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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:42:59 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:42:59 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13815-0.txt b/13815-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..123db87 --- /dev/null +++ b/13815-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10049 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13815 *** + +THE TALKING BEASTS + +A Book of Fable Wisdom + +EDITED BY KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN AND NORA ARCHIBALD SMITH + +Illustrations by Harold Nelson + +1922 + + + + + + + "Accept, young Prince, the moral lay + And in these tales mankind survey; + With early virtues plant your breast + The specious arts of vice detest." + + JOHN GAY + TO + HIS HIGHNESS + WILLIAM, DUKE OF CUMBERLAND + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. Fables of Aesop. (Greek) + + II. Fables of Bidpai. (Indian) + + III. Fables from the Hitopadesa. (Sanskrit) + + IV. Fables from P. V. Ramaswami Raju. (Indian) + + V. Malayan Fables + + VI. Moorish Fables + + VII. African Fables + + VIII. Fables from Krilof. (Russian) + + IX. Fables from the Chinese + + X. Fables of La Fontaine. (French) + + XI. Fables from the Spanish of Carlos Yriarte + + XII. Fables of Gay, Cowper, and others. (English) + + + + + For Eastern princes, long ago, + These fables, grave and gay, + Were written as a friendly guide + On life's perplexing way. + When Rumour came to court and news + Of such a book was heard, + The monarch languished till he might + Secure the Golden Word. + + Prince of To-day, this little hook + A store-house is of treasure. + Unlock it and where'er you look + Is wisdom without measure. + 'Twill teach thee of the meed of greed, + Of sowing versus reaping, + Of that mad haste that makes for waste, + And looking before leaping. + + 'Twill teach thee what is like to hap + To self-conceit and folly; + And show that who begins in sin + Will end in melancholy. + So take the book and learn of beast + And animate creation + The lesson that the least may teach, + However mean his station. + + NORA ARCHIBALD SMITH + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +"Among all the different ways of giving counsel I think +the finest and that which pleases the most universally is +fable, in whatever shape it appears." + + JOSEPH ADDISON + + + +How shall I bring to your mind the time and +distance that separate us from the Age of +Fable? Think of what seemed to you the +longest week of your life. Think of fifty-two of +these in a year; then think of two thousand five +hundred years and try to realize that Aesop--sometimes +called the Eighth Wise Man--lived +twenty-five centuries ago and made these wonderful +tales that delight us to-day. + +Shakespeare is even yet something of a mystery, +although he was born in our own era, less than +five hundred years ago; but men are still trying +to discover any new facts of his life that might +better explain his genius. A greater mystery +is grand old Homer, who has puzzled the world +for centuries. Scholars are not certain whether +the "Iliad" or "Odyssey" are the work of one +or more than one mind. Who can say? for the +thrilling tales were told--probably after the +fashion of all the minstrels of his day--more than +eight hundred years before Christ. + +On the background of that dim distant long ago, +perhaps two hundred years later than Homer, +looms the magnificent figure of another mysterious +being--Aesop the Greek slave. + +Wherever and whenever he lived, and whether, +in fact, he ever lived at all, he seems very real to +us, even though more than two thousand years have +passed. Among all the stories that scholars and +historians have told of him--sifting through the +centuries the true from the false--we get a vivid +picture of the man. He was born in Greece, +probably in Phrygia, about 620 years before Christ. +He had more than one master and it was the last, +Iadmon, who gave him his liberty because of his +talents and his wisdom. The historian Plutarch +recounts his presence at the court of Croesus, +King of Lydia, and his meeting Thales and Solon +there, telling us also that he reproved the wise +Solon for discourtesy toward the king. Aesop +visited Athens and composed the famous fable +of Jupiter and the Frogs for the instruction of +the citizens. Whether he left any written fables +is very uncertain, but those known by his name +were popular in Athens when that city was +celebrated throughout the world for its wit and its +learning. Both Socrates and Plato delighted +in them; Socrates, we read, having amused himself +during the last days of his life with turning +into verse some of Aesop's "myths" as he called +them. Think of Socrates conning these fables +in prison four hundred years before Christ, and +then think of a more familiar picture in our own +day--a gaunt, dark-faced, black-haired boy +poring over a book as he lay by the fireside in a +little Western farmhouse; for you remember that +Abraham Lincoln's literary models were "Aesop's +Fables," "The Pilgrim's Progress" and the +Bible. Perhaps he read the fable of the Fig +Tree, Olive, Vine, and Bramble from the ninth +chapter of Judges, or that of the Thistle and +Cedar from the fourteenth chapter of II Kings +and noted that teaching by story-telling was +still well in vogue six hundred years after Aesop. + +In later times the fables that had been carried +from mouth to mouth for centuries began to +be written down: by Phaedrus in Latin and +Babrius in Greek; also, in the fourteenth century, +by a Greek monk named Planudes. But do +not suppose they had their birth or flourished +in Greece alone. At the very time that Aesop +was telling them at the court of Croesus, or in +Delphi, Corinth, or Athens,--far, far away in +India the Buddhist priests were telling fables in +the Sanskrit language to the common people, the +blind, the ignorant and the outcast. Sanskrit, +you know, is the eldest brother of all the family +of languages to which our English belongs. When +the Buddhist religion declined, the Brahmins +took up the priceless inheritance of fable and +used it for educational purposes. Their ancient +Indian sages and philosophers compiled a treatise +for the education of princes which was supposed +to contain a system of good counsel for right +training in all the chief affairs of life. In it they +inserted the choicest treasures of their wisdom +and the best rules for governing a people, and the +Rajahs kept the book with great secrecy and care. +Then a Persian king heard of its existence and +sent a learned physician to India, where he spent +several years in copying and translating the +precious manuscript, finally bringing it hack to +the court, where he declined to accept all reward +but a dress of honour. In much the same way +it was rendered into Arabic and gradually, +century by century, crept into the literature of all +Europe. + +We give you some of these very fables in +the "Hitopadesa," which means "Friendly +Instruction" or "Amicable Advice" for the +original hooks contained many maxims, like the +following: + + +"He who is not possessed of such a book as will dispel +many doubts, point out hidden treasures, and is, as it were, +a mirror of all things, is even an ignorant man." + +"These six--the peevish, the niggard, the dissatisfied, +the passionate, the suspicious, and those who live upon +others' means--are forever unhappy." + +"That mother is an enemy, and that father a foe, by whom +not having been instructed, their son shineth not in the +assembly; but appeareth there like a booby among geese." + +"There are two kinds of knowledge in use: the knowledge +of arms, and the knowledge of books. The first is the scoff +if the wise, whilst the last is forever honoured." + + +We give you other Indian fables from the +collection of Bidpai. La Fontaine in one of the +prefaces to his French fables in verse expresses his +gratitude to "Bilpay the Indian sage." These +are the very manuscripts translated from the +Sanskrit into Persian by the physician who took +them back to his king. Sir William Jones says +that "Bidpai" signifies "beloved physician" and +that Bilpay is simply a mis-spelling of the word. +As other scholars contended that Bidpai was not +a man at all, but probably one of the two wise +camels that did most of the talking in the earlier +fables, you and I will not be able to settle the truth +of the question. All these points are interesting, +or, if they are not so to you, you must say, "Wake +up!" to your mind. It is the eager spirit of +inquiry that conquers difficulties and gains +knowledge. In another preface I reminded you that +in all the faery stories the youngest brother was +the one who always said, "I wonder!" and he it +was who triumphed over all the others. You are +holding between these crimson covers fables from +some of the oldest and most valuable books the +world has ever known. The "Hitopadesa" was +a very fountain of riches, as old as the hills +themselves, precious and inexhaustible. In its +innumerable translations it passed down the stream +of time, and the fables known as Aesop's made +their way among all races of people in the same +marvellous way. No one knows whether Aesop--through +the Assyrians with whom the Phrygians +had commercial relations--borrowed his stories +from the Orientals or whether they borrowed from +him. One thing is certain, nothing persists so +strongly and lives so long as a fable or folk tale. +They migrate like the birds and make their way +into every corner of the world where there are +lips to speak and ears to hear. The reasons are, +perhaps, because they are generally brief; because +they are simple; because they are trenchant and +witty; because they are fresh and captivating and +have a bite to them like the tang of salt water; +because they are strong and vital, and what is +thoroughly alive in the beginning always lives +longest. + +And, now we come to La Fontaine the French +fabulist, who in 1668 published the first six books +of his fables. "Bonhomme La Fontaine," as +he was called, chose his subjects from Aesop and +Phaedrus and Horace, and, in the later volumes, +from such Oriental sources as may have been +within his reach. He rendered the old tales in +easy-flowing verse, full of elegance and charm, +and he composed many original ones besides. +La Bruyere says of him: "Unique in his way +of writing, always original whether he invents or +translates, he surpasses his models and is himself +a model difficult to imitate. . . . He instructs +while he sports, persuades men to virtue +by means of beasts, and exalts trifling subjects +to the sublime." + +Voltaire asserts: "I believe that of all authors +La Fontaine is the most universally read. He is +for all minds and all ages." + +Later, by a hundred years, than La Fontaine, +comes Krilof, the Russian fable-maker, who +was born in 1768. After failing in many kinds +of literary work the young poet became intimate +with a certain Prince Sergius Galitsin; lived in +his house at Moscow, and accompanied him to +his country place in Lithuania, where he taught +the children of his host and devised entertainments +for the elders. He used often to spend +hours in the bazaars and streets and among the +common people, and it was in this way probably +that he became so familiar with the peasant life +of the country. When he came back from his +wanderings on the banks of the Volga he used to +mount to the village belfry, where he could write +undisturbed by the gnats and flies, and the children +found him there one day fast asleep among the +bells. A failure at forty, with the publication of +his first fables in verse he became famous, and +for many years he was the most popular writer +in Russia. He died in 1844 at the age of seventy-six, +his funeral attended by such crowds that the great +church of St. Isaac could not hold those who +wished to attend the service. Soon after, a public +subscription was raised among all the children +of Russia, who erected a monument in the +Summer Garden at Moscow. + +There the old man sits in bronze, as he used to +sit at his window, clad in his beloved dressing +gown, an open book in his hand. + +Around the monument (says his biographer) a +number of children are always at play, and the +poet seems to smile benignly on them from his +bronze easy chair. Perhaps the Grecian children +of long ago played about Aesop's statue in Athens, +for Lysippus the celebrated sculptor designed and +erected a monument in his memory. + +Read Krilof's "Education of a Lion" and +"The Lion and the Mosquitoes" while his life is +fresh in your mind. Then turn to "What +Employment our Lord Gave to Insects" and "How +Sense was Distributed," in the quaint African +fables. Glance at "The Long-tailed +Spectacled Monkey" and "The Tune that Made the +Tiger Drowsy," so full of the very atmosphere of +India. Then re-read some old favourite of +Aesop and imagine you are hearing his voice, or +that of some Greek story-teller of his day, ringing +down through more than two thousand years +of time. + +There is a deal of preaching in all these fables,--that +cannot be denied,--but it is concealed as +well as possible. It is so disagreeable for people +to listen while their faults and follies, their foibles +and failings, are enumerated, that the fable-maker +told his truths in story form and thereby +increased his audience. Preaching from the mouths +of animals is not nearly so trying as when it +comes from the pulpit, or from the lips of your +own family and friends! + +Whether or not our Grecian and Indian, African +and Russian fable-makers have not saddled the +animals with a few more faults than they possess--just +to bolster up our pride in human nature--I +sometimes wonder; but the result has been beneficial. +The human rascals and rogues see themselves +clearly reflected in the doings of the jackals, +foxes, and wolves and may get some little distaste +for lying, deceit and trickery. + +We make few fables now-a-days. We might +say that it is a lost art, but perhaps the world is too +old to be taught in that precise way, and though +the story writers are as busy as ever, the +story-tellers (alas!) are growing fewer and fewer. + +If your ear has been opened by faery tales you +will have learned already to listen to and interpret +a hundred voices unheard by others. A +comprehension of faery language leads one to +understand animal conversation with perfect ease, so +open the little green doors that lead into the forest, +the true Land of Fable. Open them softly and +you will hear the Beasts talk Wisdom. + + KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN + + + + +THE FABLES OF AESOP + + "'Twas the Golden Age when every brute + Had voice articulate, in speech was skilled, + And the mid-forests with its synods filled. + The tongues of rock and pine-leaf then were free; + To ship and sailor then would speak the sea; + Sparrows with farmers would shrewd talk maintain; + Earth gave all fruits, nor asked for toil again. + Mortals and gods were wont to mix as friends-- + To which conclusion all the teaching tends + Of sage old Aesop." + + BABRIUS + + + + +THE FABLES OF AESOP + +The Power of Fables + +Demades, a famous Greek orator, was once addressing an assembly at +Athens on a subject of great importance, and in vain tried to fix the +attention of his hearers. They laughed among themselves, watched the +sports of the children, and in twenty other ways showed their want of +interest in the subject of the discourse. + +Demades, after a short pause, spoke as follows: + +"Ceres one day journeyed in company with a Swallow and an Eel." At +this there was marked attention and every ear strained now to catch the +words of the orator. "The party came to a river," continued he; "the +Eel swam across, and the Swallow flew over." He then resumed the +subject of his harangue. + +A great cry, however, arose from the people, "And Ceres? and Ceres?" +cried they. "What did Ceres do?" + +"Why, the goddess was, as she is now," replied he, "mightily offended +that people should have their ears open to any sort of foolery, and +shut to words of truth and wisdom." + + + +The Wolf and the Lamb + +A hungry Wolf one day saw a Lamb drinking at a stream, and wished to +frame some plausible excuse for making him his prey. + +"What do you mean by muddling the water I am going to drink?" fiercely +said he to the Lamb. + +"Pray forgive me," meekly answered the Lamb; "I should be sorry in any +way to displease you, but as the stream runs from you toward me, you +will see that such cannot be the case." + +"That's all very well," said the Wolf; "but you know you spoke ill of +me behind my back a year ago." + +"Nay, believe me," replied the Lamb, "I was not then born." + +"It must have been your brother, then," growled the Wolf. + +"It cannot have been, for I never had any," answered the Lamb. + +"I know it was one of your lot," rejoined the Wolf, "so make no more +such idle excuses." He then seized the poor Lamb, carried him off to +the woods, and ate him, but before the poor creature died he gasped +out, feebly, "Any excuse will serve a tyrant." + + + +Aesop and His Fellow Servants + +A merchant, who was at one time Aesop's master, on a certain occasion +ordered all things to be made ready for an intended journey. When the +burdens were divided among the Servants, Aesop asked that he might have +the lightest. He was told to choose for himself, and he took up the +basket of bread. The other Servants laughed, for that was the largest +and heaviest of all the burdens. + +When dinner-time came, Aesop, who had with some difficulty sustained +his load, was told to distribute an equal share all around. He did so, +and this lightened his burden one half, and when supper-time arrived he +got rid of the rest. + +For the remainder of the journey he had nothing but the empty basket to +carry, and the other Servants, whose loads seemed to get heavier and +heavier at every step, could not but applaud his ingenuity. + + + +The Kite and the Pigeons + +A Kite, that had kept sailing around a dovecote for many days to no +purpose, was at last forced by hunger to have recourse to stratagem. +Approaching the Pigeons in his gentlest manner, he described to them in +an eloquent speech how much better their state would be if they had a +king with some firmness about him, and how well such a ruler would +shield them from the attacks of the Hawk and other enemies. + +The Pigeons, deluded by this show of reason, admitted him to the +dovecote as their king. They found, however, that he thought it part +of his kingly prerogative to eat one of their number every day, and +they soon repented of their credulity in having let him in. + + + +The Ant and the Fly + +An Ant and a Fly one day disputed as to their respective merits. "Vile +creeping insect!" said the Fly to the Ant, "can you for a moment +compare yourself with me? I soar on the wing like a bird. I enter the +palaces of kings, and alight on the heads of princes, nay, of emperors, +and only quit them to adorn the yet more attractive brow of beauty. +Besides, I visit the altars of the gods. Not a sacrifice is offered +but it is first tasted by me. Every feast, too, is open to me. I eat +and drink of the best, instead of living for days on two or three +grains of corn as you do." + +"All that is very fine," replied the Ant; "but listen to me. You boast +of your feasting, but you know that your diet is not always so choice, +and you are sometimes forced to eat what nothing would induce me to +touch. As for alighting on the heads of kings and emperors, you know +very well that whether you pitch on the head of an emperor or of an ass +(and it is as often on the one as the other), you are shaken off from +both with impatience. And, then, the 'altars of the gods,' indeed! +There and everywhere else you are looked upon as nothing but a +nuisance. In the winter, too, while I feed at my ease on the fruit of +my toil, what more common than to see your friends dying with cold, +hunger, and fatigue? I lose my time now in talking to you. Chattering +will fill neither my bin nor my cupboard." + + + +The Frog Who Wished to Be as Big as an Ox + +An Ox, grazing in a meadow, chanced to set his foot on a young Frog and +crushed him to death. His brothers and sisters, who were playing near, +at once ran to tell their mother what had happened. + +"The monster that did it, mother, was such a size!" said they. + +The mother, who was a vain old thing, thought that she could easily +make herself as large. + +"Was it as big as this?" she asked, blowing and puffing herself out. + +"Oh, much bigger than that," replied the young Frogs. + +"As this, then?" cried she, puffing and blowing again with all her +might. + +"Nay, mother," said they; "if you were to try till you burst yourself, +you could never be so big." + +The silly old Frog then tried to puff herself out still more, and burst +herself indeed. + + + +The Cat and the Mice + +A certain house was overrun with mice. A Cat, discovering this, made +her way into it and began to catch and eat them one by one. + +The Mice being continually devoured, kept themselves close in their +holes. + +The Cat, no longer able to get at them, perceived that she must tempt +them forth by some device. For this purpose she jumped upon a peg, +and, suspending herself from it, pretended to be dead. + +One of the Mice, peeping stealthily out, saw her, and said, "Ah, my +good madam, even though you should turn into a meal-bag, we would not +come near you." + + + +The Cock and the Jewel + +A brisk young Cock, scratching for something with which to entertain +his favourite Hens, happened to turn up a Jewel. Feeling quite sure +that it was something precious, but not knowing well what to do with +it, he addressed it with an air of affected wisdom, as follows: "You +are a very fine thing, no doubt, but you are not at all to my taste. +For my part, I would rather have one grain of dear delicious barley +than all the Jewels in the world." + + + +The Man and the Lion + +A Man and a Lion were discussing the relative strength of men and lions +in general, the Man contending that he and his fellows were stronger +than lions by reason of their greater intelligence. + +"Come now with me," he cried to the beast, "and I will soon prove that +I am right." So he took him into the public gardens and showed him a +statue of Hercules overcoming the Lion. and tearing him to pieces. + +"That is all very well," said the Lion, "but it proves nothing, for it +was a man who made the statue!" + + + +The Discontented Ass + +In the depth of winter a poor Ass once prayed heartily for the spring, +that he might exchange a cold lodging and a heartless truss of straw +for a little warm weather and a mouthful of fresh grass. In a short +time, according to his wish, the warm weather and the fresh grass came +on, but brought with them so much toil and business that he was soon as +weary of the spring as before of the winter, and he now became +impatient for the approach of summer. The summer arrived; but the +heat, the harvest work and other drudgeries and inconveniences of the +season set him as far from happiness as before, which he now flattered +himself would be found in the plenty of autumn. But here, too, he was +disappointed; for what with the carrying of apples, roots, fuel for the +winter, and other provisions, he was in autumn more fatigued than ever. + +Having thus trod around the circle of the year, in a course of restless +labour, uneasiness and disappointment, and found no season, nor station +of life without its business and its trouble, he was forced at last to +acquiesce in the comfortless season of winter, where his complaint +began, convinced that in this world every situation has its +inconvenience. + + + +The Boasting Traveller + +A Man was one day entertaining a lot of fellows in an ale-house with an +account of the wonders he had done when abroad on his travels. "I was +once at Rhodes," said he, "and the people of Rhodes, you know, are +famous for jumping. Well, I took a jump there that no other man could +come within a yard of. That's a fact, and if we were there I could +bring you ten men who would prove it." + +"What need is there to go to Rhodes for witnesses?" asked one of his +hearers; "just imagine that you are there now, and show us your leap!" + + + +The Lion and the Mouse + +A Lion, tired with the chase, lay sleeping at full length under a shady +tree. Some Mice, scrambling over him while he slept, awoke him. +Laying his paw upon one of them, he was about to crush him, but the +Mouse implored his mercy in such moving terms that he let him go. + +Now it happened that sometime afterward the Lion was caught in a net +laid by some hunters, and, unable to free himself, made the forest +resound with his roars. The Mouse, recognizing the voice of his +preserver, ran to the spot, and with his little sharp teeth gnawed the +ropes asunder and set the Lion free. + + + +The Swallow and Other Birds + +A Swallow, observing a Husbandman employed in sowing hemp, called the +little Birds together and informed them of what the farmer was about. +He told them that hemp was the material from which the nets, so fatal +to the feathered race, were composed; and advised them to join +unanimously in picking it up in order to prevent the consequences. + +The Birds, either disbelieving his information or neglecting his +advice, gave themselves no trouble about the matter. In a little time +the hemp appeared above the ground, when the friendly Swallow again +addressed himself to them, and told them it was not yet too late, +provided they would immediately set about the work, before the seeds +had taken too deep root. But as they still rejected his advice, he +forsook their society, repaired for safety to towns and cities, there +built his habitation and kept his residence. + +One day as he was skimming along the streets he happened to see a large +parcel of those very Birds imprisoned in a cage on the shoulders of a +bird-catcher. + +"Unhappy wretches," said he. "You now feel punishment for your former +neglect; but those who, having no foresight of their own, despise the +wholesome admonition of their friends, deserve the mischief which their +own obstinacy or negligence brings upon their heads." + + + +The Fox and the Crow + +A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and +settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me, as I am a Fox," said +Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, +Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day; how glossy +your feathers, how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must +surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but +one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." + +The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment +she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be +snapped up by Master Fox. "That will do," said he. "That was all I +wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice +for the future--Do not trust flatterers!" + + + +The Dog and His Shadow + +A Dog, bearing in his mouth a piece of meat that he had stolen, was +once crossing a smooth stream by means of a plank. Looking into the +still, clear water, he saw what he took to be another dog as big as +himself, carrying another piece of meat. + +Snapping greedily to get this as well, he let go the meat that he +already had, and it fell to the bottom of the stream. + + + +The Ass and His Master + +A Diligent Ass, already loaded beyond his strength by a severe Master +whom he had long served, and who kept him on very short commons, +happened one day in his old age to be oppressed with a more than +ordinary burden of earthenware. His strength being much impaired, and +the road steep and uneven, he unfortunately made a misstep, and, unable +to recover himself, fell down and broke all the vessels to pieces. His +Master, transported with rage, began to beat him most unmercifully, +against whom the poor Ass, lifting up his head as he lay on the ground, +thus strongly remonstrated: + +"Unfeeling wretch! To thine own avaricious cruelty in first pinching +me on food, and then loading me beyond my strength, thou owest the +misfortune which thou so unjustly imputest to me." + + + +The Wolf and the Crane + +A Wolf once devoured his prey so ravenously that a bone stuck in his +throat, giving him great pain. He ran howling up and down in his +suffering and offered to reward handsomely any one who would pull the +bone out. + +A Crane, moved by pity as well as by the prospect of the money, +undertook the dangerous task, and having removed the bone, asked for +the promised reward. + +"Reward!" cried the Wolf; "pray, you greedy fellow, what greater reward +can you possibly require? You have had your head in my mouth, and +instead of biting it off I have let you pull it out unharmed. Get away +with you, and don't come again within reach of my paw." + + + +The Hares and the Frogs + +The Hares once took serious counsel among themselves whether death +itself would not be preferable to their miserable condition. "What a +sad state is ours," they said, "never to eat in comfort, to sleep ever +in fear, to be startled by a shadow, and to fly with beating heart at +the rustling of the leaves. Better death by far," and off they went +accordingly to drown themselves in a neighbouring lake. + +Some scores of Frogs, who were enjoying the moonlight on the bank, +scared at the approach of the Hares, jumped into the water. The splash +awoke fresh fears in the breasts of the timid Hares, and they came to a +full stop in their flight. + +Seeing this, one wise old fellow among them cried: "Hold, brothers! It +seems that, weak and fearful as we are, beings exist that are more weak +and fearful still. Why, then, should we seek to die? Let us rather +make the best of our ills and learn to bear them as we should." + + + +The Invalid Lion + +A Lion, who had grown too old and feeble to go out and hunt for prey, +could hardly find enough food to keep him from starving. But at last +he thought of a plan for bringing the game within his reach. + +He kept quite still in his den and made believe that he was very ill. +When the other animals heard of his distress, they came, one by one, to +look at him and ask him how he felt. No sooner were they within his +reach, however, than he seized upon them and ate them up. + +After a good many beasts had lost their lives in this way a Fox came +along. + +"How do you feel to-day, friend Lion?" he asked, taking care to stand +at a safe distance from the den. + +"I am very ill," answered the Lion. "Won't you come inside a little +while? It does me a great deal of good to see my kind friends." + +"Thank you," said the Fox; "but I notice that all the tracks point +toward your den and none point away from it," and so saying, he trotted +merrily away. + + + +The Travellers and the Bear + +Two Men, about to journey through a forest, agreed to stand by each +other in any dangers that might befall. They had not gone far before a +savage Bear rushed out from a thicket and stood in their path. + +One of the Travellers, a light, nimble fellow, climbed up into a tree. +The other fell flat on his face and held his breath. + +The Bear came up and smelled at him, and, taking him for dead, went off +again into the wood. The man in the tree then came down, and, +rejoining his companion, asked him, with a mischievous smile, what was +the wonderful secret that the Bear had whispered into his ear, + +"Why," replied the other sulkily, "he told me to take care for the +future and not to put any confidence in such cowardly rascals as you +are!" + + + +The Fox Without a Tail + +A Fox was once caught in a trap by his tail, and in order to get away +was forced to leave it behind him. Knowing that without a tail he +would be a laughing-stock for all his fellows, he resolved to try to +induce them to part with theirs. At the next assembly of Foxes, +therefore, he made a speech on the unprofitableness of tails in +general, and the inconvenience of a Fox's tail in particular, adding +that he had never felt so easy as since he had given up his own. + +When he had sat down, a sly old fellow rose, and waving his long brush +with a graceful air, said, with a sneer, that if, like the last +speaker, he had been so unfortunate as to lose his tail, nothing +further would have been needed to convince him; but till such an +accident should happen, he should certainly vote in favour of tails. + + + +The Crab and Its Mother + +One fine day two Crabs came out from their home to take a stroll on the +sand. "Child," said the mother, "you are walking very ungracefully. +You should accustom yourself to walking straight forward without +twisting from side to side." + +"Pray, mother," said the young one, "do but set the example yourself, +and I will follow you!" + + + +The Jackdaw with Borrowed Plumes + +A Jackdaw, having dressed himself in feathers which had fallen from +some Peacocks, strutted about in the company of those birds and tried +to pass himself off as one of them. + +They soon found him out, however, and pulled their plumes from him so +roughly, and in other ways so battered him, that he would have been +glad to rejoin his humble fellows, but they, in their turn, would have +nothing to do with him, and driving him from their society, told him to +remember that it is not only fine feathers that make fine birds. + + + +The Farmer and His Dog + +A Farmer who had just stepped into the field to close a gap in one of +his fences found on his return the cradle, where he had left his only +child asleep, turned upside down, the clothes all torn and bloody, and +his Dog lying near it besmeared also with blood. Convinced at once +that the creature had destroyed his child, he instantly dashed out its +brains with the hatchet in his hand; when, turning up the cradle, he +found the child unhurt and an enormous serpent lying dead on the floor, +killed by the faithful Dog, whose courage and fidelity in preserving +the life of his son deserved another kind of reward. + +These affecting circumstances afforded him a striking lesson upon how +dangerous it is hastily to give way to the blind impulse of a sudden +passion. + + + +The Fox and the Countryman + +A Fox, having been hunted hard and chased a long way, saw a Countryman +at work in a wood and begged his assistance to some hiding-place. The +man said he might go into his cottage, which was close by. + +He was no sooner in than the huntsmen came up. "Have you seen a Fox +pass this way?" said they. The Countryman said "No," but pointed at +the same time toward the place where the Fox lay. The huntsmen did not +take the hint, however, and made off again at full speed. + +The Fox, who had seen all that took place through a chink in the wall, +thereupon came out and was walking away without a word. + +"Why, how now!" said the Countryman, "haven't you the manners to thank +your host before you go?" + +"Nay, nay," said the Fox; "if you had been as honest with your finger +as you were with your tongue, I shouldn't have gone without saying +good-bye." + + + +Belling the Cat + +A certain Cat that lived in a large country house was so vigilant and +active in the performance of her duties that the Mice, finding their +numbers grievously thinned, held a council with closed doors to +consider what they had best do. + +Many plans had been started and dismissed, when a young Mouse, rising +and catching the eye of the President, said that he had a proposal to +make that he was sure must meet with the approval of all. "If," said +he, "the Cat should wear around her neck a little bell, every step she +took would make it tinkle; then, ever forewarned of her approach, we +should have time to reach our holes. By this simple means we should +live in safety and defy her power." + +The speaker resumed his seat with a complacent air, and a murmur of +applause arose from the audience. + +An old gray Mouse, with a merry twinkle in his eye, now got up and said +that the plan of the last speaker was an admirable one, but he feared +it had one drawback. He had not told them who should put the bell +around the Cat's neck! + + + +The Old Woman and Her Maids + +A certain Old Woman had several Maids, whom she used to call to their +work every morning at the crowing of the Cock. + +The Maids, finding it grievous to have their sweet sleep disturbed so +early, killed the Cock, thinking that when he was quiet they might +enjoy their warm beds a little longer. + +The Old Woman, however, vexed at the loss of the Cock, and suspecting +them to be concerned in his death, from that time made them rise soon +after midnight! + + + +The Dog in the Manger + +There was once a Dog who lay all day long in a manger where there was +plenty of hay. It happened one day that a Horse, a Cow, a Sheep, and a +Goat came one by one and wanted to eat the hay. The Dog growled at +them and would not let them have so much as a mouthful. Then an Ox +came and looked in, but the Dog growled at him also. + +"You selfish fellow," said the Ox; "you cannot eat the hay. Why do you +want to keep it all to yourself?" + + + +The Old Man and His Sons + +An old Man had many Sons, who were always falling out with one another. +He had often exhorted them to live together in harmony, but without +result. + +One day he called them around him and, producing a bundle of sticks, +bade them each in turn to break it across. Each put forth all his +strength, but the bundle still resisted their efforts. + +Then, cutting the cord which bound the sticks together, he told his +Sons to break them separately. This was done with the greatest ease. + +"See, my Sons," exclaimed he, "the power of unity! Bound together by +brotherly love, you may defy almost every mortal ill; divided, you will +fall a prey to your enemies." + + + +Hercules and the Wagoner + +As a Wagoner was driving his wain through a miry lane, the wheels stuck +fast in the clay and the Horses could get on no farther. The Man +immediately dropped on his knees and began crying and praying with all +his might to Hercules to come and help him. + +"Lazy fellow!" cried Hercules, "get up and stir yourself. Whip your +Horses stoutly, and put your shoulder to the wheel. If you want my +help then, you shall have it." + + + +The Goose with the Golden Eggs + +One day a poor countryman going to the nest of his Goose found there a +golden egg all yellow and glittering. When he took it up it felt as +heavy as lead and he was minded to throw it away, because he thought a +trick had been played on him. + +On second thoughts, he took it home, however, and soon found to his +delight that it was an egg of pure gold. Every morning the same thing +occurred, and he soon became prosperous by selling his eggs. + +As he grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to get at once all the +gold the Goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to +find--nothing! + + + +The Frogs Desiring a King + +The Frogs, living an easy, free sort of life among the lakes and ponds, +once prayed Jupiter to send them a King. + +Jove, being at that time in a merry mood, threw them a Log, saying, as +he did so, "There, then, is a King for you." + +Awed by the splash, the Frogs watched their King in fear and trembling, +till at last, encouraged by his stillness, one more daring than the +rest jumped upon the shoulder of the monarch. Soon, many others +followed his example, and made merry on the back of their unresisting +King. Speedily tiring of such a torpid ruler, they again petitioned +Jupiter, and asked him to send them something more like a King. + +This time he sent them a Stork, who tossed them about and gobbled them +up without mercy. They lost no time, therefore, in beseeching the god +to give them again their former state. + +"No, no," replied he, "a King that did you no harm did not please you. +Make the best of the one you have, or you may chance to get a worse in +his place." + + + +The Porcupine and the Snakes + +A Porcupine, seeking for shelter, desired some Snakes to give him +admittance into their cave. They accordingly let him in, but were +afterward so annoyed by his sharp, prickly quills that they repented of +their easy compliance, and entreated him to withdraw and leave them +their hole to themselves. + +"No, no," said he, "let them quit the place that don't like it; for my +part, I am very well satisfied as I am." + + + +The Lark and Her Young Ones + +A Lark, who had Young Ones in a field of grain which was almost ripe, +was afraid that the reapers would come before her young brood was +fledged. Every day, therefore, when she flew off to look for food, she +charged them to take note of what they heard in her absence, and to +tell her of it when she came home. + +One day, when she was gone, they heard the owner of the field say to +his son that the grain seemed ripe enough to be cut, and tell him to go +early the next day and ask their friends and neighbours to come and +help reap it. + +When the old Lark came home, the Little Ones quivered and chirped +around her, and told her what had happened, begging her to take them +away as fast as she could. The mother bade them to be easy; "for," +said she, "if he depends on his friends and his neighbours, I am sure +the grain will not be reaped tomorrow." + +Next day, she went out again, and left the same orders as before. The +owner came, and waited. The sun grew hot, but nothing was done, for +not a soul came. "You see," said the owner to his son, "these friends +of ours are not to be depended upon; so run off at once to your uncles +and cousins, and say I wish them to come early to-morrow morning and +help us reap." + +This the Young Ones, in a great fright, told also to their mother. "Do +not fear, children," said she; "kindred and relations are not always +very forward in helping one another; but keep your ears open, and let +me know what you hear to-morrow." + +The owner came the next day, and, finding his relations as backward as +his neighbours, said to his son: "Now listen to me. Get two good +sickles ready for to-morrow morning, for it seems we must reap the +grain by ourselves." The Young Ones told this to their mother. + +"Then, my dears," said she, "it is time for us to go; for when a man +undertakes to do his work himself, it is not so likely that he will be +disappointed." She took them away at once, and the grain was reaped +the next day by the old man and his son. + + + +The Fox and the Stork + +A Fox one day invited a Stork to dine with him, and, wishing to be +amused at his guest's expense, put the soup which he had for dinner in +a large flat dish, so that, while he himself could lap it up quite +well, the Stork could only dip in the tip of his long bill. + +Some time after, the Stork, bearing his treatment in mind, invited the +Fox to take dinner with him. He, in his turn, put some minced meat in +a long and narrow-necked vessel, into which he could easily put his +bill, while Master Fox was forced to be content with licking what ran +down the sides of the vessel. + +The Fox then remembered his old trick, and could not but admit that the +Stork had well paid him off. "I will not apologize for the dinner," +said the Stork, "nor for the manner of serving it, for one ill turn +deserves another." + + + +The Gnat and the Bull + +A sturdy Bull was once driven by the heat of the weather to wade up to +his knees in a cool and swift-running stream. He had not been there +long when a Gnat that had been disporting itself in the air pitched +upon one of his horns. + +"My dear fellow," said the Gnat, with as great a buzz as he could +manage, "pray excuse the liberty I take. If I am too heavy only say so +and I will go at once and rest upon the poplar which grows hard by the +edge of the stream. + +"Stay or go, it makes no matter to me," replied the Bull. "Had it not +been for your buzz I should not even have known you were there." + + + +The Deer and the Lion + +One warm day a Deer went down to a brook to get a drink. The stream +was smooth and clear, and he could see himself in the water. He looked +at his horns and was very proud of them, for they were large and long +and had many branches, but when he saw his feet he was ashamed to own +them, they were so slim and small. + +While he stood knee-deep in the water, and was thinking only of his +fine horns, a Lion saw him and came leaping out from the tall grass to +get him. The Deer would have been caught at once if he had not jumped +quickly out of the brook. He ran as fast as he could, and his feet +were so light and swift that he soon left the Lion far behind. But by +and by he had to pass through some woods, and, as he was running, his +horns were caught in some vines that grew among the trees. Before he +could get loose the Lion was upon him. + +"Ah me!" cried the Deer, "the things which pleased me most will now +cause my death; while the things which I thought so mean and poor would +have carried me safe out of danger." + + + +The Fox and the Grapes + +There was a time when a Fox would have ventured as far for a Bunch of +Grapes as for a shoulder of mutton, and it was a Fox of those days and +that palate that stood gaping under a vine and licking his lips at a +most delicious Cluster of Grapes that he had spied out there. + +He fetched a hundred and a hundred leaps at it, till, at last, when he +was as weary as a dog, and found that there was no good to be done: + +"Hang 'em," says he, "they are as sour as crabs"; and so away he went, +turning off the disappointment with a jest. + + + +The Farmer and the Stork + +A Farmer placed nets on his newly sown plough lands, and caught a +quantity of Cranes, which came to pick up his seed. With them he +trapped a Stork also. + +The Stork, having his leg fractured by the net, earnestly besought the +Farmer to spare his life. "Pray, save me, master," he said, "and let +me go free this once. My broken limb should excite your pity. +Besides, I am no Crane. I am a Stork, a bird of excellent character; +and see how I love and slave for my father and mother. Look, too, at +my feathers, they are not the least like to those of a Crane." + +The Farmer laughed aloud, and said: "It may all be as you say, I only +know this, I have taken you with those robbers, the Cranes, and you +must die in their company." + + + +The Hare and the Tortoise + +The Hare, one day, laughing at the Tortoise for his slowness and +general unwieldiness, was challenged by the latter to run a race. The +Hare, looking on the whole affair as a great joke, consented, and the +Fox was selected to act as umpire and hold the stakes. + +The rivals started, and the Hare, of course, soon left the Tortoise far +behind. Having come midway to the goal, she began to play about, +nibble the young herbage, and amuse herself in many ways. The day +being warm, she even thought she would take a little nap in a shady +spot, as, if the Tortoise should pass her while she slept, she could +easily overtake him again before he reached the end. + +The Tortoise meanwhile plodded on, unwavering and unresting, straight +toward the goal. + +The Hare, having overslept herself, started up from her nap, and was +surprised to find that the Tortoise was nowhere in sight. Off she went +at full speed, but on reaching the winning-post found that the Tortoise +was already there, waiting for her arrival! + + + +The Old Woman and the Doctor + +An old Woman who had bad eyes called in a clever Doctor, who agreed for +a certain sum to cure them. He was a very clever physician, but he was +also a very great rogue; and when he called each day and bound up the +Old Woman's eyes he took advantage of her blindness to carry away with +him some article of her furniture. This went on until he pronounced +his patient cured and her room was nearly bare. + +He claimed his reward, but the Old Woman protested that, so far from +being cured, her sight was worse than ever. + +"We will soon see about that, my good dame," said he; and she was +shortly after summoned to appear in court. + +"May it please Your Honour," said she to the Judge, "before I called in +this Doctor I could see a score of things in my room that now, when he +says I am cured, I cannot see at all." + +This opened the eyes of the court to the knavery of the Doctor, who was +forced to give the Old Woman her property back again, and was not +allowed to claim a penny of his fee. + + + +The Boy and the Wolf + +A mischievous Lad, who was set to mind some Sheep, often used, in jest, +to cry "Wolf! Wolf!" and when the people at work in the neighbouring +fields came running to the spot he would laugh at them for their pains. + +One day the beast came in reality, and the Boy, this time, called +"Wolf! Wolf!" in earnest; but the men, having been so often deceived, +disregarded his cries, and he and his Sheep were left at the mercy of +the Wolf. + + + +The Blackamoor + +A certain Man who had bought a Blackamoor said he was convinced that it +was all nonsense about black being the natural colour of his skin. "He +has been dirty in his habits," said he, "and neglected by his former +masters. Bring me some hot water, soap, and scrubbing-brushes, and a +little sand, and we shall soon see what his colour is." + +So he scrubbed, and his servants scrubbed till they were all tired. +They made no difference in the colour of the Blackamoor; but the end of +it all was that the poor fellow caught cold and died. + + + +The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing + +A Wolf, wrapping himself in the skin of a Sheep, by that means got +admission into a sheepfold, where he devoured several of the young +Lambs. The Shepherd, however, soon found him out and hung him up to a +tree, still in his assumed disguise. + +Some other Shepherds, passing that way, thought it was a sheep hanging +and cried to their friend: "What, brother! is that the way you serve +Sheep in this part of the country?" + +"No, friends," cried he, giving at the same time the carcass a swing +around, so that they might see what it was; "but it is the way to serve +Wolves, even though they be dressed in Sheep's clothing." + + + +The Two Travellers + +As two men were travelling through a wood, one of them took up an axe +which he saw lying upon the ground. "Look here," said he to his +companion, "I have found an axe." + +"Don't say, 'I have found it,'" said the other, "but 'We have found +it.' As we are companions, we ought to share it between us." The +first would not agree to this idea, however. + +They had not gone far when they heard the owner of the axe calling +after them in a great passion. "We are in for it!" cried he who had +the axe. + +"Nay," answered the other, "say 'I'm in for it!'--not we. You would +not let me share the prize, and I am not going to share the danger." + + + +The Fox in the Well + +An unlucky Fox, having fallen into a well, was able, by dint of great +efforts, just to keep his head above water. + +While he was struggling there and sticking his claws into the side of +the Well, a Wolf came and looked in. "What! my dear brother," cried +he, with affected concern, "can it really be you that I see down there? +How cold you must feel! How long have you been in the water? How came +you to fall in? I am so pained to see you. Do tell me all about it!" + +"The end of a rope would be of more use to me than all your pity," +answered the Fox. + +"Just help me to get my foot on solid ground once more, and you shall +have the whole story." + + + +The Hen and the Fox + +A Fox, having crept into an outhouse, looked up and down for something +to eat, and at last espied a Hen sitting upon a perch so high that he +could be no means come at her. He therefore had recourse to an old +stratagem. + +"Dear cousin," said he to her, "how do you do? I heard that you were +ill and kept at home; I could not rest, therefore, till I had come to +see you. Pray let me feel your pulse. Indeed, you do not look well at +all." + +He was running on in this impudent manner, when the Hen answered him +from the roost: "Truly, dear Reynard, you are in the right. I was +seldom in more danger than I am now. Pray excuse my coming down; I am +sure I should catch my death." + +The Fox, finding himself foiled by the Hen's cleverness, made off and +tried his luck elsewhere. + + + +The Ass and His Shadow + +A Man, one hot day, hired an Ass, with his Driver, to carry some +merchandise across a sandy plain. The sun's rays were overpowering, +and unable to advance farther without a temporary rest he called upon +the Driver to stop, and proceeded to sit down in the shadow of the Ass. + +The Driver, however, a lusty fellow, rudely pushed him away, and sat +down on the spot himself. + +"Nay, friend," said the Driver, "when you hired this Ass of me you said +nothing about the shadow. If now you want that, too, you must pay for +it." + + + +The Ass in the Lion's Skin + +An Ass, finding a Lion's skin, put it on, and ranged about the forest. +The beasts fled in terror, and he was delighted at the success of his +disguise. Meeting a Fox, he rushed upon him, and this time he tried to +imitate as well the roaring of the Lion. + +"Ah," said the Fox, "if you had held your tongue I should have been +deceived like the rest; but now you bray I know who you are!" + + + +The Wolf and the Sheep + +A Wolf, sorely wounded and bitten by dogs, lay sick and maimed in his +lair. Parched with thirst, he called to a Sheep who was passing and +asked her to fetch some water from a stream flowing close by. "For," +he said, "if you will bring me drink, sister, I will find means to +provide myself with meat." + +"Yes," said the Sheep, "but if I should bring you the draught, you +would doubtless make me provide the meat also." + + + +Jupiter's Two Wallets + +When Jupiter made Man, he gave him two Wallets; one for his neighbour's +faults, the other for his own. He threw them over the Man's shoulder, +so that one hung in front and the other behind. + +The Man kept the one in front for his neighbour's faults, and the one +behind for his own; so that, while the first was always under his nose, +it took some pains to see the latter. + +This custom, which began thus early, is not quite unknown at the +present day. + + + +The Satyr and the Traveller + +A Satyr, ranging in the forest in winter, came across a Traveller, half +starved with the cold. He took pity on him and invited him to go to +his cave. On their way the Man kept blowing upon his fingers. + +"Why do you do that?" said the Satyr, who had seen little of the world. + +"To warm my hands, they are nearly frozen," replied the Man. + +Arrived at the cave, the Satyr poured out a mess of smoking pottage and +laid it before the Traveller, who at once commenced blowing at it with +all his might. + +"What, blowing again!" cried the Satyr. "Is it not hot enough?" + +"Yes, faith," answered the Man, "it is hot enough in all conscience, +and that is just the reason why I blow it." + +"Be off with you!" cried the Satyr, in alarm; "I will have no part with +a man who can blow hot and cold from the same mouth." + + + +The Two Travellers and the Oyster + +As two men were walking by the seaside at low water they saw an Oyster, +and they both stooped at the same time to pick it up. Immediately, one +pushed the other away, and a dispute ensued. + +A third Traveller coming along at the time, they determined to refer +the matter to him, as to which of the two had the better right to the +Oyster. + +While they were each telling his story the Arbitrator gravely took out +his knife, opened the shell and loosened the Oyster. + +When they had finished, and were listening for his decision, he just as +gravely swallowed the Oyster, and offered them the two halves of the +shell. "The Court," said he, "awards you each a Shell. The Oyster +will cover the costs." + + + +The Young Mouse, the Cock, and the Cat + +A young Mouse, on his return to his hole after leaving it for the first +time, thus recounted his adventures to his mother: "Mother," said he, +"quitting this narrow place where you have brought me up, I was +rambling about to-day like a Young Mouse of spirit, who wished to see +and to be seen, when two such notable creatures came in my way! One +was so gracious, so gentle and benign; the other, who was just as noisy +and forbidding, had on his head and under his chin pieces of raw meat, +which shook at every step he took; and then, all at once, beating his +sides with the utmost fury, he uttered such a harsh and piercing cry +that I fled in terror; and this, too, just as I was about to introduce +myself to the other stranger, who was covered with fur like our own, +only richer looking and much more beautiful, and who seemed so modest +and benevolent that it did my heart good to look at her." + +"Ah, my son," replied the Old Mouse, "learn while you live to distrust +appearances. The first strange creature was nothing but a Fowl, that +will ere long be killed, and, when put on a dish in the pantry, we may +make a delicious supper of his bones, while the other was a nasty, sly, +and bloodthirsty hypocrite of a Cat, to whom no food is so welcome as a +young and juicy Mouse like yourself." + + + +The Wolf and the Mastiff + +A Wolf, who was almost skin and bone, so well did the Dogs of the +neighbourhood keep guard over their masters' property, met, one +moonshiny night, a sleek Mastiff, who was, moreover, as strong as he +was fat. The Wolf would gladly have supped off him, but saw that there +would first be a great fight, for which, in his condition, he was not +prepared; so, bidding the Dog good-evening very humbly, he praised his +prosperous looks. + +"It would be easy for you," replied the Mastiff, "to get as fat as I am +if you liked. Quit this forest, where you and your fellows live so +wretchedly, and often die with hunger. Follow me, and you will fare +much better.' + +"What shall I have to do?" asked the Wolf. + +"Almost nothing," answered the Dog; "only chase away the beggars and +fawn upon the folks of the house. You will, in return, be paid with +all sorts of nice things--bones of fowls and pigeons--to say nothing of +many a friendly pat on the head." + +The Wolf, at the picture of so much comfort, nearly shed tears of joy. +They trotted off together, but, as they went along, the Wolf noticed a +bare spot on the Dog's neck. + +"What is that mark?" said he. "Oh, nothing," said the Dog. + +"How nothing?" urged the Wolf. "Oh, the merest trifle," answered the +Dog; "the collar which I wear when I am tied up is the cause of it." + +"Tied up!" exclaimed the Wolf, with a sudden stop; "tied up? Can you +not always run where you please, then?" + +"Well, not quite always," said the Mastiff; "but what can that matter?" + +"It matters so much to me," rejoined the Wolf, "that your lot shall not +be mine at any price"; and, leaping away, he ran once more to his +native forest. + + + +The Tail of the Serpent + +The Tail of a Serpent once rebelled against the Head, and said that it +was a great shame that one end of any animal should always have its +way, and drag the other after it, whether it was willing or no. It was +in vain that the Head urged that the Tail had neither brains nor eyes, +and that it was in no way made to lead. + +Wearied by the Tail's importunity, the Head one day let him have his +will. The Serpent now went backward for a long time quite gayly, until +he came to the edge of a high cliff, over which both Head and Tail went +flying, and came with a heavy thump on the shore beneath. + +The Head, it may be supposed, was never again troubled by the Tail with +a word about leading. + + + +The Falcon and the Capon + +A Capon, who had strong reasons for thinking that the time of his +sacrifice was near at hand, carefully avoided coming into close +quarters with any of the farm servants or domestics of the estate on +which he lived. A glimpse that he had once caught of the kitchen, with +its blazing fire, and the head cook, like an executioner, with a +formidable knife chopping off the heads of some of his companions, had +been sufficient to keep him ever after in dread. + +Hence, one day when he was wanted for roasting, all calling, clucking, +and coaxing of the cook's assistants were in vain. + +"How deaf and dull you must be," said a Falcon to the Capon, "not to +hear when you are called, or to see when you are wanted! You should +take pattern by me. I never let my master call me twice." + +"Ah," answered the Capon, "if Falcons were called like Capons, to be +run upon a spit and set before the kitchen fire, they would be just as +slow to come and just as hard of hearing as I am now." + + + +The Crow and the Pitcher + +A Crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a Pitcher, hoping to +find some water in it. + +He found some there, to be sure, but only a little drop at the bottom +which he was quite unable to reach. + +He then tried to overturn the Pitcher, but it was too heavy. So he +gathered up some pebbles, with which the ground near was covered and, +taking them one by one in his beak, dropped them into the Pitcher. + +By this means the water gradually reached the top, and he was enabled +to drink at his ease. + + + +The Eagle and the Owl + +The Eagle and the Owl, after many quarrels, swore that they would be +fast friends forever, and that they would never harm each other's +children. + +"But do you know my little ones?" said the Owl. "If you do not, I fear +it will go hard with them when you find them." + +"Nay, then, I do not," replied the Eagle. + +"The greater your loss," said the Owl; "They are the sweetest prettiest +things in the world. Such bright eyes! such charming plumage! such +winning little ways! You'll know them now from my description." + +A short time after the Eagle found the owlets in a hollow tree. + +"These hideous little staring frights, at any rate, cannot be neighbour +Owl's delicious pets," said the Eagle; "so I may make away with them +without the least misgiving." + +The Owl, finding her young ones gone, loaded the Eagle with reproaches. + +"Nay," answered the Eagle, "blame yourself rather than me. If you +paint with such flattering colours, it is not my fault if I do not +recognize your portraits." + + + +The Buffoon and the Countryman + +On the occasion of some festivities that were given by a Roman +nobleman, a Merry-Andrew of a fellow caused much laughter by his tricks +upon the stage, and, more than all, by his imitation of the squeaking +of a Pig, which seemed to the hearers so real that they called for it +again and again. + +A Countryman, however, in the audience, thought the imitation was not +perfect; and he made his way to the stage and said that, if he were +permitted, he to-morrow would enter the lists and squeak against the +Merry-Andrew for a wager. + +The mob, anticipating great fun, shouted their consent, and +accordingly, when the next day came, the two rival jokers were in their +places. + +The hero of the previous day went first, and the hearers, more pleased +than ever, fairly roared with delight. + +Then came the turn of the Countryman, who having a Pig carefully +concealed under his cloak, so that no one would have suspected its +existence, vigorously pinched its ear with his thumbnail, and made it +squeak with a vengeance. + +"Not half as good--not half as good!" cried the audience, and many +among them even began to hiss. + +"Fine judges you!" replied the Countryman, rushing to the front of the +stage, drawing the Pig from under his cloak, and holding the animal up +on high. "Behold the performer that you condemn!" + + + +The Old Man, His Son, and the Ass + +An Old Man and his Little Boy were once driving an Ass before them to +the next market-town, where it was to be sold. + +"Have you no more wit," said a passerby, "than for you and your Son to +trudge on foot and let your Ass go light?" So the Man put his Boy on +the Ass, and they went on again. + +"You lazy young rascal!" cried the next person they met; "are you not +ashamed to ride and let your poor old Father go on foot?" The Man then +lifted off the Boy and got up himself. + +Two women passed soon after, and one said to the other, "Look at that +selfish old fellow, riding along while his little Son follows after on +foot!" The Old Man thereupon took up the Boy behind him. + +The next traveller they met asked the Old Man whether or not the Ass +was his own. Being answered that it was: "No one would think so," said +he, "from the way in which you use it. Why, you are better able to +carry the poor animal than he is to carry both of you." + +So the Old Man tied the Ass's legs to a long pole, and he and his Son +shouldered the pole and staggered along under the weight. In that +fashion they entered the town, and their appearance caused so much +laughter that the Old Man, mad with vexation at the result of his +endeavours to give satisfaction to everybody, threw the Ass into the +river and seizing his Son by the arm went his way home again. + + + +The Lion, the Bear, the Monkey, and the Fox + +The Tyrant of the Forest issued a proclamation commanding all his +subjects to repair immediately to his royal den. + +Among the rest, the Bear made his appearance, but pretending to be +offended with the odour which issued from the Monarch's apartments, be +was imprudent enough to hold his nose in his Majesty's presence. + +This insolence was so highly resented that the Lion in a rage laid him +dead at his feet. + +The Monkey, observing what had passed, trembled for his skin, and +attempted to conciliate favour by the most abject flattery. He began +with protesting that, for his part, he thought the apartments were +perfumed with Arabian spices; and, exclaiming against the rudeness of +the Bear, admired the beauty of his Majesty's paws, so happily formed, +he said, to correct the insolence of clowns. + +This adulation, instead of being received as he expected, proved no +less offensive than the rudeness of the Bear, and the courtly Monkey +was in like manner extended by the side of Sir Bruin. + +And now his Majesty cast his eye upon the Fox. + +"Well, Reynard," Said he, "and what scent do you discover here?" + +"Great Prince," replied the cautious Fox, "my nose was never esteemed +my most distinguishing sense; and at present I would by no means +venture to give my opinion, as I have unfortunately caught a terrible +cold." + + + +The Wolf and the Lamb + +A flock of Sheep was feeding in the meadow while the Dogs were asleep, +and the Shepherd at a distance playing on his pipe beneath the shade of +a spreading elm. + +A young, inexperienced Lamb, observing a half-starved Wolf peering +through the pales of the fence, began to talk with him. + +"Pray, what are you seeking for here?" said the Lamb. + +"I am looking," replied the Wolf, "for some tender grass; for nothing, +you know, is more pleasant than to feed in a fresh pasture, and to +slake one's thirst at a crystal stream, both which I perceive you enjoy +within these pales in their utmost perfection. Happy creature," +continued he, "how much I envy you who have everything which I desire, +for philosophy has long taught me to be satisfied with a little!" + +"It seems, then," returned the Lamb, "those who say you feed on flesh +accuse you falsely, since a little grass will easily content you. If +this be true, let us for the future live like brethren, and feed +together." So saying, the simple Lamb crept through the fence, and at +once became a prey to the pretended philosopher, and a sacrifice to his +own inexperience and credulity. + + + +The Chameleon + +Two Travellers happened on their journey to be engaged in a warm +dispute about the colour of the Chameleon. One of them affirmed that +it was blue and that he had seen it with his own eyes upon the naked +branch of a tree, feeding in the air on a very clear day. + +The other strongly asserted it was green, and that he had viewed it +very closely and minutely upon the broad leaf of a fig-tree. + +Both of them were positive, and the dispute was rising to a quarrel; +but a third person luckily coming by, they agreed to refer the question +to his decision. + +"Gentlemen," said the Arbitrator, with a smile of great +self-satisfaction, "you could not have been more lucky in your +reference, as I happen to have caught one of them last night; but, +indeed, you are both mistaken, for the creature is totally black." + +"Black, impossible!" cried both the disputants!" + +"Nay," quoth the Umpire, with great assurance, "the matter may be soon +decided, for I immediately inclosed my Chameleon in a little paper box, +and here it is." So saying, he drew it out of his pocket, opened his +box, and, lo! it was as white as snow. + +The Travellers looked equally surprised and equally confounded; while +the sagacious reptile, assuming the air of a philosopher, thus +admonished them: "Ye children of men, learn diffidence and moderation +in your opinions. 