u201cNo, no, I have you now, it would be\nfoolish for me to let you go; I might not get you when you had grown\nbigger.\u201d\n\nA bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOX AND THE CROW\n\n\nA CROW snatched a piece of cheese out of a window and flew with it up\ninto a tree, to eat it at leisure. A Fox passing by chanced to look\nup and saw her. He coveted the prize and thus made his approaches\nto secure it. \u201cO Crow,\u201d said he, \u201chow beautiful are thy wings and\nhow bright are thine eyes! how graceful thy neck! What a pity that\nsuch a bird should want only a voice!\u201d Yielding to the flattery, the\nCrow opened her mouth to surprise the Fox with her caw, when down\ndropped the cheese, which the Fox, snapping up, ate as he walked away,\nremarking that whatever he had said of her voice he did not say of her\nbrains.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PARTRIDGE AND THE FOWLER\n\n\nA PARTRIDGE, having been taken in the net of a Fowler, cried out\npiteously, \u201cSpare me, good Master Fowler, and I promise you, on my\nword, that I will decoy other partridges into your net.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the man, \u201cwhatever I might have done, I am determined\nnow not to let you go; for no death is too bad for one who is ready to\nbetray his friends.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE THIRSTY PIGEON\n\n\nA PIGEON, pressed by thirst and seeing a glass of water painted on a\nsign, supposed it to be real. Dashing down at it with all her might,\nshe struck against the hard board, and breaking her wing, she fell\nhelpless to the ground and was soon captured by one who passed by.\n\nGreat haste is not always good speed.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE TRADESMEN\n\n\nTHERE was a certain city in danger of being besieged, and a council\nwas called accordingly, to consider the best means of fortifying it.\nA Bricklayer gave his judgment that no material was so good for the\npurpose as brick. A Carpenter begged leave to suggest that timber would\nbe preferable, upon which a Currier started up and said, \u201cSirs, when\nall has been said that can be said, there is nothing in the world like\nleather.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE HARES AND THE FROGS\n\n\nIN DESPERATION over the hard times they had on account of their many\nenemies, the Hares came together and, after rehearsing their situation,\ncame to the sad conclusion that nothing was left to them but to drown\nthemselves as the most miserable and unfortunate of creatures. They\nrepaired to a pond to throw themselves off a rock into the water and\nthus make an end of their troubles. A shoal of frogs were sitting\naround the edge of the pond, and at the approach of the Hares they\nwere startled, and with the greatest confusion jumped into the water.\nWhereupon the foremost of the Hares said to his fellows: \u201cNay, then,\nfriends, our case may not be as desperate as we thought. Here are other\ncreatures more faint-hearted than are we.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE EAGLE AND THE FOX\n\n\nAN EAGLE and a Fox had lived together as good neighbors, the former\non the summit of a high tree, the latter in a hole at the foot of it.\nOne day when the Fox was abroad, the Eagle swooped down and snatched\nthe Fox\u2019s cub and carried it up to her nest, thinking that her high\ndwelling made her secure from the Fox\u2019s revenge. The Fox returning\nupbraided the Eagle for such a breach of confidence and begged to have\nher young one returned to her. Finding that her entreaties availed\nnothing, the Fox snatched a brand from an altar fire which had been\nlighted hard by and proceeded to involve the whole tree in flames. The\nEagle, to protect her nest and her own young ones, restored the cub\nto its mother, which she would not do in answer to the most earnest\nentreaties.\n\n\n\n\nANNOUNCEMENTS\n\n\n\n\nCLASSICS FOR CHILDREN\n\nTHIS popular series of classics is now in process of revision.\nDistinguishing features of the new volumes are the attractive bindings,\nthe clear and inviting type page, and the many drawings by well-known\nillustrators of children\u2019s books. The series now includes over fifty\nvolumes of the best in the world\u2019s literature, and the titles have been\nchosen for their genuine appeal to young people.\n\n \u00c6sop: Fables (Stickney). Illustrated by Bull\n The Herford \u00c6sop. Fifty Fables in Verse. Illustrated by the author\n\n Andersen: Fairy Tales.\n First Series (Stickney). Illustrated by Hart\n Second Series (Stickney). Illustrated by Hart\n\n Arabian Nights\u2019 Entertainments (Lane). Illustrated by Winckler\n\n Bunyan: Pilgrim\u2019s Progress. Illustrated by Bennett\n\n Burt: Stories from Plato and other Classic Writers\n\n Carroll: Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland (Long). Illustrated\n by Herford\n\n Cervantes: Don Quixote (Wheaton)\n\n Chamisso: Peter Schlemihl (Alger)\n\n Chesterfield: Letters (Ginn)\n\n Church: Stories of the Old World. Illustrated by Copeland\n\n Cooper: The Spy (Griffin). Illustrated by Bridgman\n\n Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (Trent). Illustrated by Copeland\n\n Dickens: Tale of Two Cities (Linn)\n\n Dodge: Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates (Lowe). Illustrated\n by Gallagher\n\n Epictetus (Ginn)\n\n Ewing: Jackanapes (Bryant). Illustrated by Gallagher\n\n Fiske-Irving: Washington and his Country\n\n Fouqu\u00e9: Undine (Alger)\n\n Francillon: Gods and Heroes. Illustrated by Gallagher\n\n Franklin: Autobiography (Montgomery and Trent)\n\n Goldsmith: Vicar of Wakefield (Montgomery)\n\n Grimm: Fairy Tales. Part I (Wiltse)\n Part II (Wiltse)\n\n Grote and S\u00e9gur: Two Great Retreats\n\n Hale: Man without a Country\n\n Hughes: Tom Brown\u2019s School-Days (Bradby). Illustrated by Hugh\n Thomson\n\n Hugo: Jean Valjean (Wiltse)\n\n Irving: Alhambra (Robinson). Illustrated by Black\n Sketch Book (Six Selections) (Sprague and Scates)\n\n Jefferies: Sir Bevis (Kelley)\n\n Johnson: Rasselas\n\n Kingsley: The Heroes (Ball). Illustrated by Otho Cushing\n Water Babies (Stickney). Illustrated by Young\n\n Lamb: Adventures of Ulysses (Ball). Illustrated by Cushing\n Tales from Shakespeare. With full-page illustrations\n\n Litchfield: Nine Worlds\n\n Marcus Aurelius (Ginn)\n\n Martineau: The Peasant and the Prince (Bryant). With illustrations\n\n Montgomery: Heroic Ballads\n\n Plutarch: Lives (Ginn). Illustrated by Dwiggins\n\n Ram\u00e9e (Ouida): Bimbi\n\n Ruskin: King of the Golden River. Illustrations after those of Doyle\n Selections (Ginn)\n\n Saintine: Picciola (Alger)\n\n Scott: Guy Mannering (Yonge)\n Ivanhoe (Lewis). Illustrations after those in the Abbotsford Edition\n Lady of the Lake (Ginn)\n Lay of the Last Minstrel (Allen). Illustrated by Reilly Marmion\n Quentin Durward (Bru\u00e8re)\n Rob Roy (Yonge)\n Tales of a Grandfather (Ginn)\n The Talisman (Holbrook)\n\n Southey: Life of Nelson (Blaisdell)\n\n Spyri: Heidi (Dole)\n\n Stevenson: Treasure Island (Hersey)\n\n Swift: Gulliver\u2019s Travels (Robinson). Illustrated by Copeland\n\n Wyss: Swiss Family Robinson (Stickney). Illustrated by Copeland\n\n\n GINN AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS","title":"\u00c6sop's Fables: A Version for Young Readers","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":29456}