'Tis true, you happen in this present instance to be +all in the right, and have only considered the subject under different +circumstances, but, pray, for the future allow others to have eyesight +as well as yourselves; nor wonder if every one prefers to accept the +testimony of his own senses." + + + +The Eagle, the Jackdaw, and the Magpie + +The kingly Eagle kept his court with all the formalities of sovereign +state, and was duly attended by all his plumed subjects in their +highest feathers. + +These solemn assemblies, however, were frequently disturbed by the +impertinent conduct of two, who assumed the importance of high-fliers; +these were no other than the Jackdaw and the Magpie, who were forever +contending for precedence which neither of them would give up to the +other. + +The contest ran so high that at length they mutually agreed to appeal +to the sovereign Eagle for his decision in this momentous affair. + +The Eagle gravely answered that he did not wish to make an invidious +distinction by deciding to the advantage of either party, but would +give them a rule by which they might determine between themselves; +"for," added he, "the greater fool of the two shall in future always +take precedence, but which of you it may be, yourselves must settle." + + + +The Boy and the Filberts + +A Boy once thrust his hand into a pitcher which was full of figs and +filberts. + +He grasped as many as his fist could possibly hold, but when he tried +to draw it out the narrowness of the neck prevented him. + +Not liking to lose any of them, but unwilling to draw out his hand, he +burst into tears and bitterly bemoaned his hard fortune. + +An honest fellow who stood by gave him this wise and reasonable advice: +"Take only half as many, my boy, and you will easily get them." + + + +The Passenger and the Pilot + +In a violent storm at sea, the whole crew of a vessel was in imminent +danger of shipwreck. + +After the rolling of the waves was somewhat abated, a certain +Passenger, who had never been at sea before, observing the Pilot to +have appeared wholly unconcerned, even in their greatest danger, had +the curiosity to ask him what death his father died. + +"What death?" said the Pilot, "Why, he perished at sea, as my +grandfather did before him." + +"And are you not afraid of trusting yourself to an element that has +proved thus fatal to your family?" + +"Afraid? By no means; why, we must all die; is not your father dead?" + +"Yes, but he died in his bed." + +"And why, then, are you not afraid of trusting yourself to your bed?" + +"Because I am perfectly secure there." + +"It may be so," replied the Pilot; "but if the hand of Providence is +equally extended over all places, there is no more reason for me to be +afraid of going to sea than for you to be afraid of going to bed." + + + +The Dog and the Crocodile + +A Dog, running along the banks of the Nile, grew thirsty, but fearing +to be seized by the monsters of that river, he would not stop to +satiate his drought, but lapped as he ran. + +A Crocodile, raising his head above the surface of the water, asked him +why he was in such a hurry. He had often, he said, wished for his +acquaintance, and should be glad to embrace the present opportunity. + +"You do me great honour," said the Dog, "but it is to avoid such +companions as you that I am in so much haste!" + + + +A Matter of Arbitration + +Two Cats, having stolen some cheese, could not agree about dividing the +prize. In order, therefore, to settle the dispute, they consented to +refer the matter to a Monkey. + +The proposed Arbitrator very readily accepted the office, and, +producing a balance, put a part into each scale. "Let me see," said +he, "aye--this lump outweighs the other"; and immediately bit off a +considerable piece in order to reduce it, he observed, to an +equilibrium. The opposite scale was now heavier, which afforded our +conscientious judge a reason for a second mouthful. + +"Hold, hold," said the two Cats, who began to be alarmed for the event, +"give us our shares and we are satisfied." "If you are satisfied," +returned the Monkey, "justice is not; a cause of this intricate nature +is by no means so soon determined." Upon which he continued to nibble +first one piece then the other, till the poor Cats, seeing their cheese +rapidly diminishing, entreated to give himself no further trouble, but +to deliver to them what remained. + +"Not so fast, I beseech ye, friends," replied the Monkey; "we owe +justice to ourselves as well as to you. What remains is due to me in +right of my office." + +Thus saying, he crammed the whole into his mouth, and with great +gravity dismissed the court. + + + +The Crow and the Mussel + +A Crow having found a Mussel on the seashore; took it in his beak and +tried for a long time to break the shell by hammering it upon a stone. + +Another Crow--a sly old fellow--came and watched him for some time in +silence. + +"Friend," said he at last, "you'll never break it in that way. Listen +to me. This is the way to do it: Fly up as high as you can, and let +the tiresome thing fall upon a rock. It will be smashed then sure +enough, and you can eat it at your leisure." + +The simple-minded and unsuspecting Crow did as he was told, flew up and +let the Mussel fall. + +Before he could descend to eat it, however, the other bird had pounced +upon it and carried it away. + + + +The Ass and His Purchaser + +A Man wished to purchase an Ass, and agreed with his owner that he +should try him before he bought him. He took the Ass home, and put him +in the straw-yard with his other asses, upon which the beast left all +the others and joined himself at once to the most idle and the greatest +eater of them all. + +The Man put a halter on him, and led him back to his owner: and when he +was asked how, in so short a time, he could have made a trial of him, +"I do not need," he answered, "a trial; I know that he will be just +such another as the one whom of all the rest he chose for his +companion." + + + +A Country Fellow and the River + +A stupid Boy, who was sent to market by the good old woman, his Mother, +to sell butter and cheese, made a stop by the way at a swift river, and +laid himself down on the bank there, until it should run out. + +About midnight, home he went to his Mother, with all his market trade +back again. + +"Why, how now, my Son?" said she. "What ill fortune have you had, that +you have sold nothing all day?" + +"Why, Mother, yonder is a river that has been running all this day, and +I stayed till just now, waiting for it to run out; and there it is, +running still." + +"My Son," said the good woman, "thy head and mine will be laid in the +grave many a day before this river has all run by. You will never sell +your butter and cheese if you wait for that." + + + +The Playful Ass + +An Ass climbed up to the roof of a building and, frisking about there, +broke in the tiling. His Master went up after him, and quickly drove +him down, beating him severely with a thick wooden cudgel. + +The Ass then cried out in astonishment, "Why, I saw the monkey do this +very thing yesterday, and you all laughed heartily, as if it afforded +you great amusement!" + + + +The Boys and the Frogs + +Some idle boys, playing near a pond, saw a number of Frogs in the +water, and began to pelt them with stones. They had killed several of +them, when one of the Frogs, lifting his head out of the water, cried +out: "Pray stop, my Boys: you forget that what is sport to you is death +to us!" + + + +The Camel and His Master + +One night a Camel looked into the tent where his Master was lying and +said: "Kind Master, will you not let me put my head inside of the door? +The wind blows very cold to-night." + +"Oh, yes," said the Man. "There is plenty of room." + +So the Camel moved forward and stretched his head into the tent. "Ah!" +he said, "this is what I call comfort." + +In a little while he called to his Master again. "Now if I could only +warm my neck also," he said. + +"Then put your neck inside," said his Master, kindly. "You will not be +in my way." + +The Camel did so, and for a time was very well contented. Then, +looking around, he said: "If I could only put my forelegs inside I +should feel a great deal better." + +His Master moved a little and said: "You may put your forelegs and +shoulders inside, for I know that the wind blows cold to-night." + +The Camel had hardly planted his forefeet within the tent when he spoke +again: + +"Master," he said, "I keep the tent open by standing here. I think I +ought to go wholly within." + +"Yes, come in," said the Man. "There is hardly room for us both, but I +do not want to keep you out in the cold." + +So the Camel crowded into the tent, but he was no sooner inside than he +said: "You were right when you said that there was hardly room for us +both. I think it would be better for you to stand outside and so give +me a chance to turn around and lie down." + +Then, without more ado, he rudely pushed the Man out at the door, and +took the whole tent for himself. + + + +The Flies and the Honey-pot + +A jar of Honey having been upset in a housekeeper's room, a number of +Flies were attracted by its sweetness, and placing their feet in it ate +it greedily. + +Their feet, however, became so smeared with the Honey that they could +not use their wings, nor release themselves, and so were suffocated. + +Just as they were expiring, they exclaimed, "O foolish creatures that +we are; for the sake of a little pleasure we have destroyed ourselves!" + + + +The Spectacles + +Jupiter, one day, enjoying himself over a bowl of nectar, and in a +merry humour, determined to make mankind a present. + +Momus was appointed to convey it, who, mounted on a rapid car, was +presently on earth. "Come hither," said he, "ye happy mortals; great +Jupiter has opened for your benefit his all-gracious hands. 'Tis true +he made you somewhat short-sighted, but, to remedy that inconvenience, +behold now he has favoured you!" + +So saying, he opened his portmanteau, when an infinite number of +spectacles tumbled out, and were picked up by the crowd with all the +eagerness imaginable. There were enough for all, for every man had his +pair. + +But it was soon found that these spectacles did not represent objects +to all mankind alike; for one pair was purple, another blue; one was +white and another black; some of the glasses were red, some green, and +some yellow. In short, there were all manner of colours, and every +shade of colour. However, notwithstanding this diversity, every man +was charmed with his own, as believing it the best, and enjoyed in +opinion all the satisfaction of truth. + + + +The Bear and the Fowls + +A Bear, who was bred in the savage desert, wished to see the world, and +he travelled from forest to forest, and from one kingdom to another, +making many profound observations on his way. + +One day he came by accident into a farmer's yard, where he saw a number +of Fowls standing to drink by the side of a pool. Observing that after +every sip they turned up their heads toward the sky, he could not +forbear inquiring the reason of so peculiar a ceremony. + +They told him that it was by way of returning thanks to Heaven for the +benefits they received; and was indeed an ancient and religious custom, +which they could not, with a safe conscience, or without impiety, omit. + +Here the Bear burst into a fit of laughter, at once mimicking their +gestures, and ridiculing their superstition, in a most contemptuous +manner. + +On this the Cock, with a spirit suitable to the boldness of his +character, addressed him in the following words: "As you are a +stranger, sir, you may perhaps be excused for the indecency of your +behaviour; yet give me leave to tell you that none but a Bear would +ridicule any religious ceremonies in the presence of those who believe +them of importance." + + + + +THE FABLES OF BIDPAI + + "In English now they teach us wit. In English now they say: + Ye men, come learn of beasts to live, to rule and to obey, + To guide you wisely in the world, to know to shun deceit, + To fly the crooked paths of guile, to keep your doings straight." + + SIR THOMAS NORTH + + +THE FABLES OF BIDPAI + + +The Snake and the Sparrows + +It is related that two Sparrows once made their nest in the roof of a +house; and, contenting themselves with a single grain, so lived. Once +on a time they had young ones, and both the mother and father used to +go out in search of food for their support; and what they procured they +made up into grains and dropped into their crops. + +One day, the male Sparrow had gone out somewhere. When he came back he +beheld the female Sparrow fluttering in the greatest distress around +the nest, while she uttered piteous cries. He exclaimed, "Sweet +friend! what movements are these which I behold in thee?" She replied, +"How shall I not lament, since, when I returned after a moment's +absence, I saw a huge Snake come and prepare to devour my offspring, +though I poured forth piteous cries. It was all in vain, for the Snake +said, 'Thy sigh will have no effect on my dark-mirrored scales.' I +replied, 'Dread this, that I and the father of these children will gird +up the waist of vengeance, and will exert ourselves to the utmost for +thy destruction.' The Snake laughed on hearing me, and that cruel +oppressor has devoured my young and has also taken his rest in the +nest." + +When the male Sparrow heard this story, his frame was wrung with +anguish; and the fire of regret for the loss of his offspring fell on +his soul. At that moment the master of the house was engaged in +lighting his lamp; and holding in his hand a match, dipped in grease +and lighted, was about to put it into the lamp-holder. The Sparrow +flew and snatched the match from his hand and threw it into the nest. +The master of the house, through fear that the fire would catch to the +roof, and that the consequences would be most pernicious, immediately +ran up on the terrace and began clearing away the nest from beneath, in +order to put out the fire. The Snake beheld in front the danger of the +fire, and heard above the sound of the pickaxe. It put out its head +from a hole which it had near the roof, and no sooner did it do so than +it received a blow of death from the pickaxe. + +And the moral of this fable is, that the Snake despised its enemy, and +made no account of him, until in the end that enemy pounded his head +with the stone of vengeance. + + + +The Geese and the Tortoise + +It is related that in a pool whose pure water reflected every image +like a clear mirror, once resided two Geese and a Tortoise, and in +consequence of their being neighbours, the thread of their +circumstances had been drawn out into sincere friendship, and they +passed their lives contentedly. + +In that water which was the source of their life and the support of +their existence, however, a complete failure began to manifest itself, +and a glaring alteration became evident. When the Geese perceived that +state of things they withdrew their hearts from the home to which they +were accustomed and determined on emigrating. Therefore with hearts +full of sorrow and eyes full of tears, they approached the Tortoise, +and introduced the subject of parting. + +The Tortoise wept at the intelligence and piteously exclaimed, "What +words are these, and how can existence be supported without +sympathizing friends? And since that I have not power even to take +leave, how can I endure the load of separation?" + +The Geese replied: "Our hearts, too, are wounded by the sharp points of +absence, but the distress of being without water is impossible to +endure, and therefore of necessity we are about to forsake our friend +and country." + +The Tortoise rejoined: "O friends! ye know that the distress of the +want of water affects me more, and that without water I cannot support +myself. At this crisis the rights of ancient companionship demand that +ye should take me with you, and not leave me alone in the sorrowful +abode of separation." + +The Geese answered: "O esteemed comrade! the pang of parting from thee +is sharper than that of exile, and wherever we go, though we should +pass our time in the utmost comfort, yet, deprived of seeing thee, the +eye of our rejoicing would be darkened; but for us to proceed on the +earth's surface and so to traverse a great and long distance is +impossible, and for thee, too, to fly through the expanse of air and +accompany us is impracticable; and such being the case, how can we +travel together?" + +The Tortoise answered: "Your sagacity will be able to devise a remedy +for this matter, and what plan can develop while my spirit is broken by +the thought of parting?" + +The Geese replied: "O friend! during this period of our friendship we +have observed in thee somewhat of hastiness and rashness; perhaps thou +wilt not act upon what we say, nor keep firm to thy promise after thou +hast made it." + +The Tortoise rejoined; "How can it be that ye should speak with a view +to my advantage, and I fail to perform a compact which is for my own +good?" + +Said the Geese: "The condition is that when we take thee up and fly +through the air thou wilt not utter a single syllable, for any one who +may happen to see us will be sure to throw in a word, and say something +in reference to us directly or indirectly. Now, how many soever +allusions thou mayest hear, or whatever manoeuvres thou mayest observe, +thou must close the path of reply, and not loose thy tongue." + +The Tortoise answered: "I am obedient to your commands, and I will +positively place the seal of silence on my lips, so that I shall not be +even disposed to answer any creature." + +The Geese then brought a stick, and the Tortoise laid hold of the +middle of it firmly with his teeth, and they, lifting the two ends of +the stick, bore him up. When they got to a height in the air, they +happened to pass over a village, and the inhabitants thereof having +discovered them, were astonished at their proceedings, and came out to +look at the sight, and raised a shout from left and right, "Look! how +two geese are carrying a tortoise!" + +And as in those days the like of it had never been witnessed by that +people, their cries and exclamations increased every moment. The +Tortoise was silent for a time, but at length the cauldron of his +self-esteem began to boil, and his patience being exhausted, he +exclaimed: "You who are shouting to others to look at what is plain +enough to every one, hold your peace!" No sooner had he opened his +lips, however, than he fell from on high, and the Geese exclaimed, "It +is the part of friends to give advice and of the well-disposed to +listen to it." + +And the moral of this story is, that whoever listens not to the +admonition of friends, with the hearing of acceptance, will have +hastened his own destruction. + + + +The Sagacious Snake + +It is related that the infirmities of age had taken effect upon a Snake +and through loss of strength he was unable to pursue his prey, and was +bewildered in his proceedings how to obtain food. Life was impossible +without food, and to hunt for it, had, through his weakness, become +impracticable. Accordingly he thus reflected: + +"Alas! for the strength of my youth; and now to expect its return and +to hope for the recurrence of my animal vigour is a thing of the same +complexion as to light a fire from water." He felt that what was +passed could not be recalled, and he therefore busied himself with +taking thought for the future, and said: "In lieu of the strength of +youth I have a little experience which I have acquired, and a trifle of +prudence. I must now base my proceedings on abstaining from injuring +others and must begin to consider how I may obtain, for the remainder +of my life, what may be the means of support." + +He then went to the brink of a spring of water in which there were a +number of frogs who had a potent King and one who was obeyed and +renowned. The Snake cast himself down there in the dust of the road, +like to a sufferer on whom calamity has fallen. A Frog speedily made +up to him, and asked him: "I see thou art very sorrowful. What is the +cause of it?" The Snake replied: "Who deserves more to grieve than I, +whose maintenance was from hunting frogs? Today an event has occurred +which has rendered the pursuit of them unlawful to me, and if I +seriously designed to seize one, I could not." The Frog went away and +told the King, who was amazed at this strange circumstance, and coming +to the Snake, asked him: "What is the cause of this accident that has +befallen thee and what act has brought down this upon thee?" + +The Snake replied: "O King, greed plunged me into calamity, and this +befell as follows: One day I attempted to seize a Frog, which fled from +me and took refuge in the house of a holy man. My appetite led me to +follow him into the house, which happened to be dark. The son of the +holy man lay there asleep, and his great toe coming against me I +fancied it was the Frog. From the ardour of my greediness I closed my +teeth upon it, and the child died on the spot. The holy man discovered +the fact, and from regret for his son, attacked me, and I, turning +toward the open country, fled with speed, and the recluse pursued me +and cursed me, and said: 'I desire of my Creator that He will make thee +base and powerless, and cause thee to be the vehicle of the Frog-king. +And, verily, thou shalt not have power to eat Frogs, save what their +King shall bestow on thee as alms.' And now, of necessity, I have come +hither that the King may ride upon me, and I have acquiesced in the +will of God." + +The matter pleased the King of the Frogs, and he thought that it would +redound to his advantage; and he at once seated himself upon the Snake, +and indulged in vainglorious airs in consequence. + +Some time passed in this way. At last the Snake said: "May the life of +the King be prolonged! I cannot do without food and sustenance, that I +may support life thereon and fulfil this service." The King said: "The +case is as thou sayest; I cannot do without my steed, and my steed +cannot have strength without food." He then fixed two Frogs as his +daily allowance, that he might use as his regular supply for breakfast +and dinner. The Snake maintained himself on that allowance; and +inasmuch as the attention he paid to the Frog-king involved a benefit +to himself he did not find fault with it. + +And this story is adduced to make it apparent that courtesy and +humility are readier means to uproot an enemy than war and contest. + + + +The Old Woman's Cat + +In former times there lived an old woman in a state of extreme +debility. She possessed a cot more narrow than the heart of the +ignorant and darker than the miser's grave; and a Cat was her +companion, which had never seen, even in the mirror of imagination, the +face of a loaf, nor had heard from friend or stranger the name of meat. +It was content if occasionally it smelt the odour of a mouse from its +hole, or saw the print of the foot of one on the surface of a board, +and if, on some rare occasion, by the aid of good fortune one fell into +its claws, it subsisted a whole week, more or less, on that amount of +food. + +And, inasmuch as the house of the old woman was the famine-year of that +Cat, it was always miserable and thin, and from a distance appeared +like an idea. + +One day, through excessive weakness, it had, with the utmost +difficulty, mounted on the top of the roof; thence it beheld a Cat +which walked proudly on the wall of a neighbouring house, and after the +fashion of a destroying lion advanced with measured steps, and from +excessive fat lifted its feet slowly. When the Cat of the old woman +saw this, it was astonished and cried out, saying: "Thou, whose state +is thus pleasant, whence art thou? and since it appears that thou +comest from the banquet-chamber of the Khan of Khata, whence is this +sleekness of thine, and from what cause this thy grandeur and strength?" + +The Neighbour-Cat replied: "I am the crumb-eater of the tray of the +Sultan. Every morning I attend on the court of the king, and when they +spread the tray of invitation, I display boldness and daring, and in +general I snatch off some morsels of fat meats, and of loaves made of +the finest flour; and thus I pass my time happy and satisfied till the +next day." + +The Cat of the old woman inquired: "What sort of a thing may fat meat +be? and what kind of relish has bread, made of fine flour? I, during +my whole life, have never seen nor tasted aught save the old woman's +broths, and mouse's flesh." + +The Neighbour-Cat laughed, and said: "Therefore it is that one cannot +distinguish thee from a spider, and this form and appearance that thou +hast is a reproach to our whole race. If thou shouldst see the court +of the Sultan and smell the odour of those delicious viands, thou +wouldst acquire a fresh form." + +The Cat of the old woman, said, most beseechingly, "O brother! thou art +bound to me by neighbourship and kinship; why not this time, when thou +goest, take me with thee? Perchance, by thy good fortune, I may obtain +food." + +The heart of the Neighbour-Cat melted at the speaker's lamentable +position, and he resolved that he would not attend the feast without +him. The Cat of the old woman felt new life at these tidings, and +descending from the roof stated the case to his mistress. The old dame +began to advise the Cat, saying: "O kind companion, be not deceived by +the words of worldly people and abandon not the corner of content, for +the vessel of covetousness is not filled save with the dust of the +grave." But the Cat had taken into its head such a longing for the +delicacies of the Sultan's table that the medicine of advice was not +profitable to it. + +In short, the next day, along with its neighbour, the old woman's Cat, +with tottering steps conveyed itself to court, but before it could +arrive there ill-fortune had poured the water of disappointment on the +fire of its wish, and the reason was as follows: + +The day before, the cats had made a general onslaught on the table, and +raised an uproar beyond bounds, and annoyed, to the last degree, the +guests and their host. Wherefore, on this day, the Sultan had +commanded that a band of archers, standing in ambush, should watch, so +that for every cat who, holding before its face the buckler of +impudence should enter the plain of audacity, the very first morsel +that it ate should be a liver-piercing shaft. + +The old woman's Cat, ignorant of this circumstance, as soon as it smelt +the odour of the viands, turned its face like a falcon to the +hunting-ground of the table, and the scale of the balance of appetite +had not yet been weighted by heavy mouthfuls, when the heart-piercing +arrow quivered in its breast. + + Dear friend! the honey pays not for the sting, + Content with syrup is a better thing. + + + +The Young Tiger + +In the environs of Basrah there was an island of excessively pleasant +climate, where limpid waters flowed on every side and life-bestowing +zephyrs breathed around. + +From its excessive exquisiteness they called it the "Joy-expanding +Wilderness," and a Tiger bore sway there, such that from dread of him +fierce lions could not set foot in that retreat. + +He had lived much time in that wild, according to his wish, and had +never seen the form of disappointment in the mirror of existence. He +had a young one whose countenance made the world seem bright to him, +and his intention was that when that young one came to years he would +commit that solitude to his charge, and pass the rest of his life at +ease in the corner of retirement. The blossom of his wish had not yet +expanded on the stem of desire when the autumn of death gave the fruit +of the garden of his existence to the mind of destruction. + +And when this Tiger was seized by the claw of the Lion, Death, several +wild beasts who for a long time entertained a desire for that +wilderness made a unanimous movement and set about appropriating it. +The young Tiger saw that he possessed not the strength to resist. He +went voluntarily into exile, and amongst the wild beasts a huge contest +arose. A blood-spilling Lion overcame all the others and brought the +island into his own possession, and the young Tiger, having for some +time endured distress in the mountains and wastes, conveyed himself to +another haunt, and disclosed his affliction to the wild beasts of that +district, asking their aid to find a remedy. + +They, having received intelligence of the victory of the Lion, and his +overpowering might, said: "O unfortunate! thy place is now in the +possession of a Lion such that from terror of him the wild birds will +not fly over that wilderness, and from fear of him the elephant will +not approach. We have not strength to fight with him and thou too art +not able to enter with him the arena of strife. Our opinion demands +that thou shouldst betake thyself to his court, and with perfect +loyalty enter his service." + +These words seemed reasonable to the young Tiger, and he looked upon +his best course to be this--that he should voluntarily enter the +service of the Lion, and, to the extent of his ability, offer the +duties of attendance. Through the intervention of one of the nobles he +obtained the honour of waiting on the Lion, and, having become the +object of the imperial regard, was appointed to an office suited to his +spirit. Having tightly fastened the belt of obedience on the waist of +affection the royal favour was constantly augmented and he incessantly +displayed increased exertion in the affairs of the state. + +Upon a certain time an important matter arose which called the Lion +away to a distant jungle; and at that time the heat of the oven of the +sky was unmitigated, and the expanse of waste and mountain like a +furnace of glass fiercely inflamed. From the excessive heat of the +air, the brains of animals were boiled in their craniums, and the crabs +in the water were fried like fish in the frying-pan. + +The Lion reflected: "At such a time, when the shell at the bottom of +the deep, like a fowl on a spit, is roasting, an affair of this +importance has occurred. Who may there be among my attendants who +would not be affected by the labour and who, undeterred by the heat of +the atmosphere, would approach this undertaking?" + +In the midst of this reflection the Tiger came in with the line of +attendants and observed that the Lion was thoughtful. On the ground of +his tact and affection, he advanced near the throne of royalty, and was +emboldened to ask the cause of that thoughtfulness, and having learned +how the case stood, he took upon himself to accomplish the matter, and +having been honoured with permission, he set off with a body of +attendants, and, arriving at that place at noon, he betook himself to +the accomplishment of that affair, and the instant that the business +was settled to his satisfaction he changed his reins to return. + +The officers who had been appointed to attend him unanimously +represented as follows: "In such heat as this, all this distance has +been traversed by the steps of completion, and now that the affair has +been settled and the confidence placed in you by his majesty been +demonstrated, it will certainly be advisable if you should repose a +short time in the shade of a tree and allay the fiery tongue of thirst +by drinking cool water." + +The Tiger smiled and said: "My intimacy and rank with his majesty the +king is a banner that I have by toil and effort set up. It would not +be well to level it with the ground by indulgence and sloth. Without +supporting trouble it is impossible to arrive at the carrying off of +treasure, and unaccompanied by the thorn we cannot reap the enjoyment +of the rose garden." + +The informers furnished intelligence of this to the Lion, and recited +the book of the affair, from preface to conclusion. The Lion nodded +the head of approval, and said: "The people may be at peace in the just +reign of that ruler who does not place his head on the pillow of +repose." He then sent for the Tiger, and having distinguished him with +special honours, committed that jungle to him, and, having bestowed on +him the place of his sire, conferred on him, in addition, the dignity +of being his heir. + +And the use of this fable is, that thou mayest learn that to no one +does the sun of his wish rise from the eastern quarter of hope without +the diligent use of great exertion. + + + +The Fox and the Drum + +It is related that a Fox was once prowling over a moor, and was roaming +in every direction in hope of scenting food. Presently he came to the +foot of a tree, at the side of which they had suspended a drum, and +whenever a gust of wind came, a branch of the tree was put in motion, +and struck the surface of the drum, when a terrible noise arose from it. + +The Fox, seeing a domestic fowl under the tree, who was pecking the +ground with her beak, and searching for food, planted himself in +ambush, and wished to make her his prey, when all of a sudden the sound +of a drum reached his ear. He looked and saw a very fat form, and a +prodigious sound from it reached his hearing. The appetite of the Fox +was excited, and he thought to himself, "Assuredly its flesh and skin +will be proportioned to its voice." + +He issued from his lurking-place and turned toward the tree. The fowl +being put on its guard by that circumstance, fled, and the Fox, by a +hundred exertions, ascended the tree. Much did he labour till he had +torn the drum, and then he found nought save a skin and a piece of +wood. The fire of regret descended into his heart, and the water of +contrition began to run from his eyes, and he said: "Alas! that by +reason of this huge bulk which is all wind, that lawful prey has +escaped from my hand, and from this empty form no advantage has +resulted to me." + + Loudly ever sounds the labour, + But in vain--within is nought: + Art thou wise, for substance labour, + Semblance will avail thee nought. + + + +The Sparrows and the Falcon + +Two Sparrows once fixed their nest on the branch of a tree; and of +worldly gear, water and grain sufficed them; while on the summit of a +mountain, beneath which that tree lay, a Falcon had its abode, which, +at the time of stooping on its quarry, issued from its lurking-place +like lightning, and, like heaven's bolt, clean consumed the feebler +birds. + +Whenever the Sparrows produced young, and the time was near at hand for +them to fly, that Falcon, rushing forth from its ambush, used to carry +them off and make them food for its own young. Now, to those +Sparrows--in accordance with the saying, "The law of home is a part of +faith"--to migrate from that place was impossible, and yet from the +cruelty of the tyrannous Hawk it was difficult to reside there. + +On one occasion their young ones, having gained strength and put forth +feathers and wings, were able to move; and the father and mother, +pleased with the sight of their offspring, testified their joy at their +attempt to fly. + +Suddenly the thought of the Falcon passed through their minds, and, all +at once, they began to lament from anxiety. + +One of their children--in whose countenance the signs of ripe +discretion were visible--having inquired the reason of their +despondency, they recounted the history of the Falcon's oppression and +of its carrying off their young, with all the particulars. + +The son said; "The Causer of Causes has sent a cure for every sorrow. +It is probable that if ye exert yourselves in repelling this misfortune +both this calamity will be averted from our heads and this burden +removed from your hearts." + +These words pleased the Sparrows; and while one of them stopped to +attend the young ones, the other flew forth in search of relief. He +resolved in his mind on the way that he would tell his story to +whatsoever animal his eyes first fell upon, and ask a remedy for his +heart's distress from it. + +It happened that a Salamander, having come forth from a mine of fire, +was wandering in the spreading plain of the desert. When the glance of +the Sparrow lighted upon him, and that strange form came into his view, +he said to himself: "I have fallen upon good! Come on, I will disclose +the grief of my heart to this marvellous bird; perhaps he may undo the +knot of my affairs and may show me the way to a remedy." Then with the +utmost respect, he advanced to the Salamander, and after the usual +salutation, paid the compliment of offering service. The Salamander, +too, in a kind tone, expressed the courtesy required toward travellers +and said: "The traces of weariness are discernible in thy countenance. +If this arises from journeying, be pleased to halt some days in this +neighbourhood; and if the case be aught else, explain it, that, to the +extent of my power, I may exert myself to remedy it." + +The Sparrow loosed his tongue, and represented to the Salamander his +piteous condition, after a fashion, that, had he told it to a rock, it +would have been rent in pieces by his distress. + +After hearing his tale, the Salamander, too, felt the fire of +compassion kindled, and he said; "Grieve not! for I will this night +take such measures as to consume the Falcon's abode and nest and all +that therein is. Do thou point out to me thy dwelling, and go to thy +offspring until the time I come to thee." + +The Sparrow indicated his dwelling in such a way as not to leave a +doubt in the mind of the Salamander; and with a glad heart turned +toward his own nest. When the night came on, the Salamander, with a +number of its own kind, each carrying a quantity of naphtha and +brimstone, set off in the direction of the spot, and under the guidance +of that Sparrow conveyed themselves to the vicinity of the Falcon's +nest. + +The latter, unaware of the impending misfortune, had, with its young, +eaten plentifully and fallen asleep. The Salamanders cast upon their +nest all the naphtha and brimstone that they had brought with them and +turned back and the blast of justice fell upon those oppressors. They +rose up from the sleep of negligence and all of them, with their abode +and nest, were at once consumed to ashes. + +And this instance is given that thou mayest know that every one who +labours to repel an enemy, though he be small and weak, and his foe +great and strong, may yet hope for victory and triumph. + + + +The Hermit, the Thief, and the Demon + +It is related that a Hermit of pure disposition, abstemious and +virtuous, had made his cell in one of the environs of Baghdad, and +passed his morning and evening hours in the worship of the All-wise +King, and by these means had shaken his skirt clear from the dust of +worldly affairs. He had bowed his head in the corner of contentment +under the collar of freedom from care, and rested satisfied with the +portion that was supplied to him from the invisible world. + +One of his sincere disciples got knowledge of the poverty and fastings +of the Holy Man, and by way of offering, brought to the hermitage a she +buffalo, young and fat, with whose delicious milk the palate of desire +was oiled and sweetened. + +A thief beheld the circumstance, and his hungry appetite was excited; +and he set off for the cell of the recluse. A demon, too, joined him +in the likeness of a man. The thief asked him: "Who art thou, and +whither goest thou?" He replied: "I am a demon, who have assumed this +shape, and, putting on this guise, am going to the hermitage of the +recluse, for many of the people of this country, through the blessing +of his instruction, have begun to repent and to be converted and the +market of our temptations has become flat. I wish to get an +opportunity and kill him. This is my story which thou hast heard; now, +tell me, who art thou and what is thy story?" The thief replied: + +"I am a man whose trade is roguery, and I am occupied night and day +with thinking how to steal some one's goods and impose the scar of +affliction on his heart. I am now going, as the recluse has got a fat +buffalo, to steal it and use it for my own wants." The demon said; + +"Praise be to God that the bond of kinship is strong between us, and +this alone is sufficient to ally us, since the object of both is to +assail him." + +They then proceeded on their way, and at night reached the cell of the +recluse. The latter had finished the performance of his daily worship, +and had gone to sleep, just as he was, on his prayer-carpet. The thief +bethought himself, that if the demon attempted to kill him he would +probably awake and make an outcry; and the other people who were his +neighbours, would be alarmed, and in that case it would be impossible +to steal the buffalo. The demon, too, reflected that if the thief +carried off the buffalo from the house, he must of course open the +door. Then the noise of the door would very likely awaken the recluse, +and he should have to postpone killing him. He then said to the thief: +"Do thou wait and give me time to kill the hermit, and then do thou +steal the buffalo." The thief rejoined: "Stop thou till I steal the +buffalo, and then kill the hermit." + +This difference was prolonged between them, and at last the words of +both came to wrangling. The thief was so annoyed that he called out to +the recluse: "There is a demon here who wants to kill thee." The +demon, too, shouted: "Here is a thief, who wants to steal thy buffalo." + +The hermit was roused by the uproar, and raised a cry, whereupon the +neighbours came, and both the thief and the demon ran way; and the life +and property of the Holy Man remained safe and secure through the +quarrel of his enemies. + + When the two hostile armies fall to strife, + Then from its sheath what need to draw the knife? + + + +The King and the Hawk + +It is related that in ancient times there was a King fond of hunting. +He was ever giving reins to the courser of his desire in the pursuit of +game, and was always casting the lasso of gladness over the neck of +sport. Now this King had a Hawk, who at a single flight could bring +down a pebble from the peak of the Caucasus, and in terror of whose +claws the constellation Aquila kept himself in the green nest of the +sky; and the King had a prodigious fondness for this Hawk and always +cared for it with his own hands. + +It happened one day that the Monarch, holding the Hawk on his hand, had +gone to the chase. A stag leapt up before him and he galloped after it +with the utmost eagerness. But he did not succeed in coming up with +it, and became separated from his retinue and servants; and though some +of them followed him, the King rode so hotly that the morning breeze +could not have reached the dust he raised. + +Meantime the fire of his thirst was kindled, and the intense desire to +drink overcame the King. He galloped his steed in every direction in +search of water until he reached the skirt of a mountain, and beheld +that from its summit limpid water was trickling. The King drew forth a +cup which he had in his quiver, and riding under the mountain filled +the cup with that water, which fell drop by drop, and was about to take +a draught, when the Hawk made a blow with his wing, and spilled all the +water in the goblet. The King was vexed at this action, but held the +cup a second time under the rock, until it was brimful. He then raised +it to his lips again, and again the Hawk made a movement and overthrew +the cup. The King rendered impatient by thirst, dashed the Hawk on the +ground and killed it. + +Shortly after a stirrup-holder of the King came up and saw the Hawk +dead, and the Monarch athirst. He then undid a water-vessel from his +saddle-cord and washed the cup clean, and was about to give the King a +drink. The latter bade him ascend the mountain, as he had an +inclination for the pure water which trickled from the rock; and could +not wait to collect it in the cup, drop by drop. The stirrup-holder +ascended the mountain and beheld a spring giving out a drop at a time +with a hundred stintings; and a huge serpent lay dead on the margin of +the fountain; and as the heat of the sun had taken effect upon it, the +poisonous saliva mixed with the water of that mountain, and it trickled +drop by drop down the rock. + +The stirrup-holder was overcome with horror, and came down from the +mountain bewildered, and represented the state of the case, and gave +the King a cup of cold water from his ewer. The latter raised the cup +to his lips, and his eyes overflowed with tears. The attendant asked +the reason of his weeping. The King drew a sigh from his anguished +heart and relating in full the story of the Hawk and the spilling of +the water in the cup, said: "I grieve for the death of the Hawk, and +bemoan my own deed in that without inquiry I have deprived a creature, +so dear to me, of life." The attendant replied: "This Hawk protected +thee from a great peril, and has established a claim to the gratitude +of all the people of this country. It would have been better if the +King had not been precipitate in slaying it, and had quenched the fire +of wrath with the water of mildness." + +The King replied; "I repent of this unseemly action; but my repentance +is now unavailing, and the wound of this sorrow cannot be healed by any +salve"; and this story is related in order that it may be known that +many such incidents have occurred where, through the disastrous results +of precipitation, men have fallen into the whirlpool of repentance. + + + +The Mouse and the Frog + +It is related that a Mouse had taken up its abode on the brink of a +fountain and had fixed its residence at the foot of a tree. + +A Frog, too, passed his time in the water there, and sometimes came to +the margin of the pool to take the air. One day, coming to the edge of +the water, he continued uttering his voice in a heart-rending cadence +and assumed himself to be a nightingale of a thousand melodies. + +At that time the Mouse was engaged in chanting in a corner of his cell. +Directly he heard the uproarious yelling of the Frog he was astounded, +and came out with the intention of taking a look at the reciter; and +while occupied with listening to him, kept smiting his hands together +and shaking his head. These gestures, which seemed to display +approbation, pleased the Frog and he made advances toward acquaintance +with him. In short, being mutually pleased with each other, they +became inseparable companions, and used to narrate to each other +entertaining stories and tales. + +One day the Mouse said to the Frog: "I am oftentimes desirous of +disclosing to thee a secret and recounting to thee a grief which I have +at heart, and at that moment thou art abiding under the water. However +much I shout thou nearest me not, owing to the noise of the water, and +in spite of my crying to thee, the sound cannot reach thee, because of +the clamour of the other frogs. We must devise some means by which +thou mayest know when I come to the brink of the water, and thus mayest +be informed of my arrival without my shouting to thee." + +The Frog said: "Thou speakest the truth. I, too, have often pondered +uneasily, thinking, should my friend come to the brink of the water, +how shall I, at the bottom of this fountain, learn his arrival? And it +sometimes happens that I, too, come to the mouth of thy hole, and thou +hast gone out from another side, and I have to wait long. I had +intended to have touched somewhat on this subject before, but now the +arrangement of it rests with thee." + +The Mouse replied: "I have got hold of the thread of a plan, and it +appears to me the best thing to get a long string, and to fasten one +end to thy foot, and tie the other tight around my own, in order that +when I come to the water's edge and shake the string, thou mayest know +what I want; and if thou, too, art so kind as to come to the door of my +cell, I may also get information by thy jerking the string." Both +parties agreed to this, and the knot of friendship was in this manner +firmly secured, and they were also kept informed of one another's +condition. One day, the Mouse came to the water's edge to seek the +Frog, in order to renew their friendly converse. All of a sudden a +Crow, like an unforeseen calamity, flew down from the air, and +snatching up the Mouse, soared aloft, with him. The string which was +tied to the leg of the Mouse drew forth the Frog from the bottom of the +water, and, as the other leg was fastened to the Frog's leg, he was +suspended head downward in the air. The Crow flew on, holding the +Mouse in its beak, and lower still the Frog hanging head downward. +People witnessing that extraordinary sight were uttering in the road +various jokes and sarcasms: "A strange thing this, that contrary to his +wont, a crow has made a prey of a frog!" and "Never before was a frog +the prey of a crow!" + +The Frog was howling out in reply: "Now, too, a Frog is not the prey of +a Crow, but from the bad luck of associating with a Mouse, I have been +caught in this calamity, and he who associates with a different species +deserves a thousand times as much." + +And this story carries with it this beneficial advice: That no one +ought to associate with one of a different race, in order that, like +the Frog, he may not be suspended on the string of calamity. + + + +The Crow and the Partridge + +It is related that one day a Crow was flying and saw a Partridge, which +was walking gracefully on the ground with a quick step and graceful +gait that enchanted the heart of the looker-on. + +The Crow was pleased with the gait of the Partridge, and amazed at its +agility. The desire of walking in the same manner fixed itself in his +mind, and the insane longing to step proudly, after this fascinating +fashion, made its appearance. He forthwith girt his loins in +attendance on the Partridge, and abandoning sleep and food, gave +himself up to that arduous occupation, and kept continually running in +the traces of the Partridge and gazing on its progress. + +One day the Partridge said: "O crazy, black-faced one! I observe that +thou art ever hovering about me, and art always watching my motions. +What is it that thou dost want?" + +The Crow replied: "O thou of graceful manners and sweet smiling face, +know that having conceived a desire to learn thy gait, I have followed +thy steps for a long time past, and wish to acquire thy manner of +walking, in order that I may place the foot of preeminence on the head +of my fellows." + +The Partridge uttered a merry laugh, and said: "Alack! alack! My +walking gracefully is a thing implanted in me by nature, and thy style +of going is equally a natural characteristic. My going is in one way, +and thy mode of procedure is quite another. Leave off this fancy and +relinquish this idea." + +The Crow replied: "Since I have plunged into this affair, no idle +stories shall make me give it up; and until I grasp my wished-for +object, I will not turn back from this road." + +So the unfortunate Crow for a long time ran after the Partridge, and +having failed to learn his method of going, forgot his own too, and +could in nowise recover it. + + + + +FABLES FROM THE HITOPADESA + +"This work entitled Hitopadesa, or Friendly Instructor, affordeth +elegance in the Sanskrit idioms, in every part variety of language, and +inculcateth the doctrine of prudence and policy." + + +FABLES FROM THE HITOPADESA + +The Traveller and the Tiger + +A traveller, through lust of gold, being plunged into an inextricable +mire, is killed and devoured by an old tiger. + +As I was travelling on the southern road, once upon a time, I saw an +old Tiger seated upon the bank of a large river, with a bunch of kusa +grass in his paw, calling out to every one who passed: "Ho! ho! +traveller, take this golden bracelet," but every one was afraid to +approach him to receive it. At length, however, a certain wayfarer, +tempted by avarice, regarded it as an instance of good fortune; but, +said he, in this there is personal danger, in which we are not +warranted to proceed. Yet, said he, there is risk in every undertaking +for the acquisition of wealth. + +The Traveller then asked where was the bracelet; and the Tiger, having +held out his paw, showed it to him and said, "Look at it, it is a +golden bracelet." "How shall I place confidence in thee?" said the +Traveller; and the Tiger replied: "Formerly, in the days of my youth, I +was of a very wicked disposition, and as a punishment for the many men +and cattle I had murdered, my numerous children died, and I was also +deprived of my wife; so, at present, I am destitute of relations. This +being the case, I was advised, by a certain holy person, to practise +charity and other religious duties, and I am now grown extremely +devout. I perform ablutions regularly, and am charitable. Why, then, +am I not worthy of confidence?" + +"So far, you see," continued the Tiger, "I have an interest in wishing +to give away to some one this golden bracelet from off my own wrist; +and as thou appearest to be rather a poor man, I prefer giving it to +thee; according to this saying: + +"'Make choice of the poor, and bestow not thy gifts on others.' Then +go, and having purified thyself in this stream, take the golden +bracelet." + +The Traveller no sooner began to enter the river to purify himself, +than he stuck fast in the mud, and was unable to escape. The Tiger +told him he would help him out; and creeping softly toward him, the +poor man was seized, and instantly exclaimed to himself: "Alas! the +career of my heart is cut short by fate!" + +But whilst the unfortunate fellow was thus meditating, he was devoured +by the Tiger. Hence also, it is at no time proper to undertake +anything without examination. + + + +The Jackal and the Cat + +To one whose family and profession are unknown, one should not give +residence: the Jackal Jarad-gava was killed through the fault of a Cat. + +On the banks of the river Bhageerathee, and upon the mountain +Greedhra-koota, there is a large parkattee tree, in the hollow of whose +trunk there dwelt a Jackal, by name Jarad-gava, who, by some accident, +was grown blind, and for whose support the different birds who roosted +upon the branches of the same tree were wont to contribute a trifle +from their own stores, by which he existed. It so fell out, that one +day a certain Cat, by name Deerga-karna,[1] came there to prey upon the +young birds, whom perceiving, the little nestlings were greatly +terrified, and began to be very clamorous; and their cries being heard +by Jarad-gava, he asked who was coming. The Cat Deerga-karna, too, +seeing the Jackal, began to be alarmed, and said to himself: "Oh! I +shall certainly be killed, for now that I am in his sight, it will not +be in my power to escape. However, let what will be the consequence, I +will approach him." So, having thus resolved, he went up to the +Jackal, and said: "Master, I salute thee!" "Who art thou?" demanded +the Jackal. Said he, "I am a Cat." "Ah! wicked animal," cried the +Jackal, "get thee at a distance; for if thou dost not, I will put thee +to death." + +"Hear me for a moment," replied Puss, "and then determine whether I +merit either to be punished or to be killed; for what is any one, +simply by birth, to be punished or applauded? When his deeds have been +scrutinized, he may, indeed, be either praiseworthy or punishable." + +The Jackal after this desired the Cat to give some account of himself, +and he complied in the following words: "I am," said he, "in the +constant habit of performing ablutions on the side of this river; I +never eat flesh, and I lead that mode of life which is called +Brahma-Charya[2]. So, as thou art distinguished amongst those of thy +own species, noted for skill in religious matters, and as a repository +of confidence, and as the birds here are always speaking before me in +praise of thy good qualities, I am come to hear from thy mouth, who art +so old in wisdom, the duties of religion. Thou, master, art acquainted +with the customs of life; but these young birds, who are in ignorance, +would fain drive me, who am a stranger, away. The duties of a +housekeeper are thus enjoined: + +"Hospitality is commanded to be exercised, even toward an enemy, when +he cometh to thine house. The tree doth not withdraw its shade, even +from the wood-cutter. + +"And again: + +"Some straw, a room, water, and in the fourth place, gentle words. +These things are never to be refused in good men's houses." + +To all this the Jackal replied: "Cats have a taste for animal food, and +above is the residence of the young birds: it is on this account I +speak to thee." + +The Cat, having touched his two ears, and then the ground, exclaimed: +"I, who have read books upon the duties of religion, and am freed from +inordinate desires, have forsaken such an evil practice; and, indeed, +even amongst those who dispute with one another about the authority of +the Sastras, there are many by whom this sentence: 'Not to kill is a +supreme duty,' is altogether approved." + +The Cat by these means having satisfied the jackal, he remained in the +hollow of the tree with him and passed the time in amusing +conversation; and the Jackal told the young birds that they had no +occasion to go out of the way. + +After this, when many days had passed, it was discovered that the Cat +had, by degrees, drawn all the little birds down into the hollow of the +tree, and there devoured them; but when he found inquiry was about to +be made by those whose young ones had been eaten, he slipped out of the +hole and made his escape. In the meantime, the bones of the young ones +having been discovered in the hollow of the tree by the parent birds, +who had been searching here and there, they concluded that their little +ones had been devoured by the Jackal, and so, being joined by other +birds, they put him to death. + +Wherefore I say, "To one whose family and profession are unknown, one +should not give residence." + +[1]Long-ear + +[2]Forsaking all worldly concerns to lead a godly life. + + + +The Greedy Jackal + +A hoard should always be made; but not too great a hoard. A Jackal, +through the fault of hoarding too much, was killed by a bow. + +A certain Huntsman, by name Bhirava, being fond of flesh, once upon a +time went to hunt in the forests of the Vindhya mountains and having +killed a Deer, as he was carrying him away, he chanced to see a wild +Boar of a formidable appearance. So, laying the Deer upon the ground, +he wounded the Boar with an arrow; but, upon his approaching him, the +horrid animal set up a roar dreadful as the thunder of the clouds, and +wounding the Huntsman in the groin, he fell like a tree cut off by the +axe. At the same time, a Serpent, of that species which is called +Ajagara, pressed by hunger and wandering about, rose up and bit the +Boar, who instantly fell helpless upon him, and remained upon the spot. +For: + +The body having encountered some efficient cause, water, fire, poison, +the sword, hunger, sickness, or a fall from an eminence, is forsaken by +the vital spirits. + +In the meantime, a Jackal, by name Deergharava, prowling about in +search of prey, discovered the Deer, the Huntsman, and the Boar; and +having observed them, he said to himself: "Here is a fine feast +prepared for me; with their flesh I shall have food to eat. The Man +will last me for a whole month, and the Deer and the Boar for two more; +then the Serpent will serve me a day; and let me taste the bow-string +too. But, in the first place, let me try that which is the least +savoury. Suppose, then, I eat this catgut line which is fastened to +the bow": saying so, he drew near to eat it; but the instant he had bit +the line in two, he was torn asunder by the spring of the bow; and he +was reduced to the state of the five elements. I say, therefore, "A +hoard should always be made; but not too great a hoard." + + + +The Elephant and the Jackal + +That which cannot be effected by force may be achieved by cunning. An +Elephant was killed by a Jackal, in going over a swampy place. + +In the forest Brahmaranya there was an Elephant, whose name was +Karphooratilaka,[1] who having been observed by the jackals, they all +determined that if he could by any stratagem be killed, he would be +four months' provisions for them all. One of them, who was of +exceeding vicious inclination and by nature treacherous, declared that +he would engage, by the strength of his own judgment, to effect his +death. Some time after, this deceitful wretch went up to the +Elephant, and having saluted him, said: "Godlike sir! Condescend to +grant me an audience." "Who art thou?" demanded the Elephant, "and +whence comest thou?" "My name," replied he, "is Kshudrabuddhi,[2] a +jackal, sent into thy presence by all the inhabitants of the forest, +assembled for that purpose, to represent that, as it is not expedient +to reside in so large a forest as this without a chief, your Highness, +endued with all the cardinal virtues, hath been selected to be anointed +Rajah of the Woods. Then, that we may not lose the lucky moment," +continued the Jackal, "be pleased to follow quickly." Saying this, he +cocked his tail and went away. + +The Elephant, whose reason was perverted by the lust of power, took the +same road as the Jackal, and followed him so exactly that, at length, +he stuck fast in a great mire. "O my friend!" cried the Elephant, +"what is to be done in this disaster? I am sinking in a deep mire!" + +The Jackal laughed, and said: "Please, your divine Highness, take hold +of my tail with your trunk, and get out! This is the fruit of those +words which thou didst place confidence in." + +They say: + +As often as thou shalt be deprived of the society of the good, so often +shalt thou fall into the company of knaves. + +After a few days, the Elephant dying for want of food, his flesh was +devoured by the Jackals. I say, therefore: "That which cannot be +effected by force, may be achieved by cunning." + +[1]Marked with white spots. + +[2]Low-minded, mean-spirited, bad-hearted. + + + +The Lion, the Mouse, and the Cat + +The master should never be rendered free from apprehension by his +servants, for a servant having quieted the fears of his master may +experience the fate of Dahdikarna.[1] + +Upon the mountain Arbuda-sikhara, there was a Lion, whose name was +Maliavikrama[2] the tips of whose mane a Mouse was wont to gnaw, as he +slept in his den. The noble beast, having discovered that his hair was +bitten, was very much displeased; and as he was unable to catch the +offender, who always slipped into his hole, he meditated what was best +to be done; and having resolved, said he: + +"Whoso hath a trifling enemy, who is not to be overcome by dint of +valour, should employ against him a force of his own likeness." + +With a review of this saying, the Lion repaired to the village, and by +means of a piece of meat thrown into his hole, with some difficulty +caught a Cat, whose name was Dadhikarna. He carried him home, and the +Mouse for some time being afraid to venture out, the Lion remained with +his hair unnipped. At length, however, the Mouse was so oppressed with +hunger, that creeping about he was caught and devoured by the Cat. The +Lion now, no longer hearing the noise of the Mouse, thought he had no +further occasion for the services of the Cat, and so began to be +sparing of his allowance; and, in consequence, poor Puss pined away and +died for want. Wherefore, I say: "The master should never be rendered +free from apprehension by his servants." + +[1]Whose ears are the colour of curds. + +[2]Great courage. + + + +The Poor Woman and the Bell + +It is not proper to be alarmed by a mere sound, when the cause of that +sound is unknown. A poor woman obtaineth consequence for discovering +the cause of a sound. + +Between the mountains Sree-parvata there is a city called Brahma-puree, +the inhabitants of which used to believe that a certain giant, whom +they called Ghautta-Karna, infested one of the adjacent hills. + +The fact was thus: A thief, as he was running away with a Bell he had +stolen, was overcome and devoured by a tiger; and the Bell falling from +his hand having been picked up by some monkeys, every now and then they +used to ring it. Now the people of the town finding that a man had +been killed there, and at the same time hearing the Bell, used to +declare that the giant Ghautta-Karna being enraged, was devouring a +man, and ringing his Bell; so that the city was abandoned by all the +principal inhabitants. At length, however, a certain Poor Woman having +considered the subject, discovered that the Bell was rung by the +monkeys. + +She accordingly went to the Rajah, and said: + +"If, divine sir, I may expect a very great reward, I will engage to +silence this Ghautta-Karna." + +The Rajah was exceedingly well pleased, and gave her some money. So +having displayed her consequence to the priesthood of the country, to +the leaders of the army, and to all the rest of the people, she +provided such fruits as she conceived the monkeys were fond of, and +went into the wood; where strewing them about, they presently quitted +the Bell, and attached themselves to the fruit. The Poor Woman, in the +meantime, took away the Bell, and repaired to the city, where she +became an object of adoration to its inhabitants. Wherefore, I say: +"It is not proper to be alarmed by a mere sound, when the cause of the +sound is unknown." + + + +The Lion and the Rabbit + +He who bath sense hath strength. Where hath he strength who wanteth +judgment? See how a Lion, when intoxicated with anger, was overcome by +a Rabbit. + +Upon a certain mountain there lived a Lion, whose name was Durganta,[1] +who was perpetually sacrificing animals to his gods; so that, at +length, all the different species assembled, and, in a body, +represented that, as by his present mode of proceeding the forest would +be cleared all at once; if it pleased his Highness, they would, each of +them in his turn, provide him an animal for his daily food; and the +Lion gave, his consent accordingly. So every beast delivered his +stipulated provision, till at length, in coming to the Rabbit's turn he +began to meditate in this manner: "Policy should be practised by him +who would save his life; and I myself shall lose mine, if I do not take +care. Suppose I lead him after another Lion? Who knows how that may +turn out for me? Then I will approach him slowly, as if fatigued." + +The Lion by this time began to be very hungry; so, seeing the Rabbit +coming toward him, he called out in a great passion: "What is the +reason thou comest so late?" "Please your Highness," said the Rabbit +"as I was coming along, I was forcibly detained by another of your +species; but having given him my word that I would return immediately I +came here to represent it to your Highness." "Go quickly," said the +Lion in a rage, "and show me where this vile wretch may be found?" + +Accordingly the Rabbit conducted the Lion to the brink of a deep well, +where being arrived, "There," said the Rabbit, "look down and behold +him"; at the same time he pointed to the reflected image of the Lion in +the water; who swelling with pride and resentment, leaped into the +well, as he thought, upon his adversary, and thus put an end to his own +life. I repeat, therefore: "He who hath sense, hath strength." + +[1]Hard to go near. + + + +The Birds and the Monkeys + +A wise man is worthy to be advised; but an ignorant one never. +Certain birds, having given advice to a troop of monkeys, have their +nests torn to pieces, and are obliged to fly away. + +On the banks of the river Navmoda, upon a neighbouring mountain, there +was a large Salmalee tree wherein certain Birds were wont to build +their nests and reside, even during the season of the rains. One day +the sky being overcast with a troop of thick dark clouds, there fell a +shower of rain in very large streams. The Birds seeing a troop of +Monkeys at the foot of the tree, all wet, and shivering with cold, +called out to them; "Ho, Monkeys! why don't you invent something to +protect you from the rain? We build ourselves nests with straws +collected with nothing else but our bills. How is this, that you, who +are blessed with hands and feet, yield to such sufferings?" + +The Monkeys hearing this, and understanding it as a kind of reproach, +were exceedingly irritated and said amongst themselves: "Those Birds +there, sitting comfortably out of the wind within their warm nests, are +laughing at us! So let them, as long as the shower may last." In +short, as soon as the rain subsided, the whole troop of them mounted +into the tree, where tearing all the nests to pieces, the eggs fell +upon the ground and were broken. I say, therefore: "A wise man is +worthy to be advised, but an ignorant one never." + + + +The Rabbits and the Elephants + +Great things may be effected by wise counsel, when a sovereign enemy +may be too powerful. Certain Rabbits were enabled to live in comfort, +through the policy of one of their brethren. + +Once upon a time, for want of rain in due season, a troop of Elephants +being greatly distressed for water, addressed their chief in these +words: "What resource have we, except in that hollow sinking ground +inhabited by those little animals! but deprived of that too, whither, +sir, shall we go? What shall we do?" + +Upon hearing their complaints, their chief, after travelling with them +a great way, discovered a fountain of clear water. But, as many +Rabbits who happened, to be in their burrows were crushed to death +under the feet of so many Elephants trampling over their warren, at +length, one of them, reflected in this manner: "This troop of +Elephants, oppressed with thirst, will be coming here every day to +drink, and, at length, our whole race will be destroyed!" But an old +buck said to him, "Brother, don't be uneasy; for I am going to prevent +what thou dreadest." Saying which, he set off to try how he could +oppose them; but as he went along, he began to consider how he should +approach so formidable a troop; "for," observed he, "they say: + +"'An elephant killeth even by touching, a serpent even by smelling, a +king even by ruling, and a wicked man by laughing at one.' + +"Wherefore, I will mount the summit of a rock to address the head of +the troop." + +This being put in execution accordingly, the chief Elephant asked him +who he was, and whence he came. "I am," he replied, "an ambassador +sent here by the god Chandra." "Declare the purport of thy +commission," said the Elephant. "Sir," replied the Rabbit, "as +ambassadors, even when the weapons of war are lifted up, speak not +otherwise than for the benefit of their State; and although they speak +boldly according as it is their advantage, they are not to be put to +death; then I will declare what are the commands of the god Chandra. +He bade me say, that in driving away and destroying the Rabbits who are +appointed to guard the fountain which is consecrated to that duty, you +have done ill; 'for,' said he, 'they are my guards and it is notorious +that the figure of a Rabbit is my emblem.'" + +The head Elephant, upon hearing this became greatly alarmed, declared +that they had offended through ignorance, and would never go to the +fountain again. + +"If this be your resolution," said the ambassador, "go this once, and +make your submission before the diety himself, whom you will see in the +fountain, quite agitated with anger; and when you have pacified him, +you may depart." + +Accordingly, as soon as it was night, the ambassador Vijaya having +conducted the chief of the Elephants to the fountain, there showed him +the image of the moon, trembling, as it were, upon the smooth surface +of the water and when he had made him bow down to it, in token of +submission, he said: "Please your divinity! What hath been done having +been done through ignorance, I pray thee pardon them!" and upon saying +this, he caused the Elephant to depart. I repeat, therefore, "Great +things may be effected by wise counsel, when a sovereign enemy may be +too powerful." + + + +The Blue Jackal + +The fool who forsaketh his own party, and delighteth to dwell with the +opposite side may be killed by them; as was the case with the Blue +Jackal. + +A certain Jackal, as he was roaming about the borders of a town, just +as his inclinations led him, fell into a dyer's vat;[1] but being +unable to get out in the morning he feigned himself dead. At length, +the master of the vat, which was filled with indigo, came, and seeing a +Jackal lying with his legs uppermost, his eyes closed, and his teeth +bare, concluded that he was dead, and so, taking him out, he carried +him a good way from the town, and there left him. The sly animal +instantly got up, and ran into the woods; when, observing that his coat +was turned blue, he meditated in this manner: "I am now of the finest +colour! what great exaltation may I not bring about for myself?" +Saying this, he called a number of Jackals together, and addressed them +in the following words: "Know that I have lately been sprinkled king of +the forests, by the hands of the goddess herself who presides over +these woods, with a water drawn from a variety of choice herbs. +Observe my colour, and henceforward let every business be transacted +according to my orders." + +The rest of the Jackals, seeing him of such a fine complexion, +prostrated themselves before him, and said: "According as your Highness +commands!" By this step he made himself honoured by his own relations, +and so gained the supreme power over those of his own species, as well +as all the other inhabitants of the forests. But after a while, +finding himself surrounded by a levee of the first quality, such as the +tiger and the like, he began to look down upon his relations; and, at +length, he kept them at a distance. A certain old Jackal perceiving +that his brethren were very much cast down at this behaviour, cried: +"Do not despair! If it continues thus, this imprudent friend of ours +will force us to be revenged. Let me alone to contrive his downfall. +The lion, and the rest who pay him court, are taken by his outward +appearance; and they obey him as their king, because they are not aware +that he is nothing but a Jackal: do something then by which he may be +found out. Let this plan be pursued: Assemble all of you in a body +about the close of the evening, and set up one general howl in his +hearing; and I'll warrant you, the natural disposition of his species +will incline him to join in the cry for: + +"'Whatever may be the natural propensity of any one is very hard to be +overcome. If a dog were made king, would he not gnaw his shoe straps?' + +"And thus, the tiger discovering that he is nothing but a Jackal, will +presently put him to death." + +In short, the plan was executed, and the event was just as it had been +foretold. I repeat, therefore: "The fool who forsaketh his own party +and delighteth to dwell with the opposite side, may be killed by them." + +[1]A dyer's vat, in Hindostan, is a large pan sunk in the ground, often +in the little court before the dyer's house. + + + +The Mouse Who Became a Tiger + +One of low degree, having obtained a worthy station, seeketh to +destroy his master; like the mouse, who having been raised to the state +of a Tiger, went to kill the Hermit. + +In a certain forest, there once dwelt a Hermit whose name was +Maha-tapa. One day seeing a young Mouse fall from the mouth of a crow +near his hermitage, out of compassion be took it up and reared it with +broken particles of rice. He now observed that the cat was seeking to +destroy it; so, by the sacred powers of a saint, he metamorphosed his +Mouse into a cat; but his cat being afraid of his dog, he changed her +into a dog; and the dog being terrified at the tiger, at length he was +transformed into a Tiger. The holy man now regarded the Tiger as no +way superior to his Mouse. But the people who came to visit the +Hermit, used to tell one another that the Tiger which they saw there +had been made so by the power of the saint, from a Mouse; and this +being overheard by the Tiger, he was very uneasy, and said to himself: +"As long as this Hermit is alive, the disgraceful story of my former +state will be brought to my ears"; saying which he went to kill his +protector; but as the holy man penetrated his design with his +supernatural eye, he reduced him to his former state of a Mouse. I +repeat, therefore: "One of low degree, having obtained a worthy +station, may seek to destroy his master." + + + +The Brahmin and the Goat + +He who, judging by what passeth in his own breast, believeth a knave +to be a person of veracity, is deceived; as the Brahmin was concerning +his Goat. + +In a certain forest, a Brahmin, having determined to make an offering, +went to a neighbouring village and purchased a Goat, which having +thrown across his shoulder, he turned toward home. As he was +travelling along, he was perceived by three thieves. "If," said they, +"we could by some artifice get the Goat from that man, it would be a +great proof of our address." + +Saying this, they agreed upon their stratagem, and executed it in this +manner: They stationed themselves before the Brahmin, and sat down +under the trees in the road which led to his habitation, till he should +come up to them. Soon after, he was accosted by one of them in this +manner: "Is not that a dog? Brahmin, what is the reason thou carriest +it upon thy shoulder?" The Brahmin replied: "No, it is not a dog; it +is a Goat, which I have purchased to make an offering of." About a +mile farther on he met another of them, who repeating the same +question, he took the Goat from his shoulder, and putting it upon the +ground, examined it again and again; and at length, replacing it upon +his shoulder, he went on, quite staggered as it were, for: + +The minds even of good men are staggered by the arguments of the +wicked; but those who place confidence in them may suffer by it. + +At length the Brahmin, having heard the third thief, like the former +two, insist upon it that he had a dog upon his shoulder, was convinced +that it was indeed a dog; and so, leaving his Goat behind him, which +the thieves presently took away and made a feast of, the good man +washed himself and went home. Whence, I say, "He who, judging by what +passeth in his own breast, believeth a knave to be a person of +veracity, is deceived." + + + + +FABLES FROM INDIA + +"These simple children's stories have lived on, and maintained their +place of honour and their undisputed sway in every schoolroom of the +East and every nursery of the West." + +F. MAX MULLER + + +FABLES FROM INDIA + +The Lion, the Fox, and the Story-teller + +A Lion who was the king of a great forest once said to his subjects: "I +want some one among you to tell me stories one after another without +ceasing. If you fail to find somebody who can so amuse me, you will +all be put to death." + +In the East there is a proverb which says; "The king kills when he +will," so the animals were in great alarm. + +The Fox said: "Fear not; I shall save you all. Tell the king the +Story-teller is ready to come to court when ordered." So the animals +had orders to send the Story-teller at once to the presence. The Fox +bowed respectfully, and stood before the king, who said: "So you are to +tell us stories without ceasing?" + +"Yes, your Majesty," said the Fox. + +"Then begin," said the Lion. + +"But before I do so," said the Fox, "I would like to know what your +Majesty means by a story." + +"Why," said the Lion, "a narrative containing some interesting event or +fact." + +"Just so," said the Fox, and began: "There was once a fisherman who +went to sea with a huge net, and spread it far and wide. A great many +fish got into it. Just as the fisherman was about to draw the net the +coils snapped. A great opening was made. First one fish escaped." +Then the Fox stopped. + +"What then?" said the Lion. + +"Then two escaped," said the Fox. + +"What then?" asked the impatient Lion. + +"Then three escaped," said the Fox. Thus, as often as the Lion +repeated his query, the Fox increased the number by one, and said as +many escaped. The Lion was vexed, and said: "Why you are telling me +nothing new!" + +"I wish that your majesty may not forget your royal word," said the +Fox. "Each event occurred by itself, and each lot that escaped was +different from the rest." + +"But wherein is the wonder?" said the Lion. + +"Why, your majesty, what can be more wonderful than for Fish to escape +in lots, each exceeding the other by one?" + +"I am bound by my word," said the Lion, "else I would see your carcass +stretched on the ground." + +The Fox replied in a whisper: "_If tyrants that desire things +impossible are not at least bound by their own word, their subjects can +find nothing to bind them_." + + + +The Fox in the Well + +A Fox fell into a well, and was holding hard to some roots at the side +of it, just above the water. A Wolf who was passing by saw him, and +said, "Hollo, Reynard; after all you have fallen into a well!" + +"But not without a purpose, and not without the means of getting out of +it," said the Fox. + +"What do you mean?" said the Wolf. + +"Why," said the Fox, "there is a drought all over the country now, and +the water in this well is the only means of appeasing the thirst of the +thousands that live in this neighbourhood. They held a meeting, and +requested me to keep the water from going down lower; so I am holding +it up for the public good." + +"What will be your reward?" asked the Wolf. + +"They will give me a pension, and save me the trouble of going about +every day in quest of food, not to speak of innumerable other +privileges that will be granted me. Further, I am not to stay here all +day. I have asked a kinsman of mine, to whom I have communicated the +secret of holding up the water, to relieve me from time to time. Of +course he will also get a pension, and have other privileges. I expect +him here shortly." + +"Ah, Reynard, may I relieve you, then? May I hope to get a pension, +and other privileges? You know what a sad lot is mine, especially in +winter." + +"Certainly," said the Fox, "but you must get a long rope, that I may +come up and let you down." + +So the Wolf got a rope. Up came the Fox, and down went the Wolf; when +the former observed, with a laugh, "My dear sir, you may remain there +till doomsday, or till the owner of the well throws up your carcass," +and left the place. + +"Alas!" said the Wolf, when it was too late, "_greed hath its meed!_" + + + +The Fawn and the Little Tiger + +A Fawn met a little Tiger, and said: "What fine stripes you have!" + +The little Tiger said: "What fine spots you have!" + +Then the Fawn said: "It would be such a nice thing if you and I were to +live together as friends. We might then roam through the woods as we +like, and be so happy!" + +"I think so too," said the Tiger. + +The two joined hands, and went out for a long walk. It was breakfast +time. The Fawn saw some fine grass in the lawn, and said to himself: +"One should first see his friend fed and then feed." So he turned to +the Tiger and said, "Will you have some of this fine grass for your +breakfast?" + +The Tiger put his nose to the grass but could not bring himself to feed +upon it, because it was against his nature; so he replied, "I am so +sorry, I cannot eat it!" + +Then the Fawn said: "Allow me to go home for one moment and ask mamma +for something that would suit you for breakfast." + +So the Fawn went home and told the Hind of the happy friendship he had +formed, and of all that had happened since. + +The Hind replied, "Child, how lucky it is that you have come away! You +must know the Tiger is the most deadly enemy we have in the woods." + +At these words the Fawn drew near to his dam and trembled. + +The Hind said: "_It is indeed lucky to get away from the wicked at the +first hint!_" + + + +The Fox and the Villagers + +A Fox that had long been the dread of the village poultry yard was one +day found lying breathless in a field. The report went abroad that, +after all, he had been caught and killed by some one. In a moment, +everybody in the village came out to see the dead Fox. The village +Cock, with all his hens and chicks, was also there, to enjoy the sight. + +The Fox then got up, and, shaking off his drowsiness, said: "I ate a +number of hens and chicks last night; hence I must have slumbered +longer than usual." + +The Cock counted his hens and chicks, and found a number wanting. +"Alas!" said he, "how is it I did not know of it?" + +"My dear sir," said the Fox, as he retreated to the wood, "it was last +night I had a good meal on your hens and chicks, yet you did not know +of it. A moment ago they found me lying in the field, and you knew of +it at once. _Ill news travels fast!_" + + + +Tinsel and Lightning + +A piece of Tinsel on a rock once said to a Pebble: "You see how bright +I am! I am by birth related to the lightning." + +"Indeed!" said the Pebble; "then accept my humble respects." + +Some time after, a flash of lightning struck the rock, and the Tinsel +lost all its brilliancy by the scorching effects of the flash. + +"Where is your brilliancy now?" said the Pebble. + +"Oh, it is gone to the skies," said the Tinsel, "for I have lent it to +the lightning that came down a moment ago to borrow it of me." + +"Dear me!" said the Pebble; "_how many fibs doth good bragging need!_" + + + +The Glow-worm and the Daw + +A Jackdaw once ran up to a Glow-worm and was about to seize him. "Wait +a moment, good friend," said the Worm; "and you shall hear of something +to your advantage." + +"Ah! what is it?" said the Daw. + +"I am but one of the many Glow-worms that live in this forest. If you +wish to have them all, follow me," said the Glow-worm. + +"Certainly!" said the Daw. + +Then the Glow-worm led him to a place in the wood where a fire had been +kindled by some woodmen, and pointing to the sparks flying about, said: +"There you find the Glow-worms warming themselves around a fire. When +you have done with them, I will show you some more, at a distance from +this place." + +The Daw darted at the sparks, and tried to swallow some of them; but +his mouth being burnt by the attempt, he ran away exclaiming, "Ah, the +Glow-worm is a dangerous little creature!" + +Said the Glow-worm with pride: "_Wickedness yields to wisdom!_" + + + +The Lion and the Gadfly + +Once a Lion was sleeping in his den at the foot of a great mountain +when a Gadfly that had been sipping the blood from his mouth bit him +severely. The Lion started up with a roar, and catching the Fly in his +huge paws, cried: "Villain, you are at my mercy! How shall I punish +your impudence?" + +"Sire," said the Fly, "if you would pardon me now, and let me live, I +shall be able to show ere long how grateful I am to you." + +"Indeed!" said the Lion; "who ever heard of a Gadfly helping a Lion? +But still I admire your presence of mind and grant your life." + +Some time after, the Lion, having made great havoc on the cattle of a +neighbouring village, was snoring away in his den after a heavy meal. +The village hunters approached with the object of surrounding him and +putting an end to his depredations. + +The Fly saw them, and hurrying into the den, bit the Lion. He started +up with a roar as before, and cried: "Villain, you will get no pardon +this time!" + +"Sire," said the Fly, "the village hunters are on their way to your +den; you can't tarry a moment here without being surrounded and killed." + +"Saviour of my life!" cried the lion as he ran up the mountain. +"_There is nothing like forgiving, for it enables the humblest to help +the highest_." + + + +The Sunling + +In the good old days a Clown in the East, on a visit to a city kinsman, +while at dinner pointed to a burning candle and asked what it was. The +city man said, in jest, it was a Sunling, or one of the children of the +sun. + +The Clown thought that it was something rare; so he waited for an +opportunity, and hid it in a chest of drawers close by. Soon the chest +caught fire, then the curtains by its side, then the room, then the +whole house. + +After the flames had been put down, the city man and the Clown went +into the burnt building to see what remained. The Clown turned over +the embers of the chest of drawers. The city man asked what he was +seeking for. The Clown said: "It is in this chest that I hid the +bright Sunling; I wish to know if he has survived the flames." + +"Alas," said the city man, who now found out the cause of all the +mischief, "_Never jest with fools!_" + + + +The Despot and the Wag + +A Despot in the East wished to have a great name as a very munificent +prince, so he gave large presents to every one of note that came to his +court, but at the same time his officers had secret orders to waylay +the recipients of his gifts and recover them. + +In this manner many a man had been rewarded and plundered. Once a wag +came to court, and amused every one by his drolleries. The King gave +him a great many presents, including a horse. After taking leave of +the King and his courtiers, the Wag bundled up the presents and put +them over his shoulders, and mounting the horse, facing the tail, was +going out. The King asked him why he acted in that manner. + +"Sire," said the Wag, "simply to see if your officers were coming +behind, that I may at once hand over the bundle to them and go about my +business." + +The Despot was abashed, and stopped giving any more presents, saying: +"_Giving is but giving in vain, when we give to take again_." + + + +The Crane and the Fool + +In the East there lived a Fool, who went one day to his fields and +said: "I sowed a month ago; should the crops stand two months more, I +shall get three hundred bushels of corn. But I am in a hurry, so if I +should reap now, I dare say I shall have one hundred bushels at least." + +A Crane who heard his words said: "If I were you, I should have all the +three hundred bushels this very day." + +"How?" said the Fool. + +"Why," said the Crane, "you stored up water in the tank to feed the +crops for three months. A month has elapsed, so water enough for two +months more remains in the tank. Should you open the sluices and let +all the water flow into the fields, you will have all the corn at once." + +"Are you sure I shall have all the corn at once?" said the Fool. + +"Oh, yes," said the Crane, "there is not the slightest doubt. My +geographical knowledge is extensive, for I have travelled over a great +part of the world; so you may depend on my wide knowledge and +experience." + +The Fool then let all the water flow into the fields. The Crane +invited his kindred, and they together ate all the big fish left in the +tank first, and then, hovering over the fields, picked up all the small +fish that had gone out with the water. A great portion of the crops +was swept away; what remained was soon buried in the mud. + +The Fool sat on the bank of the lake and wept, saying: "The Crane's +geography ruined me." + +"My friend," said the Crane, "my geography was as good as your +arithmetic. _It is all the same whether you fall into the ditch from +this side or that!_" + + + +The Lion and the Goat + +A Lion was eating up one after another the animals of a certain +country. One day an old Goat said: "We must put a stop to this. I +have a plan by which he may be sent away from this part of the country." + +"Pray act up to it at once," said the other animals. + +The old Goat laid himself down in a cave on the roadside, with his +flowing beard and long curved horns. The Lion on his way to the +village saw him, and stopped at the mouth of the cave. + +"So you have come, after all," said the Goat. + +"What do you mean?" asked the Lion. + +"Why, I have long been lying in this cave. I have eaten up one hundred +elephants, a hundred tigers, a thousand wolves, and ninety-nine lions. +One more lion has been wanting. I have waited long and patiently. +Heaven has, after all, been kind to me," said the Goat, and shook his +horns and his beard, and made a start as if he were about to spring +upon the Lion. + +The latter said to himself: "This animal looks like a Goat, but it does +not talk like one, so it is very likely some wicked spirit in this +shape. Prudence often serves us better than valour, so for the present +I shall return to the wood," and he turned back. + +The Goat rose up and, advancing to the mouth of the cave, said, "Will +you come back to-morrow?" + +"Never again," said the Lion. + +"Do you think I shall be able to see you, at least, in the wood +to-morrow?" + +"Neither in the wood, nor in this neighbourhood any more," said the +Lion, and running to the forest, soon left it with his kindred. + +The animals in the country, not hearing him roar any more, gathered +around the Goat, and said: "_The wisdom of one doth save a host_." + + + +The Man and His Piece of Cloth + +A Man in the East, where they do not require as much clothing as in +colder climates, gave up all worldly concerns and retired to a wood, +where he built a hut and lived in it. + +His only clothing was a Piece of Cloth which he wore round his waist. +But, as ill-luck would have it, rats were plentiful in the wood, so he +had to keep a cat. The cat required milk to feed it, so a cow had to +be kept. The cow required tending, so a cowboy was employed. The boy +required a house to live in, so a house was built for him. To look +after the house, a maid had to be engaged. To provide company for the +maid, a few more houses had to be built, and people invited to live in +them. In this manner a little township sprang up. + +The man said: "_The farther we seek to go from the world and its cares, +the more they multiply!_" + + + +The Tiger, the Fox, and the Hunters + +A Fox was once caught in a trap. A hungry Tiger saw him and said, "So +you are here!" + +"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper. + +"How so?" said the Tiger. + +"Why, you were complaining you could not get men to eat, so I got into +this net to-day, that you may have the men when they come to take me," +said the Fox, and gave a hint that if the Tiger would wait a while in a +thicket close by, he would point out the men to him. + +"May I depend upon your word?" said the Tiger. + +"Certainly," said the Fox. + +The hunters came, and, seeing the Fox in the net, said: "So you are +here!" + +"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper. + +"How so?" said the men. + +"Why, you were complaining you could not get at the Tiger that has been +devouring your cattle. I got into this net to-day that you may have +him. As I expected, he came to eat me up, and is in yonder thicket," +said the Fox, and gave a hint that if they would take him out of the +trap he would point out the Tiger. "May we depend upon your word?" +said the men. + +"Certainly," said the Fox, while the men went with him in a circle to +see that he did not escape. + +Then the Fox said to the Tiger and the men: "Sir Tiger, here are the +men; gentlemen, here is the Tiger." + +The men left the Fox and turned to the Tiger. The former beat a hasty +retreat to the wood, saying, "I have kept my promise to both; now you +may settle it between yourselves." + +The Tiger exclaimed, when it was too late: "_Alas! what art for a +double part?_" + + + +The Hare and the Pig + +A Hare and a Pig once agreed to leap over a ditch. The Hare went a +great way, and fell into it, just short by an inch. The Pig went some +way and fell into it; but far behind the Hare. Yet they were eager to +know which of them leapt more, and was therefore the better animal. + +So they said to a Fox, who had been watching the race: "Will you tell +us which of us is superior, and which inferior, in the race?" + +The Fox said: "_Both in the ditch: can't say which!_" + + + +The Peacock and the Fox + +A Fox, who had an eye on a Peacock, was one day standing in a field +with his face turned up to the sky. + +"Reynard," said the Peacock, "what have you been doing?" + +"Oh, I have been counting the stars," said the Fox. + +"How many are they?" said the Peacock. + +"About as many as the fools on earth," said the Fox. + +"But which do you think is the greater, the number of the stars or of +the fools?" asked the Peacock. + +"If you put it so, I should say the fools are more by one," said the +Fox. + +"Who is that one?" said the Peacock. + +"Why, my own silly self!" said the Fox. + +"How are you silly, Reynard?" questioned the Peacock. + +"Why, was it not foolish of me to count the stars in the sky, when I +could have counted the stars in your brilliant plumage to better +advantage?" said the Fox. + +"No, Reynard," said the Peacock, "therein is not your folly--although +there is neither wit nor wisdom in your prattle--but in the thought +that your fine words would make an easy prey of me!" + +The Fox quietly left the place, saying: "_The Knave that hath been +found out cannot have legs too quick_." + + + +The Tiger and the Giraffe + +A Tiger, named Old Guile, who had grown weak with age, was lying under +a tree by the side of a lake in quest of some animal off which he could +make a meal. + +A Giraffe, named Tall Stripes, who came to the lake to quench his +thirst, attracted his attention, and Old Guile addressed him as +follows: "Oh, what a happy day! I see there the son of my old friend +Yellow Haunch, who lived in the great forest near that distant +mountain." + +Tall Stripes was astonished to hear the words of Old Guile, and asked +him how he, a Tiger, could be the friend of his father, a Giraffe. + +"I am not surprised at your question," replied Old Guile; "it is a +truth known to very few indeed that the Tiger and the Giraffe belong to +the same family. Just look at your skin and my own: yours is of a pale +yellow colour, mine is very nearly the same; you have stripes, I have +them, too. What more proofs do you want?" + +Tall Stripes, who was extremely simple and guileless, believed these +words, and said: "I am very happy to know that my father was your +friend, and that we are of the same family. Can I do anything for you?" + +Old Guile replied, "No, thank you; old as I am, I make it a point of +relying on myself. Further, a great part of my time is spent in prayer +and meditation; for I consider it necessary, at this age, to devote all +my attention to spiritual things. It will, however, be a great +gratification to me to have your company whenever you should chance to +pass by this lake." + +Tall Stripes acceded to this request, and was about to go on his Way, +when Old Guile observed; "My dear Tall Stripes, you are well aware of +the instability of all earthly things. I am old and infirm, and who +knows what may happen to me to-morrow. Perhaps I may not see you +again; so let me do myself the pleasure of embracing you before you +leave me for the present." + +"Certainly," said Tall Stripes. Thereupon Old Guile rose up slowly +from his seat, like one devoid of all energy, and embracing him, +plunged his deadly teeth into his long neck, and stretching him on the +ground made a hearty breakfast on him. + +_Beware of the crafty professions of the wicked_. + + + +The Man of Luck and the Man of Pluck + +A King in the East said to his Minister; "Do you believe in luck?" + +"I do," said the Minister. + +"Can you prove it?" said the King. + +"Yes, I can," said the Minister. + +So one night he tied up to the ceiling of a room a parcel containing +peas mixed with diamonds, and let in two men, one of whom believed in +luck and the other in human effort alone. The former quietly laid +himself down on the ground; the latter after a series of efforts +reached the parcel, and feeling in the dark the peas and the stones, +ate the former, one by one, and threw down the latter at his companion, +saying, "Here are the stones for your idleness." The man below +received them in his blanket. + +In the morning the king and the minister came to the room and bade each +take to himself what he had got. The Man of Effort found he had +nothing beyond the peas he had eaten. The Man of Luck quietly walked +away with the diamonds. + +The Minister said to the King: "Sire, there is such a thing as luck; +but it is as rare as peas mixed with diamonds. So I would say: '_Let +none hope to live by luck_.'" + + + +The Fox and the Crabs + +One day a Fox seated himself on a stone by a stream and wept aloud. +The Crabs in the holes around came up to him and said: "Friend, why are +you wailing so loud?" + +"Alas!" said the Fox, "I have been turned by my kindred out of the +wood, and do not know what to do." + +"Why were you turned out?" asked the Crabs in a tone of pity. + +"Because," said the Fox, sobbing, "they said they should go out +to-night hunting Crabs by the stream, and I said it would be a pity to +lull such pretty little creatures." + +"Where will you go hereafter?" said the Crabs. + +"Where I can get work," said the Fox; "for I would not go to my kindred +again, come what would." + +Then the Crabs held a meeting, and came to the conclusion that, as the +Fox had been thrown out by his kindred on their account, they could do +nothing better than engage his services to defend them. So they told +the Fox of their intention. He readily consented, and spent the whole +day in amusing the Crabs with all kinds of tricks. + +Night came. The moon rose in full splendour. The Fox said: "Have you +ever been out for a walk in the moonlight?" + +"Never, friend," said the Crabs; "we are such little creatures that we +are afraid of going far from our holes." + +"Oh, never mind!" said the Fox; "follow me! I can defend you against +any foe." + +So the Crabs followed him with pleasure. On the way the Fox told them +all sorts of delightful things, and cheered them on most heartily. +Having thus gone some distance, they reached a plain, where the Fox +came to a stand, and made a low moan in the direction of an adjacent +wood. Instantly a number of foxes came out of the wood and joined +their kinsman, and all of them at once set about hunting the poor +Crabs, who fled in all directions for their lives, but were soon caught +and devoured. + +When the banquet was over, the Foxes said to their friend: "How great +thy skill and cunning!" + +The heartless villain replied, with a wink: "My friends, _There is +cunning in cunning_." + + + +The Camel and the Pig + +A Camel said: "Nothing like being tall! Look how tall I am!" + +A Pig, who heard these words, said: "Nothing like being short! Look +how short I am!" + +The Camel said: "Well, if I fail to prove the truth of what I said, I +shall give up my hump." + +The Pig said: "If I fail to prove the truth of what I have said, I +shall give up my snout." + +"Agreed!" said the Camel. + +"Just so!" said the Pig. + +They came to a garden, enclosed by a low wall without any opening. The +Camel stood on this side the wall, and reaching the plants within by +means of his long neck made a breakfast on them. Then he turned +jeeringly to the Pig, who had been standing at the bottom of the wall +without even a look at the good things in the garden, and said: "Now, +would you be tall, or short?" + +Next they came to a garden, enclosed by a high wall, with a wicket gate +at one end. The Pig entered by the gate and, after having eaten his +fill of the vegetables within, came out, laughing at the poor Camel, +who had had to stay outside, because he was too tall to enter the +garden by the gate, and said: "Now, would you be tall, or short?" + +Then they thought the matter over, and came to the conclusion that the +Camel should keep his hump and the Pig his snout, observing: "_Tall is +good, where tall would do; if short, again, 'tis also true!_" + + + + +MALAYAN FABLES + +"He who is not possessed of such a book as will dispel many doubts, +point out hidden treasures, and is, as it were, a mirror of all things, +is even an ignorant man." + + +MALAYAN FABLES + +Father "Lime-stick" and the Flower-pecker + +Old Father Lime-stick once limed a tree for birds and caught a +Flower-pecker. He was just about to kill and eat it when the bird +cried out, "O Grandfather, surely you are not going to eat me? Why, +flesh, feathers and all, I am no bigger than your thumb!" "What!" said +the old man; "do you expect me then to let you go?" "Yes," said the +bird, "only let me go, and I will fetch you such a talisman as never +was--a Bezoar-stone as big as a cocoanut and worth at least a +thousand." Said the old man, "Do you really mean it?" "Really, I do," +replied the bird. "Just let me go, and I'll bring it to you." Then, +on being released, he flew off and perched on a tree, and began to +preen his feathers, to get rid of the bird-lime. + +Presently the old man said: "Where has that bird got to? Bird, where +is the Bezoar-stone you promised to bring me, the one that was worth at +least a thousand?" "Out-on-you," was the reply, "this is really _too_ +ridiculous. Just think of me, with my body as big as your thumb, +carrying a Bezoar-stone as big as a cocoanut! It really is too absurd. +Why, have I even got the strength to lift it?" At this the old man +held his peace. "Well," continued the bird, "you will gain nothing by +repenting that you set me free. Only remember in future not to +undertake an affair quite out of keeping with your own powers. Neither +try to get your arms round a tree too big for your embrace, nor attempt +to climb one higher than your strength permits you." + + + +The Mouse-deer's Shipwreck + +"Come," said the Mouse-deer to the Stump-tailed Heron, "come and sail +with me to Java." So they set sail, and Friend Mouse-deer held the +tiller and Friend Heron spread the sail, and the wind blew from the +north. Soon however Friend Mouse-deer got drowsy, and let the boat +fall out of the wind. + +At this Friend Heron said: "Why does the boat fall off? How is your +helm, Friend Mouse-deer?" "I was only taking a few winks," said he. +"Bring her up to the wind again," said the Heron. And the Mouse-deer +replied: "All right, I'm 'on the spot.'" Presently, however, he dozed +again and the Heron exclaimed: "Oh, if that's to be it, you may die and +be done with. I'll peck a hole in this boat of ours and you'll go to +the bottom." + +But the Mouse-deer said: "_Please_ don't, I'm _such_ a bad hand at +swimming." So they sailed on. And the Mouse-deer dozed a third time. +At this the Heron could contain himself no longer, and said, "Confound +you, Friend Mouse-deer, for sleeping at the helm." And losing his +temper he pecked a hole in the boat, and the boat let in the water and +Friend Heron flew away. But the Mouse-deer swam struggling with his +feet in the midst of the sea. + +Presently there came up a young Shark who exclaimed, "I'll have a meal +off you this time at all events." But the Mouse-deer answered, "What, +Friend Shark, you'll make a meal off me? Why, in place of the little +flesh I've got, if you'll carry me ashore, I'll teach you some +excellent Magic which will save you from ever having to hunt for your +food again." To this the Shark replied, "Agreed. If you'll teach me +'your excellent Magic' I'll carry you ashore." So the Mouse-deer got +upon Friend Shark's back, and was carried straight ashore. + +And on their arrival the Mouse-deer said: "Wait here a bit, while I go +and get the simples." And going a-land he hunted up a rattan creeper +and took it back with him and said: "Now I'll give you the simples I +spoke of," and bound it fast to Friend Shark's tail. And presently the +Shark said: "Why have you made the line fast to my tail?" But the +Mouse-deer replied: "'Keep quite quiet till I have tied you up +properly, and then I'll give you the simples." But presently he +dragged the Shark up on to the dry beach, and made butcher's meat of +him. Just then, however, a Tiger came up, exclaiming, "Here's really a +good meal for Me, for once in a way!" To this, however, the Mouse-deer +replied: "What is the use of eating me, when there's already plenty of +butcher's meat and to spare?" "Very well, I'll share it with you," +said the Tiger. The Mouse-deer replied, "You may share it with me by +all means, if you will only go and get some water to do the cooking." +So the Tiger went off to get water and presently came back with it. + +"Wash the meat before you roast it," said the Mouse-deer. The Tiger +took the meat and washed it in the water. "Go and fetch fire and roast +it," said the Mouse-deer. The Tiger fetched fire and came back to do +the cooking. And when the meat was done, "Now go and fetch some +drinking water," said the Mouse-deer, "and we'll have our meal +together." So the Tiger went off again to fetch the drinking water. +But the Mouse-deer in the meantime made off with the Shark's meat and +climbed up with it to the top of a She-oak Tree. And presently the +Tiger came back and found both Mouse-deer and meat missing. At this he +exclaimed: "For once in a way, Mr. Mouse-deer, you've fairly cheated +Me; if we don't meet again no matter, but if we do, I'll be the death +of you." And here the story ends. + + + +The Tiger Gets His Deserts + +A Tiger which had been caught in a trap, seeing a man, begged to be +released. The man said to the Tiger: "If I let you out of the trap +will you promise not to attack me?" "Certainly," said the Tiger, and +the man therefore let the Tiger go; but the moment the Tiger was loose +it sprang upon the man and caught him. At this the man begged the +Tiger to wait until he had inquired how the law stood with reference to +their contract, and the Tiger agreed to do so. The man and the Tiger +therefore set out together; and on coming to a Road the man said: "O +Road, Road, is it lawful to requite evil for good, or good for good +only?" The Road replied: "I do good to mankind, but they requite me +with evil, defiling my surface as they go." Then they came to a Tree, +of which the man asked the same question. The Tree replied: "I do good +to mankind, but they requite me with evil, lopping off my branches and +cutting me down." At last they came to the Mouse-deer and the man made +the same inquiry as before. The Mouse-deer replied: "I must really go +into the question thoroughly before I answer it; let us go back +together to the trap." On reaching the trap, he requested the Tiger to +"Step inside," and the Tiger entering the trap, the Mouse-deer let down +the door of the trap, and exclaimed, "Accursed Brute, you have returned +evil for good and now you shall die for it." He then called in the +neighbours and had the Tiger killed. + + + +The Tune That Makes the Tiger Drowsy + +There is a tune which when played upon the "Kerotong" (a two-stringed +bamboo harp) makes Rimau the Tiger drowsy, but only a few old people +know it. One evening two men were sitting together and playing in a +hut in the jungle when two tigers overheard them. + +The Tigers took counsel together, and one of them said to the other, +"You shall be the first to go into the house. Whatever you seize shall +therefore be your portion, but Whatever plunges down the steps to +escape shall be mine." + +At this the second Tiger ascended the house-ladder and was just +crouching upon the topmost rung when one of the men to amuse himself +commenced to play the Tune that makes the Tiger drowsy. As soon as the +Tiger heard it he began to grow sleepy, and presently fell plump down +the steps to the ground, where he was seized by his companion. When he +objected his companion exclaimed, "Did we not agree that Whatever +plunged down the steps was to be my portion?" and, so saying, he +proceeded to devour him at his leisure. + + + +The Tiger and the Shadow + +There was a "salt-lick" in the jungle to which all the beasts of the +forest resorted, but they were greatly afraid by reason of an old Tiger +which killed one of them every day. At length, therefore, P'lando' the +Mouse-deer said to the Tiger, "Why not permit me to bring you a beast +every day, to save you from hunting for your food?" The Tiger +consented and P'lando' went off to make arrangement with the beasts. +But he could not persuade any of them to go, and after three days he +set off, taking nobody with him but Kuwis the smallest of the Flying +Squirrels. + +On their arrival P'lando' said to the Tiger: "I could not bring you any +of the other beasts because the way was blocked by a fat old Tiger with +a Flying Squirrel sitting astride its muzzle." On hearing this the +Tiger exclaimed, "Let us go and find it and drive it away." The three +therefore set out, the Flying Squirrel perched upon the Tiger's muzzle +and the Mouse-deer sitting astride upon its hind quarters. On reaching +the river, the Mouse-deer pointed to the Tiger's likeness in the water +and exclaimed, "Look there! That is the fat old Tiger that I saw." On +hearing this, the Tiger sprang into the river to attack his own shadow, +and was drowned immediately. + + + +The King-crow and the Water-snail + +A Water-snail was coming up-stream from the lower reaches, when a +King-crow heard it. Said the King-crow to himself: "Who can it be +coming up-stream that exclaims so loudly at the rapids? One might say +it was a man, but that there is nothing to be seen." So the King-crow +settled on a tree to watch, but as he could see nothing from his perch +on the tree he flew down to the ground, and walked along by the +water-side. And when he thought to see some man exclaiming, he caught +sight of the Water-snail. + +"Hullo, you there," said he, "where do you come from?" "I come from +the eddy below the rapids," said the Water-snail, "and I only want to +get as far as the head-waters of this river." Said the King-crow: +"Wait a bit. Suppose you go down to the river-mouth as quickly as you +can and we will have a wager on it." (Now rivers are the Water-snail's +domain, in which he has many comrades.) + +"What is to be the stake?" asked the Water-snail. "If I am beaten I +will be your slave, and look after your aroids and wild caladiums on +which all Water-snails feed." Then the King-crow asked: "And what will +you stake?" The Water-snail replied, "If I am beaten, the river shall +be handed over to you and you shall be King of the River." But the +Water-snail begged for a delay of twice seven days, saying that he felt +knocked up after ascending the rapids, and the delay was granted +accordingly. + +Meanwhile, however, the Water-snail hunted up a great number of his +friends and instructed them to conceal themselves in each of the higher +reaches of the river, and to reply immediately when the King-crow +challenged them. + +The day arrived, and the King-crow flew off, and in each of the higher +reaches the Water-snail's friends replied to the challenge, while at +the river-mouth the Water-snail replied in person. So the King-crow +was defeated and has ever since remained the slave of the Water-snail. + + + +The Elephant Has a Bet with the Tiger + +In the beginning Gajah the Elephant and Rimau the Tiger were sworn +friends. But one day they came to a clearing and presently encountered +Lotong, the long-tailed Spectacle-monkey. And when he saw the Monkey, +the Elephant said, "Mr. Lotong yonder is far too noisy; let us try and +shake him off; if he falls to me I am to eat you; and if he falls to +you, you are to eat me--we will make a wager of it." The Tiger said, +"Agreed"; and the Elephant replied, "Agreed." "Very well!" said the +Tiger; "you shall try and menace him first." So the Elephant tried to +menace the Monkey. "AU! AU! AU!" he trumpeted, and each time he +trumpeted the Monkey was scared. But the Monkey went jumping head +foremost through the branches and never fell to the ground at all. + +Presently, therefore, the Tiger asked the Elephant, "Well, Friend +Elephant, would you like to try your luck again?" But the Elephant +said, "No, thank you. It shall be your turn now; and if he falls to +you, you shall eat me--if you really can make him fall!" Then the +Tiger went and roared his longest and loudest, and shortened his body +as for a spring and growled and menaced the Monkey thrice. And the +Monkey leaped and fell at the Tiger's feet, for his feet and hands were +paralyzed and would not grip the branches any more. Then the Tiger +said: "Well, Friend Elephant, I suppose I may eat you now." But the +Elephant said: "You have, I admit, won the wager; but I beg you to +grant me just seven days' respite, to enable me to visit my wife and +children and to make my will." The Tiger granted the request, and the +Elephant went home, bellowing and sobbing every foot of the way. + +Now the Elephant's wife heard the sound of her husband's voice, and +said to her children, "What can be the matter with your Father that he +keeps sobbing so?" And the children listened to make sure, and said, +"Yes, it really is Father's voice, the sobbing, and not that of anybody +else." Presently Father Elephant arrived, and Mother Elephant asked: +"What were you sobbing for, Father? What have you done to yourself?" +Father Elephant replied: "I made a wager with Friend Tiger about +shaking down a Monkey, and Friend Tiger beat me; I menaced the Monkey, +but he did not fall; if he had fallen to me, I was to have eaten Friend +Tiger, but if he fell to Friend Tiger, Friend Tiger was to eat me. I +was beaten, and now Friend Tiger says he is going to eat me. So I +begged leave to come home and see you, and he has given me just seven +days' respite." + +Now for the seven days Father Elephant kept sobbing aloud, and neither +ate nor slept. And the thing came to the hearing of Friend Mouse-deer. +"What can be the matter with Friend Elephant that he keeps bellowing +and bellowing; neither does he sleep, so that night is turned into day, +and day into night? What on earth is the matter with him? Suppose I +go and see," said the Mouse-deer. Then the Mouse-deer went to see what +was wrong, and asked: "What is the matter with you, Friend Elephant, +that we hear you bellowing and bellowing every single day and every +single night, just now, too, when the Rains are upon us? You are far +too noisy." + +But the Elephant said: "It is no mere empty noise, Friend Mouse-deer; I +have got into a dreadful scrape." "What sort of a scrape?" inquired +the Mouse-deer. "I made a wager with Friend Tiger about shaking down a +Monkey, and he beat me." "What was the stake?" asked the Mouse-deer. +"The stake was that Friend Tiger might eat me if Friend Tiger +frightened it down; and if I frightened it down, I might eat Friend +Tiger. It fell to Friend Tiger, and now Friend Tiger wants to eat me. +And my reason for not eating or sleeping any more is that I have got +only just seven days' respite to go home and visit my wife and children +and to make my will." Then the Mouse-deer said: "If it came to Friend +Tiger's eating you, I should feel exceedingly sorrowful, exceedingly +distressed; but things being only as you say, I feel neither." "If you +will assist me," said the Elephant, "I will become your slave, and my +descendants shall be your slaves forever." "Very well, it that is the +case, I will assist you," said the Mouse-deer. "Go and look for a jar +full of molasses." Friend Elephant promised to do so, and went to look +for it at the house of a maker of palm-wine. The owner of the house +fled for his life, and the jar fell into Friend Elephant's possession, +who bore it back to the Mouse-deer. + +Then Friend Mouse-deer said, "When does your promise expire?" and +Friend Elephant replied, "To-morrow." So when next morning arrived +they started, and the Mouse-deer said, "Now pour the molasses over your +back and let it spread and spread and run down your legs." Friend +Elephant did as he was ordered. Friend Mouse-deer then instructed the +Elephant as follows: "As soon as I begin to lick up the molasses on +your back, bellow as loud as you can and make believe to be hurt, and +writhe and wriggle this way and that." + +And presently Friend Mouse-deer commenced to lick hard, and Friend +Elephant writhed and wriggled and made believe to be hurt, and made a +prodigious noise of trumpeting. In this way they proceeded and Friend +Mouse-deer got up and sat astride upon Friend Elephant's back. And the +Elephant trumpeted and trumpeted all the way till they met with Friend +Tiger. At this Friend Mouse-deer exclaimed, "A single Elephant is very +short commons; if I could only catch that big and fat old Tiger there, +it would be just enough to satisfy my hunger." + +Now when Friend Tiger heard these words of the Mouse-deer, he said to +himself, "So I suppose if you catch me, you'll eat me into the bargain, +will you?" And Friend Tiger stayed not a moment longer, but fled for +his life, fetching very lofty bounds. + +And soon he met with the Black Ape, and Friend Ape asked, "Why running +so hard, Friend Tiger? Why so much noise, and why, just when the Rains +are upon us, too, do you go fetching such lofty bounds?" Friend Tiger +replied, "What do you mean by 'so much noise'? What was the Thing that +was got upon Friend Elephant's back, that had caught Friend Elephant +and was devouring him so that he went writhing and wriggling for the +pain of it, and the blood went streaming down in floods? Moreover the +Thing that was got on Friend Elephant's back said, to my hearing, that +a single Elephant was very short commons: but if It could catch a fat +old Tiger like myself that would be just enough to satisfy Its hunger." +Friend Ape said, "What was that Thing, Friend Tiger?" "I don't know," +said the Tiger. "Ah," mused the Ape, "I wonder if it _could_ be Friend +Mouse-deer!" "Certainly not," said the Tiger; "why, how in the world +could Friend Mouse-deer swallow _Me_? To say nothing of his not being +used to meat food." "Come and let us go back again," said the Ape. + +Then they went back again to find the Elephant, and first the Ape went +the faster, and then the Tiger went the faster, and then the Ape got in +front again. But Friend Mouse-deer sitting on Friend Elephant's back +saw them coming and shouted. "Hullo, Father Ape," said he, "this is a +dog's trick indeed; you promised to bring me two tigers and you only +bring me one. I refuse to accept it, Father Ape." + +Now when Friend Tiger heard this, he ran off at first as fast as he +could, but presently he slackened his pace and said, "It is too bad of +you, Friend Ape, to try to cozen me in order to pay your own debts. +For shame, Father Ape! It was only through good luck that he refused +to accept me; if he had accepted, I should have been dead and done +with. So now, if you come down to the ground, you shall die the death +yourself, just for your trying to cheat me." + +Thus the Tiger and the Ape were set at enmity, and to this day the +Tiger is very wroth with the Ape for trying to cheat him. And here the +story ends. + + + + +MOORISH FABLES + + "While watching man in all his phases, + And seeing that, in many cases, + He acts just like the brute creation-- + I've thought the lord of all these races + Of no less failings showed the traces + Than do his lieges in relation." + + +MOORISH FABLES + +The Wagtail and the Jackal + +At a time when the animals spoke, a Wagtail laid her eggs on the +ground. The little ones grew up. A Jackal and a Fox came to them. +The Jackal said to the Fox: + +"Swear to me that the Wagtail owes me a pound of butter." + +The Fox swore to it. The Bird began to weep. A Greyhound came to her +and asked her what was the matter. She answered him: + +"The Fox has calumniated me." + +"Well," said the Hound, "put me in this sack of skin." + +She put him in the sack. "Tie up the top well," said the Hound. When +the Jackal returned she said to him, + +"Come and measure out the butter." + +The Jackal advanced and unfastened the sack. He saw the Hound, who +stretched out his paws and said to the Fox, + +"I am ill; come and measure, Fox." + +The Fox approached. The Hound seized him. The Jackal said: + +"Remember your false testimony." + + + +The Wren + +A Wren had built its nest on the side of a road. When the eggs were +hatched, a Camel passed that way. The little Wrens saw it and said to +their father when he returned from the fields: + +"O papa, a gigantic animal passed by." + +The Wren stretched out his foot. "As big as this, my children?" + +"O papa, much bigger." + +He stretched out his foot and his wing. "As big as this?" + +"O papa, much bigger." + +Finally he stretched out fully his feet and legs. + +"As big as this then?" + +"Much bigger." + +"That is a lie; there is no animal bigger than I am." + +"Well, wait," said the little ones, "and you will see." + +The Camel came back while browsing the grass of the roadside. + +The Wren stretched himself out near the nest. The Camel seized the +bird, which passed through its teeth safe and sound. + +"Truly," he said to them, "the Camel is a gigantic animal, but I am not +ashamed of myself." + +On the earth it generally happens that the vain are as if they did not +exist; but sooner or later a rock falls and crushes them. + + + +Mule, Jackal, and Lion + +The Mule, the Jackal, and the Lion went in company. + +"We will eat the one whose race is bad," they said to each other. + +"Lion, who is your father?" + +"My father is a lion, and my mother is a lioness." + +"And you, Jackal, what is your father?" + +"My father is a jackal, and my mother too." + +"And you, Mule, what is your father?" + +"My father is an ass, and my mother is a mare." + +"Your race is bad; we will eat you." + +He answered them: "I will consult an old man. If he says that my race +is bad, you may devour me." + +He went to a farrier, and said to him, "Shoe my hind feet, and make the +nails stick out well." + +He went back home. He called the Camel and showed him his feet, +saying, "See what is written on this tablet." + +"The writing is difficult to decipher," answered the Camel. "I do not +understand it, for I only know three words--_outini_, _ouzatini_, +_ouazakin_." + +He called the Lion, and said to him, "I do not understand these +letters; I only know three words--_outini_, _ouzatini_, _ouazakin_." + +"Show it to me," said the Lion. He approached. The Mule struck him +between the eyes and stretched him out level. + +He who goes with a knave is betrayed by him. + + + + +AFRICAN FABLES + + "The world is old, they say; I don't deny it; + But, infant still + In taste and will, + Whoe'er would teach, must gratify it." + + +AFRICAN FABLES + +The Hen and the Cat + +A Cat arose in her house, went to a Hen and said to her: "Let us make +friendship!" + +The Hen replied to the Cat: "Dost thou like me for a friend?" + +The Cat said, "Yes," and went away, and after having been at home for a +while, she sent her child to the Hen, saying, "Go and tell the Hen to +rise up early to-morrow morning, and to come and accompany me to a +neighbouring town." + +The child arose, went to the Hen's house and saluted her. + +The Hen arose, and asked it: "Thou child of the Cat, dost thou come to +me in peace?" + +The Cat's child replied, "I come in peace; my mother has sent me to +thee." + +The Hen said to the Cat's child, "Say what thy mother has sent thee +for; let me know." + +After the Cat's child had told it to the Hen, it said: "I will go," and +set out and went home. + +When it was gone the Hen arose, called a child of hers, and said: "Go +and ask the Cat at what time we shall go to the neighbouring town?" +When the child had already started, she called it back again, saying, +"Come back, I will tell thee something." + +The child returned, and when it had come to its mother, she said to it, +"When thou goest to the Cat, open thy ears and hear well what she says, +and come and tell me." + +The child went to the Cat, and saluted her, and when the Cat arose and +came out to it, the Hen's child was standing there. The Cat asked the +Hen's child, "Why did thy mother send thee to me?" + +The Hen's child said, "My mother said I must come and ask thee how +early shall we go to the neighbouring town?" + +The Cat said to the Hen's child, "Go and tell thy mother to arise and +come at the cockcrowing; for what should eat her?" + +The Hen's child returned to its mother, and said to her, "Behold I went +to the Cat's place where thou sentest me, and am come back." + +The Hen said to her child, "What did the Cat say? Let me hear what +word she spoke?" + +Her child answered and said to her, "My mother, the word which the Cat +spoke is this: 'Go and tell thy mother to come to me when the cock +crows, that we may go; for what should eat her?'" + +Its mother, the Hen, said to her child, "My child, lie down in your +house, for I have heard what the Cat said." + +The child of the Hen obeyed her mother, went and lay down, and also her +mother lay down. They slept their sleep until the cock crew, which +when the Cat heard, she arose, got ready and waited for the Hen, +thinking, "May she come that we may go!" The cock crew the second +time, and the Cat looked out on the way whence the Hen was to come, +thinking, "May she come that we may go!" + +The Hen did not get up at home and day came on. When it became day, +the Cat arose in her house, went to the Hen's home, and said to her, +"Hen, thou sentest thy child to me, and asked at what time thou +shouldst rise up, and I said to thy child, 'Go and tell thy mother to +come when the cock crows, that we may go.' Did it not tell thee what +it was told by me, that thou art still sitting at home although it has +become day?" + +The Hen said to the Cat, "Sister Cat, if thou wishest to have me for a +friend, I must never get up in my house and come out at night." + +The Cat said to the Hen, "What art thou afraid of that thou sayest, 'I +will never come out at night'? What is there in the way?" + +The Hen listened to what the Cat said, got herself ready and called her +children, saying, "Come and let us accompany the Cat to a neighbouring +town!" All the children arose and when they had set out on their way, +the Cat went before, and having gone on a little, she seized two of the +children of the Hen; and the Hen saw that the cat was seizing two of +her children; so she said to the Cat, "Sister Cat, we have scarcely set +out on our way and dost thou seize two of my children?" + +The Cat replied, "Thy two children which I took have not strength +enough to walk; therefore did I take them to my bosom that we may go +on." + +The Hen said to the Cat, "If thou actest thus, I and thou must dissolve +our friendship." + +The Cat replied, "If thou wilt not have a friend, I shall let thee go +home." So, as the Hen began to go home, the Cat made a bound, and +seized the Hen's head, whereupon the Hen cried for help. All the +people of the town heard her, arose, ran, and when they were come, the +Cat was holding the Hen's head tight. When the Cat saw the people of +the town, she left the Hen, ran away, and entered the forest. + +There the Hen was standing and the people of the town said to her: +"Foolish one, didst thou, a Hen, arise and go to befriend a Cat? If we +had not heard thy screams, and come to thee, she would have killed thee +and carried away all thy children into her forest." + +The Hen said to the people of the town: "God bless you: you have taken +me out of the Cat's mouth." + +The people of the town said to her: "To-day our Lord has delivered +thee, but for the future do thou no more make friendship with the Cat. +The Cat is too cunning for thee: beware of the Cat in future!" + +I have heard old people say, that on that day the cats and the fowls +dissolved their friendship. This is finished. + + + +The Stork and the Toad + +A Stork went and laid eggs in a tree, brooded and hatched young ones. +Then she left and went to seek food for her little ones; but she did +not get any food, and all her little ones were crying for hunger. The +Stork did not know what to do. So she arose one day, went to her +friend, and said, "My friend, I am come to thee." + +Her friend said: "What dost thou want that thou art come to me?" + +She replied to her friend: "My children are hungry, and I have no food; +therefore, am I come to thee; teach me a device!" + +Her friend said to her: "Arise in the morning, go to the brook, and see +whether there are Toads in it; then come back, and on the following +morning go again, and lie down by the side of the brook; stretch out +thy legs and thy wings, shut thine eyes, keep quite silent, and lie in +one place until the Toads come out in the morning, and, after seeing +thee, go home and call all their people to come, to take thee by the +wing and to drag thee away. But do not thou speak to them--be +perfectly quiet." + +She listened to what her friend said, and at night-quiet she arose, and +went to the brook, when all the Toads were singing; but as soon as they +saw her, they went and hid themselves at the bottom of the water. So +the Stork went home and slept, and having slept she arose up early and +went back again to the brook, without being observed by the Toads; she +went softly, and lay down by the side of the water, pretending to be +dead, stretched out her legs, her wings, and her mouth, and shut her +eyes. Thus she lay, until at break of day when one Toad arose, and, +finding that it was day, came forth and saw the Stork lying. He went +back, and called all the Toads: + +"Come, behold, I have seen something dead, lying at the door of our +house, and when I had seen it I came back to call you." + +So all the Toads arose and followed him, and having come out, they all +saw a Stork lying at the door of their house; but they did not know +that the Stork was more cunning than themselves. They returned home, +called a council together and said: "What shall we do? Some one who +came, we do not know whence, has died before the gate of our town." +All their great men answered, and said, "Arise all of you, go out, drag +this dead body far away, and leave it there." + +So they all arose, went, and, taking the Stork by its wings and legs, +dragged it away. + +The Stork was cunning; she saw them without their knowing it. They +sang, as they dragged her away: + +"Drag her and leave her! Drag her and leave her!" + +The Stork did not speak to them, as they all dragged her away, although +she saw them. Now when they had carried her far away, the Stork opened +her eyes, which when they saw they all began to run away. As soon as +the Stork saw that the Toads had begun to run away, she arose, and +pursued them; having overtaken one, she took and swallowed it, and went +on taking and swallowing them. The Toads kept running, but by the time +they would have got home the Stork had swallowed them all, one by one. +She had filled her bag, and then started on her way home. As soon as +her children saw her, they all ran to their mother, saying, "Our mother +has brought us food." When they came their mother threw all the Toads +in her bag down to her children, and her children ate them, so that +their hunger was appeased. + +The Stork arose, went to her friend, and said: + +"My friend, what thou toldest me yesterday is excellent: I went and lay +down by the side of the brook, and when the Toads saw me in the +morning, they thought I was dead; they came, dragged me along, and when +they had carried me far away, not knowing that I was wiser than they +and thinking that I was dead, I opened mine eyes to look at them; but +on seeing me open mine eyes, they all began to run away. Then I arose, +pursued them, and when I had overtaken one, I took and swallowed it; +and when I had overtaken a second I took and swallowed it; so by the +time they would have reached home I had swallowed them all, and filled +my bag with them. I brought them to my children, and when my children +were around me, I threw the Toads before them out of the bag and they +ate them, that their hunger was appeased." + +She also thanked her friend, saying: "God bless thee; thou hast taught +me an excellent device." + +Thus the Stork and her friend devised a plan, and thus they were able +to maintain their children while the Toads were sitting in their house. + +So now, when the Toads are croaking in a brook, and they see any one +come, they are all quite silent, supposing that a Stork is coming. + +This fable of the Stork and Toads, which I heard, is now finished. + + + +The Rat and the Toad + +The Toad said to the Rat, "I can do more than thou." + +The Rat replied to the Toad: "Thou dost not know how to run; having +flung thyself anywhere thou stoppest there. This is all thy run; and +wilt thou say that thou canst do more than I?" + +When the Toad had heard the words of the Rat he said to him: "If, +according to thy opinion, I cannot do more than thou, thou shalt see +what I will begin to do to-morrow; and if thou beginnest and doest the +same, without anything happening to thee, thou canst do more than I." + +The Rat agreed to the Toad's proposal, and went to see the Toad. + +The Toad prepared himself, and when the sun reached about the middle, +between the horizon and the zenith, the great men felt its heat, and +went to sit down in the shade of a tree. The Toad on seeing this, +arose, went to where the men were sitting, and passed through the midst +of them. When the men observed him they said: "If you touch him, your +hand will become bitter." So no one touched him, and the Toad passed +through and went home. + +Then the Toad said to the Rat, "Didst thou see me? Now if thou canst +do what I do, arise, and begin to do it. I will see!" + +The Rat, attending to what the toad said, got ready and the following +morning, when the sun had gained strength and the great men had stood +up and got under the shade of a tree, the Rat saw them sitting there, +and went to do what the Toad had done; but when he came to where the +men were sitting, and just went to pass through the midst of them, they +saw him, and they all took sticks, and sought to kill him: one man +attempting to kill him with a stick, struck at him, but did not hit him +well, the stick touching him only a little on the back; so he ran away +to the Toad. + +On his arrival the Rat said to the Toad: + +"Brother Toad, as thou wentest to where the people were sitting no one +said a word to thee, and thou camest home again with a sound skin; but +when I went, and they saw me, just as I went to pass through them they +all took sticks, and sought to kill me; and one man taking a stick and +striking at me to kill me, our Lord helped me, that the stick hit me +only a little on the back; so I ran away, and came to thee. I disputed +with thee, thinking that I could do what thou doest: now to-day I have +experienced something; to-morrow let us begin again and when I have the +experience of to-morrow, I shall be able to give thee an answer." + +The Toad said to the Rat: "The things of today are passed; to-morrow, +when the great men have gone and sat down under the tree, I will get +ready and when thou hast seen that, on observing me come to them and +pass through the midst of them, they will not say a word to me, thou +also shalt do what I did." So the Rat then went to see the Toad. + +As soon as the Toad saw the great men sitting under the tree, he again +began, saying to the Rat, "Look at me, as I go to the place where the +great men are sitting, with a sound skin: but if, on my return from +them, if thou seest the wale of a stick on any part of my body, thou +hast spoken the truth, and canst do more than I." + +The Toad got ready, and on coming to where the men were sitting no one +said anything to him; so he passed through the midst of them, and went +again to the Rat, saying: "Look at me! Look at my whole body! Canst +thou see the wale of a stick? If thou seest one, then tell me of it!" + +When the Rat had looked at the Toad's whole body and not seen any wale +of a stick he said to the Toad: + +"Brother Toad, I have looked at thy whole body, and not seen any wale +of a stick: thou art right." + +The Toad said to the Rat. "As thou disputest with me, and maintainest +that thou canst do what I do, get up again, and go to where the great +men are sitting; and if on seeing thee, these men do not say anything +to thee, so that I see thee come back to me again with a sound skin, +then I know that thou canst do more than I." + +The Rat, attending to what the Toad said, arose, got himself ready, and +when he saw the great men sitting under the tree, he went toward them; +but on observing him, they said: "Here comes a Rat," and they every one +took a stick, and pursued him in order to kill him; so he ran away, and +as he ran, a man with a stick pursued him; saying, "I will not let this +Rat escape." + +The Rat ran until his strength failed him. The man pursued him with +his stick, to kill him; and having come near to him, he took his stick, +and struck at him, with the purpose of killing him; but the stick did +not hit him, and God saved him, his time being not yet arrived, by +showing him a hole into which he crept. When the man saw that he had +gotten into the hole, he went back and returned home. The Rat, on +seeing that the man had gone home, came again out of the hole, and went +to the Toad, saying to him: + +"Brother Toad, I indeed at first disputed with thee, saying that I +could do more than thou; but, as for my disputing with thee, thou in +truth canst do more than I: when the people saw thee, they did not say +a word to thee, but when they saw me, they wished to kill me; if our +Lord had not helped me and showed me a hole, they, on seeing me, would +not have left, but killed me; thou surpassest me in greatness." + +At that time the Rat entreated our Lord and he placed it in a hole, but +the Toad he placed in the open air. The Rat does not come out by day, +before any one; as to the time when it comes out at night, it stretches +its head out of the hole, and when it does not see anybody it comes out +to seek its food. + +As for the Toad, it comes out by day and by night, at any time, +whenever it likes; it comes out and goes about, not anything likes to +molest it; it is bitter, no one eats it on account of its bitterness; +the Toad is left alone; therefore it goes about wherever it likes. + +The Rat does not come out of its hole and walk about except at night. + +What the Toad and the Rat did, this I heard, and have told to thee. +This fable of the Toad and the Rat is now finished. + + + +The Lion and the Wild Dog + +The Lion said to the Wild Dog that he did not fear any one in the +forest except these four, viz., tree-leaves, grass, flies, and earth, +and when the Wild Dog said, "There is certainly one stronger than +thou," the Lion replied to the Wild Dog, "I kill the young ones of the +elephant, the wild cow, and the leopard, and bring them to my children +to be eaten. If I give one roar, all the beasts of the forest tremble, +every one of them, on hearing me roar; none is greater than I within +this forest." + +The Wild Dog said to the Lion, "As thou sayest that thou fearest not +any one in this forest, so let us go and show me thy house; and I will +come and call thee, in order to show thee a place where a black bird +comes to eat, as soon as I shall see him again." + +The Lion took the Wild Dog with him and showed him his house; and then +the Wild Dog went home. + +The next day, when a hunter was come to the forest the Wild Dog, on +seeing him, went to the Lion's house, and said to the Lion: + +"Brother Lion, come, and follow me, and I will show thee something +which I have seen." + +The Lion arose and followed the Wild Dog, and when they were come to +where the hunter was, the hunter prepared himself: he had put on his +forest garment, had sewn the bill of a long bird to his cap, and put it +on his head, and he walked as a bird. The Wild Dog, seeing him, said +to the Lion: + +"Brother Lion, yonder is that black bird. Go and catch him, and when +thou hast caught him, please give me one of his legs, for I want it for +a charm." + +The Lion attended to what the Wild Dog said, and went softly to where +the bird was; but the Wild Dog ran back. + +The Lion went, thinking, "I will kill the bird," but he did not know +that on seeing him the hunter had prepared himself, and taken out his +arrow; so, as he thought, "I will go and seize the bird," and was come +close to the hunter, the hunter shot an arrow at the Lion and hit him. +Then the Lion fell back, and having got up and fallen down three times, +the arrow took effect and he felt giddy. In the same moment the hunter +had disappeared[1] so that he saw him no more. Then the Lion recovered +his courage and went very gently home. + +On his arrival at home the Wild Dog said to him: + +"Brother Lion, as thou saidst to me that thou art not afraid of any one +in the world except our Lord, tree-leaves, grass, flies, and dirt, why +didst thou not catch that black bird which I showed thee, and bring it +to thy children?" + +The Lion replied, "This man's strength is greater than mine." + +Then the Wild Dog said again, "Thou saidst that thou fearest no one, +except grass, flies, earth and tree-leaves; thou fearest, lest when +thou enterest the forest, the leaves of trees should touch thee, or +lest grass should touch thy body, or lest flies should sit on thy skin; +thou also fearest to lie upon the bare earth, and thou fearest our +Lord, who created thee: all these thou fearest, 'but not any other I +fear within this forest,' thou saidst; and yet I showed thee a bird, +the which thou couldst not kill, but thou leftest it, and rannest home; +now tell me how this bird looks?" + +The Lion answered and said to the Wild Dog: "Wild Dog, what thou saidst +is true, and I believe it; a black man is something to be feared; if we +do not fear a black man neither shall we fear our Lord who created us." + +Now all the wild beasts which God has created hunt for their food in +the forest, and eat it; but as soon as they see one black man standing, +they do not stop and wait, but run away. Now the following beasts are +dangerous in the forest: viz., the leopard, the lion, the wild cow, the +wild dog and the hyena; but when they see a black man, they do not stop +and wait. As for the dispute which the Lion and the Wild Dog had, the +Wild Dog was right, and the Lion gave him his right; then they shook +hands again, and each went and ran to his own home. This fable, which +I heard, respecting the Wild Dog and the Lion, is now finished. + +[1]This refers to the universal belief that hunters are able to render +themselves invisible, in moments of danger, by the operation of charms +and witchcraft. + + + +How Sense Was Distributed + +In the beginning not one of all the beasts of the forest was endowed +with sense: when they saw a hunter come to them intending to kill them, +they stood and looked at the hunter, and so the hunter killed them; day +after day he killed them. Then our Lord sent one who put all the sense +into a bag, tied it, carried it, and put it down under a large tree. + +The Weasel saw the man put the bag down, and afterward went, called the +Hare, and said to him: + +"Brother Hare, I saw a man put something down under a tree, but as I +went to take it, I could not; so let us go and if thou wilt take it I +will show it to thee that thou mayest do so." + +When the Weasel and the Hare had gone together to where the bag was, +the Weasel said to the Hare, "Behold, here is the thing which I could +not take and for which I called thee here." + +But as the Hare went and attempted to take it, he could not, so he left +it and went away. + +When he was gone the Weasel went again to take hold of the bag, but as +he attempted to take it, it was too heavy; so the Weasel did not know +what to do. Then came a Pigeon, who sat upon a tree, and said +something to the Weasel. The Weasel heard it say: "Lean it over and +take it." And again, "Bend it and take it." + +As soon as he had heard this, he dragged the bag along and thus brought +it and leaned it against a tree, and caused it to stand in an inclined +position; then having gone to the bottom of it, he bowed down, put his +head to the bag, and as he drew the bag toward him it went upon his +head; this being done, he pressed himself upon the ground, rose up and +stood there. After this he went his way home, and on putting the bag +down upon the ground and untying it, the Weasel saw that there was no +other thing in the bag, but pure sense. + +So he went and called the Hare again, and when the Hare was come, he +said to him: + +"Brother Hare, there was not a single other thing in that bag but pure +sense: God has loved us so that to-day we have obtained sense; but do +not tell it to anybody, then I will give thee a little, and what +remains I will hide in my hole until some one comes and begs of me, and +then I will give him also a little." + +So he took one sense and gave to the Hare, saying, "If thou takest home +this one sense, which I give thee, it will preserve thee. When thou +sleepest by day open thy eyes; then if one comes to thee, thinking, 'I +have got meat, I will take it,' and sees that thine eyes are open, he +will think that thou art not asleep, will leave thee alone and go; but +when thou goest and liest down without sleeping, then shut thine eyes, +and if one sees thee, and sees that thine eyes are shut, when he comes +close to thee, saying, 'I have got meat, I will take it,' then thou +wilt see him, rise up and run away into thy forest. This one sense +will be enough for thee; but what remains I will keep in mine own +house." The Hare took his one sense and went home. + +Now if one sees a Hare lying with his eyes open, it sleeps, but if its +eyes are closed it is awake, and does not sleep. By this one sense +which it has got the Hare is preserved. + +The Weasel took all the sense that was left and hid it in his house. +The Weasel surpasses all the beasts of the field in sense. When you +see the Weasel, and say, "There the King of Sense has come out," and +drive it before you, saying, "I will catch it," it runs into its hole; +and if you begin to dig up the hole, it comes out behind you, and runs +until you see it no more. This is why now if one sees a Weasel, one +calls it "The King of Sense." + +Amongst all the beasts of the field he distributed sense only little by +little, and this is what they now have. + +This word, showing how sense came abroad in the world, and the meaning +of which I have heard, is now finished. + + + +What Employment Our Lord Gave to Insects + +All the Insects assembled and went to our Lord to seek employment. On +their arrival they said to our Lord, "Thou hast given every one his +work; now give us also a work to do, that we may have something to eat." + +Our Lord attended to the request of the Insects, and said to them, "Who +will give notice that to-morrow all the Insects are to come?" + +The Merchant-insect arose and said to our Lord, "The Cricket can give +notice well." + +So our Lord called the Cricket and said to him when he was come, "Go +and give notice this evening, when the sun has set, that to-morrow +morning all the Insects are to come to me, for I wish to see them." + +The Cricket, obeying our Lord's command, went back to his house, waited +until evening, until the sun set, and as soon as he had seen the +setting of the sun, he prepared and arose to give notice. So when the +Cricket had given notice until midnight, our Lord sent a man to him +saying: "Go and tell the Cricket, that there has been much notice, and +that it is now enough; else he will have the headache." But the +Cricket would not hear, he said: "If I am out they will see me." So he +went into his hole, stretched only his head out, and began to give +notice. The Cricket went on giving notice until the day dawned; but +when it was day he became silent and stopped giving notice. Then all +the Insects arose and went to the prayer-place of our Lord, the +Merchant alone being left behind. To all the Insects who came first, +our Lord gave their employment, which they all took and went home. + +Afterward also the Merchant-insect went to our Lord, and our Lord said +to him: "To all thy people who came before, I have given their work, +and they are gone; now what kept thee back that thou camest to me last?" + +The Merchant-insect replied to our Lord, "My bags are many and on the +day when I took my bags and bound them up in my large travelling sacks +to load them upon my asses, then my people left me behind and came to +thee first." + +Our Lord said to him: "All other employments are assigned; the people +who came first took them and went away; but stop, I will also give one +to thee. Go, and having arrived at the entrance of the black ants, +where are a great many ant-heads, when thou seest these many heads of +the black ants, take them, and fill thy bags with them; then load thy +bags upon thy ass, carry them to market, spread mats there, and sell +them." + +So the Merchant-insect obtained his employment, drove his ass, and went +from our Lord, picked up ant-heads at the entrance of the black ants, +loaded his ass, and went his way to the market. As he went the ass +threw off the large bag. Then, he alone not being able to lift the +bag, he called people, saying: "Come, be so good as to help me; let us +take the sacks and load mine ass;" but not any of the people would do +so. Then the little red ants came after him, and when they were come +to where he was, he said to them, "Please come and help me to load mine +ass". The little red Ants said to the Merchant-insect, "We will not +help thee for nothing." + +The Merchant-insect said to the little red Ants, "If you will not help +me for nothing, then come and help me, and when I have come back from +the market, I will pay you." + +The little red Ants helped him to load his ass, and the Merchant-insect +drove his ass to the market, put down his sacks in the midst of the +market-place, prepared the ground, spread his mat there, and having +sold his ant-heads, he bought his things, and the market people began +to disperse. + +Then the Merchant-insect started on his way home, and as he went the +little red Ants saw him, and said to him, "Father-merchant, give us +what thou owest us." + +The Merchant, however, refused them their due, and went on his way. +Now as he went he got fever so that he sat down under a tree, tied his +ass fast, and took off the sacks from his ass's back. As he sat there +the fever overpowered him, and he lay down. On seeing him lying the +little red Ants assembled and came to him. Now the fever was consuming +the Merchant-insect's strength, and when the little red Ants saw this +they assembled together and killed him. + +There was one Insect who saw them kill him, and he ran to our Lord, and +said to him, "All the little red Ants assembled together and killed a +man in the midst of the town--that I saw it." + +When our Lord heard what the Insect said he called a man and sent him, +saying: "Go and call the little red Ants which kill people and bring +them to me." + +The messenger arose, went, called all the little red Ants and brought +them before our Lord. On seeing the little red Ants, our Lord asked +them, "Why did you kill the man?" The little red Ants answered, and +said to our Lord, "The reason why we killed this man is this: When he +went to market and his ass had thrown off the sacks, those sacks were +too heavy for him to take alone, so he called us, and when we came to +him, he said to us, 'Please help me to take my large bag and load it +upon mine ass, that I may go to market. When I have sold my things and +come back, I will pay you.' Accordingly we helped him to load his ass; +but when he had gone to market and sold all his things there, we saw +him on his return home, and went to him, to ask him for what he owed +us; but he refused it, drove his ass, and went homeward. However, he +was only gone a little while, when he got fever, sat down under a tree, +tied his ass fast, took off his sacks and laid them down; and on the +same spot where he sat down, the fever overpowered him that he lay +down. Then on seeing him lying we went, assembled ourselves and killed +him, because he had refused what he owed us." + +Our Lord gave them right. + +Our Lord said to the Merchant, "Thou goest to market until thy life +stands still." Our Lord said to the Cricket, "Do thou give notice +whenever it is time! This is thy work." + +Our Lord said to the little red Ants, "Whenever ye see any Insect +unwell and lying down in a place, then go, assemble yourselves and +finish it." + +Now the Cricket begins to give notice as soon as it is evening and does +not keep silence in his hole until the morning comes; this is its +employment. The Merchant has no farm and does not do any work, but +constantly goes to market; this is its employment, given to it by the +Lord. Now the little red Ants, whenever they see an Insect unwell and +lying down they go and assemble themselves against that Insect, and, +even if that Insect has not yet expired they finish it. This our Lord +gave to the little red Ants for their employment. + +I have now told thee the fable of the Insects, which I have heard of +Omar Pesami. This is finished. + + + +Man and Turtle + +Let me tell of Turtle of Koka. + +Man of Lubi la Suku caught a Turtle in the bush; he came with it to the +village. They said: "Let us kill it!" + +Some people said: "How shall we kill it?" They said: "We shall cut it +with hatchets." Turtle replied, saying: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And hatchet of Koka; + Hatchet not kill me a bit." + +The people said: "What shall we kill him with?" Some said: "We shall +kill him with stones." Turtle, fear grasped him, he said: "I am going +to die." He says by mouth: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And stone of Koka; + Stone will not kill me a bit." + +The people said: "Let us cast him into the fire!" Turtle said: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And fire of Koka; + Fire will not kill me a bit. + On my back, + It is like stone; + Not there can + Catch on fire." + +The people said: "We will kill him with knives." Turtle said: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And knife of Koka; + Knife will not kill me a bit." + +The people said: "This fellow, how shall we do? How shall we kill +him?" These said: "Let us cast him into the depth of water." Turtle +said: "Woe! I shall die there! How shall I do?" The people said: "We +have it! We have found the way we can kill him!" + +They carry him; they arrive with him at the river. They cast him into +the depth. Turtle dives; after a while he emerges. There he is +swimming and singing: + + "In water, in my home! + In water, in my home!" + +The people said: "Oh! Turtle has fooled us. We were going to kill him +with hatchets; he says, 'Hatchet will not kill me a bit.' We spoke of +casting him into the water; he says, 'I am going to die.' We came; we +cast him into the water; but we saved him." + +This is what caused the Turtle to live in the water: the people were +going to kill him; but he was shrewd. + + + +Nianga Dia Ngenga and Leopard + +Nianga Dia Ngenga takes up his gun, saying: "I will go a-hunting." He +has reached the bush; he has hunted; he saw not game; he says: "I will +go." + +When he returns home, he finds Mr. Leopard, whom they have stuck up in +the fork of a tree. When he sees Nianga, he says: "Father Nianga, help +me out!" Nianga says: "What has done this to thee?" He says: "Unfork +me first; I shall tell thee." + +Nianga took him out; he set him on the ground. He says: "Elephant has +stuck me up in the fork of the tree. Sir, to whom one has given life, +one gives more. I have been two days on the tree; give me a little +food." Nianga says: "Where shall I find food?" He says: "Anywhere." + +Nianga takes up his dog; he gives it to Mr. Leopard. Mr. Leopard ate +it and said, "I am not satisfied." Nianga takes up also the other dog; +he gives it to Mr. Leopard. He has eaten, says, "Still I have not +enough." Nianga dia Ngenga took up his cartridge-box; he gives him it. +Mr. Leopard, when he had eaten it, said, "Still I have not enough." + +Hare comes; he finds them talking; says: "Why are you quarrelling?" +Nianga says: "Mr. Leopard, I found him in the fork of a tree. Says +he, 'Take me out!' I took him out. Says he, 'Give me to eat!' I gave +him both my dogs and my cartridge-box. He says, 'Give me more to eat.' +That is what we are quarrelling about." + +Hare says: "Mr. Leopard, let him be again on the tree, where he was; +that I may see." Mr. Leopard returns to the tree, where he was. Hare +moves off to a distance; he calls Nianga. He says: "Thou, Nianga, art +unwise. Mr. Leopard is a wild beast, he is wont to catch people. +Thou, who didst get him out of there, he wanted to devour thee. Shoot +him." + +Nianga then shoots Mr. Leopard. + +The end . . . "is with God." + + + +Leopard and the Other Animals + +Mr. Leopard lived. One day hunger grasps him. He says: "How shall I +do? I will call all the animals in the world, saying, 'Come ye, let us +have a medical consultation.' When the animals come then I may catch +and eat." + +He sends at once to call Deer, Antelope, Soko, Hare, and Philantomba. +They gather, saying: "Why didst thou send for us?" He says: "Let us +consult medicine, that we get health." + +The sun is broken down. They begin the drums outside with the songs. +Mr. Leopard himself is beating the drum; he is saying, saying: + + "O Antelope! O Deer! + Your friend is sick; + Do not shun him! + O Antelope! O Deer! + Your friend is sick; + Do not shun him! + O Antelope! O Deer! + Your friend is sick; + Do not shun him'" + +Deer says: "Chief, the drum, how art thou playing it? Bring it here; +that I play it." Mr. Leopard gives him it. Deer takes the drum, says: + + "Not sickness; + Wiliness holds thee + Not sickness; + Wiliness holds thee! + Not sickness; + Wiliness holds thee!" + +Mr. Leopard stood up from ground, said: "Thou, Deer, knowest not how to +play the drum." + +The animals all then ran away, saying, "Mr. Leopard has a scheme to +catch us." + + + +Elephant and Frog + +I often tell of Mr. Elephant and Mr. Frog, who were courting at one +house. + +One day Mr. Frog spake to the sweetheart of Mr. Elephant, saying: "Mr. +Elephant is my horse." Mr. Elephant, when he came at night, then the +girls tell him, saying: "Thou art the horse of Mr. Frog!" + +Mr. Elephant then goes to Mr. Frog's, saying: "Didst thou tell my +sweetheart that I am thy horse?" Mr. Frog says, saying: "No; I did not +say so." They go together to find the sweetheart of Mr. Elephant. + +On the way, Mr. Frog told Mr. Elephant, saying: "Grandfather, I have +not strength to walk. Let me get up on thy back!" Mr. Elephant said: +"Get up, my grandson." Mr. Frog then goes up. + +When a while passed, he told Mr. Elephant: "Grandfather, I am going to +fall. Let me seek small cords to bind thee in mouth." Mr. Elephant +consents. Mr. Frog then does what he has asked. + +When passed a little while, he told again Mr. Elephant, saying: "Let me +seek a green twig to fan the mosquitoes off thee." Mr. Elephant says: +"Go." He then fetches the twig. + +Then, when they were about to arrive, the girls saw them, and they went +to meet them with shouting, saying: "Thou, Mr. Elephant, art the horse +indeed of Mr. Frog!" + + + +Dog and the Kingship + +Mr. Dog, they wanted to invest him with the kingship. They sought all +the things of royalty: the cap, the sceptre, the rings, the skin of +mulkaka. The things are complete; they say: "The day has come to +install." + +The headmen all came in full; they sent for the players of drum and +marimba; they have come. They spread coarse mats and fine mats. Where +the lord is going to sit, they laid a coarse mat; they spread on it a +fine mat; they set a chair on. They say: "Let the lord sit down." He +sat down. The people begin to divide the victuals. + +He, Mr. Dog, on seeing the breast of a fowl, greed grasped him. He +stood up in haste; took the breast of the fowl; ran into the bush. The +people said: "The lord, whom we are installing, has run away with the +breast of the fowl into the bush!" The people separated. + +Mr. Dog, who was going to be invested with the kingship, because of his +thievery, the kingship he lost it. + +I have told my little tale. Finished. + + + +The Builder of Ability and the Builder of Haste + +Two men called themselves one name. This one said: "I am Ndala, the +builder of ability." The other one said: "I am Ndala, the builder of +haste." + +They say: "We will go to trade." They start; they arrive in middle of +road. A storm comes. They stop, saying: "Let us build grass-huts!" +Ndala, the builder of haste, built in haste; he entered into his hut. +Ndala, the builder of ability is building carefully. The storm comes; +it kills him outside. Ndala, the builder of haste escaped, because his +hut was finished; it sheltered him when the storm came on. + + + + +FABLES FROM KRILOF + + "Shall not my fable censure vice, + Because a Knave is over-nice? + And, lest the guilty hear and dread, + Shall not the decalogue be read?" + + JOHN GAY + + +FABLES FROM KRILOF + + +The Education of the Lion + +To the Lion, king of the forests, was given a son. + +Among us, a child a year old, even if it belong to a royal family, is +small and weak. But, by the time it has lived a twelve-month, a +lion-cub has long ago left off its baby-clothes. + +So, at the end of a year, the Lion began to consider that he must not +allow his royal son to remain ignorant, that the dignity of the kingdom +be not degraded, and that when the son's turn should come to govern the +kingdom the nation should have no cause to reproach the father on his +account. + +But whom should he entreat, or compel, or induce by rewards, to +instruct the czarevitch to become a czar? + +The Fox is clever, but it is terribly addicted to lying, and a liar is +perpetually getting into trouble. "No," thought the Lion, "the science +of falsehood is not one which princes ought to study." + +Should he trust him to the Mole? All who speak of that animal say that +it is an extreme admirer of order and regularity; that it never takes a +step till it has examined the ground before it, and that it cleans and +shells with its own paws every grain of corn that comes to its table. +In fact, the Mole has the reputation of being very great in small +affairs; but, unfortunately, it cannot see anything at a distance. The +Mole's love of order is an excellent thing for animals of its own kind, +but the Lion's kingdom is considerably more extensive than a mole-run. + +Should he choose the Panther? The Panther is brave and strong, and is, +besides, a great master of military tactics; but the Panther knows +nothing of politics, is ignorant of everything that belongs to civil +affairs. A king must be a judge and a minister as well as a warrior. +The Panther is good for nothing but fighting; so it, too, is unfit to +educate royal children. + +To be brief, not a single beast, not even the Elephant himself, who was +as much esteemed in the forest as Plato used to be in Greece, seemed +wise enough to satisfy the Lion. + +By good fortune, or the opposite--we shall find out which--another +king, the king of birds, the Eagle, an old acquaintance and friend of +the Lion, heard of that monarch's difficulty, and, wishing to do his +friend a great kindness, offered to educate the young Lion himself. + +The Lion felt a great weight removed from his shoulders. What could be +better than a king as the tutor for a prince? So the Lion-cub was got +ready, and sent off to the Eagle's court, there to learn how to govern. + +And now two or three years go by. Ask whom you will, meanwhile, you +hear nothing but praise of the young Lion; and all the birds scatter +throughout the forests the wonderful stories of his merits. + +At last the appointed time comes, and the Lion sends for his son. The +prince arrives, and all the people are gathered together, great and +small alike. + +The king embraces his son before them all, and thus addresses him: "My +beloved son, you are my only heir. I am looking forward to the grave, +but you are just entering upon life. Before I make over my sceptre to +you, tell me, in the presence of this assembly, what you have been +taught, and in what manner you propose to make your people happy." + +"Papa," exclaimed the prince, "I know what no one here knows. I can +tell where each bird, from the Eagle to the Quail, can most readily +find water, on what each of them lives, and how many eggs it lays; and +I can count up the wants of every bird, without missing one. Here is +the certificate my tutor gave me. It was not for nothing that the +birds used to say that I could pick the stars out of the sky. When you +have made up your mind to transfer the kingdom to me, I will +immediately begin to teach the beasts how to make nests." + +On this the king and all his beasts howled aloud; the members of the +council hung their heads; and, too late, the Lion perceived that the +young Lion had learned nothing of what was wanted, that he was +acquainted with birds only, not knowing anything of the nature of +beasts, although he was destined to rule over them, and that he was +destitute of that which is most requisite in kings--the knowledge of +the wants of their own people and the interests of their own country. + + + +The Pebble and the Diamond + +A Diamond, which some one had lost, lay for some time on the high road. +At last it happened that a merchant picked it up. By him it was +offered to the king, who bought it, had it set in gold, and made it one +of the ornaments of the royal crown. Having heard of this, a Pebble +began to make a fuss. The brilliant fate of the Diamond fascinated it; +and, one day, seeing a Moujik passing, it besought him thus: + +"Do me a kindness, fellow-countryman, and take me with you to the +capital. Why should I go on suffering here in rain and mud, while our +Diamond is, men say, in honour there? I don't understand why it has +been treated with such respect. Side by side with me here it lay so +many years; it is just such a stone as I am--my close companion. Do +take me! How can one tell? If I am seen there, I too, perhaps, may be +found worthy of being turned to account." + +The Moujik took the stone into his lumbering cart, and conveyed it to +the city. Our stone tumbled into the cart, thinking that it would soon +be sitting by the side of the Diamond. But a quite different fate +befell it. It really was turned to account, but only to mend a hole in +the road. + + + +The Pike and the Cat + +A conceited Pike took it into its head to exercise the functions of a +cat. I do not know whether the Evil One had plagued it with envy, or +whether, perhaps, it had grown tired of fishy fare; but, at all events, +it thought fit to ask the Cat to take it out to the chase, with the +intention of catching a few mice in the warehouse. "But, my dear +friend," Vaska says to the Pike, "do you understand that kind of work? +Take care, gossip, that you don't incur disgrace. It isn't without +reason that they say: 'The work ought to be in the master's power.'" + +"Why really, gossip, what a tremendous affair it is! Mice, indeed! +Why, I have been in the habit of catching perches!" + +"Oh, very well. Come along!" + +They went; they lay each in ambush. The Cat thoroughly enjoyed itself; +made a hearty meal; then went to look after its comrade. Alas! the +Pike, almost destitute of life, lay there gasping, its tail nibbled +away by the mice. So the Cat, seeing that its comrade had undertaken a +task quite beyond its strength, dragged it back, half dead, to its pond. + + + +Trishka's Caftan + +Trishka's caftan was out at the elbows. But why should he ponder long +over it? He took to his needle, cut a quarter off each sleeve: so +mended the elbows. + +The caftan was all right again, only his arms were bare for a quarter +of their length. That is no great matter, but every one is always +laughing at Trishka. So Trishka says: + +"I'm not a fool. I'll set this affair straight also. I'll make the +sleeves longer than they were before. They shall see Trishka is no +mere commonplace fellow." + +So he cut off the skirts of his caftan, and used them to lengthen his +sleeves. + +Then Trishka was happy, though he had a caftan which was as short as a +waistcoat. + +In a similar way I have sometimes seen other embarrassed people set +straight their affairs. Take a look at them as they dash away. They +have all got on Trishka's caftan. + + + +The Elephant as Governor + +An Elephant was once appointed ruler of a forest. Now it is well known +that the race of elephants is endowed with great intelligence; but +every family has its unworthy scion. Our Governor was as stout as the +rest of his race are, but as foolish as the rest of his race are not. +As to his character, he would not intentionally hurt a fly. Well, the +worthy Governor becomes aware of a petition laid before him by the +Sheep, stating that their skins are entirely torn off their backs by +the Wolves. + +"Oh, rogues!" cries the Elephant, "what a crime! Who gave you leave to +plunder?" + +But the Wolves say: + +"Allow us to explain, O father. Did not you give us leave to take from +the Sheep a trifling contribution for our pelisses in winter? It is +only because they are stupid sheep that they cry out. They have only a +single fleece taken from each of them, but they grumble about giving +even that!" + +"Well, well," says the Elephant, "take care what you do. I will not +permit any one to commit injustice. As it must be so, take a fleece +from each of them. But do not take from them a single hair besides." + + + +The Quartette + +The tricksy Monkey, the Goat, the Ass, and bandy-legged Mishka the +Bear, determine to play a quartette. They provide themselves with the +necessary pieces of music--with two fiddles, and with an alto and a +counter-bass. Then they sit down on a meadow under a lime-tree, +prepared to enchant the world by their skill. They work away at their +fiddlesticks with a will; and they make a noise, but there is no music +in it. + +"Stop, brothers, stop!" cries the Monkey, "wait a little! How can we +get our music right? It's plain, you mustn't sit as you are. You, +Mishka, with your counter-bass, face the alto. I will sit opposite the +second fiddle. Then a different sort of music will begin: we shall set +the very hills and forests dancing." + +So they change places, and recommence; but the music is just as +discordant as before. + +"Stop a little," exclaims the Ass; "I have found out the secret. We +shall be sure to play in tune if we sit in a row." + +They follow its advice, and form in an orderly line. But the quartette +is as unmusical as ever. Louder than before there arose among them +squabbling and wrangling as to how they ought to be seated. It +happened that a Nightingale came flying that way, attracted by their +noise. At once they all entreated it to solve their difficulty. + +"Be so kind," they say, "as to bear with us a little, in order that our +quartette may come off properly. Music we have; instruments we have: +tell us only how we ought to place ourselves." + +But the Nightingale replies, + +"To be a musician, one must have a quicker intelligence and a finer ear +than you possess. You, my friends, may place yourselves just as you +like, but you will never become musicians." + + + +Demian's Fish Soup + +"Neighbour, light of mine eyes! do eat a little more!" + +"Dear neighbour, I am full to the throat." + +"No matter; just a little plateful. Believe me, the soup is cooked +gloriously." + +"But I've had three platefuls already." + +"Well, what does that matter? If you like it, and it does you good, +why not eat it all up? What a soup it is! How rich! It looks as if +it had been sprinkled with amber. Here is a bream; there a lump of +sterlet. Take a little more, dear, kind friend. Just another +spoonful. Wife, come and entreat him!" + +Thus does Demian feast his neighbour Phocas, not giving him a moment's +breathing time. + +Phocas feels the moisture trickling down his forehead. Still he takes +the soup, attacks it with all the strength he has left, and somehow +manages to swallow the whole of it. + +"That's the sort of friend I like!" cries Demian. "I can't bear people +who require pressing. But now, dear friend, take just this one little +plateful more." + +But, on hearing this, our poor Phocas, much as he liked fish soup, +catching hold of his cap and sash, runs away home, not once looking +behind him. + +Nor from that day to this has he crossed Demian's threshold. + + + +The Wolf and Its Cub + +A Wolf, which had begun to accustom its Cub to support itself by its +father's profession, sent it one day to prowl about the skirts of the +wood. At the same time it ordered it to give all its attention to +seeing whether it would not be possible, even at the cost of sinning a +little, for them both to make their breakfast or dinner at the expense +of some shepherd or other. The pupil returns home, and says: + +"Come along, quick! Our dinner awaits us: nothing could possibly be +safer. There are sheep feeding at the foot of yon hill, each one +fatter than the other. We have only to choose which to carry off and +eat; and the flock is so large that it would be difficult to count it +over again----" + +"Wait a minute," says the Wolf. "First of all I must know what sort of +a man the shepherd of this flock is. + +"It is said that he is a good one--painstaking and intelligent. But I +went round the flock on all sides, and examined the dogs: they are not +at all fat, and seem to be spiritless and indolent." + +"This description," says the old Wolf, "does not greatly attract me to +the flock. For, decidedly, if the shepherd is good, he will not keep +bad dogs about him. One might very soon get into trouble there. But +come with me: I will take you to a flock where we shall be in less +danger of losing our skins. Over that flock it is true that a great +many dogs watch; but the shepherd is himself a fool. And where the +shepherd is a fool there the dogs too are of little worth." + + + +The Pike + +An appeal to justice was made against the Pike, on the ground that it +had rendered the pond uninhabitable. A whole cart-load of proofs was +tendered as evidence; and the culprit, as was beseeming, was brought +into court in a large tub. The judges were assembled not far off, +having been set to graze in a neighbouring field. Their names are +still preserved in the archives. There were two Donkeys, a couple of +old Horses, and two or three Goats. The Fox also was added to their +number, as assessor, in order that the business might be carried on +under competent supervision. + +Now, popular report said that the Pike used to supply the table of the +Fox with fish. However this might be, there was no partiality among +the judges; and it must also be stated that it was impossible to +conceal the Pike's roguery in the affair in question. So there was no +help for it. Sentence was passed, condemning the Pike to an +ignominious punishment. In order to frighten others, it was to be hung +from a tree. + +"Respected judges," thus did the Fox begin to speak, "hanging is a +trifle. I should have liked to have sentenced the culprit to such a +punishment as has never been seen here among us. In order that rogues +may in future live in fear, and run a terrible risk, I would drown it +in the river." + +"Excellent!" cry the judges, and unanimously accept the proposition. + +So the Pike was flung--into the river. + + + +The Cuckoo and the Eagle + +The Eagle promoted a Cuckoo to the rank of a Nightingale. The Cuckoo, +proud of its new position, seated itself proudly on an aspen, and began +to exhibit its musical talents. After a time, it looks round. All the +birds are flying away, some laughing at it, others abusing it. Our +Cuckoo grows angry, and hastens to the Eagle with a complaint against +the birds. + +"Have pity on me!" it says. "According to your command, I have been +appointed Nightingale to these woods, and yet the birds dare to laugh +at my singing." + +"My friend," answers the Eagle, "I am a king, but I am not God. It is +impossible for me to remedy the cause of your complaint. I can order a +Cuckoo to be styled a Nightingale; but to make a Nightingale out of a +Cuckoo--that I cannot do." + + + +The Peasant and the Sheep + +A Peasant summoned a Sheep into courts charging the poor thing with a +criminal offence. The judge was--the Fox. + +The case was immediately in full swing. Plaintiff and defendant were +equally adjured to state, point by point, and without both speaking at +once, how the affair took place, and in what their proof consisted. + +Says the Peasant: "On such and such a day, I missed two of my fowls +early in the morning. Nothing was left of them but bones and leathers; +and no one had been in the yard but the Sheep." + +Then the Sheep depones that it was fast asleep all the night in +question, and it calls all its neighbours to testify that they had +never known it guilty either of theft or any roguery; and besides this, +it states that it never touches flesh-meat. + +Here is the Fox's decision, word for word: + +"The explanation of the Sheep cannot, under any circumstances, be +accepted, for all rogues are notoriously clever at concealing their +real designs; and it appears manifest, on due inquiry, that, on the +aforesaid night, the Sheep was not separated from the fowls. Fowls are +exceedingly savoury, and opportunity favoured. Therefore I decide, +according to my conscience, that it is impossible that the Sheep should +have forborne to eat the fowls. The Sheep shall accordingly be put to +death. Its carcass shall be given to the court, and its fleece be +taken by the Plaintiff." + + + +The Elephant in Favour + +Once upon a time the Elephant stood high in the good graces of the +Lion. The forest immediately began to talk of the matter, and, as +usual, many guesses were made as to the means by which the Elephant had +gained such favour. + +"It is no beauty," say the beasts to each other, "and it is not +amusing; and what habits it has! what manners!" + +Says the Fox, whisking about his brush, "If it had possessed such a +bushy tail as mine, I should not have wondered." + +"Or, sister," says the Bear, "if it had gotten into favour on account +of its claws, no one would have found the matter at all extraordinary; +but it has no claws at all, as we all know well." + +"Isn't it its tusks that have gotten it into favour?" thus the Ox broke +in upon their conversation. "Haven't they, perhaps, been mistaken for +horns." + +"Is it possible," said the Ass, shaking its ears, "that you don't know +how it has succeeded in making itself liked, and in becoming +distinguished? Why, I have guessed the reason! If it hadn't been +remarkable for its long ears, it would never in the world have gotten +into favour." + + + +The Sword-blade + +The keen blade of a Sword, made of Damascus steel, which had been +thrown aside on a heap of old iron, was sent to market with the other +pieces of metal, and sold for a trifle to a Moujik. Now, a Moujik's +ideas move in a narrow circle. He immediately set to work to turn the +blade to account. Our Moujik fitted a handle to the blade, and began +to strip lime-trees in the forest with it, of the bark he wanted for +shoes, while at home he unceremoniously splintered fir chips with it. +Sometimes, also, he would lop off twigs with it, or small branches for +mending his wattled fences, or would shape stakes with it for his +garden paling. And the result was that, before the year was out, our +blade was notched and rusted from one end to the other, and the +children used to ride astride of it. So one day a Hedgehog, which was +lying under a bench in the cottage, close by the spot where the blade +had been flung, said to it: + +"Tell me, what do you think of this life of yours? If there is any +truth in all the fine things that are said about Damascus steel, you +surely must be ashamed of having to splinter fir chips, and square +stakes, and of being turned, at last, into a plaything for children." + +But the Sword-blade replied: + +"In the hands of a warrior, I should have been a terror to the foe; but +here my special faculties are of no avail. So in this house I am +turned to base uses only. But am I free to choose my employment? No, +not I, but he, ought to be ashamed who could not see for what I was fit +to be employed." + + + +The Cuckoo and the Turtle-dove + +A Cuckoo sat on a bough, bitterly complaining. + +"Why art thou so sad, dear friend?" sympathizingly cooed the +Turtle-dove to her, from a neighbouring twig. "Is it because spring +has passed away from us, and love with it; that the sun has sunk lower, +and that we are nearer to the winter?" + +"How can I help grieving, unhappy one that I am?" replied the Cuckoo: +"thou shalt thyself be the judge. This spring my love was a happy one, +and, after a while, I became a mother. But my offspring utterly +refused even to recognize me. Was it such a return that I expected +from them? And how can I help being envious when I see how ducklings +crowd around their mother--how chickens hasten to the hen when she +calls to them. Just like an orphan I sit here, utterly alone, and know +not what filial affection means." + +"Poor thing!" says the Dove, "I pity you from my heart. As for me, +though I know such things often occur, I should die outright it my +dovelets did not love me. But tell me, have you already brought up +your little ones? When did you find time to build a nest? I never saw +you doing anything of the kind: you were always flying and fluttering +about." + +"No, indeed!" says the Cuckoo. "Pretty nonsense it would have been if +I had spent such fine days in sitting on a nest! That would, indeed, +have been the highest pitch of stupidity! I always laid my eggs in the +nests of other birds." + +"Then how can you expect your little ones to care for you?" says the +Turtle-dove. + + + +The Peasant and the Horse + +A Peasant was sowing oats one day. Seeing the work go on, a young +Horse began to reason about it, grumbling to himself: + +"A pretty piece of work, this, for which he brings such a quantity of +oats here! And yet they are all the time saying that men are wiser +than we are. Can anything possibly be more foolish or ridiculous than +to plough up a whole field like this in order to scatter one's oats +over it afterward to no purpose. Had he given them to me, or to the +bay there, or had he even thought fit to fling them to the fowls, it +would have been more like business. Or even if he had hoarded them up, +I should have recognized avarice in that. But to fling them uselessly +away--why, that is sheer stupidity!" + +Meanwhile time passed; and in the autumn the oats were garnered, and +the Peasant fed this very Horse upon them all the winter. + +There can be no doubt, Reader, that you do not approve of the opinions +of the Horse. But from the oldest times to our own days has not man +been equally audacious in criticising the designs of a Providence of +whose means or ends he sees and knows nothing? + + + +The Wolf and the Cat + +A Wolf ran out of the forest into a village--not to pay a visit, but to +save its life; for it trembled for its skin. + +The huntsmen and a pack of hounds were after it. It would fain have +rushed in through the first gateway; but there was this unfortunate +circumstance against the scheme that all the gateways were closed. + +The Wolf sees a Cat on a partition fence, and says pleadingly, "Vaska, +my friend, tell me quickly, which of the moujiks here is the kindest, +so that I may hide myself from my evil foes? Listen to the cry of the +dogs and the terrible sound of the horns? All that noise is actually +made in chase of me!" + +"Go quickly, and ask Stefan," says Vaska, the Cat; "he is a very kind +man." + +"Quite true; only I have torn the skin off one of his sheep." + +"Well, then, you can try Demian." + +"I'm afraid he's angry with me, too; I carried off one of his kids." + +"Run over there, then; Trofim lives there." + +"Trofim! I should be afraid of even meeting him. Ever since the +spring he has been threatening me about a lamb." + +"Dear me, that's bad! But perhaps Klim will protect you." + +"Oh, Vaska, I have killed one of his calves." + +"What do I hear, friend? You've quarrelled with all the village," +cried Vaska to the Wolf. "What sort of protection can you hope for +here? No, no; our moujiks are not so destitute of sense as to be +willing to save you to their own hurt. And, really, you have only +yourself to blame. What you have sown, that you must now reap." + + + +The Eagle and the Mole + +An Eagle and his mate flew into a deep forest and determined to make it +their permanent abode. So they chose an oak, lofty and wide-spreading, +and began to build themselves a nest on the top of it, hoping there to +rear their young in the summer. + +A Mole, who heard about all this, plucked up courage enough to inform +the Eagles that the oak was not a proper dwelling-place for them; that +it was almost entirely rotten at the root, and was likely soon to fall, +and that therefore the Eagles ought not to make their nest upon it. + +But is it becoming that an Eagle should accept advice coming from a +Mole in a hole? Where then would be the glory of an Eagle having such +keen eyes? And how comes it that Moles dare to meddle in the affairs +of the king of Birds? + +So, saying very little to the Mole, whose counsel he despised, the +Eagle set to work quickly--and the King soon got ready the new dwelling +for the Queen. + +All goes well, and now the Eagles have little ones. But what happens? +One day, when at early dawn the Eagle is hastening back from the chase, +bringing a rich breakfast to his family, as he drops down from the sky +he sees--his oak has fallen, and has crushed beneath it his mate and +his little ones! + +"Wretched creature that I am!" he cries, anguish blotting out from him +the light; "for my pride has fate so terribly punished me, and because +I gave no heed to wise counsel. But could one expect that wise counsel +could possibly come from a miserable Mole?" + +Then from its hole the Mole replies: "Had not you despised me, you +would have remembered that I burrow within the earth, and that, as I +live among the roots, I can tell with certainty whether a tree be sound +or not." + + + +The Spider and the Bee + +A Merchant brought some linen to a fair. That's a thing everybody +wants to buy, so it would have been a sin in the Merchant if he had +complained of his sale. There was no keeping the buyers back: the shop +was at times crammed full. + +Seeing how rapidly the goods went off, an envious Spider was tempted by +the Merchant's gains. She took it into her head to weave goods for +sale herself, and determined to open a little shop for them in a window +corner, seeking thereby to undermine the Merchant's success. + +She commenced her web, spun the whole night long, and then set out her +wares on view. From her shop she did not stir, but remained sitting +there, puffed up with pride, and thinking, "So soon as the day shall +dawn will all buyers be enticed to me." + +Well, the day did dawn. But what then? There came a broom, and the +ingenious creatures and her little shop were swept clean away. + +Our Spider went wild with vexation. + +"There!" she cried, "what's the good of expecting a just reward? And +yet I ask the whole world--Whose work is the finer, mine or that +Merchant's?" + +"Yours, to be sure," answered the Bee. "Who would venture to deny the +fact? Every one knew that long ago. But what is the good of it if +there's neither warmth nor wear in it?" + + + +The Cuckoo and the Cock + +"How proudly and sonorously you sing, my dear Cock!" + +"But you, dear Cuckoo, my light, how smoothly flows your long drawn-out +note! There is no such singer in all the rest of our forest." + +"To you, dear friend, I could listen forever." + +"And as for you, my beauty, I protest that when you are silent I +scarcely know how to wait till you begin again. Where do you get such +a voice?--so clear, so soft, so high! But no doubt you were always +like that: not very large in stature, but in song--a nightingale." + +"Thanks, friend. As for you, I declare on my conscience you sing +better than the birds in the Garden of Eden. I appeal to public +opinion for a proof of this." + +At this moment a Sparrow, who had overheard their conversation, said to +them: + +"You may go on praising each other till you are hoarse, my friends; but +your music is utterly worthless." + +Why was it, that, not fearing to sin, the Cuckoo praised the Cock? +Simply because the Cock praised the Cuckoo. + + + +The Peasant and the Robber + +A Peasant who was beginning to stock his little farm had bought a cow +and a milk-pail at the fair, and was going quietly home by a lonely +path through the forest, when he suddenly fell into the hands of a +Robber. The Robber stripped him as bare as a lime-tree. + +"Have mercy!" cried the Peasant. "I am utterly ruined. You have +reduced me to beggary. For a whole year I have worked to buy this dear +little cow. I could hardly bear to wait for this day to arrive." + +"Very good," replied the Robber, touched with compassion; "Don't cry +out so against me. After all, I shall not want to milk your cow; so +I'll give you back your milk-pail." + + + + +FABLES FROM THE CHINESE + +"Why have some more power than others? Only one knows. Why have some +longer life than others? Only one knows. Why do some try and not +succeed; while others do not try and yet they do succeed? Only one +knows." + + +FABLES PROM THE CHINESE + +The Animals' Peace Party + +The ancient books say that the pig is a very unclean animal and of no +great use to the world or man, and one of them contains this story: + +Once upon a time the Horses and Cattle gave a party. Although the Pigs +were very greedy, the Horses said: "Let us invite them, and it may be +we can settle our quarrels in this way and become better friends. We +will call this a Peace Party. + +"Generations and generations of pigs have broken through our fences, +taken our food, drunk our water, and rooted up our clean green grass; +but it is also true that the cattle children have hurt many young pigs. + +"All this trouble and fighting is not right, and we know the Master +wishes we should live at peace with one another. Do you not think it a +good plan to give a Peace Party and settle this trouble?" + +The Cattle said: "Who will be the leader of our party and do the +inviting? We should have a leader, both gentle and kind, to go to the +Pig's home and invite them." + +The next day a small and very gentle Cow was sent to invite the Pigs. +As she went across to the pigs' yard, all the young ones jumped up and +grunted, "What are you coming here for? Do you want to fight?" + +"No, I do not want to fight," said the Cow. "I was sent here to invite +you to our party. I should like to know if you will come, so that I +may tell our leader." + +The young Pigs and the old ones talked together and the old ones said: +"The New Year feast will soon be here. Maybe they will have some good +things for us to eat at the party. I think we should go." + +Then the old Pigs found the best talker in all the family, and sent +word by him that they would attend the party. + +The day came, and the Pigs all went to the party. There were about +three hundred all together. + +When they arrived they saw that the leader of the cows was the most +beautiful of all the herd and very kind and gentle to her guests. + +After a while the leader spoke to them in a gentle voice and said to +the oldest Pigs: "We think it would be a good and pleasant thing if +there were no more quarrels in this pasture. + +"Will you tell your people not to break down the fences and spoil the +place and eat our food? We will then agree that the oxen and horses +shall not hurt your children and all the old troubles shall be +forgotten from this day." + +Then one young Pig stood up to talk. "All this big pasture belongs to +the Master, and not to you," he said. "We cannot go to other places +for food. + +"The Master sends a servant to feed us, and sometimes he sends us to +your yard to eat the corn and potatoes. + +"The servants clean our pen every day. When summer comes, they fill +the ponds with fresh water for us to bathe in. + +"Now, friends, can you not see that this place and this food all belong +to the Master? We eat the food and go wherever we like. We take your +food only after you have finished. It would spoil on the ground if we +did not do this. + +"Answer this question--Do our people ever hurt your people? No; even +though every year some of our children are killed by bad oxen and cows. + +"What is our food? It is nothing; but our lives are worth much to us. + +"Our Master never sends our people to work as he does the horses and +oxen. He sends us food and allows us to play a year and a year the +same, because he likes us best. + +"You see the Horses and Oxen are always at work. Some pull wagons, +others plough land for rice; and they must work--sick or well. + +"Our people never work. Every day at happy time we play; and do you +see how fat we are? + +"You never see our bones. Look at the old Horses and the old Oxen. +Twenty years' work and no rest! + +"I tell you the Master does not honour the Horses and Oxen as he does +the Pigs. + +"Friends, that is all I have to say. Have you any questions to ask? +Is what I have said not the truth?" + +The old Cow said, "Moo, Moo," and shook her head sadly. The tired old +Horses groaned, "Huh, Huh," and never spoke a word. + +The leader said, "My friends, it is best not to worry about things we +cannot know. We do not seem to understand our Master. + +"It will soon be time for the New Year feast day; so, good night. And +may the Pig people live in the world as long and happily as the Horses +and the Oxen, although our Peace Party did not succeed." + +On their way home the little Pigs made a big noise, and every one said, +"We, we! We win, we win!" + +Then the old Horses and Oxen talked among themselves. "We are +stronger, wiser, and more useful than the Pigs," they said. "Why does +the Master treat us so?" + +EE-SZE (Meaning): Why have some more power than others? Only one +knows. Why have some longer life than others? Only one knows. Why do +some try and not succeed; while others do not try and yet they do +succeed? Only one knows. + + + +The Proud Chicken + +A Widow named Hong-Mo lived in a little house near the market place. +Every year she raised many hundreds of chickens, which she sold to +support herself and her two children. + +Each day the Chickens went to the fields near by and hunted bugs, rice, +and green things to eat. + +The largest one was called the King of the Chickens, because of all the +hundreds in the flock he was the strongest. And for this reason he was +the leader of them all. + +He led the flock to new places for food. He could crow the loudest, +and as he was the strongest, none dared oppose him in any way. + +One day he said to the flock, "Let us go to the other side of the +mountain near the wilderness to-day, and hunt rice, wheat, corn, and +wild silkworms. There is not enough food here." + +But the other Chickens said, "We are afraid to go so far. There are +foxes and eagles in the wilderness, and they will catch us." + +The King of the Chickens said, "It is better that all the old hens and +cowards stay at home." + +The King's secretary said, "I do not know fear. I will go with you." +Then they started away together. + +When they had gone a little distance, the Secretary found a beetle, and +just as he was going to swallow it, the King flew at him in great +anger, saying, "Beetles are for kings, not for common chickens. Why +did you not give it to me?" So they fought together, and while they +were fighting, the beetle ran away and hid under the grass where he +could not be found. + +And the Secretary said, "I will not fight for you, neither will I go to +the wilderness with you." And he went home again. + +At sunset the King came home. The other Chickens had saved the best +roosting place for him; but he was angry because none of them had been +willing to go to the wilderness with him, and he fought first with one +and then with another. + +He was a mighty warrior, and therefore none of them could stand up +against him. And he pulled the feathers out of many of the flock. + +At last the Chickens said, "We will not serve this king any longer. We +will leave this place. If Hong-Mo will not give us another home, we +will stay in the vegetable garden. We will do that two or three +nights, and see if she will give us another place to live." + +So the next day, when Hong-Mo waited at sunset for the Chickens to come +home, the King was the only one who came. + +And she asked the King, "Where are all my Chickens?" + +But he was proud and angry, and said, "They are of no use in the world. +I would not care if they always stayed away." + +Hong-Mo answered, "You are not the only Chicken in the world. I want +the others to come back. If you drive them all away, you will surely +see trouble." + +But the King laughed and jumped up on the fence and crowed. +"Nga-Un-Gan-Yu-Na" (cock-a-doodle-doo-oo) in a loud voice. "I don't +care for you! I don't care for you!" + +Hong-Mo went out and called the Chickens, and she hunted long through +the twilight until the dark night came, but she could not find them. +The next morning early she went to the vegetable garden, and there she +found her Chickens. They were glad to see her, and bowed their heads +and flew to her. + +Hong-Mo said, "What are you doing? Why do you children stay out here, +when I have given you a good house to live in?" + +The Secretary told her all about the trouble with the King. + +Hong-Mo said, "Now you must be friendly to each other. Come with me, +and I will bring you and your King together. We must have peace here." + +When the Chickens came to where the King was he walked about, and +scraped his wings on the ground, and sharpened his spurs. His people +had come to make peace, and they bowed their heads and looked happy +when they saw their King. But he still walked about alone and would +not bow. + +He said, "I am a King--always a King. Do you know that? You bow your +heads and think that pleases me. But what do I care? I should not +care if there was never another Chicken in the world but myself. I am +King." + +And he hopped up on a tree and sang some war songs. But suddenly an +eagle who heard him, flew down and caught him in his talons and carried +him away. And the Chickens never saw their proud, quarrelsome King +again. + +EE-SZE (Meaning): No position in life is so high that it gives the +right to be proud and quarrelsome. + + + +The Hen and the Chinese Mountain Turtle + +Four hundred and fifty years ago in Lze-Cheung Province, Western China, +there lived an old farmer named Ah-Po. + +The young farmers all said Ah-Po knew everything. If they wanted to +know when it would rain, they asked Ah-Po, and when he said: "It will +not rain to-morrow," or, "You will need your bamboo-hat this time +to-morrow," it was as he said. He knew all about the things of nature +and how to make the earth yield best her fruits and seeds, and some +said he was a prophet. + +One day Ah-Po caught a fine Mountain Turtle. It was so large that it +took both of Ah-Po's sons to carry it home. They tied its legs +together and hung it on a strong stick, and each son put an end of the +stick on his shoulder. + +Ah-Po said, "We will not kill the Turtle. He is too old to eat, and I +think we will keep him and watch the rings grow around his legs each +year." So they gave him a corner in the barnyard and fed him rice and +water. + +Ah-Po had many Chickens, and for three months the Turtle and Chickens +lived in peace with each other. But one day all the young Chickens +came together and laughed at the Turtle. Then they said to him, "Why +do you live here so long? Why do you not go back to your own place? +This small barnyard corner is not so good as your cave in the +wilderness. You have only a little sand and grass to live on here. +The servant feeds you, but she never gives you any wilderness fruits. +You are very large, and you take up too much room. We need all the +room there is here. You foolish old thing, do you think our fathers +and mothers want you? No. There is not one of our people who likes +you. Besides, you are not clean. You make too much dirt. The servant +girl gave you this water to drink, and your water bowl is even now +upside down. You scatter rice on our floor. Too many flies come here +to see you, and we do not like flies." + +The Turtle waited until they had all finished scolding. Then he said, +"Do you think I came here myself? Who put me here, do you know? Do +you suppose I like to be in jail? You need not be jealous. I never +ate any rice that belonged to you or your family. I am not living in +your house. What are you complaining about? If our master should take +your whole family and sell it, he would only get one piece of silver. +Who and what are you to talk so much? Wait and see; some day I may +have the honoured place." + +Some of the Chickens went home and told their mother, "We had an +argument with the Turtle to-day and he had the last word. To-morrow we +want you to go with us and show him that a Chicken can argue as well as +a Turtle." + +The next day all the Chickens of the barnyard went to see the Turtle. +And the old Hen said, "My children came here to play yesterday, and you +scolded them and drove them away. You said all my family was not worth +one piece of silver. You think you are worth many pieces of gold, I +suppose. No one likes you. Your own master would not eat you. And +the market people would never buy a thing so old and tough as you are. +But I suppose you will have to stay here in our yard a thousand years +or so, until you die. Then they will carry you to the wilderness and +throw you into the Nobody-Knows Lake." + +Then the Turtle answered and said, "I am a Mountain Turtle. I come +from a wise family, and it is not easy for even man to catch me. +Educated men, doctors, know that I am useful for sickness, but if all +the people knew the many ways they could use me, I think there would +soon be no more turtles in the world. Many Chinese know that my skin +is good for skin disease, and my forefeet are good for the +devil-sickness in children, as they drive the devil away; and then my +shells are good for sore throat, and my stomach is good for +stomach-ache, and my bones are good for tooth-ache. Do you remember +that not long ago our master brought three turtle eggs to feed your +children? I heard him say: 'Those little Chickens caught cold in that +damp place, and so I must give them some turtle eggs.' I saw your +children eat those three eggs, and in two or three days they were well. + +"So you see the Turtle is a useful creature in the world, even to +Chickens. Why do you not leave me in peace? As I must stay here +against my will, it is not right that your children should trouble me. +Sometimes they take all my rice and I go hungry, for our master will +not allow me to go outside of this fence to hunt food for myself. I +never come to your house and bother you, but your children will not +even let me live in peace in the little corner our master gave me. If +I had a few of my own people here with me, as you have, I think you +would not trouble me. But I have only myself, while you are many. + +"Yesterday your children scolded me and disturbed my peace. To-day you +come again; and to-morrow and many to-morrows will see generations and +still more unhatched generations of Chickens coming here to scold me, I +fear; for the length of life of a cackling hen is as a day to me--a +Mountain Turtle. I know the heaven is large, I know the earth is large +and made for all creatures alike. But you think the heavens and the +earth were both made for you and your Chickens only. If you could +drive me away to-day you would try to-morrow to drive the dog away, and +in time you would think the master himself ought not to have enough of +your earth and air to live in. This barnyard is large enough for +birds, chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. It makes our master happy to +have us all here." + +The Chickens went away ashamed. Talking to each other about it, they +said: "The Turtle is right. It is foolish to want everything. We +barnyard creatures must live at peace with each other until we die. +The barnyard is not ours; we use it only a little while." + +EE-SZE (Meaning): The Creator made the world for all to use, and, while +using it, the strong should not try to drive out the weak. + + + +The Proud Fox and the Crab + +One day a Fox said to a Crab: "Crawling thing, did you ever run in all +your life?" + +"Yes," said the Crab, "I run very often from the mud to the grass and +back to the river." + +"Oh, shame!" said the Fox, "that is no distance to run. How many feet +and legs have you? I have only four. Why, if I had as many feet as +you have, I would run at least six times as fast as you do. Did you +know that you are really a very slow, stupid creature? Though I have +only four feet I run ten times as far as you do. I never heard of any +one with so many feet as you have, running so slowly." + +The Crab said: "Would you like to run a race with a stupid creature +like me? I will try to run as fast as you. I know I am small, so +suppose we go to the scales and see how much heavier you are. As you +are ten times larger than I, of course you will have to run ten times +faster. + +"Another reason why you can run so fast is because you have such a fine +tail and hold it so high. If you would allow me to put it down, I do +not think you would run any faster than I." + +"Oh, very well," said the Fox, contemptuously, "do as you like, and +still the race will be so easy for me that I will not even need to try. +Your many legs and your stupid head do not go very well together. Now, +if I had my sense and all of your legs, no creature in the forest could +outrun me. As it is, there are none that can outwit me. I am known as +the sharp-witted. Even man says, 'Qui-kwat-wui-lai' (sly as a fox). +So do what you will, stupid one." + +"If you will let me tie your beautiful tail down so it will stay," said +the Crab, "I am sure I can win the race." + +"Oh, no, you cannot," said the Fox. "But I will prove to even your +stupid, slow brain that it will make no difference. Now, how do you +wish that I should hold my tail?" + +Said the Crab: "If you will allow me to hang something on your tail to +hold it down, I am sure you cannot run faster than I." + +"Do as you like," said the Fox. + +"Allow me to come nearer," said the Crab, "and when I have it fastened +to your tail, I will say 'Ready!' Then you are to start." + +So the Crab crawled behind and caught the Fox's tail with his pincers +and said, "Ready!" The Fox ran and ran until he was tired. And when he +stopped, there was the Crab beside him. + +"Where are you now?" said the Crab. "I thought you were to run ten +times faster than I. You are not even ahead of me with all your +boasting." + +The Fox, panting for breath, hung his head in shame and went away where +he might never see the crab again. + +EE-SZE (Meaning): A big, proud, boastful mouth, is a worse thing for a +man than it is for a fox. + + + +The Mule and the Lion + +One night the Lion was very hungry, but as the creatures of the +wilderness knew and feared him even from afar, he could not find food. +So he went to visit the young Mule that lived near the farmer's house, +and when he saw him he smiled blandly and asked, "What do you eat, fair +Lii, to make you so sleek and fat? What makes your hair so smooth and +beautiful? I think your master gives you tender fresh grass and fat +young pig to eat." + +The Mule answered, "No, I am fat because I am gentle. My hair is +beautiful because I do not fight with other creatures. But why do you +come here, Sii? Are you hungry? I believe you are seeking for food." + +The Lion said, "Oh, no, I am not hungry. I only walk around to get the +cool, fresh air. And then the night is very beautiful. The moon hangs +up in the clear sky with the stars and makes a soft light, and so I +came to visit you. Would you not like to take a walk with me? I will +take you to visit my friend, the Pig. I never go to his house alone; I +always take a friend with me." + +The Mule asked, "Shall we go to any other place?" + +"Yes," answered the Lion, "I think we will go to visit another friend +of mine who lives not far away." + +Then the Mule asked his mother, "Will you allow me to go with Sii to +see his friend?" + +"Who is his friend?" asked the mother. + +"The farmer's Pig." said the Mule. + +"I think it is no harm if you go only there," said the mother Mule. +"But you must not go anywhere else with Sii. The hunter is looking for +him, I hear, and you must be careful. Do not trust him fully, for I +fear he will tempt you to go to some other place or into some wrong +thing. If I allow you to go, you must come home before midnight. The +moon will not be gone then and you can see to find your way." + +So the Lion and the Mule went to visit the Pig, who lived in a house in +the farmer's yard. But as soon as the Pig saw the Lion, he called out +in a loud voice to his mother. + +The Lion said, "He is afraid of me. I will hide and you may go in +first." + +When the Pig saw that the Mule was alone, he thought the Lion had gone. +He opened his door wide and was very friendly to the Mule, saying, +"Come in." + +But the Lion jumped from his hiding place and caught the Pig as he came +to the door. The Pig called to his mother in great fear, and the Mule +begged the Lion, saying, "Let the poor little creature go free." + +But the Lion said, "No, indeed; I have many Pigs at my house. It is +better for him to go with me." + +Then the Lion carried the Pig, while the Mule followed. Soon they came +to where a fine looking dog lay on some hay behind a net. The Lion did +not seem to see the net, for he dropped the Pig and tried to catch the +Dog, who cried loudly for mercy. + +But the Lion said to the foolish Mule, "See how rude the Dog is to us. +We came to visit him and he makes a loud noise and tries to call the +hunter so that he will drive us away. I have never been so insulted. +Come here, Lii-Tsze, at once and help me!" + +The Mule went to the Lion and the net fell and caught them both. At +sunrise the Hunter came and found the Mule and the Lion in his net. +The Mule begged earnestly and said, "Hunter, you know me and you know +my mother. We are your friends and we do no wrong. Set me free, oh, +hunter, set me free!" + +The Hunter said, "No, I will not set you free. You may be good, but +you are in bad company and must take what it brings. I will take you +and the Lion both to the market place and sell you for silver. That is +my right. I am a hunter. If you get in my net, that is your business. +If I catch you, that is my business." + +EE-SZE (Meaning): Bad company is a dangerous thing for man or beast. + + + +The Lion and the Mosquitoes + +One day Ah-Fou's father said to him, "Come here, my boy, and I will +tell you a story. Do you remember the great lion we saw one day, which +Ah-Kay caught? You know a strong rope held him, and he roared and +tried to free himself until he died. Then when Ah-Kay took him from +the net, he looked at the rope and the bamboo carefully, and found five +of the great ropes broken. + +"How strong is the lion? Twenty children like you could not break one +strand of that great rope. But the lion broke five complete ropes. He +is the strongest of all animals. He catches many creatures for his +food, but once he lost a battle with one of the least of the wilderness +creatures. Do you know what it was?" + +"A bird could fight and then fly away. Was it a bird?" + +"No, my son." + +"A man is stronger than a lion." + +"No; do you not remember the woodcutter who could put down five strong +men? One night a wilderness lion caught and killed him." + +"Then what was the smallest of all creatures of the wilderness that +battled with a lion?" + +The father said, "I will tell you the story: Once in the summer time +the Lion was very thirsty. But the sun had taken all the water near +the Lion's home and he went to many places seeking for it. In time he +found an old well, but the water was not fresh. As the Lion was very +thirsty, he said, 'I must drink, even though the water is stale.' + +"But when he reached down into the old well, he found that it was the +home of all the Mosquitoes of the wilderness. + +"The Mosquitoes said to the Lion, 'Go away, we do not want you. This +is our home and we are happy. We do not wish the lion, the fox, or the +bear to come here. You are not our friend. Why do you come?" + +"The Lion roared and said, 'Weak and foolish things! I am the Lion. +It is you that should go away, for I have come to drink. This is my +wilderness, and I am king. Do you know, weak things, that when I come +out from my place and send forth my voice, all the creatures of the +wilderness shake like leaves and bow their heads to me? What are you +that you should have a place you call your home and tell me that I may +or I may not?' + +"Then the Mosquitoes answered, 'You are only one. You speak as if you +were many. Our people had this old well for a home before your roar +was heard in the wilderness. And many generations of us have been born +here. This home is ours, and we are they that say who shall come or +go. And yet you come and tell us to go out of our own door. If you do +not leave us, we will call our people, and you shall know trouble.' + +"But the Lion held his head high with pride and anger and said, 'What +are you, oh, small of the small? I will kill every one of your useless +people. When I drink, I will open my mouth only a little wider, and +you shall be swallowed like the water. And to-morrow I shall forget +that I drank to-day.' + +"'Boastful one,' said the Mosquitoes, 'we do not believe that you have +the power to destroy all our people. If you wish battle, we shall see. +We know your name is great and that all animals bow their heads before +you; but our people can kill you.' + +"The Lion jumped high in his rage and said, 'No other creature in the +wilderness has dared to say these things to me--the king. Have I come +to the vile well of the silly Mosquitoes for wisdom?' And he held his +head high, and gave the mighty roar of battle, and made ready to kill +all the Mosquitoes. + +"Then the Mosquitoes, big and little, flew around him. Many went into +his ears, and the smallest ones went into his nose, and the big old +ones went into his mouth to sting. A thousand and a thousand hung in +the air just over his head and made a great noise, and the Lion soon +knew that he could not conquer. + +"He roared and jumped, and two of his front feet went down into the +well. The well was narrow and deep and he could not get out, for his +two hind feet were in the air and his head hung downward. And as he +died, he said to himself: + +"'My pride and anger have brought me this fate. Had I used gentle +words, the Mosquitoes might have given me water for my thirst. I was +wise and strong in the wilderness, and even the greatest of the animals +feared my power. But I fought with the Mosquitoes and I die--not +because I have not strength to overcome, but because of the foolishness +of anger." + +EE-SZE (Meaning): The wise can conquer the foolish. Power is nothing, +strength is nothing. The wise, gentle and careful can always win. + + + + +FABLES OF LA FONTAINE* + + "Of Fables judge not by their face; + They give the simplest brute a teacher's place. + Bare precepts were inert and tedious things; + The story gives them life and wings." + + JEAN DE LA FONTAINE + +*Translated by Elizur Wright, Jr. + + + FABLES OF LA FONTAINE + + The Grasshopper and the Ant + + A Grasshopper gay + Sang the summer away, + And found herself poor + By the winter's first roar. + Of meat or of bread, + Not a morsel she had! + So a-begging she went, + To her neighbour the Ant, + For the loan of some wheat, + Which would serve her to eat, + Till the season came round. + "I will pay you," she saith, + "On an animal's faith, + Double weight in the pound + Ere the harvest be bound." + The Ant is a friend-- + (And here she might mend) + Little given to lend. + "How spent you the summer?" + Quoth she, looking shame + At the borrowing dame. + "Night and day to each comer + I sang, if you please." + "You sang! I'm at ease, + For 'tis plain at a glance, + Now, ma'am, you must dance." + + + + The Swan and the Cook + + The pleasures of a poultry yard + Were by a Swan and Gosling shared. + The Swan was kept there for his looks, + The thrifty Gosling for the Cooks; + The first the garden's pride, the latter + A greater favourite on the platter. + They swam the ditches, side by side, + And oft in sports aquatic vied, + Plunging, splashing far and wide, + With rivalry ne'er satisfied. + One day the Cook, named Thirsty John, + Sent for the Gosling, took the Swan, + In haste his throat to cut, + And put him in the pot. + The bird's complaint resounded + In glorious melody; + Whereat the Cook, astounded + His sad mistake to see, + Cried, "What! make soup of a musician! + Please God, I'll never set such dish on. + No, no; I'll never cut a throat + That sings so passing sweet a note." + + _'Tis thus, whatever peril may alarm us, + Sweet words will surely never harm us_. + + + + The Hornets and the Bees + + "The artist by his work is known." + A piece of honey-comb, one day, + Discovered as a waif and stray, + The Hornets treated as their own. + Their title did the Bees dispute, + And brought before a Wasp the suit. + The judge was puzzled to decide, + For nothing could be testified + Save that around this honey-comb + There had been seen, as if at home, + Some longish, brownish, buzzing creatures, + Much like the Bees in wings and features. + But what of that? for marks the same, + The Hornets, too, could truly claim. + Between assertion and denial, + The Wasp, in doubt, proclaimed new trial; + And, hearing what an ant-hill swore, + Could see no clearer than before. + "What use, I pray, of this expense?" + At last exclaim'd a Bee of sense. + "We've laboured months in this affair, + And now are only where we were. + Meanwhile the honey runs to waste: + 'Tis time the judge should show some haste. + Both sides have had sufficient bleeding, + Without more fuss of scrawls and pleading. + Let's set to work, these drones and we, + And then all eyes the truth may see, + Whose art it is that can produce + The magic cells, the nectar juice." + The Hornets, flinching on their part, + Show that the work transcends their art. + The Wasp at length their title sees, + And gives the honey to the Bees. + + _Oh, would that suits at law with us + Might every one be managed thus!_ + + + + The Two Rats, the Fox, and the Egg + + Two Rats in foraging fell on an Egg-- + For gentry such as they + A genteel dinner every way; + They needed not to find an ox's leg. + Brimful of joy and appetite, + They were about to sack the box, + So tight without the aid of locks, + When suddenly there came in sight + A personage--Sir Slyboots Fox. + Sure, luck was never more untoward + Since Fortune was a vixen froward! + How should they save their Egg--and bacon? + Their plunder couldn't then be bagg'd. + Should it in forward paws be taken, + Or roll'd along, or dragg'd? + Each method seem'd impossible, + And each was then of danger full. + Necessity, ingenious mother, + Brought forth what help'd them from their pother. + As still there was a chance to save their prey, + The sponger yet some hundred yards away-- + One seized the Egg, and turned upon his back, + And then, in spite of many a thump and thwack, + That would have torn, perhaps, a coat of mail, + The other dragg'd him by the tail. + Who dares the inference to blink, + That beasts possess wherewith to think? + + _Were I commission'd to bestow + This power on creatures here below, + The beasts should have as much of mind + As infants of the human kind._ + + + + The Lion's Share + + The Heifer, the Goat, and their sister the Sheep, + Compacted their earnings in common to keep, + 'Tis said, in time past, with a Lion, who swayed + Full lordship o'er neighbours, of whatever grade. + The Goat, as it happened, a Stag having snared, + Sent off to the rest, that the beast might be shared. + All gathered; the Lion first counts on his claws, + And says, "We'll proceed to divide with our paws + The stag into pieces, as fix'd by our laws." + This done, he announces part first as his own; + "'Tis mine," he says, "truly, as Lion alone." + To such a decision there's nought to be said, + As he who has made it is doubtless the head. + "Well, also, the second to me should belong; + 'Tis mine, be it known, by the right of the strong. + Again, as the bravest, the third must be mine. + To touch but the fourth whoso maketh a sign, + I'll choke him to death + In the space of a breath!" + + + + The Shepherd and His Dog + + A Shepherd, with a single Dog, + Was ask'd the reason why + He kept a Dog, whose least supply + Amounted to a loaf of bread + For every day. The people said + He'd better give the animal + To guard the village seignior's hall; + For him, a Shepherd, it would be + A thriftier economy + To keep small curs, say two or three, + That would not cost him half the food, + And yet for watching be as good. + The fools, perhaps, forgot to tell + If they would fight the wolf as well. + The silly Shepherd, giving heed, + Cast off his Dog of mastiff breed, + And took three dogs to watch his cattle, + Which ate far less, but fled in battle. + + _Not vain our tale, if it convinces + Small states that 'tis a wiser thing + To trust a single powerful king, + Than half a dozen petty princes._ + + + + The Old Man and the Ass + + An Old Man, riding on his Ass, + Had found a spot of thrifty grass, + And there turn'd loose his weary beast. + Old Grizzle, pleased with such a feast, + Flung up his heels, and caper'd round, + Then roll'd and rubb'd upon the ground, + And frisk'd and browsed and bray'd, + And many a clean spot made. + Arm'd men came on them as he fed: + "Let's fly!" in haste the Old Man said. + "And wherefore so?" the Ass replied; + "With heavier burdens will they ride?" + "No," said the man, already started, + "Then," cried the Ass, as he departed. + "I'll stay, and be--no matter whose; + Save you yourself, and leave me loose, + But let me tell you, ere you go + (I speak plain English, as you know), + My master is my only foe." + + + + The Lion Going to War + + The Lion had an enterprise in hand; + Held a war-council, sent his provost-marshal, + And gave the animals a call impartial-- + Each, in his way, to serve his high command. + The Elephant should carry on his back + The tools of war, the mighty public pack, + And fight in elephantine way and form; + The Bear should hold himself prepared to storm; + The Fox all secret stratagems should fix; + The Monkey should amuse the foe by tricks. + "Dismiss," said one, "the blockhead Asses, + And Hares, too cowardly and fleet." + "No," said the King; "I use all classes; + Without their aid my force were incomplete. + The Ass shall be our trumpeter, to scare + Our enemy. And then the nimble Hare + Our royal bulletins shall homeward bear." + + _A monarch provident and wise + Will hold his subjects all of consequence, + And know in each what talent lies. + There's nothing useless to a man of sense._ + + + + The Ass and the Lap-dog + + One's native talent from its course + Cannot be turned aside by force; + But poorly apes the country clown + The polish'd manners of the town. + Their Maker chooses but a few + With power of pleasing to imbue; + Where wisely leave it we, the mass, + Unlike a certain fabled Ass, + That thought to gain his master's blessing + By jumping on him and caressing. + "What!" said the Donkey in his heart; + "Ought it to be that Puppy's part + To lead his useless life + In full companionship + With master and his wife, + While I must bear the whip? + What doth the Cur a kiss to draw + Forsooth, he only gives his paw! + If that is all there needs to please, + I'll do the thing myself, with ease." + Possess'd with this bright notion-- + His master sitting on his chair, + At leisure in the open air-- + He ambled up, with awkward motion, + And put his talents to the proof; + Upraised his bruised and batter'd hoof, + And, with an amiable mien, + His master patted on the chin, + The action gracing with a word-- + The fondest bray that e'er was heard! + Oh, such caressing was there ever? + Or melody with such a quaver? + "Ho! Martin! here! a club, a club bring!" + Out cried the master, sore offended. + So Martin gave the Ass a drubbing-- + And so the comedy was ended. + + + + The Hare and the Partridge + + A field in common share + A Partridge and a Hare, + And live in peaceful state, + Till, woeful to relate! + The hunters mingled cry + Compels the Hare to fly. + He hurries to his fort, + And spoils almost the sport + By faulting every hound + That yelps upon the ground. + At last his reeking heat + Betrays his snug retreat. + Old Tray, with philosophic nose, + Snuffs carefully, and grows + So certain, that he cries, + "The Hare is here; bow wow!" + And veteran Ranger now-- + The dog that never lies-- + "The Hare is gone," replies. + Alas! poor, wretched Hare, + Back comes he to his lair, + To meet destruction there! + The Partridge, void of fear, + Begins her friend to jeer:-- + "You bragg'd of being fleet; + How serve you, now, your feet?" + Scarce has she ceased to speak-- + The laugh yet in her beak-- + When comes her turn to die, + From which she could not fly. + She thought her wings, indeed, + Enough for every need; + But in her laugh and talk, + Forgot the cruel hawk! + + + The Weasel in the Granary + + A Weasel through a hole contrived to squeeze, + (She was recovering from disease), + Which led her to a farmer's hoard. + There lodged, her wasted form she cherish'd; + Heaven knows the lard and victuals stored + That by her gnawing perish'd! + Of which the consequence + Was sudden corpulence. + A week or so was past, + When having fully broken fast, + A noise she heard, and hurried + To find the hole by which she came, + And seem'd to find it not the same; + So round she ran, most sadly flurried; + And, coming back, thrust out her head, + Which, sticking there, she said, + "This is the hole, there can't be blunder: + What makes it now so small, I wonder, + Where, but the other day, I pass'd with ease?" + A Rat her trouble sees, + And cries, "But with an emptier belly; + You entered lean, and lean must sally." + + + + The Wolf Turned Shepherd + + A Wolf, whose gettings from the flocks + Began to be but few, + Bethought himself to play the fox + In character quite new. + A Shepherd's hat and coat he took, + A cudgel for a crook, + Nor e'en the pipe forgot: + And more to seem what he was not, + Himself upon his hat he wrote, + "I'm Willie, shepherd of these sheep." + His person thus complete, + His crook in upraised feet, + The impostor Willie stole upon the keep. + The proper Willie, on the grass asleep, + Slept there, indeed, profoundly, + His dog and pipe slept, also soundly; + His drowsy sheep around lay. + As for the greatest number, + Much bless'd the hypocrite their slumber + And hoped to drive away the flock, + Could he the Shepherd's voice but mock. + He thought undoubtedly he could. + He tried: the tone in which he spoke, + Loud echoing from the wood, + The plot and slumber broke; + Sheep, dog, and man awoke. + The Wolf, in sorry plight, + In hampering coat bedight, + Could neither run nor fight. + + _There's always leakage of deceit + Which makes it never safe to cheat, + Whoever is a Wolf had better + Keep clear of hypocritic fetter._ + + + + The Lion and the Ass Hunting + + The King of animals, with royal grace, + Would celebrate his birthday in the chase. + Twas not with bow and arrows, + To slay some wretched sparrows; + The Lion hunts the wild boar of the wood, + The antlered deer and stags, the fat and good. + This time, the King, t' insure success, + Took for his aide-de-camp an Ass, + A creature of stentorian voice, + That felt much honoured by the choice. + The Lion hid him in a proper station, + And ordered him to bray, for his vocation, + Assured that his tempestuous cry + The boldest beasts would terrify, + And cause them from their lairs to fly. + And, sooth, the horrid noise the creature made + Did strike the tenants of the wood with dread; + And, as they headlong fled, + All fell within the Lion's ambuscade. + "Has not my service glorious + Made both of us victorious?" + Cried out the much-elated Ass. + "Yes," said the Lion; "bravely bray'd! + Had I not known yourself and race, + I should have been myself afraid!" + The Donkey, had he dared, + With anger would have flared + At this retort, though justly made; + For who could suffer boasts to pass + So ill-befitting to an Ass? + + + + The Oak and the Reed + + The Oak one day address'd the Reed: + "To you ungenerous indeed + Has nature been, my humble friend, + With weakness aye obliged to bend. + The smallest bird that flits in air + Is quite too much for you to bear; + The slightest wind that wreathes the lake + Your ever-trembling head doth shake. + The while, my towering form + Dares with the mountain top + The solar blaze to stop, + And wrestle with the storm. + What seems to you the blast of death, + To me is but a zephyr's breath. + Beneath my branches had you grown, + Less suffering would your life have known, + Unhappily you oftenest show + In open air your slender form, + Along the marshes wet and low, + That fringe the kingdom of the storm. + To you, declare I must, + Dame Nature seems unjust." + Then modestly replied the Reed: + "Your pity, sir, is kind indeed, + But wholly needless for my sake. + The wildest wind that ever blew + Is safe to me compared with you. + I bend, indeed, but never break. + Thus far, I own, the hurricane + Has beat your sturdy back in vain; + But wait the end." Just at the word, + The tempest's hollow voice was heard. + The North sent forth her fiercest child, + Dark, jagged, pitiless, and wild. + The Oak, erect, endured the blow; + The Reed bow'd gracefully and low. + But, gathering up its strength once more, + In greater fury than before, + The savage blast o'erthrew, at last, + That proud, old, sky-encircled head, + Whose feet entwined the empire of the dead! + + + + The Bat and the Two Weasels + + A blundering Bat once stuck her head + Into a wakeful Weasel's bed; + Whereat the mistress of the house, + A deadly foe of rats and mice, + Was making ready in a trice + To eat the stranger as a mouse. + "What! do you dare," she said, "to creep in + The very bed I sometimes sleep in, + Now, after all the provocation + I've suffered from your thievish nation? + It's plain to see you are a mouse, + That gnawing pest of every house, + Your special aim to do the cheese ill. + Ay, that you are, or I'm no Weasel." + "I beg your pardon," said the Bat; + "My kind is very far from that. + What! I a mouse! Who told you such a lie? + Why, ma'am, I am a bird; + And, if you doubt my word, + Just see the wings with which I fly. + Long live the mice that cleave the sky!" + These reasons had so fair a show, + The Weasel let the creature go. + + By some strange fancy led, + The same wise blunderhead, + But two or three days later, + Had chosen for her rest + Another Weasel's nest, + This last, of birds a special hater. + New peril brought this step absurd: + Without a moment's thought or puzzle, + Dame Weasel, oped her peaked muzzle + To eat th' intruder as a bird. + "Hold! do not wrong me," cried the Bat; + "I'm truly no such thing as that. + Your eyesight strange conclusions gathers. + What makes a bird, I pray? Its feathers. + I'm cousin of the mice and rats. + Great Jupiter confound the cats!" + The Bat, by such adroit replying, + Twice saved herself from dying. + + _And many a human stranger + Thus turns his coat in danger; + And sings, as suits, where'er he goes, + "God save the king!"--or "save his foes!_" + + + + The Dove and the Ant + + A Dove came to a brook to drink, + When, leaning o'er its crumbling brink, + An Ant fell in, and vainly tried, + In this, to her, an ocean tide, + To reach the land; whereat the Dove, + With every living thing in love, + Was prompt a spire of grass to throw her, + By which the Ant regained the shore. + + A barefoot scamp, both mean and sly, + Soon after chanced this Dove to spy; + And, being arm'd with bow and arrow, + The hungry codger doubted not + The bird of Venus, in his pot, + Would make a soup before the morrow. + Just as his deadly bow he drew, + Our Ant just bit his heel. + Roused by the villain's squeal, + The Dove took timely hint, and flew + Far from the rascal's coop-- + And with her flew his soup. + + + + The Cock and the Fox + + Upon a tree there mounted guard + A veteran Cock, adroit and cunning; + When to the roots a Fox up running, + Spoke thus, in tones of kind regard: + "Our quarrel, brother, 's at an end; + Henceforth I hope to live your friend; + For peace now reigns + Throughout the animal domains. + I bear the news--come down, I pray, + And give me the embrace fraternal; + And please, my brother, don't delay. + So much the tidings do concern all, + That I must spread them far to-day. + Now you and yours can take your walks + Without a fear or thought of hawks. + And should you clash with them or others, + In us you'll find the best of brothers; + For which you may, this joyful night, + Your merry bonfires light. + But, first, let's seal the bliss + With one fraternal kiss." + The Cock replied, "Upon my word, + A better thing I never heard; + And doubly I rejoice + To hear it from your voice; + There really must be something in it, + For yonder come two greyhounds, which I flatter + Myself are couriers on this very matter. + They come so fast, they'll be here in a minute. + I'll down, and all of us will seal the blessing + With general kissing and caressing." + "Adieu," said Fox; "my errand's pressing; + I'll hurry on my way, + And we'll rejoice some other day." + So off the fellow scampered, quick and light, + To gain the fox-holes of a neighbouring height, + Less happy in his stratagem than flight. + The Cock laugh'd sweetly in his sleeve-- + 'Tis doubly sweet deceiver to deceive. + + + + The Wolf, the Goat, and the Kid + + As went a Goat of grass to take her fill, + And browse the herbage of a distant hill, + She latch'd her door, and bid, + With matron care, her Kid; + "My daughter, as you live, + This portal don't undo + To any creature who + This watchword does not give: + 'Deuce take the Wolf and all his race'!" + The Wolf was passing near the place + By chance, and heard the words with pleasure, + And laid them up as useful treasure; + And hardly need we mention, + Escaped the Goat's attention. + No sooner did he see + The matron off, than he, + With hypocritic tone and face, + Cried out before the place, + "Deuce take the Wolf and all his race!" + Not doubting thus to gain admission. + The Kid, not void of all suspicion, + Peer'd through a crack, and cried, + "Show me white paw before + You ask me to undo the door." + The Wolf could not, if he had died, + For wolves have no connection + With paws of that complexion. + So, much surprised, our gourmandiser + Retired to fast till he was wiser. + + _How would the Kid have been undone + Had she but trusted to the word + The Wolf by chance had overheard! + Two sureties better are than one; + And cautions worth its cost, + Though sometimes seeming lost._ + + + The Fox, the Monkey, and the Animals + + Left kingless by the lion's death, + The beasts once met, our story saith, + Some fit successor to install. + Forth from a dragon-guarded, moated place, + The crown was brought and, taken from its case, + And being tried by turns on all, + The heads of most were found too small; + Some horned were, and some too big; + Not one would fit the regal gear. + Forever ripe for such a rig, + The Monkey, looking very queer, + Approached with antics and grimaces, + And, after scores of monkey faces, + With what would seem a gracious stoop, + Pass'd through the crown as through a hoop. + The beasts, diverted with the thing, + Did homage to him as their king. + The Fox alone the vote regretted, + But yet in public never fretted. + When he his compliments had paid + To royalty, thus newly made, + "Great sire, I know a place," said he, + "Where lies conceal'd a treasure, + Which, by the right of royalty, + Should bide your royal pleasure." + The King lack'd not an appetite + For such financial pelf, + And, not to lose his royal right, + Ran straight to see it for himself. + It was a trap, and he was caught. + Said Reynard, "Would you have it thought, + You Ape, that you can fill a throne, + And guard the rights of all, alone. + Not knowing how to guard your own?" + + _The beasts all gathered from the farce, + That stuff for kings is very scarce._ + + + The Rat and the Oyster + + A country Rat of little brains, + Grown weary of inglorious rest, + Left home with all its straws and grains, + Resolved to know beyond his nest. + When peeping through the nearest fence, + "How big the world is, how immense!" + He cried; "there rise the Alps, and that + Is doubtless famous Ararat." + His mountains were the works of moles, + Or dirt thrown up in digging holes! + Some days of travel brought him where + The tide had left the Oysters bare. + Since here our traveller saw the sea, + He thought these shells the ships must be. + "My father was, in truth," said he, + "A coward, and an ignoramus; + He dared not travel: as for me, + I've seen the ships and ocean famous; + Have cross'd the deserts without drinking, + And many dangerous streams, unshrinking." + Among the shut-up shell-fish, one + Was gaping widely at the sun; + It breathed, and drank the air's perfume, + Expanding, like a flower in bloom. + Both white and fat, its meat + Appear'd a dainty treat. + Our Rat, when he this shell espied, + Thought for his stomach to provide. + "If not mistaken in the matter," + Said he, "no meat was ever fatter, + Or in its flavour half so fine, + As that on which to-day I dine." + Thus full of hope, the foolish chap + Thrust in his head to taste, + And felt the pinching of a trap-- + The Oyster closed in haste. + + _Now those to whom the world is new + Are wonder-struck at every view; + And the marauder finds his match + When he is caught who thinks to catch._ + + + + The Ass and the Dog + + Along the road an Ass and Dog + One master following, did jog. + Their master slept: meanwhile, the Ass + Applied his nippers to the grass, + Much pleased in such a place to stop, + Though there no thistle he could crop. + He would not be too delicate, + Nor spoil a dinner for a plate, + Which, but for that, his favourite dish, + Were all that any Ass could wish. + "My dear companion," Towser said-- + "'Tis as a starving Dog I ask it-- + Pray lower down your loaded basket, + And let me get a piece of bread." + No answer--not a word!--indeed, + The truth was, our Arcadian steed + Fear'd lest, for every moment's flight, + His nimble teeth should lose a bite. + At last, "I counsel you," said he, "to wait + Till master is himself awake, + Who then, unless I much mistake, + Will give his Dog the usual bait." + Meanwhile, there issued from the wood + A creature of the wolfish brood, + Himself by famine sorely pinch'd. + At sight of him the Donkey flinch'd, + And begg'd the Dog to give him aid. + The Dog budged not, but answer made, + "I counsel thee, my friend, to run, + Till master's nap is fairly done; + There can, indeed, be no mistake + That he will very soon awake; + Till then, scud off with all your might; + And should he snap you in your flight, + This ugly Wolf--why, let him feel + The greeting of your well-shod heel. + I do not doubt, at all, but that + Will be enough to lay him flat." + But ere he ceased it was too late; + The Ass had met his cruel fate. + + + + The Monkey and the Leopard + + A Monkey and a Leopard were + The rivals at a country fair. + Each advertised his own attractions. + Said one, "Good sirs, the highest place + My merit knows; for, of his grace, + The King hath seen me face to face; + And, judging by his looks and actions, + I gave the best of satisfactions. + When I am dead, 'tis plain enough, + My skin will make his royal muff. + So richly is it streak'd and spotted, + So delicately waved and dotted, + Its various beauty cannot fail to please." + And, thus invited, everybody sees; + But soon they see, and soon depart. + The Monkey's show-bill to the mart + His merits thus sets forth the while, + All in his own peculiar style: + "Come, gentlemen, I pray you, come; + In magic arts I am at home. + The whole variety in which + My neighbour boasts himself so rich + Is to his simple skin confined, + While mine is living in the mind. + For I can speak, you understand; + Can dance, and practise sleight-of-hand; + Can jump through hoops, and balance sticks; + In short, can do a thousand tricks; + One penny is my charge to you, + And, if you think the price won't do, + When you have seen, then I'll restore, + Each man his money at the door." + + _The Ape was not to reason blind; + For who in wealth of dress can find + Such charms as dwell in wealth of mind? + One meets our ever-new desires, + The other in a moment tires. + Alas! how many lords there are, + Of mighty sway and lofty mien, + Who, like this Leopard at the fair, + Show all their talents on the skin!_ + + + + The Rat and the Elephant + + A Rat, of quite the smallest size, + Fix'd on an Elephant his eyes, + And jeer'd the beast of high descent + Because his feet so slowly went. + Upon his back, three stories high, + There sat, beneath a canopy, + A certain sultan of renown, + His Dog, and Cat, and wife sublime, + His parrot, servant, and his wine, + All pilgrims to a distant town. + The Rat profess'd to be amazed + That all the people stood and gazed + With wonder, as he pass'd the road, + Both at the creature and his load. + "As if," said he, "to occupy + A little more of land or sky + Made one, in view of common sense, + Of greater worth and consequence! + What see ye, men, in this parade, + That food for wonder need be made? + The bulk which makes a child afraid? + In truth, I take myself to be, + In all aspects, as good as he." + And further might have gone his vaunt; + But, darting down, the Cat + Convinced him that a Rat + Is smaller than an elephant. + + + + The Acorn and the Pumpkin + + God's works are good. This truth to prove + Around the world I need not move; + I do it by the nearest Pumpkin. + "This fruit so large, on vine so small," + Surveying once, exclaim'd a bumpkin-- + "What could He mean who made us all? + He's left this Pumpkin out of place. + If I had order'd in the case, + Upon that oak it should have hung---- + A noble fruit as ever swung + To grace a tree so firm and strong. + Indeed, it was a great mistake, + As this discovery teaches, + That I myself did not partake + His counsels whom my curate preaches. + All things had then in order come; + This Acorn, for example, + Not bigger than my thumb, + Had not disgraced a tree so ample. + The more I think, the more I wonder + To see outraged proportion's laws, + And that without the slightest cause; + God surely made an awkward blunder." + With such reflections proudly fraught, + Our sage grew tired of mighty thought, + And threw himself on Nature's lap, + Beneath an oak, to take his nap. + Plump on his nose, by lucky hap, + An Acorn fell: he waked, and in + The scarf he wore beneath his chin, + He found the cause of such a bruise + As made him different language use. + "Oh! Oh!" he cried; "I bleed! I bleed! + And this is what has done the deed! + But, truly, what had been my fate, + Had this had half a Pumpkin's weight! + I see that God had reasons good, + And all His works were understood." + Thus home he went in humbler mood. + + + + The Cat and the Fox + + The Cat and Fox, when saints were all the rage + Together went upon pilgrimage. + Our Pilgrims, as a thing of course, + Disputed till their throats were hoarse. + Then, dropping to a lower tone, + They talk'd of this, and talk'd of that, + Till Reynard whisper'd to the Cat, + "You think yourself a knowing one: + How many cunning tricks have you? + For I've a hundred, old and new, + All ready in my haversack." + The Cat replied, "I do not lack, + Though with but one provided; + And, truth to honour, for that matter, + I hold it than a thousand better." + In fresh dispute they sided; + And loudly were they at it, when + Approach'd a mob of dogs and men. + "Now," said the Cat, "your tricks ransack, + And put your cunning brains to rack, + One life to save; I'll show you mine-- + A trick, you see, for saving nine." + With that, she climb'd a lofty pine. + The Fox his hundred ruses tried, + And yet no safety found. + A hundred times he falsified. + The nose of every hound + Was here, and there, and everywhere, + Above, and under ground; + But yet to stop he did not dare, + Pent in a hole, it was no joke, + To meet the terriers or the smoke. + So, leaping into upper air, + He met two dogs, that choked him there. + + _Expedients may be too many, + Consuming time to choose and try. + On one, but that as good as any, + 'Tis best in danger to rely._ + + + + The City Rat and the Country Rat + + A city Rat, one night + Did with a civil stoop + A Country Rat invite + To end a turtle soup. + + Upon a Turkey carpet + They found the table spread, + And sure I need not harp it + How well the fellows fed. + + The entertainment was + A truly noble one; + But some unlucky cause + Disturbed it when begun + + It was a slight rat-tat, + That put their Joys to rout; + Out ran the City Rat; + His guest, too, scampered out. + + Our rats but fairly quit, + The fearful knocking ceased, + "Return we," said the cit, + "To finish there our feast." + + "No," said the Rustic Rat; + "To-morrow dine with me. + I'm not offended at + Your feast so grand and free, + + "For I've no fare resembling; + But then I eat at leisure, + And would not swap for pleasure + So mixed with fear and trembling." + + + + The Ploughman and His Sons + + A wealthy Ploughman drawing near his end + Call'd in his Sons apart from every friend, + And said, "When of your sire bereft, + The heritage our fathers left + Guard well, nor sell a single field. + A treasure in it is conceal'd: + The place, precisely, I don't know, + But industry will serve to show. + The harvest past. Time's forelock take, + And search with plough, and spade, and rake; + Turn over every inch of sod, + Nor leave unsearch'd a single clod." + The father died. The Sons in vain-- + Turn'd o'er the soil, and o'er again; + That year their acres bore + More grain than e'er before. + Though hidden money found they none, + Yet had their Father wisely done, + To show by such a measure + That toil itself is treasure. + + _The farmer's patient care and toil + Are oftener wanting than the soil._ + + + + The Fox, the Wolf, and the Horse + + A Fox, though young, by no means raw, + Had seen a Horse, the first he ever saw: + "Ho! neighbour Wolf," said he to one quite green, + "A creature in our meadow I have seen-- + Sleek, grand! I seem to see him yet-- + The finest beast I ever met." + "Is he a stouter one than we?" + The Wolf demanded, eagerly; + "Some picture of him let me see." + "If I could paint," said Fox, "I should delight + T' anticipate your pleasure at the sight; + But come; who knows? perhaps it is a prey + By fortune offer'd in our way." + They went. The Horse, turn'd loose to graze, + Not liking much their looks and ways, + Was just about to gallop off. + "Sir," said the Fox, "your humble servants, we + Make bold to ask you what your name may be." + The Horse, an animal with brains enough, + Replied, "Sirs, you yourselves may read my name; + My shoer round my heel hath writ the same." + The Fox excus'd himself for want of knowledge: + "Me, sir, my parents did not educate, + So poor, a hole was their entire estate. + My friend, the Wolf, however, taught at college, + Could read it, were it even Greek." + The Wolf, to flattery weak, + Approached to verify the boast; + For which four teeth he lost. + The high raised hoof came down with such a blow + As laid him bleeding on the ground full low. + "My brother," said the Fox, "this shows how just + What once was taught me by a fox of wit-- + Which on thy jaws this animal hath writ-- + 'All unknown things the wise mistrust.'" + + + + The Woodman and Mercury + + A Man that laboured in the wood + Had lost his honest livelihood; + That is to say, + His axe was gone astray. + He had no tools to spare; + This wholly earn'd his fare. + Without a hope beside, + He sat him down and cried, + "Alas, my axe! where can it be? + O Jove! but send it back to me, + And it shall strike good blows for thee." + His prayer in high Olympus heard, + Swift Mercury started at the word. + "Your axe must not be lost," said he: + "Now, will you know it when you see? + An axe I found upon the road." + With that an axe of gold he show'd. + "Is't this?" The Woodman answer'd, "Nay." + An axe of silver, bright and gay, + Refused the honest Woodman too. + At last the finder brought to view + An axe of iron, steel, and wood. + "That's mine," he said, in joyful mood; + "With that I'll quite contented be." + The god replied, "I give the three, + As due reward of honesty." + This luck when neighbouring choppers knew, + They lost their axes, not a few, + And sent their prayers to Jupiter + So fast, he knew not which to hear. + His winged son, however, sent + With gold and silver axes, went. + Each would have thought himself a fool + Not to have own'd the richest tool. + But Mercury promptly gave, instead + Of it, a blow upon the head. + + _With simple truth to be contented, + Is surest not to be repented: + But still there are who would + With evil trap the good, + Whose cunning is but stupid, + For Jove is never duped._ + + + + The Eagle and the Owl + + The Eagle and the Owl, resolved to cease + Their war, embraced in pledge of peace. + On faith of King, on faith of Owl, they swore + That they would eat each other's chicks no more. + "But know you mine?" said Wisdom's bird. + "Not I, indeed," the Eagle cried. + "The worse for that," the Owl replied: + "I fear your oath's a useless word; + I fear that you, as king, will not + Consider duly who or what: + Adieu, my young, if you should meet them!" + "Describe them, then, and I'll not eat them," + The Eagle said. The Owl replied: + "My little ones, I say with pride, + For grace of form cannot be match'd-- + The prettiest birds that e'er were hatch'd; + By this you cannot fail to know them; + 'Tis needless, therefore, that I show them." + At length God gives the Owl some heirs, + And while at early eve abroad he fares, + In quest of birds and mice for food, + Our Eagle haply spies the brood, + As on some craggy rock they sprawl, + Or nestle in some ruined wall, + (But which it matters not at all,) + And thinks them ugly little frights, + Grim, sad, with voice like shrieking sprites. + "These chicks," says he, "with looks almost infernal, + Can't be the darlings of our friend nocturnal. + I'll sup of them." And so he did, not slightly: + He never sups, if he can help it, lightly. + The Owl return'd; and, sad, he found + Nought left but claws upon the ground. + He pray'd the gods above and gods below + To smite the brigand who had caused his woe. + Quoth one, "On you alone the blame must fall; + Thinking your like the loveliest of all, + You told the Eagle of your young ones' graces; + You gave the picture of their faces: + Had it of likeness any traces?" + + + + The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot + + An Iron Pot proposed + To an Earthen Pot a journey. + The latter was opposed, + Expressing the concern he + Had felt about the danger + Of going out a ranger. + He thought the kitchen hearth + The safest place on earth + For one so very brittle. + "For thee, who art a kettle, + And hast a tougher skin, + There's nought to keep thee in." + "I'll be thy bodyguard," + Replied the Iron Pot; + "If anything that's hard + Should threaten thee a jot, + Between you I will go, + And save thee from the blow." + This offer him persuaded. + The Iron Pot paraded + Himself as guard and guide + Close at his cousin's side. + Now, in their tripod way, + They hobble as they may; + And eke together bolt + At every little jolt-- + Which gives the crockery pain; + But presently his comrade hits + So hard, he dashes him to bits, + Before he can complain. + + _Take care that you associate + With equals only, lest your fate + Between these pots should find its mate._ + + + + The Wolf and the Lean Dog + + A Troutling, some time since, + Endeavoured vainly to convince + A hungry fisherman + Of his unfitness for the frying-pan. + The fisherman had reason good-- + The troutling did the best he could-- + Both argued for their lives. + Now, if my present purpose thrives, + I'll prop my former proposition + By building on a small addition. + A certain Wolf, in point of wit + The prudent fisher's opposite, + A Dog once finding far astray, + Prepared to take him as his prey. + The Dog his leanness plead; + "Your lordship, sure," he said, + "Cannot be very eager + To eat a dog so meagre. + To wait a little do not grudge: + The wedding of my master's only daughter + Will cause of fatted calves and fowls a slaughter; + And then, as you yourself can judge, + I cannot help becoming fatter." + The Wolf, believing, waived the matter, + And so, some days therefrom, + Return'd with sole design to see + If fat enough his Dog might be. + The rogue was now at home: + He saw the hunter through the fence. + "My friend," said he, "please wait; + I'll be with you a moment hence, + And fetch our porter of the gate." + This porter was a dog immense, + That left to wolves no future tense. + Suspicion gave our Wolf a jog-- + It might not be so safely tamper'd. + "My service to your porter dog," + Was his reply, as off he scampered. + His legs proved better than his head, + And saved him life to learn his trade. + + + + The Ears of the Hare + + Some beast with horns did gore + The Lion; and that sovereign dread, + Resolved to suffer so no more, + Straight banish'd from his realm, 'tis said, + All sorts of beasts with horns-- + Rams, bulls, goats, stags, and unicorns. + Such brutes all promptly fled. + A Hare, the shadow of his ears perceiving, + Could hardly help believing + That some vile spy for horns would take them, + And food for accusation make them. + "Adieu," said he, "my neighbour cricket; + I take my foreign ticket. + My ears, should I stay here, + Will turn to horns, I fear; + And were they shorter than a bird's, + I fear the effect of words." + "These horns!" the cricket answered; "why, + God made them ears who can deny?" + "Yes," said the coward, "still they'll make them horns, + And horns, perhaps, of unicorns! + In vain shall I protest, + With all the learning of the schools: + My reasons they will send to rest + In th' Hospital of Fools." + + + + The Ass Carrying Relics + + An Ass, with relics for his load, + Supposed the worship on the road + Meant for himself alone, + And took on lofty airs, + Receiving as his own + The incense and the prayers. + Some one, who saw his great mistake, + Cried, "Master Donkey, do not make + Yourself so big a fool. + Not you they worship, but your pack; + They praise the idols on your back, + And count yourself a paltry tool." + + _'Tis thus a brainless magistrate + Is honoured for his robe of state._ + + + The Two Mules + + Two Mules were bearing on their backs, + One, oats; the other, silver of the tax. + The latter glorying in his load, + March'd proudly forward on the road; + And, from the jingle of his bell, + 'Twas plain he liked his burden well. + But in a wild-wood glen + A band of robber men + Rush'd forth upon the twain. + Well with the silver pleased, + They by the bridle seized + The treasure Mule so vain. + Poor Mule! in struggling to repel + His ruthless foes, he fell + Stabb'd through; and with a bitter sighing, + He cried: "Is this the lot they promised me? + My humble friend from danger free, + While, weltering in my gore, I'm dying?" + "My friend," his fellow-mule replied, + "It is not well to have one's work too high. + If thou hadst been a miller's drudge, as I, + Thou wouldst not thus have died." + + + + The Lion and the Gnat + + "Go, paltry insect, nature's meanest brat!" + Thus said the royal Lion to the Gnat. + The Gnat declared immediate war. + "Think you," said he, "your royal name + To me worth caring for? + Think you I tremble at your power or fame? + The ox is bigger far than you; + Yet him I drive, and all his crew." + This said, as one that did no fear owe, + Himself he blew the battle charge, + Himself both trumpeter and hero. + At first he play'd about at large, + Then on the Lion's neck, at leisure, settled, + And there the royal beast full sorely nettled. + With foaming mouth, and flashing eye, + He roars. All creatures hide or fly-- + Such mortal terror at + The work of one poor Gnat! + With constant change of his attack, + The snout now stinging, now the back, + And now the chambers of the nose; + The pigmy fly no mercy shows. + The Lion's rage was at its height; + His viewless foe now laugh'd outright, + When on his battle-ground he saw, + That every savage tooth and claw + Had got its proper beauty + By doing bloody duty; + Himself, the hapless Lion tore his hide, + And lash'd with sounding tail from side to side. + Ah! bootless blow, and bite, and curse! + He beat the harmless air, and worse; + For, though so fierce and stout, + By effort wearied out, + He fainted, fell, gave up the quarrel; + The Gnat retires with verdant laurel. + + _We often have the most to fear + From those we most despise; + Again, great risks a man may clear + Who by the smallest dies._ + + + + The Countryman and the Serpent + + A Countryman, as Aesop certifies, + A charitable man, but not so wise, + One day in winter found, + Stretched on the snowy ground, + A chill'd or frozen Snake, + As torpid as a stake, + And, if alive, devoid of sense. + He took him up, and bore him home, + And, thinking not what recompense + For such a charity would come, + Before the fire stretch'd him, + And back to being fetch'd him. + The Snake scarce felt the genial heat + Before his heart with native malice beat. + He raised his head, thrust out his forked tongue, + Coil'd up, and at his benefactor sprung. + "Ungrateful wretch!" said he, "is this the way + My care and kindness you repay? + Now you shall die." With that his axe he takes, + And with two blows three serpents makes. + Trunk, head, and tail were separate snakes; + And, leaping up with all their might, + They vainly sought to reunite. + + _'Tis good and lovely to be kind; + But charity should not be blind; + For as to wretchedness ingrate, + You cannot raise it from its wretched state._ + + + + The Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk + + A Pot of Milk upon her cushioned crown, + Good Peggy hastened to the market town; + Short-clad and light, with step she went, + Not fearing any accident; + Indeed to be the nimbler tripper, + Her dress that day, + The truth to say, + Was simply petticoat and slipper. + And, thus bedight, + Good Peggy, light, + Her gains already counted, + Laid out the cash + At single dash, + Which to a hundred eggs amounted. + Three nests she made, + Which, by the aid + Of diligence and care, were hatched. + "To raise the chicks, + We'll easily fix," + Said she, "beside our cottage thatched. + The fox must get + More cunning yet, + Or leave enough to buy a pig. + With little care, + And any fare, + He'll grow quite fat and big; + And then the price + Will be so nice + For which the pork will sell! + 'Twill go quite hard + But in our yard + I'll bring a cow and calf to dwell-- + A calf to frisk among the flock!" + The thought made Peggy do the same; + And down at once the milk pot came, + And perished with the shock. + Calf, cow, and pig, and chicks, adieu! + Your mistress' face is sad to view-- + She gives a tear to fortune spilt; + Then, with the down-cast look of guilt, + Home to her husband empty goes, + Somewhat in danger of his blows. + + Who buildeth not, sometimes, in air, + His cots, or seats, or castles fair? + From kings to dairywomen--all-- + The wise, the foolish, great and small-- + Each thinks his waking dream the best. + Some flattering error fills the breast: + The world, with all its wealth, is ours, + Its honours, dames, and loveliest bowers. + Instinct with valour, where alone, + I hurl the monarch from his throne; + The people glad to see him dead, + Elect me monarch in his stead, + And diadems rain on my head. + Some accident then calls me back, + And I'm no more than simple Jack! + + + + The Monkey and the Cat + + Sly Bertrand and Ratto in company sat, + (The one was a Monkey, the other a Cat,) + Co-servants and lodgers: + More mischievous codgers + Ne'er mess'd from a platter, since platters were flat. + Was anything wrong in the house or about it, + The neighbours were blameless--no mortal could doubt it; + For Bertrand was thievish, and Ratto so nice, + More attentive to cheese than he was to the mice. + One day the two plunderers sat by the fire, + Where chestnuts were roasting, with looks of desire. + To steal them would be a right noble affair. + A double inducement our heroes drew there-- + 'Twould benefit them, could they swallow their fill, + And then 'twould occasion to somebody ill. + Said Bertrand to Ratto, "My brother, to-day + Exhibit your powers in a masterly way, + And take me these chestnuts, I pray. + Which were I but otherwise fitted + (As I am ingeniously wilted) + For pulling things out of the flame, + Would stand but a pitiful game." + "'Tis done," replied Ratto, all prompt to obey; + And thrust out his paw in a delicate way. + First giving the ashes a scratch, + He open'd the coveted batch; + Then lightly and quickly impinging, + He drew out, in spite of the singeing, + One after another, the chestnuts at last-- + While Bertrand contrived to devour them as fast. + A servant girl enters. Adieu to the fun. + Our Ratto was hardly contented, says one. + + _No more are the princes, by flattery paid + For furnishing help in a different trade, + And burning their fingers to bring + More power to some mightier king._ + + + + The Lioness and the Bear + + The Lioness had lost her young; + A hunter stole it from the vale; + The forests and the mountains rung + Responsive to her hideous wail. + Nor night, nor charms of sweet repose, + Could still the loud lament that rose + From that grim forest queen. + No animal, as you might think, + With such a noise could sleep a wink. + A Bear presumed to intervene. + "One word, sweet friend," quoth she, + "And that is all, from me. + The young that through your teeth have passed, + In file unbroken by a fast, + Had they nor dam nor sire?" + "They had them both." "Then I desire, + Since all their deaths caused no such grievous riot, + While mothers died of grief beneath your fiat, + To know why you yourself cannot be quiet?" + "I quiet!--I!--a wretch bereaved! + My only son!--such anguish be relieved! + No, never! All for me below + Is but a life of tears and woe!"-- + "But say, why doom yourself to sorrow so?" + "Alas! 'tis Destiny that is my foe." + + _Such language, since the mortal fall, + Has fallen from the lips of all. + Ye human wretches, give your heed; + For your complaints there's little need. + Let him who thinks his own the hardest case, + Some widowed, childless Hecuba behold, + Herself to toil and shame of slavery sold, + And he will own the wealth of heavenly grace._ + + + + The Cat and the Two Sparrows + + Contemporary with a Sparrow tame + There lived a Cat; from tenderest age, + Of both, the basket and the cage + Had household gods the same. + The Bird's sharp beak full oft provoked the Cat, + Who play'd in turn, but with a gentle pat, + His wee friend sparing with a merry laugh, + Not punishing his faults by half. + In short, he scrupled much the harm, + Should he with points his ferule arm. + The Sparrow, less discreet than he, + With dagger beak made very free. + Sir Cat, a person wise and staid, + Excused the warmth with which he play'd: + For 'tis full half of friendship's art + To take no joke in serious part. + Familiar since they saw the light, + Mere habit kept their friendship good; + Fair play had never turn'd to fight, + Till, of their neighbourhood, + Another sparrow came to greet + Old Ratto grave and Saucy Pete. + Between the birds a quarrel rose, + And Ratto took his side. + "A pretty stranger, with such blows + To beat our friend!" he cried. + "A neighbour's sparrow eating ours! + Not so, by all the feline powers." + And quick the stranger he devours. + "Now, truly," saith Sir Cat, + "I know how sparrows taste by that. + Exquisite, tender, delicate!" + This thought soon seal'd the other's fate. + But hence what moral can I bring? + For, lacking that important thing, + A fable lacks its finishing: + I seem to see of one some trace, + But still its shadow mocks my chase. + + + + The Sick Stag + + A Stag, where stags abounded, + Fell sick and was surrounded + Forthwith by comrades kind, + All--pressing to assist, + Or see, their friend, at least, + And ease his anxious mind-- + An irksome multitude. + "Ah, sirs!" the sick was fain to cry, + "Pray leave me here to die, + As others do, in solitude. + Pray, let your kind attentions cease, + Till death my spirit shall release." + But comforters are not so sent: + On duty sad full long intent, + When Heaven pleased, they went: + But not without a friendly glass; + That is to say, they cropp'd the grass + And leaves which in that quarter grew, + From which the sick his pittance drew. + By kindness thus compell'd to fast, + He died for want of food at last. + + _The men take off no trifling dole + Who heal the body, or the soul. + Alas the times! do what we will, + They have their payment, cure or kill._ + + + + The Wolf and the Fox + + "Dear Wolf," complain'd a hungry Fox, + "A lean chick's meat, or veteran cock's, + Is all I get by toil or trick: + Of such a living I am sick. + With far less risk, you've better cheer; + A house you need not venture near, + But I must do it, spite of fear. + Pray, make me master of your trade. + And let me by that means be made + The first of all my race that took + Fat mutton to his larder's hook: + Your kindness shall not be repented." + The Wolf quite readily consented. + "I have a brother, lately dead: + Go fit his skin to yours," he said. + 'Twas done; and then the wolf proceeded: + "Now mark you well what must be done + The dogs that guard the flock to shun." + The Fox the lessons strictly heeded. + At first he boggled in his dress; + But awkwardness grew less and less, + Till perseverance gave success. + His education scarce complete, + A flock, his scholarship to greet, + Came rambling out that way. + The new-made Wolf his work began, + Amidst the heedless nibblers ran, + And spread a sore dismay. + The bleating host now surely thought + That fifty wolves were on the spot: + Dog, shepherd, sheep, all homeward fled, + And left a single sheep in pawn, + Which Reynard seized when they were gone. + But, ere upon his prize he fed, + There crow'd a cock near by, and down + The scholar threw his prey and gown, + That he might run that way the faster-- + Forgetting lessons, prize and master. + + _Reality, in every station, + Will burst out on the first occasion._ + + + + The Woods and the Woodman + + A certain Wood-chopper lost or broke + From his axe's eye a bit of oak. + The forest must needs be somewhat spared + While such a loss was being repair'd. + Came the man at last, and humbly pray'd + That the Woods would kindly lend to him-- + A moderate loan--a single limb, + Whereof might another helve be made, + And his axe should elsewhere drive its trade. + Oh, the oaks and firs that then might stand, + A pride and a joy throughout the land, + For their ancientness and glorious charms! + The innocent Forest lent him arms; + But bitter indeed was her regret; + For the wretch, his axe new-helved and whet, + Did nought but his benefactress spoil + Of the finest trees that graced her soil; + And ceaselessly was she made to groan, + Doing penance for that fatal loan. + + _Behold the world-stage and its actors, + Where benefits hurt benefactors! + A weary theme, and full of pain; + For where's the shade so cool and sweet, + Protecting strangers from the heat, + But might of such a wrong complain? + Alas! I vex myself in vain; + Ingratitude, do what I will, + Is sure to be the fashion still._ + + + + The Shepherd and the Lion + + The Fable Aesop tells is nearly this: + A Shepherd from his flock began to miss, + And long'd to catch the stealer of his sheep. + Before a cavern, dark and deep, + Where wolves retired by day to sleep, + Which he suspected as the thieves, + He set his trap among the leaves; + And, ere he left the place, + He thus invoked celestial grace: + "O king of all the powers divine, + Against the rogue but grant me this delight, + That this my trap may catch him in my sight, + And I, from twenty calves of mine, + Will make the fattest thine." + But while the words were on his tongue, + Forth came a Lion great and strong. + Down crouch'd the man of sheep, and said. + With shivering fright half dead, + "Alas! that man should never be aware + Of what may be the meaning of his prayer! + To catch the robber of my flocks, + O king of gods, I pledged a calf to thee: + If from his clutches thou wilt rescue me, + I'll raise my offering to an ox." + + + + The Animals Sick of the Plague + + The sorest ill that Heaven hath + Sent on this lower world in wrath-- + The Plague (to call it by its name) + One single day of which + Would Pluto's ferryman enrich-- + Waged war on beasts, both wild and tame. + They died not all, but all were sick: + No hunting now, by force or trick, + To save what might so soon expire, + No food excited their desire; + Nor wolf nor fox now watch'd to slay + The innocent and tender prey. + The turtles fled; + So love and therefore joy were dead. + The Lion council held, and said: + "My friends, I do believe + This awful scourge, for which we grieve, + Is for our sins a punishment + Most righteously by Heaven sent. + Let us our guiltiest beast resign, + A sacrifice to wrath divine. + Perhaps this offering, truly small, + May gain me life and health of all. + By history we find it noted + That lives have been just so devoted. + Then let us all turn eyes within, + And ferret out the hidden sin. + Himself let no one spare nor flatter, + But make clean conscience in the matter. + For me, my appetite has play'd the glutton + Too much and often upon mutton. + What harm had e'er my victims done? + I answer, truly, None. + Perhaps, sometimes, by hunger pressed, + I've eat the shepherd with the rest. + I yield myself, if need there be; + And yet I think, in equity, + Each should confess his sins with me; + For laws of right and justice cry, + The guiltiest alone should die." + "Sire," said the Fox, "your majesty + Is humbler than a king should be, + And over-squeamish in the case. + What! eating stupid sheep a crime? + No, never, sire, at any time. + It rather was an act of grace, + A mark of honour to their race. + And as to shepherds, one may swear, + The fate your majesty describes + Is recompense less full than fair + For such usurpers o'er our tribes." + + Thus Reynard glibly spoke, + And loud applause from flatterers broke, + Of neither tiger, boar, nor bear, + Did any keen inquirer dare + To ask for crimes of high degree; + The fighters, biters, scratchers, all + From every mortal sin were free; + The very dogs, both great and small, + Were saints, as far as dogs could be. + + The Ass, confessing in his turn, + Thus spoke in tones of deep concern: + "I happen'd through a mead to pass; + The monks, its owners, were at mass; + Keen hunger, leisure, tender grass, + And add to these the devil too, + All tempted me the deed to do. + I browsed the bigness of my tongue; + Since truth must out, I own it wrong." + + On this, a hue and cry arose, + As if the beasts were all his foes: + A Wolf, haranguing lawyer-wise, + Denounced the Ass for sacrifice-- + The bald-pate, scabby, ragged lout, + By whom the plague had come, no doubt. + His fault was judged a hanging crime. + "What? eat another's grass? O shame! + The noose of rope and death sublime, + For that offence, were all too tame!" + And soon poor Grizzle felt the same. + + _Thus human courts acquit the strong, + And doom the weak, as therefore wrong._ + + + + The Fowler, the Hawk, and the Lark + + From wrongs of wicked men we draw + Excuses for our own; + Such is the universal law. + Would you have mercy shown, + Let yours be clearly known. + + A Fowler's mirror served to snare + The little tenants of the air. + A Lark there saw her pretty face, + And was approaching to the place. + A Hawk, that sailed on high, + Like vapour in the sky, + Came down, as still as infant's breath, + On her who sang so near her death. + She thus escaped the Fowler's steel, + The Hawk's malignant claws to feel. + While in his cruel way, + The pirate plucked his prey, + Upon himself the net was sprung. + "O Fowler," prayed he in the hawkish tongue, + "Release me in thy clemency! + I never did a wrong to thee." + The man replied, "'Tis true; + And did the Lark to you?" + + + + Phoebus and Boreas + + Old Boreas and the Sun, one day, + Espied a traveller on his way, + Whose dress did happily provide + Against whatever might betide. + The time was autumn, when, indeed, + All prudent travellers take heed. + The rains that then the sunshine dash, + And Iris with her splendid sash, + Warn one who does not like to soak + To wear abroad a good thick coat. + Our man was therefore well bedight + With double mantle, strong and tight. + "This fellow," said the Wind, "has meant + To guard from every ill event; + But little does he wot that I + Can blow him such a blast + That, not a button fast, + His cloak shall cleave the sky. + Come, here's a pleasant game. Sir Sun! + Wilt play?" Said Phoebus, "Done! + We'll bet between us here + Which first will take the gear + From off this cavalier. + Begin, and shut away + The brightness of my ray." + "Enough." Our blower, on the bet, + Swelled out his pursy form + With all the stuff for storm-- + The thunder, hail, and drenching wet, + And all the fury he could muster; + Then, with a very demon's bluster, + He whistled, whirled, and splashed, + And down the torrents dashed, + Full many a roof uptearing + He never did before, + Full many a vessel bearing + To wreck upon the shore-- + And all to doff a single cloak. + But vain the furious stroke; + The traveller was stout, + And kept the tempest out, + Defied the hurricane, + Defied the pelting rain; + And as the fiercer roared the blast, + His cloak the tighter held he fast. + The Sun broke out, to win the bet; + He caused the clouds to disappear, + Refreshed and warmed the cavalier, + And through his mantle made him sweat, + Till off it came, of course, + In less than half an hour; + And yet the Sun saved half his power-- + So much does mildness more than force. + + + + The Stag and the Vine + + A Stag, by favour of a Vine, + Which grew where suns most genial shine, + And formed a thick and matted bower + Which might have turned a summer shower, + Was saved by ruinous assault. + The hunters thought their dogs at fault, + And called them off. In danger now no more + The Stag, a thankless wretch and vile, + Began to browse his benefactress o'er. + The hunters listening the while, + The rustling heard, came back, + With all their yelping pack, + And seized him in that very place. + "This is," said he, "but justice, in my case. + Let every black ingrate + Henceforward profit by my fate." + The dogs fell to--'twere wasting breath + To pray those hunters at the death. + They left, and we will not revile 'em, + A warning for profaners of asylum. + + + + The Peacock Complaining to Juno + + The Peacock to the Queen of heaven + Complained in some such words: + "Great goddess, you have given + To me, the laughing stock of birds, + A voice which fills, by taste quite just, + All nature with disgust; + Whereas that little paltry thing, + The nightingale, pours from her throat + So sweet and ravishing a note; + She bears alone the honours of the spring." + In anger Juno heard, + And cried, "Shame on you, jealous bird! + Grudge you the nightingale her voice, + Who in the rainbow neck rejoice, + Than costliest silks more richly tinted, + In charms of grace and form unstinted-- + Who strut in kingly pride, + Your glorious tail spread wide + With brilliants which in sheen do + Outshine the jeweller's bow window? + Is there a bird beneath the blue + That has more charms than you? + No animal in everything can shine. + By just partition of our gifts divine, + Each has its full and proper share. + Among the birds that cleave the air + The hawk's a swift, the eagle is a brave one, + For omens serves the hoarse old raven, + The rook's of coming ills the prophet; + And if there's any discontent, + I've heard not of it. + Cease, then, your envious complaint; + Or I, instead of making up your lack, + Will take your boasted plumage from your back." + + + + The Eagle and the Beetle + + John Rabbit, by Dame Eagle chased, + Was making for his hole in haste, + When, on his way, he met a Beetle's burrow. + I leave you all to think + If such a little chink + Could to a rabbit give protection thorough; + But, since no better could be got, + John Rabbit, there was fain to squat. + Of course, in an asylum so absurd, + John felt ere long the talons of the bird. + But first the Beetle, interceding, cried, + "Great queen of birds, it cannot be denied + That, maugre my protection, you can bear + My trembling guest, John Rabbit, through the air, + But do not give me such affront, I pray; + And since he craves your grace, + In pity of his case, + Grant him his life, or take us both away; + For he's my gossip, friend and neighbour." + In vain the Beetle's friendly labour; + The Eagle clutched her prey without reply, + And as she flapped her vasty wings to fly, + Struck down our orator and stilled him-- + The wonder is she hadn't killed him. + The Beetle soon, of sweet revenge in quest + Flew to the old, gnarled mountain oak, + Which proudly bore that haughty Eagle's nest. + And while the bird was gone, + Her eggs, her cherished eggs, he broke, + Not sparing one. + Returning from her flight, the Eagle's cry + Of rage and bitter anguish filled the sky, + But, by excess of passion blind, + Her enemy she failed to find. + Her wrath in vain, that year it was her fate + To live a mourning mother, desolate. + The next, she built a loftier nest; 'twas vain; + The Beetle found and dashed her eggs again. + + John Rabbit's death was thus avenged anew. + The second mourning for her murdered brood + Was such that through the giant mountain wood, + For six long months, the sleepless echo flew. + The bird, once Ganymede, now made + Her prayer to Jupiter for aid; + And, laying them within his godship's lap, + She thought her eggs now safe from all mishap; + The god his own could not but make them-- + No wretch would venture there to break them. + And no one did. Their enemy, this time, + Upsoaring to a place sublime, + Let fall upon his royal robes some dirt, + Which Jove just shaking, with a sudden flirt, + Threw out the eggs, no one knows whither. + When Jupiter informed her how th' event + Occurred by purest accident, + The Eagle raved; there was no reasoning with her; + She gave out threats of leaving court, + To make the desert her resort, + And other brav'ries of this sort. + Poor Jupiter in silence heard + The uproar of his favourite bird. + Before his throne the Beetle now appeared, + And by a clear complaint the mystery cleared. + The god pronounced the Eagle in the wrong. + But still, their hatred was so old and strong, + These enemies could not be reconciled; + And, that the general peace might not be spoiled-- + The best that he could do--the god arranged + That thence the Eagle's pairing should be changed, + To come when Beetle folks are only found + Concealed and dormant under ground. + + + + +FABLES FROM THE SPANISH + +OF + +CARLOS YRIARTE* + + +"_As the impressions made upon a new vessel are not easily to be +effaced, so here youth are taught prudence through the allurement of +fable._" + + +*Translated by Richard Andrew + + + FABLES FROM THE SPANISH + + The Bee and the Cuckoo + + A Cuckoo, near a hive, one day, + Was chaunting in his usual way, + When to the door the Queen-bee ran, + And, humming angrily, began: + + "Do cease that tuneless song I hear-- + How can we work while thou art near? + There is no other bird, I vow, + Half so fantastical as thou, + Since all that ugly voice can do, + Is to sing on--'Cuckoo! cuckoo'!" + + "If my monotony of song + Displeases you, shall I be wrong," + The Cuckoo answered, "if I find + Your comb has little to my mind? + Look at the cells--through every one + Does not unvaried sameness run? + Then if in me there's nothing new, + Dear knows, all's old enough in you." + The Bee replied: "Hear me, my friend. + In works that have a useful end + It is not always worth the while + To seek variety in style, + But if those works whose only views + Are to give pleasure and amuse, + Want either fancy or invention, + They fail of gaining their intention." + + + + The Rope Dancer and His Pupil + + A Tight-rope Dancer who, they say, + Was a great master in his way, + Was tutoring a Youth to spring + Upon the slight and yielding string, + Who, though a novice in the science, + Had in his talents great reliance, + And, as on high his steps he tried, + Thus to his sage instructor cried: + "This pole you call the counterpoise + My every attitude annoys; + I really cannot think it good + To use this cumbrous piece of wood + In such a business as ours, + An art requiring all our powers. + Why should I with this burden couple? + Am I not active, strong and supple? + So--see me try this step without it, + I'll manage better, do not doubt it-- + See, 'tis not difficult at all," + He said, and let the balance fall, + And, taking fearlessly a bound, + He tumbled headlong on the ground, + With compound fracture of the shin, + And six or seven ribs crushed in. + + "Unhappy youth!" the Master said, + "What was your truest help and aid + Impediment you thought to be-- + For art and method if you flee, + Believe me, ere your life is past, + This tumble will not be your last." + + + + The Squirrel and the Horse + + A Squirrel, on his hind legs raised, + Upon a noble Charger gazed, + Who docile to the spur and rein, + Went through his menage on the plain; + Now seeming like the wind to fly, + Now gracefully curvetting by. + "Good Sir," the little Tumbler said, + And with much coolness, scratched his head, + "In all your swiftness, skill and spirit, + I do not see there's much of merit, + For, all you seem so proud to do, + I can perform, and better too; + I'm light and nimble, brisk and sprightly, + I trot, and skip, and canter lightly, + Backward and forward--here and there, + Now on the earth--now in the air-- + From bough to bough--from hill to hill, + And never for a moment still." + The Courser tossed his head on high; + And made the Squirrel this reply: + "My little nimble jealous friend, + Those turns and tumbles without end-- + That hither, thither, restless springing-- + Those ups and downs and leaps and swinging-- + And other feats more wondrous far, + Pray tell me, of what use they are? + But what I do, this praise may claim-- + My master's service is my aim, + And laudably I use for him + My warmth of blood and strength of limb." + + + + The Bear, the Monkey, and the Pig + + A Bear with whom a Piedmontese + Had voyaged from the Polar seas, + And by whose strange unwieldy gambols + He earned a living in his rambles, + One day, upon his hind legs set, + Began to dance a minuet. + At length, being tired, as well he might, + Of standing such a time upright, + He to a Monkey near advancing, + Exclaimed: "What think you of my dancing?" + "Really," he said, "ahem!" (I'm sure + This Monkey was a connoisseur) + "To praise it, I'd indeed be glad, + Only it is so very bad!" + "How!" said the Bear, not over pleased, + "Surely, your judgment is diseased, + Or else you cannot well have seen + My elegance of step and mien; + Just look again, and say what graces + You think are wanting in my paces." + "Indeed, his taste is quite amazing," + Replied a Pig with rapture gazing; + "Bravo! encore! well done! Sir Bear, + By heaven, you trip as light as air; + I vow that Paris never knew + A dancer half so fine as you." + + With some confusion, Bruin heard + Such praises by a Pig conferred; + He communed with himself a while, + And muttered thus, in altered style: + "I must confess the Monkey's blame + Made me feel doubtful of my fame; + But since the Pigs their praise concede, + My dancing must be bad, indeed!" + + + + The Muff, the Fan, and the Parasol + + "It sounds presumptuous and ill + To boast of universal skill, + But 'tis a scarce less fault, I own, + To serve one sort of use alone." + An idle Parasol, one day, + Within a lady's chamber lay, + And having nothing else to do, + Addressing his companions two, + Reclining near, a Muff and Fan, + He thus insultingly began, + Using a form of dialect, + In which, if Aesop is correct, + The Brass and Earthern Jars, of old, + Conversed as down the stream they rolled. + "Oh! sirs, ye merit mighty praise! + Yon Muff may do for wintry days, + A corner is your lot in spring; + While you, Fan, are a useless thing + When cold succeeds to heat; for neither + Can change yourself to suit the weather + Learn, if you're able to possess, + Like me a double usefulness, + From winter's rain I help to shun + And guard in summer from the sun." + + + + The Duck and the Serpent + + A self-conceited Duck, one day, + Was waddling from her pond away: + "What other race can boast," she cried, + "The many gifts to ours allied? + Earth--water--air--are all for us. + When I am tired of walking thus, + I fly, if so I take the whim, + Or if it pleases me I swim." + A cunning Serpent overheard + The boasting of the clumsy bird, + And, with contempt and scorn inflamed, + Came hissing up, and thus exclaimed: + "It strikes me, ma'am, there's small occasion + For your just uttered proclamation; + These gifts of yours shine rather dim, + Since neither like the trout you swim, + Nor like the deer, step swift and light, + Nor match the eagle in your flight." + They err who think that merit clings + To knowledge slight of many things; + He who his fellows would excel, + Whate'er he does should do it well. + + + + The Tea and the Sage + + The Tea from China on her way, + Met in some sea, or gulf, or bay-- + (Would to her log I might refer!) + The Sage, who thus accosted her: + "Sister--ahoy! ho--whither bound?" + "I leave," she said, "my native ground + For Europe's markets, where, I'm told, + They purchase me by weight of gold." + "And I," the Sage replied, "am seeking + The route to Canton or to Peking; + Your Chinese use me largely in + Their cookery and medicine; + They know my virtues, nor deny + The praise I ask, however high, + While Europe scorns me, just indeed, + As if I was the vilest weed. + Go; and good luck t'ye; know full well + That you are sure enough to sell, + For nations all, (fools that they are!) + Value whatever comes from afar, + And give their money nothing loth, + For anything of foreign growth." + + + + The Swan and the Linnet + + Piqued at the Linnet's song one day, + The Swan exclaimed: "Leave off! I say-- + Be still, you little noisy thing! + What!--dare _you_ challenge me to sing, + When there's no voice, however fine, + Can match the melody of mine?" + (The Linnet warbled on)--"D'ye hear? + This impudence may cost you dear; + I could with one harmonious note + Forever stop your squeaking throat, + And, if I do not choose to try, + Respect my magnanimity." + "I wish," at length the Linnet said, + "I wish, to heaven, the proof were made; + You cannot imagine how I long + To hear that rich and flowing song + Which though so sweet, by fame averred, + I know not who has ever heard." + + The Swan essayed to sing, but--whew! + She screeched and squalled a note or two, + Until the Linnet, it appears, + Took to her wings to save her ears. + 'Tis strange when some of learned fame + _Will_ prove their title to the name, + How often ill-placed praise they mar, + And show how ignorant they are. + + + + The Flint and the Steel + + The Flint, with language harsh and high, + Accused the Steel of cruelty + In striking her with all his might, + Whene'er he wanted fire and light. + The Steel the imputation spurned, + And with such warmth the contest burned + That both, at last, agreed to slip + Their contract of companionship. + "Good-by then, madame," said the one; + "And since my company you shun, + And to continue with me, doubt, + We'll see what use you are without." + "About as much as you will be, + Good sir," she answered, "without me." + + + + + FABLES OF GAY, COWPER, AND OTHERS + + + "Brutes are my theme. Am I to blame + If men in morals are the same? + I no man call or ape or ass; + 'Tis his own conscience holds the glass. + Thus void of all offence I write; + Who claims the fable, knows his right." + + JOHN GAY + + + FABLES OF GAY AND COWPER + + The Monkey Who Had Seen the World + + A Monkey, to reform the times, + Resolved to visit foreign climes; + For men in distant regions roam, + To bring politer manners home. + So forth he fares, all toil defies; + Misfortune serves to make us wise. + At length the treacherous snare was laid; + Poor Pug was caught, to town conveyed; + There sold. How envied was his doom, + Made captive in a lady's room! + Proud as a lover of his chains, + He day by day her favour gains. + Whene'er the duty of the day + The toilette calls, with mimic play + He twirls her knot, he cracks her fan, + Like any other gentleman. + In visits, too, his parts and wit, + When jests grew dull, were sure to hit. + Proud with applause, he thought his mind + In every courtly art refined; + Like Orpheus, burned with public zeal + To civilize the monkey weal: + So watched occasion, broke his chain, + And sought his native woods again. + The hairy sylvans round him press + Astonished at his strut and dress. + Some praise his sleeve, and others gloat + Upon his rich embroidered coat; + His dapper periwig commending, + With the black tail behind depending; + His powdered back above, below, + Like hoary frost or fleecy snow: + But all, with envy and desire, + His fluttering shoulder-knot admire. + "Hear and improve," he pertly cries, + "I come to make a nation wise. + Weigh your own worth, support your place, + The next in rank to human race. + In cities long I passed my days, + Conversed with men, and learned their ways, + Their dress, their courtly manners see; + Reform your state, and copy me. + Seek ye to thrive? in flatt'ry deal; + Your scorn, your hate, with that conceal. + Seem only to regard your friends, + But use them for your private ends. + Stint not to truth the flow of wit; + Be prompt to lie whene'er 'tis fit. + Bend all your force to spatter merit; + Scandal is conversation's spirit. + Boldly to everything pretend, + And men your talents shall commend. + I know the Great. Observe me right, + So shall you grow like man polite." + He spoke and bowed. With mutt'ring jaws + The wond'ring circle grinned applause. + Now, warmed with malice, envy, spite, + Their most obliging friends they bite; + And, fond to copy human ways, + Practise new mischiefs all their days. + Thus the dull lad, too tall for school. + With travel finishes the fool: + Studious of every coxcomb's airs, + He gambles, dresses, drinks, and swears; + O'er looks with scorn all virtuous arts, + For vice is fitted to his parts. + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf + + A Wolf, with hunger fierce and bold, + Ravag'd the plains, and thinn'd the fold: + Deep in the wood secure he lay, + The thefts of night regal'd the day. + In vain the shepherd's wakeful care + Had spread the toils, and watch'd the snare; + In vain the Dog pursued his pace, + The fleeter robber mock'd the chase. + As Lightfoot rang'd the forest round, + By chance his foe's retreat he found. + "Let us a while the war suspend, + And reason as from friend to friend." + "A truce?" replies the Wolf. "'Tis done." + The Dog the parley thus begun. + "How can that strong intrepid mind + Attack a weak defenceless kind? + Those jaws should prey on nobler food, + And drink the boar's and lion's blood, + Great souls with generous pity melt, + Which coward tyrants never felt. + How harmless is our fleecy care! + Be brave, and let thy mercy spare." + "Friend," says the Wolf, "the matter weigh; + Nature designed us beasts of prey; + As such, when hunger finds a treat, + 'Tis necessary Wolves should eat. + If mindful of the bleating weal, + Thy bosom burn with real zeal, + Hence, and thy tyrant lord beseech; + To him repeat the moving speech: + A Wolf eats sheep but now and then; + Ten thousands are devoured by men. + An open foe may prove a curse, + But a pretended friend is worse." + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Rat-catcher and Cats + + The rats by night such mischief did, + Betty was ev'ry morning chid. + They undermin'd whole sides of bacon, + Her cheese was sapp'd, her tarts were taken. + Her pasties, fenc'd with thickest paste, + Were all demolish'd, and laid waste. + She curs'd the cat for want of duty, + Who left her foes a constant booty. + An Engineer, of noted skill, + Engag'd to stop the growing ill. + From room to room he now surveys + Their haunts, their works, their secret ways; + Finds where they 'scape an ambuscade. + And whence the nightly sally's made. + An envious Cat from place to place, + Unseen, attends his silent pace. + She saw, that if his trade went on, + The purring race must be undone; + So, secretly removes his baits, + And ev'ry stratagem defeats. + Again he sets the poisoned toils, + And Puss again the labour foils. + "What foe, to frustrate my designs, + My schemes thus nightly countermines?" + Incens'd, he cries: "This very hour + This wretch shall bleed beneath my power." + So said, a ponderous trap he brought, + And in the fact poor Puss was caught. + "Smuggler," says he, "thou shalt be made + A victim to our loss of trade." + The captive Cat, with piteous mews, + For pardon, life, and freedom sues. + "A sister of the science spare; + One int'rest is our common care." + "What insolence!" the man replies; + "Shall Cats with us the game divide? + Were all your interloping band + Extinguished, or expell'd the land, + We Rat-catchers might raise our fees. + Sole guardians of a nation's cheese!" + A Cat, who saw the lifted knife, + Thus spoke and sav'd her sister's life. + "In ev'ry age and clime we see + Two of a trade can ne'er agree. + Each hates his neighbour for encroaching; + 'Squire stigmatizes 'squire for poaching; + Beauties with beauties are in arms. + And scandal pelts each other's charms; + Kings too their neighbour kings dethrone, + In hope to make the world their own. + But let us limit our desires; + Not war like beauties, kings, and 'squires! + For though we both one prey pursue, + There's game enough for us and you." + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Farmer's Wife and the Raven + + Between her swaggering pannier's load + A Farmer's Wife to market rode, + And jogging on, with thoughtful care, + Summed up the profits of her ware; + When, starting from her silver dream, + Thus far and wide was heard her scream: + "That Raven on yon left-hand oak + (Curse on his ill-betiding croak) + Bodes me no good." No more she said, + When poor blind Ball, with stumbling head, + Fell prone; o'erturned the panniers lay, + And her mashed eggs bestrewed the way. + She, sprawling on the yellow road, + Railed, cursed, and swore: "Thou croaking toad, + A murrain take thy noisy throat! + I knew misfortune in the note." + "Dame," quoth the Raven, "spare your oaths, + Unclench your fist and wipe your clothes. + But why on me those curses thrown? + Goody, the fault was all your own; + For had you laid this brittle ware + On Dun, the old sure-footed mare, + Though all the Ravens of the hundred + With croaking had your tongue out-thundered, + Sure-footed Dun had kept her legs, + And you, good woman, saved your eggs." + + JOHN GAY + + + The Council of Horses + + Upon a time, a neighing steed, + Who grazed among a numerous breed, + With mutiny had fired the train, + And spread dissension through the plain. + On matters that concerned the state + The Council met in grand debate. + A Colt, whose eyeballs flamed with ire, + Elate with strength and youthful fire, + In haste stepped forth before the rest, + And thus the listening throng addressed: + + "Good gods! how abject is our race, + Condemned to slavery and disgrace! + Shall we our servitude retain + Because our sires have borne the chain? + Consider, friends, your strength and might; + 'Tis conquest to assert your right. + How cumb'rous is the gilded coach! + The pride of man is our reproach. + Were we designed for daily toil; + To drag the ploughshare through the soil; + To sweat in harness through the road; + To groan beneath the carrier's load? + How feeble are the two-legged kind! + What force is in our nerves combined! + Shall, then, our nobler jaws submit + To foam, and champ the galling bit? + Shall haughty man my back bestride? + Shall the sharp spur provoke my side? + Forbid it, heavens! Reject the rein; + Your shame, your infamy, disdain. + Let him the lion first control, + And still the tiger's famished growl; + Let us, like them, our freedom claim, + And make him tremble at our name." + + A general nod approved the cause, + And all the circle neighed applause, + When, lo! with grave and solemn face, + A Steed advanced before the race, + With age and long experience wise; + Around he cast his thoughtful eyes, + And to the murmurs of the train + Thus spoke the Nestor of the plain: + "When I had health and strength like you, + The toils of servitude I knew; + Now grateful man rewards my pains, + And gives me all these wide domains. + At will I crop the year's increase; + My latter life is rest and peace. + I grant, to man we lend our pains, + And aid him to correct the plains; + But doth he not divide the care + Through all the labours of the year? + How many thousand structures rise + To fence us from inclement skies! + For us he bears the sultry day, + And stores up all our winter's hay: + He sows, he reaps the harvest's gain, + We share the toil and share the grain. + Since every creature was decreed + To aid each other's mutual need, + Appease your discontented mind, + And act the part by Heaven assigned." + The tumult ceased. The colt submitted, + And, like his ancestors, was bitted. + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Hare and Many Friends + + Friendship, like love, is but a name, + Unless to one you stint the flame; + The child whom many fathers share + Hath seldom known a father's care. + 'Tis thus in friendships; who depend + On many, rarely find a friend. + + A Hare, who in a civil way + Complied with everything, like Gay, + Was known by all the bestial train + Who haunt the wood or graze the plain; + Her care was never to offend, + And every creature was her friend. + As forth she went at early dawn, + To taste the dew-besprinkled lawn, + Behind she hears the hunter's cries, + And from the deep-mouthed thunder flies. + She starts, she stops, she pants for breath; + She hears the near advance of death; + She doubles to mislead the Hound, + And measures back her mazy round, + Till, fainting in the public way, + Half dead with fear she gasping lay. + What transport in her bosom grew + When first the Horse appeared in view! + "Let me," says she, "your back ascend. + And owe my safety to a friend. + You know my feet betray my flight; + To friendship every burden's light," + The Horse replied, "Poor honest Puss, + It grieves my heart to see you thus: + Be comforted, relief is near, + For all your friends are in the rear." + She next the stately Bull implored; + And thus replied the mighty lord: + "Since every beast alive can tell + That I sincerely wish you well, + I may without offence pretend + To take the freedom of a friend. + Love calls me hence; a fav'rite Cow + Expects me near the barley-mow, + And when a lady's in the case + You know all other things give place. + To leave you thus might seem unkind; + But see, the Goat is just behind." + The Goat remarked her pulse was high, + Her languid head, her heavy eye. + "My back," says she, "may do you harm. + The Sheep's at hand, and wool is warm." + The Sheep was feeble, and complained + His sides a load of wool sustained: + Said he was slow, confessed his fears; + For Hounds eat Sheep as well as Hares. + She now the trotting Calf addressed + To save from death a friend distressed. + "Shall I," says he, "of tender age, + In this important care engage? + Older and abler passed you by-- + How strong are those; how weak am I! + Should I presume to bear you hence, + Those friends of mine may take offence; + Excuse me, then; you know my heart, + But dearest friends, alas! must part. + How shall we all lament! Adieu! + For see, the Hounds are just in view." + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Nightingale and the Glowworm + + A Nightingale, that all day long + Had cheered the village with his song, + Nor had at eve his note suspended, + Nor yet when eventide was ended + Began to feel, as well he might, + The keen demands of appetite; + When, looking eagerly around, + He spied far off, upon the ground, + A something shining in the dark, + And knew the Glowworm by his spark; + So stepping down from hawthorn top, + He thought to put him in his crop. + The Worm, aware of his intent, + Harangued him thus, right eloquent: + "Did you admire my lamp," quoth he, + "As much as I your minstrelsy, + You would abhor to do me wrong, + As much as I to spoil your song; + For, 'twas the self-same Power Divine + Taught you to sing and me to shine; + That you with music, I with light, + Might beautify and cheer the night." + The Songster heard his short oration, + And warbling out his approbation. + Released him, as my story tells, + And found a supper somewhere else. + Hence, jarring sectaries may learn + Their real interest to discern, + That brother should not war with brother, + And worry and devour each other; + But sing and shine by sweet consent, + Until life's poor transient night is spent. + Respecting in each other's case. + The gifts of Nature and of Grace. + + Those Christians best deserve the name + Who studiously make peace their aim; + Peace both the duty and the prize + Of him that creeps and him that flies. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + The Raven + + A Raven, while with glossy breast + Her new-laid eggs she fondly pressed, + And on her wickerwork high mounted, + Her chickens prematurely counted, + (A fault philosophers might blame + If quite exempted from the same). + Enjoyed at ease the genial day; + 'Twas April, as the bumpkins say; + The legislature called it May. + But suddenly a wind, as high + As ever swept a winter sky, + Shook the young leaves about her ears + And filled her with a thousand fears, + Lest the rude blast should snap the bough, + And spread her golden hopes below. + But just at eve the blowing weather + Changed, and her fears were hushed together: + "And now," quoth poor unthinking Ralph,[1] + "'Tis over, and the brood is safe." + (For Ravens, though, as birds of omen, + They teach both conjurers and old women + To tell us what is to befall, + Can't prophesy themselves at all.) + The morning came, when Neighbour Hodge, + Who long had marked her airy lodge, + And destined all the treasure there + A gift to his expecting fair, + Climbed, like a squirrel to his dray, + And bore the worthless prize away. + + + Moral + + 'Tis Providence alone secures, + In every change, both mine and yours: + Safety consists not in escape + From dangers of a frightful shape; + An earthquake may be bid to spare + The man that's strangled by a hair. + Fate steals along with silent tread + Found oftenest in what least we dread, + Frowns in the storm with angry brow, + But in the sunshine strikes the blow. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + [1]Pronounced Rafe. + + + + Pairing Time Anticipated + + I shall not ask Jean Jacques Rousseau + If birds confabulate or no; + 'Tis clear that they were always able + To hold discourse, at least in fable; + And e'en the child who knows no better + Than to interpret by the letter + A story of a cock and bull + Must have a most uncommon skull. + It chanced then on a winter day, + But warm and bright and calm as May, + The Birds conceiving a design + To forestall sweet Saint Valentine, + In many an orchard, copse and grove, + Assembled on affairs of love, + And with much twitter, and much chatter, + Began to agitate the matter. + At length a Bullfinch, who could boast + More years and wisdom than the most, + Entreated, opening wide his beak, + A moment's liberty to speak; + And silence publicly enjoined, + Delivered, briefly, thus his mind-- + "My friends! Be cautious how ye treat + The subject upon which we meet; + I fear we shall have winter yet." + + A Finch, whose tongue knew no control, + With golden wing and satin poll, + A last year's bird who ne'er had tried + What marriage means, thus pert replied: + "Methinks the gentleman," quoth she, + "Opposite in the appletree, + By his good will would keep us single, + Until yonder heavens and earth shall mingle, + Or (which is likelier to befall) + Until death exterminate us all. + I marry without more ado, + My dear Dick Redcap; what say you?" + + Dick heard, and tweedling, ogling, bridling; + With many a strut and many a sidling, + Attested, glad, his approbation + Of an immediate conjugation. + Their sentiments so well expressed + Influenced mightily the rest; + All paired, and each pair built a nest. + + But though the birds were thus in haste, + The leaves came on not quite so fast, + And Destiny, that sometimes bears + An aspect stern on man's affairs, + Not altogether smiled on theirs. + The wind, of late breathed gently forth, + Now shifted east and east by north; + Bare trees and shrubs but ill, you know, + Could shelter them from rain or snow; + Stepping into their nests, they paddled, + Themselves were chilled, their eggs were addled, + Soon every father-bird and mother + Grew quarrelsome and pecked each other, + Parted without the least regret, + Except that they had ever met, + And learned in future to be wiser + Than to neglect a good adviser. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + The Poet, the Oyster, and Sensitive Plant + + An Oyster cast upon the shore + Was heard, though never heard before, + Complaining in a speech well worded, + And worthy thus to be recorded: + "Ah, hapless wretch comdemn'd to dwell + Forever in my native shell, + Ordain'd to move when others please, + Not for my own content or ease, + But toss'd and buffeted about, + Now in the water, and now out. + 'Twere better to be born a stone + Of ruder shape and feeling none, + Than with a tenderness like mine, + And sensibilities so fine! + I envy that unfeeling shrub, + Fast rooted against every rub." + The plant he meant grew not far off, + And felt the sneer with scorn enough; + Was hurt, disgusted, mortified, + And with asperity replied. + ("When," cry the botanists, and stare, + "Did plants call'd Sensitive grow there?" + No matter when--a poet's muse is + To make them grow just where she chooses): + "You shapeless nothing in a dish, + You that are but almost a fish, + I scorn your coarse insinuation, + And have most plentiful occasion + To wish myself the rock I view, + Or such another dolt as you. + For many a grave and learned clerk, + And many a gay unlettered spark, + With curious touch examines me + If I can feel as well as he; + And when I bend, retire, and shrink, + Says, 'Well--'tis more than one would think.' + Thus life is spent! oh fie upon't, + In being touched, and crying--'Don't'!" + A poet, in his evening walk, + Overheard and checked this idle talk. + "And your fine sense," he said, "and yours, + Whatever evil it endures, + Deserves not, if so soon offended, + Much to be pitied or commended. + Disputes, though short, are far too long, + Where both alike are in the wrong; + Your feelings in their full amount + Are all upon your own account." + "You, in your grotto-work enclosed, + Complain of being thus exposed, + Yet nothing feel in that rough coat, + Save when the knife is at your throat. + Wherever driven by wind or tide, + Exempt from every ill beside." + "And as for you, my Lady Squeamish, + Who reckon every touch a blemish, + If all the plants that can be found + Embellishing the scene around, + Should droop and wither where they grow, + You would not feel at all, not you. + The noblest minds their virtue prove + By pity, sympathy, and love: + These, these are feelings truly fine, + And prove their owner half divine." + His censure reached them as he dealt it. + And each by shrinking show'd he felt it. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + The Pineapple and the Bee + + The Pineapples, in triple row, + Were basking hot, and all in blow. + A Bee of most deserving taste + Perceived the fragrance as he pass'd. + On eager wing the spoiler came, + And searched for crannies in the frame, + Urged his attempt on every side, + To every pane his trunk applied; + But still in vain, the frame was tight, + And only pervious to the light: + Thus having wasted half the day, + He trimm'd his flight another way. + + * * * * * + + Our dear delights are often such, + Exposed to view, but not to touch; + The sight our foolish heart inflames, + We long for pineapples in frames; + With hopeless wish one looks and lingers; + One breaks the glass, and cuts his fingers; + But they whom Truth and Wisdom lead, + Can gather honey from a weed. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + Amelia and the Spider + + The muslin torn, from tears of grief + In vain Amelia sought relief; + In sighs and plaints she passed the day, + The tattered frock neglected lay: + While busied at the weaving trade, + A Spider heard the sighing maid, + And kindly stopping in a trice, + Thus offered (gratis) her advice: + "Turn, little girl, behold in me + A stimulus to industry; + Compare your woes my dear, with mine, + Then tell me who should most repine; + This morning, ere you'd left your room, + The chambermaid's relentless broom, + In one sad moment that destroyed + To build which thousands were employed. + The shock was great, but as my life + I saved in the relentless strife, + I knew lamenting was in vain, + So patient went to work again; + By constant work a day or more + My little mansion did restore. + And if each tear which you have shed + Had been a needleful of thread, + If every sigh of sad despair + Had been a stitch of proper care, + Closed would have been the luckless rent, + Nor thus the day have been misspent." + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Goose and the Swans + + A Goose, affected, empty, vain, + The shrillest of the cackling train, + With proud and elevated crest, + Precedence claimed above the rest, + Says she, "I laugh at human race, + Who say Geese hobble in their pace; + Look here--the slander base detect; + Not haughty man is so erect. + That Peacock yonder, see how vain + The creature's of his gaudy train. + If both were stripped, I'd pledge my word + A Goose would be the finer bird. + Nature, to hide her own defects, + Her bungled work with finery decks. + Were Geese set off with half that show, + Would men admire the Peacock? No!" + Thus vaunting, 'cross the mead she stalks, + The cackling breed attend her walks; + The sun shot down his noontide beams, + The Swans were sporting in the streams. + Their snowy plumes and stately pride + Provoked her spleen. "Why, there," she cried, + "Again, what arrogance we see! + Those creatures, how they mimic me! + Shall every fowl the waters skim + Because we Geese are known to swim? + Humility they soon shall learn, + And their own emptiness discern." + So saying, with extended wings, + Lightly upon the wave she springs; + Her bosom swells, she spreads her plumes, + And the Swan's stately crest assumes. + Contempt and mockery ensued, + And bursts of laughter shook the flood. + A Swan, superior to the rest, + Sprung forth, and thus the fool addressed: + "Conceited thing, elate with pride, + Thy affectation all deride; + These airs thy awkwardness impart, + And show thee plainly as thou art. + Among thy equals of the flock, + Thou hadst escaped the public mock; + And, as thy parts to good conduce, + Been deemed an honest, hobbling Goose. + Learn hence to study wisdom's rules; + Know, foppery's the pride of fools; + And, striving nature to conceal, + You only her defects reveal." + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Rats and the Cheese + + If Bees a government maintain, + Why may not Rats, of stronger brain + And greater power, as well be thought + By Machiavellian axioms taught? + And so they are, for thus of late + It happened in the Rats' free state. + Their prince (his subjects more to please) + Had got a mighty Cheshire Cheese, + In which his ministers of state + Might live in plenty and grow great. + A powerful party straight combined, + And their united forces joined + To bring their measures into play, + For none so loyal were as they; + And none such patriots to support + As well the country as the court. + No sooner were those Dons admitted, + But (all those wondrous virtues quitted) + They all the speediest means devise + To raise themselves and families. + Another party well observing + These pampered were, while they were starving, + Their ministry brought in disgrace, + Expelled them and supplied their place; + These on just principles were known + The true supporters of the throne. + And for the subjects' liberty, + They'd (marry, would they) freely die; + But being well fixed in their station, + Regardless of their prince and nation, + Just like the others, all their skill + Was how they might their paunches fill. + On this a Rat not quite so blind + In state intrigues as human kind, + But of more honour, thus replied: + "Confound ye all on either side; + All your contentions are but these, + Whose arts shall best secure the Cheese." + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Drop of Rain + + A little particle of rain + That from a passing cloud descended: + Was heard thus idly to complain: + "My brief existence now is ended! + Outcast alike of earth and sky, + Useless to live, unknown to die!" + It chanced to fall into the sea, + And there an open shell received it; + And after years how rich was he + Who from its prison-house released it! + The drop of rain had formed a gem + To deck a monarch's diadem. + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Lion and the Echo + + A Lion bravest of the wood, + Whose title undisputed stood, + As o'er the wide domains he prowled, + And in pursuit of booty growled, + An Echo from a distant cave + Re-growled articulately grave. + His Majesty, surprised, began + To think at first it was a man; + But, on reflection sage, he found + It was too like a lion's sound. + "Whose voice is that which growls at mine?" + His Highness asked. Says Echo, "Mine!" + "Thine," says the Lion; "who art thou?" + Echo as stern cried, "Who art thou?" + "Know I'm a lion, hear and tremble!" + Replied the king. Cried Echo, "Tremble!" + "Come forth," says Lion, "show thyself!" + Laconic Echo answered, "Elf!" + "Elf dost thou call me, vile pretender?" + Echo as loud replied, "Pretender?" + At this, as jealous of his reign, + He growled in rage--she growled again. + Incensed the more, he chafed and foamed, + And round the spacious forest roamed, + To find the rival of his throne, + Who durst with him dispute the crown. + A Fox, who listened all the while, + Addressed the monarch with a smile: + "My liege, most humbly I make bold, + Though truth may not be always told, + That this same phantom that you hear, + That so alarms your royal ear, + Is not a rival of your throne-- + The voice and fears are all your own." + + Imaginary terrors scare + A timorous soul with real fear! + Nay, e'en the wise and brave are cowed + By apprehensions from the crowd; + + A frog a lion may disarm, + And yet how causeless the alarm! + + ANONYMOUS + + + + Here check we our career; + Long books I greatly fear; + I would not quite exhaust my stuff; + The flower of subjects is enough. + + JEAN DE LA FONTAINE + + + +THE END + + + + + INDEX OF TITLES + + + Acorn and the Pumpkin, The. La Fontaine (French) + Aesop and His Fellow Servants. Aesop (Greek) + Amelia and the Spider. Anonymous (English) + Animals' Peace Party, The. (Chinese) + Animals Sick of the Plague, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ant and the Fly, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and His Master, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and His Purchaser, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and His Shadow, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and the Dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ass and the Lap-dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ass Carrying Relics, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ass in the Lion's Skin, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Bat and the Two Weasels, The. La Fontaine (French) + Bear and the Fowls, The. Aesop (Greek) + Bear, the Monkey and the Pig, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Bee and the Cuckoo, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Belling the Cat. Aesop (Greek) + Birds and the Monkeys, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Blackamoor, The. Aesop (Greek) + Blue Jackal, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Boasting Traveller, The. Aesop (Greek) + Boy and the Filberts, The. Aesop (Greek) + Boy and the Wolf, The. Aesop (Greek) + Boys and the Frogs, The. Aesop (Greek) + Brahmin and the Goat, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Buffoon and the Countryman, The. Aesop (Greek) + Builder of Ability and the Builder of Haste, The. (African) + + Camel and His Master, The. Aesop (Greek) + Camel and the Pig, The. Raju (Indian) + Cat and the Fox, The. La Fontaine (French) + Cat and the Mice, The. Aesop (Greek) + Cat and the Two Sparrows, The. La Fontaine (French) + Chameleon, The. Aesop (Greek) + City Rat and the Country Rat, The. La Fontaine (French) + Cock and the Fox, The. La Fontaine (French) + Cock and the Jewel, The. Aesop (Greek) + Council of Horses, The. Gay (English) + Country Fellow and the River, A. Aesop (Greek) + Countryman and the Serpent, The. La Fontaine (French) + Crab and Its Mother, The. Aesop (Greek) + Crane and the Fool, The. Raju (Indian) + Crow and the Mussel, The. Aesop (Greek) + Crow and the Partridge, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Crow and the Pitcher, The. Aesop (Greek) + Cuckoo and the Cock, The. Krilof (Russian) + Cuckoo and the Eagle, The. Krilof (Russian) + Cuckoo and the Turtle-dove, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk, The. La Fontaine (French) + Deer and the Lion, The. Aesop (Greek) + Demian's Fish Soup. Krilof (Russian) + Despot and the Wag, The. Raju (Indian) + Discontented Ass, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dog and His Shadow, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dog and the Crocodile, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dog and the Kingship. (African) + Dog in the Manger, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dove and the Ant, The. La Fontaine (French) + Drop of Rain, The. Anonymous (English) + Duck and the Serpent, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Eagle and the Beetle, The. La Fontaine (French) + Eagle and the Mole, The. Krilof (Russian) + Eagle and the Owl, The. Aesop (Greek) + Eagle and the Owl, The. La Fontaine (French) + Eagle, the Jackdaw and the Magpie, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ears of the Hare, The. La Fontaine (French) + Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot, The. La Fontaine (French) + Education of the Lion, The. Krilof (Russian) + Elephant and Frog (African) + Elephant and the Jackal, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Elephant as Governor, The. Krilof (Russian) + Elephant Has a Bet with the Tiger, The. (Malayan) + Elephant in Favour, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Falcon and the Capon, The. Aesop (Greek) + Farmer and His Dog, The. Aesop (Greek) + Farmer and the Stork, The. Aesop (Greek) + Farmer's Wife and the Raven, The. Gay (English) + Father "Lime-stick" and the Flower-pecker (Malayan) + Fawn and the Little Tiger, The. Raju (Indian) + Flies and the Honey-pot, The. Aesop (Greek) + Flint and the Steel, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Fowler, the Hawk, and the Lark, The. La Fontaine (French) + Fox and the Countryman, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Crabs, The. Raju (Indian) + Fox and the Crow, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Drum, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Fox and the Grapes, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Stork, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Villagers, The. Raju (Indian) + Fox in the Well, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox in the Well, The. Raju (Indian) + Fox, the Monkey, and the Animals, The. La Fontaine (French) + Fox, the Wolf, and the Horse, The. La Fontaine (French) + Fox Without a Tail, The. Aesop (Greek) + Frog Who Wished to Be as Big as an Ox, The. (Greek) + Frogs Desiring a King, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Geese and the Tortoise, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Glowworm and the Daw, The. Raju (Indian) + Gnat and the Bull, The. Aesop (Greek) + Goose and the Swans, The. Anonymous (English) + Goose with the Golden Eggs, The. Aesop (Greek) + Grasshopper and the Ant, The. La Fontaine (French) + Greedy Jackal, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + + Hare and Many Friends, The. Gay (English) + Hare and the Partridge, The, La Fontaine (French) + Hare and the Pig, The. Raju (Indian) + Hare and the Tortoise, The. Aesop (Greek) + Hares and the Frogs, The. Aesop (Greek) + Hen and the Cat, The. (African) + Hen and the Chinese Mountain Turtle, The. (Chinese) + Hen and the Fox, The. Aesop (Greek) + Hercules and the Wagoner. Aesop (Greek) + Hermit, the Thief, and the Demon, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Hornets and the Bees, The. La Fontaine (French) + How Sense Was Distributed. (African) + + Invalid Lion, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Jackal and the Cat, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Jackdaw with Borrowed Plumes, The. Aesop (Greek) + Jupiter's Two Wallets. Aesop (Greek) + + King and the Hawk, The. Bidpai (Indian) + King-crow and the Water-snail, The. (Malayan) + Kite and the Pigeons, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Lark and Her Young Ones, The. Aesop (Greek) + Leopard and the Other Animals (African) + Lion and the Ass Hunting, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lion and the Echo, The. Anonymous (English) + Lion and the Gadfly, The. Raju (Indian) + Lion and the Gnat, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lion and the Goat, The. Raju (Indian) + Lion and the Mosquitoes, The. (Chinese) + Lion and the Mouse, The. Aesop (Greek) + Lion and the Rabbit, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Lion and the Wild Dog, The. (African) + Lion Going to War, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lion, the Bear, the Monkey, and the Fox, The. Aesop (Greek) + Lion, the Fox, and the Story-teller, The. Raju (Indian) + Lion, the Mouse, and the Cat, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Lion's Share, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lioness and the Bear, The. La Fontaine (French) + + Man and His Piece of Cloth, The. Raju (Indian) + Man and the Lion, The. Aesop (Greek) + Man and Turtle (African) + Man of Luck, and the Man of Pluck, The. Raju (Indian) + Matter of Arbitration, A. Aesop (Greek) + Monkey and the Cat, The. La Fontaine (French) + Monkey and the Leopard, The. La Fontaine (French) + Monkey Who Had Seen the World, The. Gay (English) + Mouse and the Frog, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Mouse Who Became a Tiger, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Mouse-deer's Shipwreck, The. (Malayan) + Muff, the Fan, and the Parasol, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Mule and the Lion, The. (Chinese) + Mule, Jackal and Lion. (Moorish) + + Nianga Dia Ngenga and Leopard. (African) + Nightingale and the Glowworm, The. Cowper (English) + + Oak and the Reed, The, La Fontaine (French) + Old Man and His Sons, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Man and the Ass, The. La Fontaine (French) + Old Man, His Son, and the Ass, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Woman and Her Maids, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Woman and the Doctor, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Woman's Cat, The. Bidpai (Indian) + + Pairing Time Anticipated. Cowper (English) + Passenger and the Pilot, The. Aesop (Greek) + Peacock and the Fox, The. Raju (Indian) + Peacock Complaining to Juno, The. La Fontaine (French) + Peasant and the Horse, The. Krilof (Russian) + Peasant and the Robber, The. Krilof (Russian) + Peasant and the Sheep, The. Krilof (Russian) + Pebble and the Diamond, The. Krilof (Russian) + Phoebus and Boreas. La Fontaine (French) + Pike, The. Krilof (Russian) + Pike and the Cat, The. Krilof (Russian) + Pineapple and the Bee, The. Cowper (English) + Playful Ass, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ploughman and His Sons, The. La Fontaine (French) + Poet, the Oyster, and Sensitive Plant, The. Cowper (English) + Poor Woman and the Bell, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Porcupine and the Snakes, The. Aesop (Greek) + Power of Fables, The. Aesop (Greek) + Proud Chicken, The. (Chinese) + Proud Fox and the Crab, The. (Chinese) + + Quartette, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Rabbits and the Elephants, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Rat and the Elephant, The. La Fontaine (French) + Rat and the Oyster, The. La Fontaine (French) + Rat and the Toad, The. (African) + Rat-catcher and Cats, The. Gay (English) + Rats and the Cheese, The. Anonymous (English) + Raven, The. Cowper (English) + Rope Dancer and His Pupil, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + + Sagacious Snake, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Satyr and the Traveller, The. Aesop (Greek) + Shepherd and His Dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Shepherd and the Lion, The. La Fontaine (French) + Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf, The. Gay. (English) + Sick Stag, The. La Fontaine (French) + Snake and the Sparrows, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Sparrows and the Falcon, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Spectacles, The. Aesop (Greek) + Spider and the Bee, The. Krilof (Russian) + Squirrel and the Horse, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Stag and the Vine, The. La Fontaine (French) + Stork and the Toad, The. (African) + Sunling, The. Raju (Indian) + Swallow and Other Birds, The. Aesop (Greek) + Swan and the Cook, The. La Fontaine (French) + Swan and the Linnet, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Sword-blade, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Tail of the Serpent, The. Aesop (Greek) + Tea and the Sage, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Tiger and the Giraffe, The. Raju (Indian) + Tiger and the Shadow, The. (Malayan) + + Tiger Gets His Deserts, The. (Malayan) + Tiger, the Fox, and the Hunters, The. Raju (Indian) + Tinsel and Lightning. Raju (Indian) + Traveller and the Tiger, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Travellers and the Bear, The. Aesop (Greek) + Trishka's Caftan. Krilof (Russian) + Tune that Makes the Tiger Drowsy, The (Malayan) + Two Mules, The. La Fontaine (French) + Two Rats, the Fox, and the Egg, The. La Fontaine (French) + Two Travellers, The. Aesop (Greek) + Two Travellers and the Oyster, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Wagtail and the Jackal, The. (Moorish) + Weasel in the Granary, The. La Fontaine (French) + What Employment Our Lord Gave to Insects (African) + Wolf and Its Cub, The. Krilof (Russian) + Wolf and the Cat. The. Krilof (Russian) + Wolf and the Crane, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Fox, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wolf and the Lamb, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Lamb, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Lean Dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wolf and the Mastiff, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Sheep, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf, the Goat, and the Kid, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wolf Turned Shepherd, The. La Fontaine (French) + Woodman and Mercury, The. La Fontaine (French) + Woods and the Woodman, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wren, The. (Moorish) + + Young Mouse, the Cock, and the Cat, The. Aesop (Greek) + Young Tiger, The. Bidpai (Indian) + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13815 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7194a56 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #13815 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13815) diff --git a/old/13815.txt b/old/13815.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..52047a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13815.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10439 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Talking Beasts, by Various, Edited by +Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Talking Beasts + +Author: Various + +Release Date: October 20, 2004 [eBook #13815] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALKING BEASTS*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +THE TALKING BEASTS + +A Book of Fable Wisdom + +EDITED BY KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN AND NORA ARCHIBALD SMITH + +Illustrations by Harold Nelson + +1922 + + + + + + + "Accept, young Prince, the moral lay + And in these tales mankind survey; + With early virtues plant your breast + The specious arts of vice detest." + + JOHN GAY + TO + HIS HIGHNESS + WILLIAM, DUKE OF CUMBERLAND + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. Fables of Aesop. (Greek) + + II. Fables of Bidpai. (Indian) + + III. Fables from the Hitopadesa. (Sanskrit) + + IV. Fables from P. V. Ramaswami Raju. (Indian) + + V. Malayan Fables + + VI. Moorish Fables + + VII. African Fables + + VIII. Fables from Krilof. (Russian) + + IX. Fables from the Chinese + + X. Fables of La Fontaine. (French) + + XI. Fables from the Spanish of Carlos Yriarte + + XII. Fables of Gay, Cowper, and others. (English) + + + + + For Eastern princes, long ago, + These fables, grave and gay, + Were written as a friendly guide + On life's perplexing way. + When Rumour came to court and news + Of such a book was heard, + The monarch languished till he might + Secure the Golden Word. + + Prince of To-day, this little hook + A store-house is of treasure. + Unlock it and where'er you look + Is wisdom without measure. + 'Twill teach thee of the meed of greed, + Of sowing versus reaping, + Of that mad haste that makes for waste, + And looking before leaping. + + 'Twill teach thee what is like to hap + To self-conceit and folly; + And show that who begins in sin + Will end in melancholy. + So take the book and learn of beast + And animate creation + The lesson that the least may teach, + However mean his station. + + NORA ARCHIBALD SMITH + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +"Among all the different ways of giving counsel I think +the finest and that which pleases the most universally is +fable, in whatever shape it appears." + + JOSEPH ADDISON + + + +How shall I bring to your mind the time and +distance that separate us from the Age of +Fable? Think of what seemed to you the +longest week of your life. Think of fifty-two of +these in a year; then think of two thousand five +hundred years and try to realize that Aesop--sometimes +called the Eighth Wise Man--lived +twenty-five centuries ago and made these wonderful +tales that delight us to-day. + +Shakespeare is even yet something of a mystery, +although he was born in our own era, less than +five hundred years ago; but men are still trying +to discover any new facts of his life that might +better explain his genius. A greater mystery +is grand old Homer, who has puzzled the world +for centuries. Scholars are not certain whether +the "Iliad" or "Odyssey" are the work of one +or more than one mind. Who can say? for the +thrilling tales were told--probably after the +fashion of all the minstrels of his day--more than +eight hundred years before Christ. + +On the background of that dim distant long ago, +perhaps two hundred years later than Homer, +looms the magnificent figure of another mysterious +being--Aesop the Greek slave. + +Wherever and whenever he lived, and whether, +in fact, he ever lived at all, he seems very real to +us, even though more than two thousand years have +passed. Among all the stories that scholars and +historians have told of him--sifting through the +centuries the true from the false--we get a vivid +picture of the man. He was born in Greece, +probably in Phrygia, about 620 years before Christ. +He had more than one master and it was the last, +Iadmon, who gave him his liberty because of his +talents and his wisdom. The historian Plutarch +recounts his presence at the court of Croesus, +King of Lydia, and his meeting Thales and Solon +there, telling us also that he reproved the wise +Solon for discourtesy toward the king. Aesop +visited Athens and composed the famous fable +of Jupiter and the Frogs for the instruction of +the citizens. Whether he left any written fables +is very uncertain, but those known by his name +were popular in Athens when that city was +celebrated throughout the world for its wit and its +learning. Both Socrates and Plato delighted +in them; Socrates, we read, having amused himself +during the last days of his life with turning +into verse some of Aesop's "myths" as he called +them. Think of Socrates conning these fables +in prison four hundred years before Christ, and +then think of a more familiar picture in our own +day--a gaunt, dark-faced, black-haired boy +poring over a book as he lay by the fireside in a +little Western farmhouse; for you remember that +Abraham Lincoln's literary models were "Aesop's +Fables," "The Pilgrim's Progress" and the +Bible. Perhaps he read the fable of the Fig +Tree, Olive, Vine, and Bramble from the ninth +chapter of Judges, or that of the Thistle and +Cedar from the fourteenth chapter of II Kings +and noted that teaching by story-telling was +still well in vogue six hundred years after Aesop. + +In later times the fables that had been carried +from mouth to mouth for centuries began to +be written down: by Phaedrus in Latin and +Babrius in Greek; also, in the fourteenth century, +by a Greek monk named Planudes. But do +not suppose they had their birth or flourished +in Greece alone. At the very time that Aesop +was telling them at the court of Croesus, or in +Delphi, Corinth, or Athens,--far, far away in +India the Buddhist priests were telling fables in +the Sanskrit language to the common people, the +blind, the ignorant and the outcast. Sanskrit, +you know, is the eldest brother of all the family +of languages to which our English belongs. When +the Buddhist religion declined, the Brahmins +took up the priceless inheritance of fable and +used it for educational purposes. Their ancient +Indian sages and philosophers compiled a treatise +for the education of princes which was supposed +to contain a system of good counsel for right +training in all the chief affairs of life. In it they +inserted the choicest treasures of their wisdom +and the best rules for governing a people, and the +Rajahs kept the book with great secrecy and care. +Then a Persian king heard of its existence and +sent a learned physician to India, where he spent +several years in copying and translating the +precious manuscript, finally bringing it hack to +the court, where he declined to accept all reward +but a dress of honour. In much the same way +it was rendered into Arabic and gradually, +century by century, crept into the literature of all +Europe. + +We give you some of these very fables in +the "Hitopadesa," which means "Friendly +Instruction" or "Amicable Advice" for the +original hooks contained many maxims, like the +following: + + +"He who is not possessed of such a book as will dispel +many doubts, point out hidden treasures, and is, as it were, +a mirror of all things, is even an ignorant man." + +"These six--the peevish, the niggard, the dissatisfied, +the passionate, the suspicious, and those who live upon +others' means--are forever unhappy." + +"That mother is an enemy, and that father a foe, by whom +not having been instructed, their son shineth not in the +assembly; but appeareth there like a booby among geese." + +"There are two kinds of knowledge in use: the knowledge +of arms, and the knowledge of books. The first is the scoff +if the wise, whilst the last is forever honoured." + + +We give you other Indian fables from the +collection of Bidpai. La Fontaine in one of the +prefaces to his French fables in verse expresses his +gratitude to "Bilpay the Indian sage." These +are the very manuscripts translated from the +Sanskrit into Persian by the physician who took +them back to his king. Sir William Jones says +that "Bidpai" signifies "beloved physician" and +that Bilpay is simply a mis-spelling of the word. +As other scholars contended that Bidpai was not +a man at all, but probably one of the two wise +camels that did most of the talking in the earlier +fables, you and I will not be able to settle the truth +of the question. All these points are interesting, +or, if they are not so to you, you must say, "Wake +up!" to your mind. It is the eager spirit of +inquiry that conquers difficulties and gains +knowledge. In another preface I reminded you that +in all the faery stories the youngest brother was +the one who always said, "I wonder!" and he it +was who triumphed over all the others. You are +holding between these crimson covers fables from +some of the oldest and most valuable books the +world has ever known. The "Hitopadesa" was +a very fountain of riches, as old as the hills +themselves, precious and inexhaustible. In its +innumerable translations it passed down the stream +of time, and the fables known as Aesop's made +their way among all races of people in the same +marvellous way. No one knows whether Aesop--through +the Assyrians with whom the Phrygians +had commercial relations--borrowed his stories +from the Orientals or whether they borrowed from +him. One thing is certain, nothing persists so +strongly and lives so long as a fable or folk tale. +They migrate like the birds and make their way +into every corner of the world where there are +lips to speak and ears to hear. The reasons are, +perhaps, because they are generally brief; because +they are simple; because they are trenchant and +witty; because they are fresh and captivating and +have a bite to them like the tang of salt water; +because they are strong and vital, and what is +thoroughly alive in the beginning always lives +longest. + +And, now we come to La Fontaine the French +fabulist, who in 1668 published the first six books +of his fables. "Bonhomme La Fontaine," as +he was called, chose his subjects from Aesop and +Phaedrus and Horace, and, in the later volumes, +from such Oriental sources as may have been +within his reach. He rendered the old tales in +easy-flowing verse, full of elegance and charm, +and he composed many original ones besides. +La Bruyere says of him: "Unique in his way +of writing, always original whether he invents or +translates, he surpasses his models and is himself +a model difficult to imitate. . . . He instructs +while he sports, persuades men to virtue +by means of beasts, and exalts trifling subjects +to the sublime." + +Voltaire asserts: "I believe that of all authors +La Fontaine is the most universally read. He is +for all minds and all ages." + +Later, by a hundred years, than La Fontaine, +comes Krilof, the Russian fable-maker, who +was born in 1768. After failing in many kinds +of literary work the young poet became intimate +with a certain Prince Sergius Galitsin; lived in +his house at Moscow, and accompanied him to +his country place in Lithuania, where he taught +the children of his host and devised entertainments +for the elders. He used often to spend +hours in the bazaars and streets and among the +common people, and it was in this way probably +that he became so familiar with the peasant life +of the country. When he came back from his +wanderings on the banks of the Volga he used to +mount to the village belfry, where he could write +undisturbed by the gnats and flies, and the children +found him there one day fast asleep among the +bells. A failure at forty, with the publication of +his first fables in verse he became famous, and +for many years he was the most popular writer +in Russia. He died in 1844 at the age of seventy-six, +his funeral attended by such crowds that the great +church of St. Isaac could not hold those who +wished to attend the service. Soon after, a public +subscription was raised among all the children +of Russia, who erected a monument in the +Summer Garden at Moscow. + +There the old man sits in bronze, as he used to +sit at his window, clad in his beloved dressing +gown, an open book in his hand. + +Around the monument (says his biographer) a +number of children are always at play, and the +poet seems to smile benignly on them from his +bronze easy chair. Perhaps the Grecian children +of long ago played about Aesop's statue in Athens, +for Lysippus the celebrated sculptor designed and +erected a monument in his memory. + +Read Krilof's "Education of a Lion" and +"The Lion and the Mosquitoes" while his life is +fresh in your mind. Then turn to "What +Employment our Lord Gave to Insects" and "How +Sense was Distributed," in the quaint African +fables. Glance at "The Long-tailed +Spectacled Monkey" and "The Tune that Made the +Tiger Drowsy," so full of the very atmosphere of +India. Then re-read some old favourite of +Aesop and imagine you are hearing his voice, or +that of some Greek story-teller of his day, ringing +down through more than two thousand years +of time. + +There is a deal of preaching in all these fables,--that +cannot be denied,--but it is concealed as +well as possible. It is so disagreeable for people +to listen while their faults and follies, their foibles +and failings, are enumerated, that the fable-maker +told his truths in story form and thereby +increased his audience. Preaching from the mouths +of animals is not nearly so trying as when it +comes from the pulpit, or from the lips of your +own family and friends! + +Whether or not our Grecian and Indian, African +and Russian fable-makers have not saddled the +animals with a few more faults than they possess--just +to bolster up our pride in human nature--I +sometimes wonder; but the result has been beneficial. +The human rascals and rogues see themselves +clearly reflected in the doings of the jackals, +foxes, and wolves and may get some little distaste +for lying, deceit and trickery. + +We make few fables now-a-days. We might +say that it is a lost art, but perhaps the world is too +old to be taught in that precise way, and though +the story writers are as busy as ever, the +story-tellers (alas!) are growing fewer and fewer. + +If your ear has been opened by faery tales you +will have learned already to listen to and interpret +a hundred voices unheard by others. A +comprehension of faery language leads one to +understand animal conversation with perfect ease, so +open the little green doors that lead into the forest, +the true Land of Fable. Open them softly and +you will hear the Beasts talk Wisdom. + + KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN + + + + +THE FABLES OF AESOP + + "'Twas the Golden Age when every brute + Had voice articulate, in speech was skilled, + And the mid-forests with its synods filled. + The tongues of rock and pine-leaf then were free; + To ship and sailor then would speak the sea; + Sparrows with farmers would shrewd talk maintain; + Earth gave all fruits, nor asked for toil again. + Mortals and gods were wont to mix as friends-- + To which conclusion all the teaching tends + Of sage old Aesop." + + BABRIUS + + + + +THE FABLES OF AESOP + +The Power of Fables + +Demades, a famous Greek orator, was once addressing an assembly at +Athens on a subject of great importance, and in vain tried to fix the +attention of his hearers. They laughed among themselves, watched the +sports of the children, and in twenty other ways showed their want of +interest in the subject of the discourse. + +Demades, after a short pause, spoke as follows: + +"Ceres one day journeyed in company with a Swallow and an Eel." At +this there was marked attention and every ear strained now to catch the +words of the orator. "The party came to a river," continued he; "the +Eel swam across, and the Swallow flew over." He then resumed the +subject of his harangue. + +A great cry, however, arose from the people, "And Ceres? and Ceres?" +cried they. "What did Ceres do?" + +"Why, the goddess was, as she is now," replied he, "mightily offended +that people should have their ears open to any sort of foolery, and +shut to words of truth and wisdom." + + + +The Wolf and the Lamb + +A hungry Wolf one day saw a Lamb drinking at a stream, and wished to +frame some plausible excuse for making him his prey. + +"What do you mean by muddling the water I am going to drink?" fiercely +said he to the Lamb. + +"Pray forgive me," meekly answered the Lamb; "I should be sorry in any +way to displease you, but as the stream runs from you toward me, you +will see that such cannot be the case." + +"That's all very well," said the Wolf; "but you know you spoke ill of +me behind my back a year ago." + +"Nay, believe me," replied the Lamb, "I was not then born." + +"It must have been your brother, then," growled the Wolf. + +"It cannot have been, for I never had any," answered the Lamb. + +"I know it was one of your lot," rejoined the Wolf, "so make no more +such idle excuses." He then seized the poor Lamb, carried him off to +the woods, and ate him, but before the poor creature died he gasped +out, feebly, "Any excuse will serve a tyrant." + + + +Aesop and His Fellow Servants + +A merchant, who was at one time Aesop's master, on a certain occasion +ordered all things to be made ready for an intended journey. When the +burdens were divided among the Servants, Aesop asked that he might have +the lightest. He was told to choose for himself, and he took up the +basket of bread. The other Servants laughed, for that was the largest +and heaviest of all the burdens. + +When dinner-time came, Aesop, who had with some difficulty sustained +his load, was told to distribute an equal share all around. He did so, +and this lightened his burden one half, and when supper-time arrived he +got rid of the rest. + +For the remainder of the journey he had nothing but the empty basket to +carry, and the other Servants, whose loads seemed to get heavier and +heavier at every step, could not but applaud his ingenuity. + + + +The Kite and the Pigeons + +A Kite, that had kept sailing around a dovecote for many days to no +purpose, was at last forced by hunger to have recourse to stratagem. +Approaching the Pigeons in his gentlest manner, he described to them in +an eloquent speech how much better their state would be if they had a +king with some firmness about him, and how well such a ruler would +shield them from the attacks of the Hawk and other enemies. + +The Pigeons, deluded by this show of reason, admitted him to the +dovecote as their king. They found, however, that he thought it part +of his kingly prerogative to eat one of their number every day, and +they soon repented of their credulity in having let him in. + + + +The Ant and the Fly + +An Ant and a Fly one day disputed as to their respective merits. "Vile +creeping insect!" said the Fly to the Ant, "can you for a moment +compare yourself with me? I soar on the wing like a bird. I enter the +palaces of kings, and alight on the heads of princes, nay, of emperors, +and only quit them to adorn the yet more attractive brow of beauty. +Besides, I visit the altars of the gods. Not a sacrifice is offered +but it is first tasted by me. Every feast, too, is open to me. I eat +and drink of the best, instead of living for days on two or three +grains of corn as you do." + +"All that is very fine," replied the Ant; "but listen to me. You boast +of your feasting, but you know that your diet is not always so choice, +and you are sometimes forced to eat what nothing would induce me to +touch. As for alighting on the heads of kings and emperors, you know +very well that whether you pitch on the head of an emperor or of an ass +(and it is as often on the one as the other), you are shaken off from +both with impatience. And, then, the 'altars of the gods,' indeed! +There and everywhere else you are looked upon as nothing but a +nuisance. In the winter, too, while I feed at my ease on the fruit of +my toil, what more common than to see your friends dying with cold, +hunger, and fatigue? I lose my time now in talking to you. Chattering +will fill neither my bin nor my cupboard." + + + +The Frog Who Wished to Be as Big as an Ox + +An Ox, grazing in a meadow, chanced to set his foot on a young Frog and +crushed him to death. His brothers and sisters, who were playing near, +at once ran to tell their mother what had happened. + +"The monster that did it, mother, was such a size!" said they. + +The mother, who was a vain old thing, thought that she could easily +make herself as large. + +"Was it as big as this?" she asked, blowing and puffing herself out. + +"Oh, much bigger than that," replied the young Frogs. + +"As this, then?" cried she, puffing and blowing again with all her +might. + +"Nay, mother," said they; "if you were to try till you burst yourself, +you could never be so big." + +The silly old Frog then tried to puff herself out still more, and burst +herself indeed. + + + +The Cat and the Mice + +A certain house was overrun with mice. A Cat, discovering this, made +her way into it and began to catch and eat them one by one. + +The Mice being continually devoured, kept themselves close in their +holes. + +The Cat, no longer able to get at them, perceived that she must tempt +them forth by some device. For this purpose she jumped upon a peg, +and, suspending herself from it, pretended to be dead. + +One of the Mice, peeping stealthily out, saw her, and said, "Ah, my +good madam, even though you should turn into a meal-bag, we would not +come near you." + + + +The Cock and the Jewel + +A brisk young Cock, scratching for something with which to entertain +his favourite Hens, happened to turn up a Jewel. Feeling quite sure +that it was something precious, but not knowing well what to do with +it, he addressed it with an air of affected wisdom, as follows: "You +are a very fine thing, no doubt, but you are not at all to my taste. +For my part, I would rather have one grain of dear delicious barley +than all the Jewels in the world." + + + +The Man and the Lion + +A Man and a Lion were discussing the relative strength of men and lions +in general, the Man contending that he and his fellows were stronger +than lions by reason of their greater intelligence. + +"Come now with me," he cried to the beast, "and I will soon prove that +I am right." So he took him into the public gardens and showed him a +statue of Hercules overcoming the Lion. and tearing him to pieces. + +"That is all very well," said the Lion, "but it proves nothing, for it +was a man who made the statue!" + + + +The Discontented Ass + +In the depth of winter a poor Ass once prayed heartily for the spring, +that he might exchange a cold lodging and a heartless truss of straw +for a little warm weather and a mouthful of fresh grass. In a short +time, according to his wish, the warm weather and the fresh grass came +on, but brought with them so much toil and business that he was soon as +weary of the spring as before of the winter, and he now became +impatient for the approach of summer. The summer arrived; but the +heat, the harvest work and other drudgeries and inconveniences of the +season set him as far from happiness as before, which he now flattered +himself would be found in the plenty of autumn. But here, too, he was +disappointed; for what with the carrying of apples, roots, fuel for the +winter, and other provisions, he was in autumn more fatigued than ever. + +Having thus trod around the circle of the year, in a course of restless +labour, uneasiness and disappointment, and found no season, nor station +of life without its business and its trouble, he was forced at last to +acquiesce in the comfortless season of winter, where his complaint +began, convinced that in this world every situation has its +inconvenience. + + + +The Boasting Traveller + +A Man was one day entertaining a lot of fellows in an ale-house with an +account of the wonders he had done when abroad on his travels. "I was +once at Rhodes," said he, "and the people of Rhodes, you know, are +famous for jumping. Well, I took a jump there that no other man could +come within a yard of. That's a fact, and if we were there I could +bring you ten men who would prove it." + +"What need is there to go to Rhodes for witnesses?" asked one of his +hearers; "just imagine that you are there now, and show us your leap!" + + + +The Lion and the Mouse + +A Lion, tired with the chase, lay sleeping at full length under a shady +tree. Some Mice, scrambling over him while he slept, awoke him. +Laying his paw upon one of them, he was about to crush him, but the +Mouse implored his mercy in such moving terms that he let him go. + +Now it happened that sometime afterward the Lion was caught in a net +laid by some hunters, and, unable to free himself, made the forest +resound with his roars. The Mouse, recognizing the voice of his +preserver, ran to the spot, and with his little sharp teeth gnawed the +ropes asunder and set the Lion free. + + + +The Swallow and Other Birds + +A Swallow, observing a Husbandman employed in sowing hemp, called the +little Birds together and informed them of what the farmer was about. +He told them that hemp was the material from which the nets, so fatal +to the feathered race, were composed; and advised them to join +unanimously in picking it up in order to prevent the consequences. + +The Birds, either disbelieving his information or neglecting his +advice, gave themselves no trouble about the matter. In a little time +the hemp appeared above the ground, when the friendly Swallow again +addressed himself to them, and told them it was not yet too late, +provided they would immediately set about the work, before the seeds +had taken too deep root. But as they still rejected his advice, he +forsook their society, repaired for safety to towns and cities, there +built his habitation and kept his residence. + +One day as he was skimming along the streets he happened to see a large +parcel of those very Birds imprisoned in a cage on the shoulders of a +bird-catcher. + +"Unhappy wretches," said he. "You now feel punishment for your former +neglect; but those who, having no foresight of their own, despise the +wholesome admonition of their friends, deserve the mischief which their +own obstinacy or negligence brings upon their heads." + + + +The Fox and the Crow + +A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and +settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me, as I am a Fox," said +Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, +Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day; how glossy +your feathers, how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must +surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but +one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." + +The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment +she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be +snapped up by Master Fox. "That will do," said he. "That was all I +wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice +for the future--Do not trust flatterers!" + + + +The Dog and His Shadow + +A Dog, bearing in his mouth a piece of meat that he had stolen, was +once crossing a smooth stream by means of a plank. Looking into the +still, clear water, he saw what he took to be another dog as big as +himself, carrying another piece of meat. + +Snapping greedily to get this as well, he let go the meat that he +already had, and it fell to the bottom of the stream. + + + +The Ass and His Master + +A Diligent Ass, already loaded beyond his strength by a severe Master +whom he had long served, and who kept him on very short commons, +happened one day in his old age to be oppressed with a more than +ordinary burden of earthenware. His strength being much impaired, and +the road steep and uneven, he unfortunately made a misstep, and, unable +to recover himself, fell down and broke all the vessels to pieces. His +Master, transported with rage, began to beat him most unmercifully, +against whom the poor Ass, lifting up his head as he lay on the ground, +thus strongly remonstrated: + +"Unfeeling wretch! To thine own avaricious cruelty in first pinching +me on food, and then loading me beyond my strength, thou owest the +misfortune which thou so unjustly imputest to me." + + + +The Wolf and the Crane + +A Wolf once devoured his prey so ravenously that a bone stuck in his +throat, giving him great pain. He ran howling up and down in his +suffering and offered to reward handsomely any one who would pull the +bone out. + +A Crane, moved by pity as well as by the prospect of the money, +undertook the dangerous task, and having removed the bone, asked for +the promised reward. + +"Reward!" cried the Wolf; "pray, you greedy fellow, what greater reward +can you possibly require? You have had your head in my mouth, and +instead of biting it off I have let you pull it out unharmed. Get away +with you, and don't come again within reach of my paw." + + + +The Hares and the Frogs + +The Hares once took serious counsel among themselves whether death +itself would not be preferable to their miserable condition. "What a +sad state is ours," they said, "never to eat in comfort, to sleep ever +in fear, to be startled by a shadow, and to fly with beating heart at +the rustling of the leaves. Better death by far," and off they went +accordingly to drown themselves in a neighbouring lake. + +Some scores of Frogs, who were enjoying the moonlight on the bank, +scared at the approach of the Hares, jumped into the water. The splash +awoke fresh fears in the breasts of the timid Hares, and they came to a +full stop in their flight. + +Seeing this, one wise old fellow among them cried: "Hold, brothers! It +seems that, weak and fearful as we are, beings exist that are more weak +and fearful still. Why, then, should we seek to die? Let us rather +make the best of our ills and learn to bear them as we should." + + + +The Invalid Lion + +A Lion, who had grown too old and feeble to go out and hunt for prey, +could hardly find enough food to keep him from starving. But at last +he thought of a plan for bringing the game within his reach. + +He kept quite still in his den and made believe that he was very ill. +When the other animals heard of his distress, they came, one by one, to +look at him and ask him how he felt. No sooner were they within his +reach, however, than he seized upon them and ate them up. + +After a good many beasts had lost their lives in this way a Fox came +along. + +"How do you feel to-day, friend Lion?" he asked, taking care to stand +at a safe distance from the den. + +"I am very ill," answered the Lion. "Won't you come inside a little +while? It does me a great deal of good to see my kind friends." + +"Thank you," said the Fox; "but I notice that all the tracks point +toward your den and none point away from it," and so saying, he trotted +merrily away. + + + +The Travellers and the Bear + +Two Men, about to journey through a forest, agreed to stand by each +other in any dangers that might befall. They had not gone far before a +savage Bear rushed out from a thicket and stood in their path. + +One of the Travellers, a light, nimble fellow, climbed up into a tree. +The other fell flat on his face and held his breath. + +The Bear came up and smelled at him, and, taking him for dead, went off +again into the wood. The man in the tree then came down, and, +rejoining his companion, asked him, with a mischievous smile, what was +the wonderful secret that the Bear had whispered into his ear, + +"Why," replied the other sulkily, "he told me to take care for the +future and not to put any confidence in such cowardly rascals as you +are!" + + + +The Fox Without a Tail + +A Fox was once caught in a trap by his tail, and in order to get away +was forced to leave it behind him. Knowing that without a tail he +would be a laughing-stock for all his fellows, he resolved to try to +induce them to part with theirs. At the next assembly of Foxes, +therefore, he made a speech on the unprofitableness of tails in +general, and the inconvenience of a Fox's tail in particular, adding +that he had never felt so easy as since he had given up his own. + +When he had sat down, a sly old fellow rose, and waving his long brush +with a graceful air, said, with a sneer, that if, like the last +speaker, he had been so unfortunate as to lose his tail, nothing +further would have been needed to convince him; but till such an +accident should happen, he should certainly vote in favour of tails. + + + +The Crab and Its Mother + +One fine day two Crabs came out from their home to take a stroll on the +sand. "Child," said the mother, "you are walking very ungracefully. +You should accustom yourself to walking straight forward without +twisting from side to side." + +"Pray, mother," said the young one, "do but set the example yourself, +and I will follow you!" + + + +The Jackdaw with Borrowed Plumes + +A Jackdaw, having dressed himself in feathers which had fallen from +some Peacocks, strutted about in the company of those birds and tried +to pass himself off as one of them. + +They soon found him out, however, and pulled their plumes from him so +roughly, and in other ways so battered him, that he would have been +glad to rejoin his humble fellows, but they, in their turn, would have +nothing to do with him, and driving him from their society, told him to +remember that it is not only fine feathers that make fine birds. + + + +The Farmer and His Dog + +A Farmer who had just stepped into the field to close a gap in one of +his fences found on his return the cradle, where he had left his only +child asleep, turned upside down, the clothes all torn and bloody, and +his Dog lying near it besmeared also with blood. Convinced at once +that the creature had destroyed his child, he instantly dashed out its +brains with the hatchet in his hand; when, turning up the cradle, he +found the child unhurt and an enormous serpent lying dead on the floor, +killed by the faithful Dog, whose courage and fidelity in preserving +the life of his son deserved another kind of reward. + +These affecting circumstances afforded him a striking lesson upon how +dangerous it is hastily to give way to the blind impulse of a sudden +passion. + + + +The Fox and the Countryman + +A Fox, having been hunted hard and chased a long way, saw a Countryman +at work in a wood and begged his assistance to some hiding-place. The +man said he might go into his cottage, which was close by. + +He was no sooner in than the huntsmen came up. "Have you seen a Fox +pass this way?" said they. The Countryman said "No," but pointed at +the same time toward the place where the Fox lay. The huntsmen did not +take the hint, however, and made off again at full speed. + +The Fox, who had seen all that took place through a chink in the wall, +thereupon came out and was walking away without a word. + +"Why, how now!" said the Countryman, "haven't you the manners to thank +your host before you go?" + +"Nay, nay," said the Fox; "if you had been as honest with your finger +as you were with your tongue, I shouldn't have gone without saying +good-bye." + + + +Belling the Cat + +A certain Cat that lived in a large country house was so vigilant and +active in the performance of her duties that the Mice, finding their +numbers grievously thinned, held a council with closed doors to +consider what they had best do. + +Many plans had been started and dismissed, when a young Mouse, rising +and catching the eye of the President, said that he had a proposal to +make that he was sure must meet with the approval of all. "If," said +he, "the Cat should wear around her neck a little bell, every step she +took would make it tinkle; then, ever forewarned of her approach, we +should have time to reach our holes. By this simple means we should +live in safety and defy her power." + +The speaker resumed his seat with a complacent air, and a murmur of +applause arose from the audience. + +An old gray Mouse, with a merry twinkle in his eye, now got up and said +that the plan of the last speaker was an admirable one, but he feared +it had one drawback. He had not told them who should put the bell +around the Cat's neck! + + + +The Old Woman and Her Maids + +A certain Old Woman had several Maids, whom she used to call to their +work every morning at the crowing of the Cock. + +The Maids, finding it grievous to have their sweet sleep disturbed so +early, killed the Cock, thinking that when he was quiet they might +enjoy their warm beds a little longer. + +The Old Woman, however, vexed at the loss of the Cock, and suspecting +them to be concerned in his death, from that time made them rise soon +after midnight! + + + +The Dog in the Manger + +There was once a Dog who lay all day long in a manger where there was +plenty of hay. It happened one day that a Horse, a Cow, a Sheep, and a +Goat came one by one and wanted to eat the hay. The Dog growled at +them and would not let them have so much as a mouthful. Then an Ox +came and looked in, but the Dog growled at him also. + +"You selfish fellow," said the Ox; "you cannot eat the hay. Why do you +want to keep it all to yourself?" + + + +The Old Man and His Sons + +An old Man had many Sons, who were always falling out with one another. +He had often exhorted them to live together in harmony, but without +result. + +One day he called them around him and, producing a bundle of sticks, +bade them each in turn to break it across. Each put forth all his +strength, but the bundle still resisted their efforts. + +Then, cutting the cord which bound the sticks together, he told his +Sons to break them separately. This was done with the greatest ease. + +"See, my Sons," exclaimed he, "the power of unity! Bound together by +brotherly love, you may defy almost every mortal ill; divided, you will +fall a prey to your enemies." + + + +Hercules and the Wagoner + +As a Wagoner was driving his wain through a miry lane, the wheels stuck +fast in the clay and the Horses could get on no farther. The Man +immediately dropped on his knees and began crying and praying with all +his might to Hercules to come and help him. + +"Lazy fellow!" cried Hercules, "get up and stir yourself. Whip your +Horses stoutly, and put your shoulder to the wheel. If you want my +help then, you shall have it." + + + +The Goose with the Golden Eggs + +One day a poor countryman going to the nest of his Goose found there a +golden egg all yellow and glittering. When he took it up it felt as +heavy as lead and he was minded to throw it away, because he thought a +trick had been played on him. + +On second thoughts, he took it home, however, and soon found to his +delight that it was an egg of pure gold. Every morning the same thing +occurred, and he soon became prosperous by selling his eggs. + +As he grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to get at once all the +gold the Goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to +find--nothing! + + + +The Frogs Desiring a King + +The Frogs, living an easy, free sort of life among the lakes and ponds, +once prayed Jupiter to send them a King. + +Jove, being at that time in a merry mood, threw them a Log, saying, as +he did so, "There, then, is a King for you." + +Awed by the splash, the Frogs watched their King in fear and trembling, +till at last, encouraged by his stillness, one more daring than the +rest jumped upon the shoulder of the monarch. Soon, many others +followed his example, and made merry on the back of their unresisting +King. Speedily tiring of such a torpid ruler, they again petitioned +Jupiter, and asked him to send them something more like a King. + +This time he sent them a Stork, who tossed them about and gobbled them +up without mercy. They lost no time, therefore, in beseeching the god +to give them again their former state. + +"No, no," replied he, "a King that did you no harm did not please you. +Make the best of the one you have, or you may chance to get a worse in +his place." + + + +The Porcupine and the Snakes + +A Porcupine, seeking for shelter, desired some Snakes to give him +admittance into their cave. They accordingly let him in, but were +afterward so annoyed by his sharp, prickly quills that they repented of +their easy compliance, and entreated him to withdraw and leave them +their hole to themselves. + +"No, no," said he, "let them quit the place that don't like it; for my +part, I am very well satisfied as I am." + + + +The Lark and Her Young Ones + +A Lark, who had Young Ones in a field of grain which was almost ripe, +was afraid that the reapers would come before her young brood was +fledged. Every day, therefore, when she flew off to look for food, she +charged them to take note of what they heard in her absence, and to +tell her of it when she came home. + +One day, when she was gone, they heard the owner of the field say to +his son that the grain seemed ripe enough to be cut, and tell him to go +early the next day and ask their friends and neighbours to come and +help reap it. + +When the old Lark came home, the Little Ones quivered and chirped +around her, and told her what had happened, begging her to take them +away as fast as she could. The mother bade them to be easy; "for," +said she, "if he depends on his friends and his neighbours, I am sure +the grain will not be reaped tomorrow." + +Next day, she went out again, and left the same orders as before. The +owner came, and waited. The sun grew hot, but nothing was done, for +not a soul came. "You see," said the owner to his son, "these friends +of ours are not to be depended upon; so run off at once to your uncles +and cousins, and say I wish them to come early to-morrow morning and +help us reap." + +This the Young Ones, in a great fright, told also to their mother. "Do +not fear, children," said she; "kindred and relations are not always +very forward in helping one another; but keep your ears open, and let +me know what you hear to-morrow." + +The owner came the next day, and, finding his relations as backward as +his neighbours, said to his son: "Now listen to me. Get two good +sickles ready for to-morrow morning, for it seems we must reap the +grain by ourselves." The Young Ones told this to their mother. + +"Then, my dears," said she, "it is time for us to go; for when a man +undertakes to do his work himself, it is not so likely that he will be +disappointed." She took them away at once, and the grain was reaped +the next day by the old man and his son. + + + +The Fox and the Stork + +A Fox one day invited a Stork to dine with him, and, wishing to be +amused at his guest's expense, put the soup which he had for dinner in +a large flat dish, so that, while he himself could lap it up quite +well, the Stork could only dip in the tip of his long bill. + +Some time after, the Stork, bearing his treatment in mind, invited the +Fox to take dinner with him. He, in his turn, put some minced meat in +a long and narrow-necked vessel, into which he could easily put his +bill, while Master Fox was forced to be content with licking what ran +down the sides of the vessel. + +The Fox then remembered his old trick, and could not but admit that the +Stork had well paid him off. "I will not apologize for the dinner," +said the Stork, "nor for the manner of serving it, for one ill turn +deserves another." + + + +The Gnat and the Bull + +A sturdy Bull was once driven by the heat of the weather to wade up to +his knees in a cool and swift-running stream. He had not been there +long when a Gnat that had been disporting itself in the air pitched +upon one of his horns. + +"My dear fellow," said the Gnat, with as great a buzz as he could +manage, "pray excuse the liberty I take. If I am too heavy only say so +and I will go at once and rest upon the poplar which grows hard by the +edge of the stream. + +"Stay or go, it makes no matter to me," replied the Bull. "Had it not +been for your buzz I should not even have known you were there." + + + +The Deer and the Lion + +One warm day a Deer went down to a brook to get a drink. The stream +was smooth and clear, and he could see himself in the water. He looked +at his horns and was very proud of them, for they were large and long +and had many branches, but when he saw his feet he was ashamed to own +them, they were so slim and small. + +While he stood knee-deep in the water, and was thinking only of his +fine horns, a Lion saw him and came leaping out from the tall grass to +get him. The Deer would have been caught at once if he had not jumped +quickly out of the brook. He ran as fast as he could, and his feet +were so light and swift that he soon left the Lion far behind. But by +and by he had to pass through some woods, and, as he was running, his +horns were caught in some vines that grew among the trees. Before he +could get loose the Lion was upon him. + +"Ah me!" cried the Deer, "the things which pleased me most will now +cause my death; while the things which I thought so mean and poor would +have carried me safe out of danger." + + + +The Fox and the Grapes + +There was a time when a Fox would have ventured as far for a Bunch of +Grapes as for a shoulder of mutton, and it was a Fox of those days and +that palate that stood gaping under a vine and licking his lips at a +most delicious Cluster of Grapes that he had spied out there. + +He fetched a hundred and a hundred leaps at it, till, at last, when he +was as weary as a dog, and found that there was no good to be done: + +"Hang 'em," says he, "they are as sour as crabs"; and so away he went, +turning off the disappointment with a jest. + + + +The Farmer and the Stork + +A Farmer placed nets on his newly sown plough lands, and caught a +quantity of Cranes, which came to pick up his seed. With them he +trapped a Stork also. + +The Stork, having his leg fractured by the net, earnestly besought the +Farmer to spare his life. "Pray, save me, master," he said, "and let +me go free this once. My broken limb should excite your pity. +Besides, I am no Crane. I am a Stork, a bird of excellent character; +and see how I love and slave for my father and mother. Look, too, at +my feathers, they are not the least like to those of a Crane." + +The Farmer laughed aloud, and said: "It may all be as you say, I only +know this, I have taken you with those robbers, the Cranes, and you +must die in their company." + + + +The Hare and the Tortoise + +The Hare, one day, laughing at the Tortoise for his slowness and +general unwieldiness, was challenged by the latter to run a race. The +Hare, looking on the whole affair as a great joke, consented, and the +Fox was selected to act as umpire and hold the stakes. + +The rivals started, and the Hare, of course, soon left the Tortoise far +behind. Having come midway to the goal, she began to play about, +nibble the young herbage, and amuse herself in many ways. The day +being warm, she even thought she would take a little nap in a shady +spot, as, if the Tortoise should pass her while she slept, she could +easily overtake him again before he reached the end. + +The Tortoise meanwhile plodded on, unwavering and unresting, straight +toward the goal. + +The Hare, having overslept herself, started up from her nap, and was +surprised to find that the Tortoise was nowhere in sight. Off she went +at full speed, but on reaching the winning-post found that the Tortoise +was already there, waiting for her arrival! + + + +The Old Woman and the Doctor + +An old Woman who had bad eyes called in a clever Doctor, who agreed for +a certain sum to cure them. He was a very clever physician, but he was +also a very great rogue; and when he called each day and bound up the +Old Woman's eyes he took advantage of her blindness to carry away with +him some article of her furniture. This went on until he pronounced +his patient cured and her room was nearly bare. + +He claimed his reward, but the Old Woman protested that, so far from +being cured, her sight was worse than ever. + +"We will soon see about that, my good dame," said he; and she was +shortly after summoned to appear in court. + +"May it please Your Honour," said she to the Judge, "before I called in +this Doctor I could see a score of things in my room that now, when he +says I am cured, I cannot see at all." + +This opened the eyes of the court to the knavery of the Doctor, who was +forced to give the Old Woman her property back again, and was not +allowed to claim a penny of his fee. + + + +The Boy and the Wolf + +A mischievous Lad, who was set to mind some Sheep, often used, in jest, +to cry "Wolf! Wolf!" and when the people at work in the neighbouring +fields came running to the spot he would laugh at them for their pains. + +One day the beast came in reality, and the Boy, this time, called +"Wolf! Wolf!" in earnest; but the men, having been so often deceived, +disregarded his cries, and he and his Sheep were left at the mercy of +the Wolf. + + + +The Blackamoor + +A certain Man who had bought a Blackamoor said he was convinced that it +was all nonsense about black being the natural colour of his skin. "He +has been dirty in his habits," said he, "and neglected by his former +masters. Bring me some hot water, soap, and scrubbing-brushes, and a +little sand, and we shall soon see what his colour is." + +So he scrubbed, and his servants scrubbed till they were all tired. +They made no difference in the colour of the Blackamoor; but the end of +it all was that the poor fellow caught cold and died. + + + +The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing + +A Wolf, wrapping himself in the skin of a Sheep, by that means got +admission into a sheepfold, where he devoured several of the young +Lambs. The Shepherd, however, soon found him out and hung him up to a +tree, still in his assumed disguise. + +Some other Shepherds, passing that way, thought it was a sheep hanging +and cried to their friend: "What, brother! is that the way you serve +Sheep in this part of the country?" + +"No, friends," cried he, giving at the same time the carcass a swing +around, so that they might see what it was; "but it is the way to serve +Wolves, even though they be dressed in Sheep's clothing." + + + +The Two Travellers + +As two men were travelling through a wood, one of them took up an axe +which he saw lying upon the ground. "Look here," said he to his +companion, "I have found an axe." + +"Don't say, 'I have found it,'" said the other, "but 'We have found +it.' As we are companions, we ought to share it between us." The +first would not agree to this idea, however. + +They had not gone far when they heard the owner of the axe calling +after them in a great passion. "We are in for it!" cried he who had +the axe. + +"Nay," answered the other, "say 'I'm in for it!'--not we. You would +not let me share the prize, and I am not going to share the danger." + + + +The Fox in the Well + +An unlucky Fox, having fallen into a well, was able, by dint of great +efforts, just to keep his head above water. + +While he was struggling there and sticking his claws into the side of +the Well, a Wolf came and looked in. "What! my dear brother," cried +he, with affected concern, "can it really be you that I see down there? +How cold you must feel! How long have you been in the water? How came +you to fall in? I am so pained to see you. Do tell me all about it!" + +"The end of a rope would be of more use to me than all your pity," +answered the Fox. + +"Just help me to get my foot on solid ground once more, and you shall +have the whole story." + + + +The Hen and the Fox + +A Fox, having crept into an outhouse, looked up and down for something +to eat, and at last espied a Hen sitting upon a perch so high that he +could be no means come at her. He therefore had recourse to an old +stratagem. + +"Dear cousin," said he to her, "how do you do? I heard that you were +ill and kept at home; I could not rest, therefore, till I had come to +see you. Pray let me feel your pulse. Indeed, you do not look well at +all." + +He was running on in this impudent manner, when the Hen answered him +from the roost: "Truly, dear Reynard, you are in the right. I was +seldom in more danger than I am now. Pray excuse my coming down; I am +sure I should catch my death." + +The Fox, finding himself foiled by the Hen's cleverness, made off and +tried his luck elsewhere. + + + +The Ass and His Shadow + +A Man, one hot day, hired an Ass, with his Driver, to carry some +merchandise across a sandy plain. The sun's rays were overpowering, +and unable to advance farther without a temporary rest he called upon +the Driver to stop, and proceeded to sit down in the shadow of the Ass. + +The Driver, however, a lusty fellow, rudely pushed him away, and sat +down on the spot himself. + +"Nay, friend," said the Driver, "when you hired this Ass of me you said +nothing about the shadow. If now you want that, too, you must pay for +it." + + + +The Ass in the Lion's Skin + +An Ass, finding a Lion's skin, put it on, and ranged about the forest. +The beasts fled in terror, and he was delighted at the success of his +disguise. Meeting a Fox, he rushed upon him, and this time he tried to +imitate as well the roaring of the Lion. + +"Ah," said the Fox, "if you had held your tongue I should have been +deceived like the rest; but now you bray I know who you are!" + + + +The Wolf and the Sheep + +A Wolf, sorely wounded and bitten by dogs, lay sick and maimed in his +lair. Parched with thirst, he called to a Sheep who was passing and +asked her to fetch some water from a stream flowing close by. "For," +he said, "if you will bring me drink, sister, I will find means to +provide myself with meat." + +"Yes," said the Sheep, "but if I should bring you the draught, you +would doubtless make me provide the meat also." + + + +Jupiter's Two Wallets + +When Jupiter made Man, he gave him two Wallets; one for his neighbour's +faults, the other for his own. He threw them over the Man's shoulder, +so that one hung in front and the other behind. + +The Man kept the one in front for his neighbour's faults, and the one +behind for his own; so that, while the first was always under his nose, +it took some pains to see the latter. + +This custom, which began thus early, is not quite unknown at the +present day. + + + +The Satyr and the Traveller + +A Satyr, ranging in the forest in winter, came across a Traveller, half +starved with the cold. He took pity on him and invited him to go to +his cave. On their way the Man kept blowing upon his fingers. + +"Why do you do that?" said the Satyr, who had seen little of the world. + +"To warm my hands, they are nearly frozen," replied the Man. + +Arrived at the cave, the Satyr poured out a mess of smoking pottage and +laid it before the Traveller, who at once commenced blowing at it with +all his might. + +"What, blowing again!" cried the Satyr. "Is it not hot enough?" + +"Yes, faith," answered the Man, "it is hot enough in all conscience, +and that is just the reason why I blow it." + +"Be off with you!" cried the Satyr, in alarm; "I will have no part with +a man who can blow hot and cold from the same mouth." + + + +The Two Travellers and the Oyster + +As two men were walking by the seaside at low water they saw an Oyster, +and they both stooped at the same time to pick it up. Immediately, one +pushed the other away, and a dispute ensued. + +A third Traveller coming along at the time, they determined to refer +the matter to him, as to which of the two had the better right to the +Oyster. + +While they were each telling his story the Arbitrator gravely took out +his knife, opened the shell and loosened the Oyster. + +When they had finished, and were listening for his decision, he just as +gravely swallowed the Oyster, and offered them the two halves of the +shell. "The Court," said he, "awards you each a Shell. The Oyster +will cover the costs." + + + +The Young Mouse, the Cock, and the Cat + +A young Mouse, on his return to his hole after leaving it for the first +time, thus recounted his adventures to his mother: "Mother," said he, +"quitting this narrow place where you have brought me up, I was +rambling about to-day like a Young Mouse of spirit, who wished to see +and to be seen, when two such notable creatures came in my way! One +was so gracious, so gentle and benign; the other, who was just as noisy +and forbidding, had on his head and under his chin pieces of raw meat, +which shook at every step he took; and then, all at once, beating his +sides with the utmost fury, he uttered such a harsh and piercing cry +that I fled in terror; and this, too, just as I was about to introduce +myself to the other stranger, who was covered with fur like our own, +only richer looking and much more beautiful, and who seemed so modest +and benevolent that it did my heart good to look at her." + +"Ah, my son," replied the Old Mouse, "learn while you live to distrust +appearances. The first strange creature was nothing but a Fowl, that +will ere long be killed, and, when put on a dish in the pantry, we may +make a delicious supper of his bones, while the other was a nasty, sly, +and bloodthirsty hypocrite of a Cat, to whom no food is so welcome as a +young and juicy Mouse like yourself." + + + +The Wolf and the Mastiff + +A Wolf, who was almost skin and bone, so well did the Dogs of the +neighbourhood keep guard over their masters' property, met, one +moonshiny night, a sleek Mastiff, who was, moreover, as strong as he +was fat. The Wolf would gladly have supped off him, but saw that there +would first be a great fight, for which, in his condition, he was not +prepared; so, bidding the Dog good-evening very humbly, he praised his +prosperous looks. + +"It would be easy for you," replied the Mastiff, "to get as fat as I am +if you liked. Quit this forest, where you and your fellows live so +wretchedly, and often die with hunger. Follow me, and you will fare +much better.' + +"What shall I have to do?" asked the Wolf. + +"Almost nothing," answered the Dog; "only chase away the beggars and +fawn upon the folks of the house. You will, in return, be paid with +all sorts of nice things--bones of fowls and pigeons--to say nothing of +many a friendly pat on the head." + +The Wolf, at the picture of so much comfort, nearly shed tears of joy. +They trotted off together, but, as they went along, the Wolf noticed a +bare spot on the Dog's neck. + +"What is that mark?" said he. "Oh, nothing," said the Dog. + +"How nothing?" urged the Wolf. "Oh, the merest trifle," answered the +Dog; "the collar which I wear when I am tied up is the cause of it." + +"Tied up!" exclaimed the Wolf, with a sudden stop; "tied up? Can you +not always run where you please, then?" + +"Well, not quite always," said the Mastiff; "but what can that matter?" + +"It matters so much to me," rejoined the Wolf, "that your lot shall not +be mine at any price"; and, leaping away, he ran once more to his +native forest. + + + +The Tail of the Serpent + +The Tail of a Serpent once rebelled against the Head, and said that it +was a great shame that one end of any animal should always have its +way, and drag the other after it, whether it was willing or no. It was +in vain that the Head urged that the Tail had neither brains nor eyes, +and that it was in no way made to lead. + +Wearied by the Tail's importunity, the Head one day let him have his +will. The Serpent now went backward for a long time quite gayly, until +he came to the edge of a high cliff, over which both Head and Tail went +flying, and came with a heavy thump on the shore beneath. + +The Head, it may be supposed, was never again troubled by the Tail with +a word about leading. + + + +The Falcon and the Capon + +A Capon, who had strong reasons for thinking that the time of his +sacrifice was near at hand, carefully avoided coming into close +quarters with any of the farm servants or domestics of the estate on +which he lived. A glimpse that he had once caught of the kitchen, with +its blazing fire, and the head cook, like an executioner, with a +formidable knife chopping off the heads of some of his companions, had +been sufficient to keep him ever after in dread. + +Hence, one day when he was wanted for roasting, all calling, clucking, +and coaxing of the cook's assistants were in vain. + +"How deaf and dull you must be," said a Falcon to the Capon, "not to +hear when you are called, or to see when you are wanted! You should +take pattern by me. I never let my master call me twice." + +"Ah," answered the Capon, "if Falcons were called like Capons, to be +run upon a spit and set before the kitchen fire, they would be just as +slow to come and just as hard of hearing as I am now." + + + +The Crow and the Pitcher + +A Crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a Pitcher, hoping to +find some water in it. + +He found some there, to be sure, but only a little drop at the bottom +which he was quite unable to reach. + +He then tried to overturn the Pitcher, but it was too heavy. So he +gathered up some pebbles, with which the ground near was covered and, +taking them one by one in his beak, dropped them into the Pitcher. + +By this means the water gradually reached the top, and he was enabled +to drink at his ease. + + + +The Eagle and the Owl + +The Eagle and the Owl, after many quarrels, swore that they would be +fast friends forever, and that they would never harm each other's +children. + +"But do you know my little ones?" said the Owl. "If you do not, I fear +it will go hard with them when you find them." + +"Nay, then, I do not," replied the Eagle. + +"The greater your loss," said the Owl; "They are the sweetest prettiest +things in the world. Such bright eyes! such charming plumage! such +winning little ways! You'll know them now from my description." + +A short time after the Eagle found the owlets in a hollow tree. + +"These hideous little staring frights, at any rate, cannot be neighbour +Owl's delicious pets," said the Eagle; "so I may make away with them +without the least misgiving." + +The Owl, finding her young ones gone, loaded the Eagle with reproaches. + +"Nay," answered the Eagle, "blame yourself rather than me. If you +paint with such flattering colours, it is not my fault if I do not +recognize your portraits." + + + +The Buffoon and the Countryman + +On the occasion of some festivities that were given by a Roman +nobleman, a Merry-Andrew of a fellow caused much laughter by his tricks +upon the stage, and, more than all, by his imitation of the squeaking +of a Pig, which seemed to the hearers so real that they called for it +again and again. + +A Countryman, however, in the audience, thought the imitation was not +perfect; and he made his way to the stage and said that, if he were +permitted, he to-morrow would enter the lists and squeak against the +Merry-Andrew for a wager. + +The mob, anticipating great fun, shouted their consent, and +accordingly, when the next day came, the two rival jokers were in their +places. + +The hero of the previous day went first, and the hearers, more pleased +than ever, fairly roared with delight. + +Then came the turn of the Countryman, who having a Pig carefully +concealed under his cloak, so that no one would have suspected its +existence, vigorously pinched its ear with his thumbnail, and made it +squeak with a vengeance. + +"Not half as good--not half as good!" cried the audience, and many +among them even began to hiss. + +"Fine judges you!" replied the Countryman, rushing to the front of the +stage, drawing the Pig from under his cloak, and holding the animal up +on high. "Behold the performer that you condemn!" + + + +The Old Man, His Son, and the Ass + +An Old Man and his Little Boy were once driving an Ass before them to +the next market-town, where it was to be sold. + +"Have you no more wit," said a passerby, "than for you and your Son to +trudge on foot and let your Ass go light?" So the Man put his Boy on +the Ass, and they went on again. + +"You lazy young rascal!" cried the next person they met; "are you not +ashamed to ride and let your poor old Father go on foot?" The Man then +lifted off the Boy and got up himself. + +Two women passed soon after, and one said to the other, "Look at that +selfish old fellow, riding along while his little Son follows after on +foot!" The Old Man thereupon took up the Boy behind him. + +The next traveller they met asked the Old Man whether or not the Ass +was his own. Being answered that it was: "No one would think so," said +he, "from the way in which you use it. Why, you are better able to +carry the poor animal than he is to carry both of you." + +So the Old Man tied the Ass's legs to a long pole, and he and his Son +shouldered the pole and staggered along under the weight. In that +fashion they entered the town, and their appearance caused so much +laughter that the Old Man, mad with vexation at the result of his +endeavours to give satisfaction to everybody, threw the Ass into the +river and seizing his Son by the arm went his way home again. + + + +The Lion, the Bear, the Monkey, and the Fox + +The Tyrant of the Forest issued a proclamation commanding all his +subjects to repair immediately to his royal den. + +Among the rest, the Bear made his appearance, but pretending to be +offended with the odour which issued from the Monarch's apartments, be +was imprudent enough to hold his nose in his Majesty's presence. + +This insolence was so highly resented that the Lion in a rage laid him +dead at his feet. + +The Monkey, observing what had passed, trembled for his skin, and +attempted to conciliate favour by the most abject flattery. He began +with protesting that, for his part, he thought the apartments were +perfumed with Arabian spices; and, exclaiming against the rudeness of +the Bear, admired the beauty of his Majesty's paws, so happily formed, +he said, to correct the insolence of clowns. + +This adulation, instead of being received as he expected, proved no +less offensive than the rudeness of the Bear, and the courtly Monkey +was in like manner extended by the side of Sir Bruin. + +And now his Majesty cast his eye upon the Fox. + +"Well, Reynard," Said he, "and what scent do you discover here?" + +"Great Prince," replied the cautious Fox, "my nose was never esteemed +my most distinguishing sense; and at present I would by no means +venture to give my opinion, as I have unfortunately caught a terrible +cold." + + + +The Wolf and the Lamb + +A flock of Sheep was feeding in the meadow while the Dogs were asleep, +and the Shepherd at a distance playing on his pipe beneath the shade of +a spreading elm. + +A young, inexperienced Lamb, observing a half-starved Wolf peering +through the pales of the fence, began to talk with him. + +"Pray, what are you seeking for here?" said the Lamb. + +"I am looking," replied the Wolf, "for some tender grass; for nothing, +you know, is more pleasant than to feed in a fresh pasture, and to +slake one's thirst at a crystal stream, both which I perceive you enjoy +within these pales in their utmost perfection. Happy creature," +continued he, "how much I envy you who have everything which I desire, +for philosophy has long taught me to be satisfied with a little!" + +"It seems, then," returned the Lamb, "those who say you feed on flesh +accuse you falsely, since a little grass will easily content you. If +this be true, let us for the future live like brethren, and feed +together." So saying, the simple Lamb crept through the fence, and at +once became a prey to the pretended philosopher, and a sacrifice to his +own inexperience and credulity. + + + +The Chameleon + +Two Travellers happened on their journey to be engaged in a warm +dispute about the colour of the Chameleon. One of them affirmed that +it was blue and that he had seen it with his own eyes upon the naked +branch of a tree, feeding in the air on a very clear day. + +The other strongly asserted it was green, and that he had viewed it +very closely and minutely upon the broad leaf of a fig-tree. + +Both of them were positive, and the dispute was rising to a quarrel; +but a third person luckily coming by, they agreed to refer the question +to his decision. + +"Gentlemen," said the Arbitrator, with a smile of great +self-satisfaction, "you could not have been more lucky in your +reference, as I happen to have caught one of them last night; but, +indeed, you are both mistaken, for the creature is totally black." + +"Black, impossible!" cried both the disputants!" + +"Nay," quoth the Umpire, with great assurance, "the matter may be soon +decided, for I immediately inclosed my Chameleon in a little paper box, +and here it is." So saying, he drew it out of his pocket, opened his +box, and, lo! it was as white as snow. + +The Travellers looked equally surprised and equally confounded; while +the sagacious reptile, assuming the air of a philosopher, thus +admonished them: "Ye children of men, learn diffidence and moderation +in your opinions. 'Tis true, you happen in this present instance to be +all in the right, and have only considered the subject under different +circumstances, but, pray, for the future allow others to have eyesight +as well as yourselves; nor wonder if every one prefers to accept the +testimony of his own senses." + + + +The Eagle, the Jackdaw, and the Magpie + +The kingly Eagle kept his court with all the formalities of sovereign +state, and was duly attended by all his plumed subjects in their +highest feathers. + +These solemn assemblies, however, were frequently disturbed by the +impertinent conduct of two, who assumed the importance of high-fliers; +these were no other than the Jackdaw and the Magpie, who were forever +contending for precedence which neither of them would give up to the +other. + +The contest ran so high that at length they mutually agreed to appeal +to the sovereign Eagle for his decision in this momentous affair. + +The Eagle gravely answered that he did not wish to make an invidious +distinction by deciding to the advantage of either party, but would +give them a rule by which they might determine between themselves; +"for," added he, "the greater fool of the two shall in future always +take precedence, but which of you it may be, yourselves must settle." + + + +The Boy and the Filberts + +A Boy once thrust his hand into a pitcher which was full of figs and +filberts. + +He grasped as many as his fist could possibly hold, but when he tried +to draw it out the narrowness of the neck prevented him. + +Not liking to lose any of them, but unwilling to draw out his hand, he +burst into tears and bitterly bemoaned his hard fortune. + +An honest fellow who stood by gave him this wise and reasonable advice: +"Take only half as many, my boy, and you will easily get them." + + + +The Passenger and the Pilot + +In a violent storm at sea, the whole crew of a vessel was in imminent +danger of shipwreck. + +After the rolling of the waves was somewhat abated, a certain +Passenger, who had never been at sea before, observing the Pilot to +have appeared wholly unconcerned, even in their greatest danger, had +the curiosity to ask him what death his father died. + +"What death?" said the Pilot, "Why, he perished at sea, as my +grandfather did before him." + +"And are you not afraid of trusting yourself to an element that has +proved thus fatal to your family?" + +"Afraid? By no means; why, we must all die; is not your father dead?" + +"Yes, but he died in his bed." + +"And why, then, are you not afraid of trusting yourself to your bed?" + +"Because I am perfectly secure there." + +"It may be so," replied the Pilot; "but if the hand of Providence is +equally extended over all places, there is no more reason for me to be +afraid of going to sea than for you to be afraid of going to bed." + + + +The Dog and the Crocodile + +A Dog, running along the banks of the Nile, grew thirsty, but fearing +to be seized by the monsters of that river, he would not stop to +satiate his drought, but lapped as he ran. + +A Crocodile, raising his head above the surface of the water, asked him +why he was in such a hurry. He had often, he said, wished for his +acquaintance, and should be glad to embrace the present opportunity. + +"You do me great honour," said the Dog, "but it is to avoid such +companions as you that I am in so much haste!" + + + +A Matter of Arbitration + +Two Cats, having stolen some cheese, could not agree about dividing the +prize. In order, therefore, to settle the dispute, they consented to +refer the matter to a Monkey. + +The proposed Arbitrator very readily accepted the office, and, +producing a balance, put a part into each scale. "Let me see," said +he, "aye--this lump outweighs the other"; and immediately bit off a +considerable piece in order to reduce it, he observed, to an +equilibrium. The opposite scale was now heavier, which afforded our +conscientious judge a reason for a second mouthful. + +"Hold, hold," said the two Cats, who began to be alarmed for the event, +"give us our shares and we are satisfied." "If you are satisfied," +returned the Monkey, "justice is not; a cause of this intricate nature +is by no means so soon determined." Upon which he continued to nibble +first one piece then the other, till the poor Cats, seeing their cheese +rapidly diminishing, entreated to give himself no further trouble, but +to deliver to them what remained. + +"Not so fast, I beseech ye, friends," replied the Monkey; "we owe +justice to ourselves as well as to you. What remains is due to me in +right of my office." + +Thus saying, he crammed the whole into his mouth, and with great +gravity dismissed the court. + + + +The Crow and the Mussel + +A Crow having found a Mussel on the seashore; took it in his beak and +tried for a long time to break the shell by hammering it upon a stone. + +Another Crow--a sly old fellow--came and watched him for some time in +silence. + +"Friend," said he at last, "you'll never break it in that way. Listen +to me. This is the way to do it: Fly up as high as you can, and let +the tiresome thing fall upon a rock. It will be smashed then sure +enough, and you can eat it at your leisure." + +The simple-minded and unsuspecting Crow did as he was told, flew up and +let the Mussel fall. + +Before he could descend to eat it, however, the other bird had pounced +upon it and carried it away. + + + +The Ass and His Purchaser + +A Man wished to purchase an Ass, and agreed with his owner that he +should try him before he bought him. He took the Ass home, and put him +in the straw-yard with his other asses, upon which the beast left all +the others and joined himself at once to the most idle and the greatest +eater of them all. + +The Man put a halter on him, and led him back to his owner: and when he +was asked how, in so short a time, he could have made a trial of him, +"I do not need," he answered, "a trial; I know that he will be just +such another as the one whom of all the rest he chose for his +companion." + + + +A Country Fellow and the River + +A stupid Boy, who was sent to market by the good old woman, his Mother, +to sell butter and cheese, made a stop by the way at a swift river, and +laid himself down on the bank there, until it should run out. + +About midnight, home he went to his Mother, with all his market trade +back again. + +"Why, how now, my Son?" said she. "What ill fortune have you had, that +you have sold nothing all day?" + +"Why, Mother, yonder is a river that has been running all this day, and +I stayed till just now, waiting for it to run out; and there it is, +running still." + +"My Son," said the good woman, "thy head and mine will be laid in the +grave many a day before this river has all run by. You will never sell +your butter and cheese if you wait for that." + + + +The Playful Ass + +An Ass climbed up to the roof of a building and, frisking about there, +broke in the tiling. His Master went up after him, and quickly drove +him down, beating him severely with a thick wooden cudgel. + +The Ass then cried out in astonishment, "Why, I saw the monkey do this +very thing yesterday, and you all laughed heartily, as if it afforded +you great amusement!" + + + +The Boys and the Frogs + +Some idle boys, playing near a pond, saw a number of Frogs in the +water, and began to pelt them with stones. They had killed several of +them, when one of the Frogs, lifting his head out of the water, cried +out: "Pray stop, my Boys: you forget that what is sport to you is death +to us!" + + + +The Camel and His Master + +One night a Camel looked into the tent where his Master was lying and +said: "Kind Master, will you not let me put my head inside of the door? +The wind blows very cold to-night." + +"Oh, yes," said the Man. "There is plenty of room." + +So the Camel moved forward and stretched his head into the tent. "Ah!" +he said, "this is what I call comfort." + +In a little while he called to his Master again. "Now if I could only +warm my neck also," he said. + +"Then put your neck inside," said his Master, kindly. "You will not be +in my way." + +The Camel did so, and for a time was very well contented. Then, +looking around, he said: "If I could only put my forelegs inside I +should feel a great deal better." + +His Master moved a little and said: "You may put your forelegs and +shoulders inside, for I know that the wind blows cold to-night." + +The Camel had hardly planted his forefeet within the tent when he spoke +again: + +"Master," he said, "I keep the tent open by standing here. I think I +ought to go wholly within." + +"Yes, come in," said the Man. "There is hardly room for us both, but I +do not want to keep you out in the cold." + +So the Camel crowded into the tent, but he was no sooner inside than he +said: "You were right when you said that there was hardly room for us +both. I think it would be better for you to stand outside and so give +me a chance to turn around and lie down." + +Then, without more ado, he rudely pushed the Man out at the door, and +took the whole tent for himself. + + + +The Flies and the Honey-pot + +A jar of Honey having been upset in a housekeeper's room, a number of +Flies were attracted by its sweetness, and placing their feet in it ate +it greedily. + +Their feet, however, became so smeared with the Honey that they could +not use their wings, nor release themselves, and so were suffocated. + +Just as they were expiring, they exclaimed, "O foolish creatures that +we are; for the sake of a little pleasure we have destroyed ourselves!" + + + +The Spectacles + +Jupiter, one day, enjoying himself over a bowl of nectar, and in a +merry humour, determined to make mankind a present. + +Momus was appointed to convey it, who, mounted on a rapid car, was +presently on earth. "Come hither," said he, "ye happy mortals; great +Jupiter has opened for your benefit his all-gracious hands. 'Tis true +he made you somewhat short-sighted, but, to remedy that inconvenience, +behold now he has favoured you!" + +So saying, he opened his portmanteau, when an infinite number of +spectacles tumbled out, and were picked up by the crowd with all the +eagerness imaginable. There were enough for all, for every man had his +pair. + +But it was soon found that these spectacles did not represent objects +to all mankind alike; for one pair was purple, another blue; one was +white and another black; some of the glasses were red, some green, and +some yellow. In short, there were all manner of colours, and every +shade of colour. However, notwithstanding this diversity, every man +was charmed with his own, as believing it the best, and enjoyed in +opinion all the satisfaction of truth. + + + +The Bear and the Fowls + +A Bear, who was bred in the savage desert, wished to see the world, and +he travelled from forest to forest, and from one kingdom to another, +making many profound observations on his way. + +One day he came by accident into a farmer's yard, where he saw a number +of Fowls standing to drink by the side of a pool. Observing that after +every sip they turned up their heads toward the sky, he could not +forbear inquiring the reason of so peculiar a ceremony. + +They told him that it was by way of returning thanks to Heaven for the +benefits they received; and was indeed an ancient and religious custom, +which they could not, with a safe conscience, or without impiety, omit. + +Here the Bear burst into a fit of laughter, at once mimicking their +gestures, and ridiculing their superstition, in a most contemptuous +manner. + +On this the Cock, with a spirit suitable to the boldness of his +character, addressed him in the following words: "As you are a +stranger, sir, you may perhaps be excused for the indecency of your +behaviour; yet give me leave to tell you that none but a Bear would +ridicule any religious ceremonies in the presence of those who believe +them of importance." + + + + +THE FABLES OF BIDPAI + + "In English now they teach us wit. In English now they say: + Ye men, come learn of beasts to live, to rule and to obey, + To guide you wisely in the world, to know to shun deceit, + To fly the crooked paths of guile, to keep your doings straight." + + SIR THOMAS NORTH + + +THE FABLES OF BIDPAI + + +The Snake and the Sparrows + +It is related that two Sparrows once made their nest in the roof of a +house; and, contenting themselves with a single grain, so lived. Once +on a time they had young ones, and both the mother and father used to +go out in search of food for their support; and what they procured they +made up into grains and dropped into their crops. + +One day, the male Sparrow had gone out somewhere. When he came back he +beheld the female Sparrow fluttering in the greatest distress around +the nest, while she uttered piteous cries. He exclaimed, "Sweet +friend! what movements are these which I behold in thee?" She replied, +"How shall I not lament, since, when I returned after a moment's +absence, I saw a huge Snake come and prepare to devour my offspring, +though I poured forth piteous cries. It was all in vain, for the Snake +said, 'Thy sigh will have no effect on my dark-mirrored scales.' I +replied, 'Dread this, that I and the father of these children will gird +up the waist of vengeance, and will exert ourselves to the utmost for +thy destruction.' The Snake laughed on hearing me, and that cruel +oppressor has devoured my young and has also taken his rest in the +nest." + +When the male Sparrow heard this story, his frame was wrung with +anguish; and the fire of regret for the loss of his offspring fell on +his soul. At that moment the master of the house was engaged in +lighting his lamp; and holding in his hand a match, dipped in grease +and lighted, was about to put it into the lamp-holder. The Sparrow +flew and snatched the match from his hand and threw it into the nest. +The master of the house, through fear that the fire would catch to the +roof, and that the consequences would be most pernicious, immediately +ran up on the terrace and began clearing away the nest from beneath, in +order to put out the fire. The Snake beheld in front the danger of the +fire, and heard above the sound of the pickaxe. It put out its head +from a hole which it had near the roof, and no sooner did it do so than +it received a blow of death from the pickaxe. + +And the moral of this fable is, that the Snake despised its enemy, and +made no account of him, until in the end that enemy pounded his head +with the stone of vengeance. + + + +The Geese and the Tortoise + +It is related that in a pool whose pure water reflected every image +like a clear mirror, once resided two Geese and a Tortoise, and in +consequence of their being neighbours, the thread of their +circumstances had been drawn out into sincere friendship, and they +passed their lives contentedly. + +In that water which was the source of their life and the support of +their existence, however, a complete failure began to manifest itself, +and a glaring alteration became evident. When the Geese perceived that +state of things they withdrew their hearts from the home to which they +were accustomed and determined on emigrating. Therefore with hearts +full of sorrow and eyes full of tears, they approached the Tortoise, +and introduced the subject of parting. + +The Tortoise wept at the intelligence and piteously exclaimed, "What +words are these, and how can existence be supported without +sympathizing friends? And since that I have not power even to take +leave, how can I endure the load of separation?" + +The Geese replied: "Our hearts, too, are wounded by the sharp points of +absence, but the distress of being without water is impossible to +endure, and therefore of necessity we are about to forsake our friend +and country." + +The Tortoise rejoined: "O friends! ye know that the distress of the +want of water affects me more, and that without water I cannot support +myself. At this crisis the rights of ancient companionship demand that +ye should take me with you, and not leave me alone in the sorrowful +abode of separation." + +The Geese answered: "O esteemed comrade! the pang of parting from thee +is sharper than that of exile, and wherever we go, though we should +pass our time in the utmost comfort, yet, deprived of seeing thee, the +eye of our rejoicing would be darkened; but for us to proceed on the +earth's surface and so to traverse a great and long distance is +impossible, and for thee, too, to fly through the expanse of air and +accompany us is impracticable; and such being the case, how can we +travel together?" + +The Tortoise answered: "Your sagacity will be able to devise a remedy +for this matter, and what plan can develop while my spirit is broken by +the thought of parting?" + +The Geese replied: "O friend! during this period of our friendship we +have observed in thee somewhat of hastiness and rashness; perhaps thou +wilt not act upon what we say, nor keep firm to thy promise after thou +hast made it." + +The Tortoise rejoined; "How can it be that ye should speak with a view +to my advantage, and I fail to perform a compact which is for my own +good?" + +Said the Geese: "The condition is that when we take thee up and fly +through the air thou wilt not utter a single syllable, for any one who +may happen to see us will be sure to throw in a word, and say something +in reference to us directly or indirectly. Now, how many soever +allusions thou mayest hear, or whatever manoeuvres thou mayest observe, +thou must close the path of reply, and not loose thy tongue." + +The Tortoise answered: "I am obedient to your commands, and I will +positively place the seal of silence on my lips, so that I shall not be +even disposed to answer any creature." + +The Geese then brought a stick, and the Tortoise laid hold of the +middle of it firmly with his teeth, and they, lifting the two ends of +the stick, bore him up. When they got to a height in the air, they +happened to pass over a village, and the inhabitants thereof having +discovered them, were astonished at their proceedings, and came out to +look at the sight, and raised a shout from left and right, "Look! how +two geese are carrying a tortoise!" + +And as in those days the like of it had never been witnessed by that +people, their cries and exclamations increased every moment. The +Tortoise was silent for a time, but at length the cauldron of his +self-esteem began to boil, and his patience being exhausted, he +exclaimed: "You who are shouting to others to look at what is plain +enough to every one, hold your peace!" No sooner had he opened his +lips, however, than he fell from on high, and the Geese exclaimed, "It +is the part of friends to give advice and of the well-disposed to +listen to it." + +And the moral of this story is, that whoever listens not to the +admonition of friends, with the hearing of acceptance, will have +hastened his own destruction. + + + +The Sagacious Snake + +It is related that the infirmities of age had taken effect upon a Snake +and through loss of strength he was unable to pursue his prey, and was +bewildered in his proceedings how to obtain food. Life was impossible +without food, and to hunt for it, had, through his weakness, become +impracticable. Accordingly he thus reflected: + +"Alas! for the strength of my youth; and now to expect its return and +to hope for the recurrence of my animal vigour is a thing of the same +complexion as to light a fire from water." He felt that what was +passed could not be recalled, and he therefore busied himself with +taking thought for the future, and said: "In lieu of the strength of +youth I have a little experience which I have acquired, and a trifle of +prudence. I must now base my proceedings on abstaining from injuring +others and must begin to consider how I may obtain, for the remainder +of my life, what may be the means of support." + +He then went to the brink of a spring of water in which there were a +number of frogs who had a potent King and one who was obeyed and +renowned. The Snake cast himself down there in the dust of the road, +like to a sufferer on whom calamity has fallen. A Frog speedily made +up to him, and asked him: "I see thou art very sorrowful. What is the +cause of it?" The Snake replied: "Who deserves more to grieve than I, +whose maintenance was from hunting frogs? Today an event has occurred +which has rendered the pursuit of them unlawful to me, and if I +seriously designed to seize one, I could not." The Frog went away and +told the King, who was amazed at this strange circumstance, and coming +to the Snake, asked him: "What is the cause of this accident that has +befallen thee and what act has brought down this upon thee?" + +The Snake replied: "O King, greed plunged me into calamity, and this +befell as follows: One day I attempted to seize a Frog, which fled from +me and took refuge in the house of a holy man. My appetite led me to +follow him into the house, which happened to be dark. The son of the +holy man lay there asleep, and his great toe coming against me I +fancied it was the Frog. From the ardour of my greediness I closed my +teeth upon it, and the child died on the spot. The holy man discovered +the fact, and from regret for his son, attacked me, and I, turning +toward the open country, fled with speed, and the recluse pursued me +and cursed me, and said: 'I desire of my Creator that He will make thee +base and powerless, and cause thee to be the vehicle of the Frog-king. +And, verily, thou shalt not have power to eat Frogs, save what their +King shall bestow on thee as alms.' And now, of necessity, I have come +hither that the King may ride upon me, and I have acquiesced in the +will of God." + +The matter pleased the King of the Frogs, and he thought that it would +redound to his advantage; and he at once seated himself upon the Snake, +and indulged in vainglorious airs in consequence. + +Some time passed in this way. At last the Snake said: "May the life of +the King be prolonged! I cannot do without food and sustenance, that I +may support life thereon and fulfil this service." The King said: "The +case is as thou sayest; I cannot do without my steed, and my steed +cannot have strength without food." He then fixed two Frogs as his +daily allowance, that he might use as his regular supply for breakfast +and dinner. The Snake maintained himself on that allowance; and +inasmuch as the attention he paid to the Frog-king involved a benefit +to himself he did not find fault with it. + +And this story is adduced to make it apparent that courtesy and +humility are readier means to uproot an enemy than war and contest. + + + +The Old Woman's Cat + +In former times there lived an old woman in a state of extreme +debility. She possessed a cot more narrow than the heart of the +ignorant and darker than the miser's grave; and a Cat was her +companion, which had never seen, even in the mirror of imagination, the +face of a loaf, nor had heard from friend or stranger the name of meat. +It was content if occasionally it smelt the odour of a mouse from its +hole, or saw the print of the foot of one on the surface of a board, +and if, on some rare occasion, by the aid of good fortune one fell into +its claws, it subsisted a whole week, more or less, on that amount of +food. + +And, inasmuch as the house of the old woman was the famine-year of that +Cat, it was always miserable and thin, and from a distance appeared +like an idea. + +One day, through excessive weakness, it had, with the utmost +difficulty, mounted on the top of the roof; thence it beheld a Cat +which walked proudly on the wall of a neighbouring house, and after the +fashion of a destroying lion advanced with measured steps, and from +excessive fat lifted its feet slowly. When the Cat of the old woman +saw this, it was astonished and cried out, saying: "Thou, whose state +is thus pleasant, whence art thou? and since it appears that thou +comest from the banquet-chamber of the Khan of Khata, whence is this +sleekness of thine, and from what cause this thy grandeur and strength?" + +The Neighbour-Cat replied: "I am the crumb-eater of the tray of the +Sultan. Every morning I attend on the court of the king, and when they +spread the tray of invitation, I display boldness and daring, and in +general I snatch off some morsels of fat meats, and of loaves made of +the finest flour; and thus I pass my time happy and satisfied till the +next day." + +The Cat of the old woman inquired: "What sort of a thing may fat meat +be? and what kind of relish has bread, made of fine flour? I, during +my whole life, have never seen nor tasted aught save the old woman's +broths, and mouse's flesh." + +The Neighbour-Cat laughed, and said: "Therefore it is that one cannot +distinguish thee from a spider, and this form and appearance that thou +hast is a reproach to our whole race. If thou shouldst see the court +of the Sultan and smell the odour of those delicious viands, thou +wouldst acquire a fresh form." + +The Cat of the old woman, said, most beseechingly, "O brother! thou art +bound to me by neighbourship and kinship; why not this time, when thou +goest, take me with thee? Perchance, by thy good fortune, I may obtain +food." + +The heart of the Neighbour-Cat melted at the speaker's lamentable +position, and he resolved that he would not attend the feast without +him. The Cat of the old woman felt new life at these tidings, and +descending from the roof stated the case to his mistress. The old dame +began to advise the Cat, saying: "O kind companion, be not deceived by +the words of worldly people and abandon not the corner of content, for +the vessel of covetousness is not filled save with the dust of the +grave." But the Cat had taken into its head such a longing for the +delicacies of the Sultan's table that the medicine of advice was not +profitable to it. + +In short, the next day, along with its neighbour, the old woman's Cat, +with tottering steps conveyed itself to court, but before it could +arrive there ill-fortune had poured the water of disappointment on the +fire of its wish, and the reason was as follows: + +The day before, the cats had made a general onslaught on the table, and +raised an uproar beyond bounds, and annoyed, to the last degree, the +guests and their host. Wherefore, on this day, the Sultan had +commanded that a band of archers, standing in ambush, should watch, so +that for every cat who, holding before its face the buckler of +impudence should enter the plain of audacity, the very first morsel +that it ate should be a liver-piercing shaft. + +The old woman's Cat, ignorant of this circumstance, as soon as it smelt +the odour of the viands, turned its face like a falcon to the +hunting-ground of the table, and the scale of the balance of appetite +had not yet been weighted by heavy mouthfuls, when the heart-piercing +arrow quivered in its breast. + + Dear friend! the honey pays not for the sting, + Content with syrup is a better thing. + + + +The Young Tiger + +In the environs of Basrah there was an island of excessively pleasant +climate, where limpid waters flowed on every side and life-bestowing +zephyrs breathed around. + +From its excessive exquisiteness they called it the "Joy-expanding +Wilderness," and a Tiger bore sway there, such that from dread of him +fierce lions could not set foot in that retreat. + +He had lived much time in that wild, according to his wish, and had +never seen the form of disappointment in the mirror of existence. He +had a young one whose countenance made the world seem bright to him, +and his intention was that when that young one came to years he would +commit that solitude to his charge, and pass the rest of his life at +ease in the corner of retirement. The blossom of his wish had not yet +expanded on the stem of desire when the autumn of death gave the fruit +of the garden of his existence to the mind of destruction. + +And when this Tiger was seized by the claw of the Lion, Death, several +wild beasts who for a long time entertained a desire for that +wilderness made a unanimous movement and set about appropriating it. +The young Tiger saw that he possessed not the strength to resist. He +went voluntarily into exile, and amongst the wild beasts a huge contest +arose. A blood-spilling Lion overcame all the others and brought the +island into his own possession, and the young Tiger, having for some +time endured distress in the mountains and wastes, conveyed himself to +another haunt, and disclosed his affliction to the wild beasts of that +district, asking their aid to find a remedy. + +They, having received intelligence of the victory of the Lion, and his +overpowering might, said: "O unfortunate! thy place is now in the +possession of a Lion such that from terror of him the wild birds will +not fly over that wilderness, and from fear of him the elephant will +not approach. We have not strength to fight with him and thou too art +not able to enter with him the arena of strife. Our opinion demands +that thou shouldst betake thyself to his court, and with perfect +loyalty enter his service." + +These words seemed reasonable to the young Tiger, and he looked upon +his best course to be this--that he should voluntarily enter the +service of the Lion, and, to the extent of his ability, offer the +duties of attendance. Through the intervention of one of the nobles he +obtained the honour of waiting on the Lion, and, having become the +object of the imperial regard, was appointed to an office suited to his +spirit. Having tightly fastened the belt of obedience on the waist of +affection the royal favour was constantly augmented and he incessantly +displayed increased exertion in the affairs of the state. + +Upon a certain time an important matter arose which called the Lion +away to a distant jungle; and at that time the heat of the oven of the +sky was unmitigated, and the expanse of waste and mountain like a +furnace of glass fiercely inflamed. From the excessive heat of the +air, the brains of animals were boiled in their craniums, and the crabs +in the water were fried like fish in the frying-pan. + +The Lion reflected: "At such a time, when the shell at the bottom of +the deep, like a fowl on a spit, is roasting, an affair of this +importance has occurred. Who may there be among my attendants who +would not be affected by the labour and who, undeterred by the heat of +the atmosphere, would approach this undertaking?" + +In the midst of this reflection the Tiger came in with the line of +attendants and observed that the Lion was thoughtful. On the ground of +his tact and affection, he advanced near the throne of royalty, and was +emboldened to ask the cause of that thoughtfulness, and having learned +how the case stood, he took upon himself to accomplish the matter, and +having been honoured with permission, he set off with a body of +attendants, and, arriving at that place at noon, he betook himself to +the accomplishment of that affair, and the instant that the business +was settled to his satisfaction he changed his reins to return. + +The officers who had been appointed to attend him unanimously +represented as follows: "In such heat as this, all this distance has +been traversed by the steps of completion, and now that the affair has +been settled and the confidence placed in you by his majesty been +demonstrated, it will certainly be advisable if you should repose a +short time in the shade of a tree and allay the fiery tongue of thirst +by drinking cool water." + +The Tiger smiled and said: "My intimacy and rank with his majesty the +king is a banner that I have by toil and effort set up. It would not +be well to level it with the ground by indulgence and sloth. Without +supporting trouble it is impossible to arrive at the carrying off of +treasure, and unaccompanied by the thorn we cannot reap the enjoyment +of the rose garden." + +The informers furnished intelligence of this to the Lion, and recited +the book of the affair, from preface to conclusion. The Lion nodded +the head of approval, and said: "The people may be at peace in the just +reign of that ruler who does not place his head on the pillow of +repose." He then sent for the Tiger, and having distinguished him with +special honours, committed that jungle to him, and, having bestowed on +him the place of his sire, conferred on him, in addition, the dignity +of being his heir. + +And the use of this fable is, that thou mayest learn that to no one +does the sun of his wish rise from the eastern quarter of hope without +the diligent use of great exertion. + + + +The Fox and the Drum + +It is related that a Fox was once prowling over a moor, and was roaming +in every direction in hope of scenting food. Presently he came to the +foot of a tree, at the side of which they had suspended a drum, and +whenever a gust of wind came, a branch of the tree was put in motion, +and struck the surface of the drum, when a terrible noise arose from it. + +The Fox, seeing a domestic fowl under the tree, who was pecking the +ground with her beak, and searching for food, planted himself in +ambush, and wished to make her his prey, when all of a sudden the sound +of a drum reached his ear. He looked and saw a very fat form, and a +prodigious sound from it reached his hearing. The appetite of the Fox +was excited, and he thought to himself, "Assuredly its flesh and skin +will be proportioned to its voice." + +He issued from his lurking-place and turned toward the tree. The fowl +being put on its guard by that circumstance, fled, and the Fox, by a +hundred exertions, ascended the tree. Much did he labour till he had +torn the drum, and then he found nought save a skin and a piece of +wood. The fire of regret descended into his heart, and the water of +contrition began to run from his eyes, and he said: "Alas! that by +reason of this huge bulk which is all wind, that lawful prey has +escaped from my hand, and from this empty form no advantage has +resulted to me." + + Loudly ever sounds the labour, + But in vain--within is nought: + Art thou wise, for substance labour, + Semblance will avail thee nought. + + + +The Sparrows and the Falcon + +Two Sparrows once fixed their nest on the branch of a tree; and of +worldly gear, water and grain sufficed them; while on the summit of a +mountain, beneath which that tree lay, a Falcon had its abode, which, +at the time of stooping on its quarry, issued from its lurking-place +like lightning, and, like heaven's bolt, clean consumed the feebler +birds. + +Whenever the Sparrows produced young, and the time was near at hand for +them to fly, that Falcon, rushing forth from its ambush, used to carry +them off and make them food for its own young. Now, to those +Sparrows--in accordance with the saying, "The law of home is a part of +faith"--to migrate from that place was impossible, and yet from the +cruelty of the tyrannous Hawk it was difficult to reside there. + +On one occasion their young ones, having gained strength and put forth +feathers and wings, were able to move; and the father and mother, +pleased with the sight of their offspring, testified their joy at their +attempt to fly. + +Suddenly the thought of the Falcon passed through their minds, and, all +at once, they began to lament from anxiety. + +One of their children--in whose countenance the signs of ripe +discretion were visible--having inquired the reason of their +despondency, they recounted the history of the Falcon's oppression and +of its carrying off their young, with all the particulars. + +The son said; "The Causer of Causes has sent a cure for every sorrow. +It is probable that if ye exert yourselves in repelling this misfortune +both this calamity will be averted from our heads and this burden +removed from your hearts." + +These words pleased the Sparrows; and while one of them stopped to +attend the young ones, the other flew forth in search of relief. He +resolved in his mind on the way that he would tell his story to +whatsoever animal his eyes first fell upon, and ask a remedy for his +heart's distress from it. + +It happened that a Salamander, having come forth from a mine of fire, +was wandering in the spreading plain of the desert. When the glance of +the Sparrow lighted upon him, and that strange form came into his view, +he said to himself: "I have fallen upon good! Come on, I will disclose +the grief of my heart to this marvellous bird; perhaps he may undo the +knot of my affairs and may show me the way to a remedy." Then with the +utmost respect, he advanced to the Salamander, and after the usual +salutation, paid the compliment of offering service. The Salamander, +too, in a kind tone, expressed the courtesy required toward travellers +and said: "The traces of weariness are discernible in thy countenance. +If this arises from journeying, be pleased to halt some days in this +neighbourhood; and if the case be aught else, explain it, that, to the +extent of my power, I may exert myself to remedy it." + +The Sparrow loosed his tongue, and represented to the Salamander his +piteous condition, after a fashion, that, had he told it to a rock, it +would have been rent in pieces by his distress. + +After hearing his tale, the Salamander, too, felt the fire of +compassion kindled, and he said; "Grieve not! for I will this night +take such measures as to consume the Falcon's abode and nest and all +that therein is. Do thou point out to me thy dwelling, and go to thy +offspring until the time I come to thee." + +The Sparrow indicated his dwelling in such a way as not to leave a +doubt in the mind of the Salamander; and with a glad heart turned +toward his own nest. When the night came on, the Salamander, with a +number of its own kind, each carrying a quantity of naphtha and +brimstone, set off in the direction of the spot, and under the guidance +of that Sparrow conveyed themselves to the vicinity of the Falcon's +nest. + +The latter, unaware of the impending misfortune, had, with its young, +eaten plentifully and fallen asleep. The Salamanders cast upon their +nest all the naphtha and brimstone that they had brought with them and +turned back and the blast of justice fell upon those oppressors. They +rose up from the sleep of negligence and all of them, with their abode +and nest, were at once consumed to ashes. + +And this instance is given that thou mayest know that every one who +labours to repel an enemy, though he be small and weak, and his foe +great and strong, may yet hope for victory and triumph. + + + +The Hermit, the Thief, and the Demon + +It is related that a Hermit of pure disposition, abstemious and +virtuous, had made his cell in one of the environs of Baghdad, and +passed his morning and evening hours in the worship of the All-wise +King, and by these means had shaken his skirt clear from the dust of +worldly affairs. He had bowed his head in the corner of contentment +under the collar of freedom from care, and rested satisfied with the +portion that was supplied to him from the invisible world. + +One of his sincere disciples got knowledge of the poverty and fastings +of the Holy Man, and by way of offering, brought to the hermitage a she +buffalo, young and fat, with whose delicious milk the palate of desire +was oiled and sweetened. + +A thief beheld the circumstance, and his hungry appetite was excited; +and he set off for the cell of the recluse. A demon, too, joined him +in the likeness of a man. The thief asked him: "Who art thou, and +whither goest thou?" He replied: "I am a demon, who have assumed this +shape, and, putting on this guise, am going to the hermitage of the +recluse, for many of the people of this country, through the blessing +of his instruction, have begun to repent and to be converted and the +market of our temptations has become flat. I wish to get an +opportunity and kill him. This is my story which thou hast heard; now, +tell me, who art thou and what is thy story?" The thief replied: + +"I am a man whose trade is roguery, and I am occupied night and day +with thinking how to steal some one's goods and impose the scar of +affliction on his heart. I am now going, as the recluse has got a fat +buffalo, to steal it and use it for my own wants." The demon said; + +"Praise be to God that the bond of kinship is strong between us, and +this alone is sufficient to ally us, since the object of both is to +assail him." + +They then proceeded on their way, and at night reached the cell of the +recluse. The latter had finished the performance of his daily worship, +and had gone to sleep, just as he was, on his prayer-carpet. The thief +bethought himself, that if the demon attempted to kill him he would +probably awake and make an outcry; and the other people who were his +neighbours, would be alarmed, and in that case it would be impossible +to steal the buffalo. The demon, too, reflected that if the thief +carried off the buffalo from the house, he must of course open the +door. Then the noise of the door would very likely awaken the recluse, +and he should have to postpone killing him. He then said to the thief: +"Do thou wait and give me time to kill the hermit, and then do thou +steal the buffalo." The thief rejoined: "Stop thou till I steal the +buffalo, and then kill the hermit." + +This difference was prolonged between them, and at last the words of +both came to wrangling. The thief was so annoyed that he called out to +the recluse: "There is a demon here who wants to kill thee." The +demon, too, shouted: "Here is a thief, who wants to steal thy buffalo." + +The hermit was roused by the uproar, and raised a cry, whereupon the +neighbours came, and both the thief and the demon ran way; and the life +and property of the Holy Man remained safe and secure through the +quarrel of his enemies. + + When the two hostile armies fall to strife, + Then from its sheath what need to draw the knife? + + + +The King and the Hawk + +It is related that in ancient times there was a King fond of hunting. +He was ever giving reins to the courser of his desire in the pursuit of +game, and was always casting the lasso of gladness over the neck of +sport. Now this King had a Hawk, who at a single flight could bring +down a pebble from the peak of the Caucasus, and in terror of whose +claws the constellation Aquila kept himself in the green nest of the +sky; and the King had a prodigious fondness for this Hawk and always +cared for it with his own hands. + +It happened one day that the Monarch, holding the Hawk on his hand, had +gone to the chase. A stag leapt up before him and he galloped after it +with the utmost eagerness. But he did not succeed in coming up with +it, and became separated from his retinue and servants; and though some +of them followed him, the King rode so hotly that the morning breeze +could not have reached the dust he raised. + +Meantime the fire of his thirst was kindled, and the intense desire to +drink overcame the King. He galloped his steed in every direction in +search of water until he reached the skirt of a mountain, and beheld +that from its summit limpid water was trickling. The King drew forth a +cup which he had in his quiver, and riding under the mountain filled +the cup with that water, which fell drop by drop, and was about to take +a draught, when the Hawk made a blow with his wing, and spilled all the +water in the goblet. The King was vexed at this action, but held the +cup a second time under the rock, until it was brimful. He then raised +it to his lips again, and again the Hawk made a movement and overthrew +the cup. The King rendered impatient by thirst, dashed the Hawk on the +ground and killed it. + +Shortly after a stirrup-holder of the King came up and saw the Hawk +dead, and the Monarch athirst. He then undid a water-vessel from his +saddle-cord and washed the cup clean, and was about to give the King a +drink. The latter bade him ascend the mountain, as he had an +inclination for the pure water which trickled from the rock; and could +not wait to collect it in the cup, drop by drop. The stirrup-holder +ascended the mountain and beheld a spring giving out a drop at a time +with a hundred stintings; and a huge serpent lay dead on the margin of +the fountain; and as the heat of the sun had taken effect upon it, the +poisonous saliva mixed with the water of that mountain, and it trickled +drop by drop down the rock. + +The stirrup-holder was overcome with horror, and came down from the +mountain bewildered, and represented the state of the case, and gave +the King a cup of cold water from his ewer. The latter raised the cup +to his lips, and his eyes overflowed with tears. The attendant asked +the reason of his weeping. The King drew a sigh from his anguished +heart and relating in full the story of the Hawk and the spilling of +the water in the cup, said: "I grieve for the death of the Hawk, and +bemoan my own deed in that without inquiry I have deprived a creature, +so dear to me, of life." The attendant replied: "This Hawk protected +thee from a great peril, and has established a claim to the gratitude +of all the people of this country. It would have been better if the +King had not been precipitate in slaying it, and had quenched the fire +of wrath with the water of mildness." + +The King replied; "I repent of this unseemly action; but my repentance +is now unavailing, and the wound of this sorrow cannot be healed by any +salve"; and this story is related in order that it may be known that +many such incidents have occurred where, through the disastrous results +of precipitation, men have fallen into the whirlpool of repentance. + + + +The Mouse and the Frog + +It is related that a Mouse had taken up its abode on the brink of a +fountain and had fixed its residence at the foot of a tree. + +A Frog, too, passed his time in the water there, and sometimes came to +the margin of the pool to take the air. One day, coming to the edge of +the water, he continued uttering his voice in a heart-rending cadence +and assumed himself to be a nightingale of a thousand melodies. + +At that time the Mouse was engaged in chanting in a corner of his cell. +Directly he heard the uproarious yelling of the Frog he was astounded, +and came out with the intention of taking a look at the reciter; and +while occupied with listening to him, kept smiting his hands together +and shaking his head. These gestures, which seemed to display +approbation, pleased the Frog and he made advances toward acquaintance +with him. In short, being mutually pleased with each other, they +became inseparable companions, and used to narrate to each other +entertaining stories and tales. + +One day the Mouse said to the Frog: "I am oftentimes desirous of +disclosing to thee a secret and recounting to thee a grief which I have +at heart, and at that moment thou art abiding under the water. However +much I shout thou nearest me not, owing to the noise of the water, and +in spite of my crying to thee, the sound cannot reach thee, because of +the clamour of the other frogs. We must devise some means by which +thou mayest know when I come to the brink of the water, and thus mayest +be informed of my arrival without my shouting to thee." + +The Frog said: "Thou speakest the truth. I, too, have often pondered +uneasily, thinking, should my friend come to the brink of the water, +how shall I, at the bottom of this fountain, learn his arrival? And it +sometimes happens that I, too, come to the mouth of thy hole, and thou +hast gone out from another side, and I have to wait long. I had +intended to have touched somewhat on this subject before, but now the +arrangement of it rests with thee." + +The Mouse replied: "I have got hold of the thread of a plan, and it +appears to me the best thing to get a long string, and to fasten one +end to thy foot, and tie the other tight around my own, in order that +when I come to the water's edge and shake the string, thou mayest know +what I want; and if thou, too, art so kind as to come to the door of my +cell, I may also get information by thy jerking the string." Both +parties agreed to this, and the knot of friendship was in this manner +firmly secured, and they were also kept informed of one another's +condition. One day, the Mouse came to the water's edge to seek the +Frog, in order to renew their friendly converse. All of a sudden a +Crow, like an unforeseen calamity, flew down from the air, and +snatching up the Mouse, soared aloft, with him. The string which was +tied to the leg of the Mouse drew forth the Frog from the bottom of the +water, and, as the other leg was fastened to the Frog's leg, he was +suspended head downward in the air. The Crow flew on, holding the +Mouse in its beak, and lower still the Frog hanging head downward. +People witnessing that extraordinary sight were uttering in the road +various jokes and sarcasms: "A strange thing this, that contrary to his +wont, a crow has made a prey of a frog!" and "Never before was a frog +the prey of a crow!" + +The Frog was howling out in reply: "Now, too, a Frog is not the prey of +a Crow, but from the bad luck of associating with a Mouse, I have been +caught in this calamity, and he who associates with a different species +deserves a thousand times as much." + +And this story carries with it this beneficial advice: That no one +ought to associate with one of a different race, in order that, like +the Frog, he may not be suspended on the string of calamity. + + + +The Crow and the Partridge + +It is related that one day a Crow was flying and saw a Partridge, which +was walking gracefully on the ground with a quick step and graceful +gait that enchanted the heart of the looker-on. + +The Crow was pleased with the gait of the Partridge, and amazed at its +agility. The desire of walking in the same manner fixed itself in his +mind, and the insane longing to step proudly, after this fascinating +fashion, made its appearance. He forthwith girt his loins in +attendance on the Partridge, and abandoning sleep and food, gave +himself up to that arduous occupation, and kept continually running in +the traces of the Partridge and gazing on its progress. + +One day the Partridge said: "O crazy, black-faced one! I observe that +thou art ever hovering about me, and art always watching my motions. +What is it that thou dost want?" + +The Crow replied: "O thou of graceful manners and sweet smiling face, +know that having conceived a desire to learn thy gait, I have followed +thy steps for a long time past, and wish to acquire thy manner of +walking, in order that I may place the foot of preeminence on the head +of my fellows." + +The Partridge uttered a merry laugh, and said: "Alack! alack! My +walking gracefully is a thing implanted in me by nature, and thy style +of going is equally a natural characteristic. My going is in one way, +and thy mode of procedure is quite another. Leave off this fancy and +relinquish this idea." + +The Crow replied: "Since I have plunged into this affair, no idle +stories shall make me give it up; and until I grasp my wished-for +object, I will not turn back from this road." + +So the unfortunate Crow for a long time ran after the Partridge, and +having failed to learn his method of going, forgot his own too, and +could in nowise recover it. + + + + +FABLES FROM THE HITOPADESA + +"This work entitled Hitopadesa, or Friendly Instructor, affordeth +elegance in the Sanskrit idioms, in every part variety of language, and +inculcateth the doctrine of prudence and policy." + + +FABLES FROM THE HITOPADESA + +The Traveller and the Tiger + +A traveller, through lust of gold, being plunged into an inextricable +mire, is killed and devoured by an old tiger. + +As I was travelling on the southern road, once upon a time, I saw an +old Tiger seated upon the bank of a large river, with a bunch of kusa +grass in his paw, calling out to every one who passed: "Ho! ho! +traveller, take this golden bracelet," but every one was afraid to +approach him to receive it. At length, however, a certain wayfarer, +tempted by avarice, regarded it as an instance of good fortune; but, +said he, in this there is personal danger, in which we are not +warranted to proceed. Yet, said he, there is risk in every undertaking +for the acquisition of wealth. + +The Traveller then asked where was the bracelet; and the Tiger, having +held out his paw, showed it to him and said, "Look at it, it is a +golden bracelet." "How shall I place confidence in thee?" said the +Traveller; and the Tiger replied: "Formerly, in the days of my youth, I +was of a very wicked disposition, and as a punishment for the many men +and cattle I had murdered, my numerous children died, and I was also +deprived of my wife; so, at present, I am destitute of relations. This +being the case, I was advised, by a certain holy person, to practise +charity and other religious duties, and I am now grown extremely +devout. I perform ablutions regularly, and am charitable. Why, then, +am I not worthy of confidence?" + +"So far, you see," continued the Tiger, "I have an interest in wishing +to give away to some one this golden bracelet from off my own wrist; +and as thou appearest to be rather a poor man, I prefer giving it to +thee; according to this saying: + +"'Make choice of the poor, and bestow not thy gifts on others.' Then +go, and having purified thyself in this stream, take the golden +bracelet." + +The Traveller no sooner began to enter the river to purify himself, +than he stuck fast in the mud, and was unable to escape. The Tiger +told him he would help him out; and creeping softly toward him, the +poor man was seized, and instantly exclaimed to himself: "Alas! the +career of my heart is cut short by fate!" + +But whilst the unfortunate fellow was thus meditating, he was devoured +by the Tiger. Hence also, it is at no time proper to undertake +anything without examination. + + + +The Jackal and the Cat + +To one whose family and profession are unknown, one should not give +residence: the Jackal Jarad-gava was killed through the fault of a Cat. + +On the banks of the river Bhageerathee, and upon the mountain +Greedhra-koota, there is a large parkattee tree, in the hollow of whose +trunk there dwelt a Jackal, by name Jarad-gava, who, by some accident, +was grown blind, and for whose support the different birds who roosted +upon the branches of the same tree were wont to contribute a trifle +from their own stores, by which he existed. It so fell out, that one +day a certain Cat, by name Deerga-karna,[1] came there to prey upon the +young birds, whom perceiving, the little nestlings were greatly +terrified, and began to be very clamorous; and their cries being heard +by Jarad-gava, he asked who was coming. The Cat Deerga-karna, too, +seeing the Jackal, began to be alarmed, and said to himself: "Oh! I +shall certainly be killed, for now that I am in his sight, it will not +be in my power to escape. However, let what will be the consequence, I +will approach him." So, having thus resolved, he went up to the +Jackal, and said: "Master, I salute thee!" "Who art thou?" demanded +the Jackal. Said he, "I am a Cat." "Ah! wicked animal," cried the +Jackal, "get thee at a distance; for if thou dost not, I will put thee +to death." + +"Hear me for a moment," replied Puss, "and then determine whether I +merit either to be punished or to be killed; for what is any one, +simply by birth, to be punished or applauded? When his deeds have been +scrutinized, he may, indeed, be either praiseworthy or punishable." + +The Jackal after this desired the Cat to give some account of himself, +and he complied in the following words: "I am," said he, "in the +constant habit of performing ablutions on the side of this river; I +never eat flesh, and I lead that mode of life which is called +Brahma-Charya[2]. So, as thou art distinguished amongst those of thy +own species, noted for skill in religious matters, and as a repository +of confidence, and as the birds here are always speaking before me in +praise of thy good qualities, I am come to hear from thy mouth, who art +so old in wisdom, the duties of religion. Thou, master, art acquainted +with the customs of life; but these young birds, who are in ignorance, +would fain drive me, who am a stranger, away. The duties of a +housekeeper are thus enjoined: + +"Hospitality is commanded to be exercised, even toward an enemy, when +he cometh to thine house. The tree doth not withdraw its shade, even +from the wood-cutter. + +"And again: + +"Some straw, a room, water, and in the fourth place, gentle words. +These things are never to be refused in good men's houses." + +To all this the Jackal replied: "Cats have a taste for animal food, and +above is the residence of the young birds: it is on this account I +speak to thee." + +The Cat, having touched his two ears, and then the ground, exclaimed: +"I, who have read books upon the duties of religion, and am freed from +inordinate desires, have forsaken such an evil practice; and, indeed, +even amongst those who dispute with one another about the authority of +the Sastras, there are many by whom this sentence: 'Not to kill is a +supreme duty,' is altogether approved." + +The Cat by these means having satisfied the jackal, he remained in the +hollow of the tree with him and passed the time in amusing +conversation; and the Jackal told the young birds that they had no +occasion to go out of the way. + +After this, when many days had passed, it was discovered that the Cat +had, by degrees, drawn all the little birds down into the hollow of the +tree, and there devoured them; but when he found inquiry was about to +be made by those whose young ones had been eaten, he slipped out of the +hole and made his escape. In the meantime, the bones of the young ones +having been discovered in the hollow of the tree by the parent birds, +who had been searching here and there, they concluded that their little +ones had been devoured by the Jackal, and so, being joined by other +birds, they put him to death. + +Wherefore I say, "To one whose family and profession are unknown, one +should not give residence." + +[1]Long-ear + +[2]Forsaking all worldly concerns to lead a godly life. + + + +The Greedy Jackal + +A hoard should always be made; but not too great a hoard. A Jackal, +through the fault of hoarding too much, was killed by a bow. + +A certain Huntsman, by name Bhirava, being fond of flesh, once upon a +time went to hunt in the forests of the Vindhya mountains and having +killed a Deer, as he was carrying him away, he chanced to see a wild +Boar of a formidable appearance. So, laying the Deer upon the ground, +he wounded the Boar with an arrow; but, upon his approaching him, the +horrid animal set up a roar dreadful as the thunder of the clouds, and +wounding the Huntsman in the groin, he fell like a tree cut off by the +axe. At the same time, a Serpent, of that species which is called +Ajagara, pressed by hunger and wandering about, rose up and bit the +Boar, who instantly fell helpless upon him, and remained upon the spot. +For: + +The body having encountered some efficient cause, water, fire, poison, +the sword, hunger, sickness, or a fall from an eminence, is forsaken by +the vital spirits. + +In the meantime, a Jackal, by name Deergharava, prowling about in +search of prey, discovered the Deer, the Huntsman, and the Boar; and +having observed them, he said to himself: "Here is a fine feast +prepared for me; with their flesh I shall have food to eat. The Man +will last me for a whole month, and the Deer and the Boar for two more; +then the Serpent will serve me a day; and let me taste the bow-string +too. But, in the first place, let me try that which is the least +savoury. Suppose, then, I eat this catgut line which is fastened to +the bow": saying so, he drew near to eat it; but the instant he had bit +the line in two, he was torn asunder by the spring of the bow; and he +was reduced to the state of the five elements. I say, therefore, "A +hoard should always be made; but not too great a hoard." + + + +The Elephant and the Jackal + +That which cannot be effected by force may be achieved by cunning. An +Elephant was killed by a Jackal, in going over a swampy place. + +In the forest Brahmaranya there was an Elephant, whose name was +Karphooratilaka,[1] who having been observed by the jackals, they all +determined that if he could by any stratagem be killed, he would be +four months' provisions for them all. One of them, who was of +exceeding vicious inclination and by nature treacherous, declared that +he would engage, by the strength of his own judgment, to effect his +death. Some time after, this deceitful wretch went up to the +Elephant, and having saluted him, said: "Godlike sir! Condescend to +grant me an audience." "Who art thou?" demanded the Elephant, "and +whence comest thou?" "My name," replied he, "is Kshudrabuddhi,[2] a +jackal, sent into thy presence by all the inhabitants of the forest, +assembled for that purpose, to represent that, as it is not expedient +to reside in so large a forest as this without a chief, your Highness, +endued with all the cardinal virtues, hath been selected to be anointed +Rajah of the Woods. Then, that we may not lose the lucky moment," +continued the Jackal, "be pleased to follow quickly." Saying this, he +cocked his tail and went away. + +The Elephant, whose reason was perverted by the lust of power, took the +same road as the Jackal, and followed him so exactly that, at length, +he stuck fast in a great mire. "O my friend!" cried the Elephant, +"what is to be done in this disaster? I am sinking in a deep mire!" + +The Jackal laughed, and said: "Please, your divine Highness, take hold +of my tail with your trunk, and get out! This is the fruit of those +words which thou didst place confidence in." + +They say: + +As often as thou shalt be deprived of the society of the good, so often +shalt thou fall into the company of knaves. + +After a few days, the Elephant dying for want of food, his flesh was +devoured by the Jackals. I say, therefore: "That which cannot be +effected by force, may be achieved by cunning." + +[1]Marked with white spots. + +[2]Low-minded, mean-spirited, bad-hearted. + + + +The Lion, the Mouse, and the Cat + +The master should never be rendered free from apprehension by his +servants, for a servant having quieted the fears of his master may +experience the fate of Dahdikarna.[1] + +Upon the mountain Arbuda-sikhara, there was a Lion, whose name was +Maliavikrama[2] the tips of whose mane a Mouse was wont to gnaw, as he +slept in his den. The noble beast, having discovered that his hair was +bitten, was very much displeased; and as he was unable to catch the +offender, who always slipped into his hole, he meditated what was best +to be done; and having resolved, said he: + +"Whoso hath a trifling enemy, who is not to be overcome by dint of +valour, should employ against him a force of his own likeness." + +With a review of this saying, the Lion repaired to the village, and by +means of a piece of meat thrown into his hole, with some difficulty +caught a Cat, whose name was Dadhikarna. He carried him home, and the +Mouse for some time being afraid to venture out, the Lion remained with +his hair unnipped. At length, however, the Mouse was so oppressed with +hunger, that creeping about he was caught and devoured by the Cat. The +Lion now, no longer hearing the noise of the Mouse, thought he had no +further occasion for the services of the Cat, and so began to be +sparing of his allowance; and, in consequence, poor Puss pined away and +died for want. Wherefore, I say: "The master should never be rendered +free from apprehension by his servants." + +[1]Whose ears are the colour of curds. + +[2]Great courage. + + + +The Poor Woman and the Bell + +It is not proper to be alarmed by a mere sound, when the cause of that +sound is unknown. A poor woman obtaineth consequence for discovering +the cause of a sound. + +Between the mountains Sree-parvata there is a city called Brahma-puree, +the inhabitants of which used to believe that a certain giant, whom +they called Ghautta-Karna, infested one of the adjacent hills. + +The fact was thus: A thief, as he was running away with a Bell he had +stolen, was overcome and devoured by a tiger; and the Bell falling from +his hand having been picked up by some monkeys, every now and then they +used to ring it. Now the people of the town finding that a man had +been killed there, and at the same time hearing the Bell, used to +declare that the giant Ghautta-Karna being enraged, was devouring a +man, and ringing his Bell; so that the city was abandoned by all the +principal inhabitants. At length, however, a certain Poor Woman having +considered the subject, discovered that the Bell was rung by the +monkeys. + +She accordingly went to the Rajah, and said: + +"If, divine sir, I may expect a very great reward, I will engage to +silence this Ghautta-Karna." + +The Rajah was exceedingly well pleased, and gave her some money. So +having displayed her consequence to the priesthood of the country, to +the leaders of the army, and to all the rest of the people, she +provided such fruits as she conceived the monkeys were fond of, and +went into the wood; where strewing them about, they presently quitted +the Bell, and attached themselves to the fruit. The Poor Woman, in the +meantime, took away the Bell, and repaired to the city, where she +became an object of adoration to its inhabitants. Wherefore, I say: +"It is not proper to be alarmed by a mere sound, when the cause of the +sound is unknown." + + + +The Lion and the Rabbit + +He who bath sense hath strength. Where hath he strength who wanteth +judgment? See how a Lion, when intoxicated with anger, was overcome by +a Rabbit. + +Upon a certain mountain there lived a Lion, whose name was Durganta,[1] +who was perpetually sacrificing animals to his gods; so that, at +length, all the different species assembled, and, in a body, +represented that, as by his present mode of proceeding the forest would +be cleared all at once; if it pleased his Highness, they would, each of +them in his turn, provide him an animal for his daily food; and the +Lion gave, his consent accordingly. So every beast delivered his +stipulated provision, till at length, in coming to the Rabbit's turn he +began to meditate in this manner: "Policy should be practised by him +who would save his life; and I myself shall lose mine, if I do not take +care. Suppose I lead him after another Lion? Who knows how that may +turn out for me? Then I will approach him slowly, as if fatigued." + +The Lion by this time began to be very hungry; so, seeing the Rabbit +coming toward him, he called out in a great passion: "What is the +reason thou comest so late?" "Please your Highness," said the Rabbit +"as I was coming along, I was forcibly detained by another of your +species; but having given him my word that I would return immediately I +came here to represent it to your Highness." "Go quickly," said the +Lion in a rage, "and show me where this vile wretch may be found?" + +Accordingly the Rabbit conducted the Lion to the brink of a deep well, +where being arrived, "There," said the Rabbit, "look down and behold +him"; at the same time he pointed to the reflected image of the Lion in +the water; who swelling with pride and resentment, leaped into the +well, as he thought, upon his adversary, and thus put an end to his own +life. I repeat, therefore: "He who hath sense, hath strength." + +[1]Hard to go near. + + + +The Birds and the Monkeys + +A wise man is worthy to be advised; but an ignorant one never. +Certain birds, having given advice to a troop of monkeys, have their +nests torn to pieces, and are obliged to fly away. + +On the banks of the river Navmoda, upon a neighbouring mountain, there +was a large Salmalee tree wherein certain Birds were wont to build +their nests and reside, even during the season of the rains. One day +the sky being overcast with a troop of thick dark clouds, there fell a +shower of rain in very large streams. The Birds seeing a troop of +Monkeys at the foot of the tree, all wet, and shivering with cold, +called out to them; "Ho, Monkeys! why don't you invent something to +protect you from the rain? We build ourselves nests with straws +collected with nothing else but our bills. How is this, that you, who +are blessed with hands and feet, yield to such sufferings?" + +The Monkeys hearing this, and understanding it as a kind of reproach, +were exceedingly irritated and said amongst themselves: "Those Birds +there, sitting comfortably out of the wind within their warm nests, are +laughing at us! So let them, as long as the shower may last." In +short, as soon as the rain subsided, the whole troop of them mounted +into the tree, where tearing all the nests to pieces, the eggs fell +upon the ground and were broken. I say, therefore: "A wise man is +worthy to be advised, but an ignorant one never." + + + +The Rabbits and the Elephants + +Great things may be effected by wise counsel, when a sovereign enemy +may be too powerful. Certain Rabbits were enabled to live in comfort, +through the policy of one of their brethren. + +Once upon a time, for want of rain in due season, a troop of Elephants +being greatly distressed for water, addressed their chief in these +words: "What resource have we, except in that hollow sinking ground +inhabited by those little animals! but deprived of that too, whither, +sir, shall we go? What shall we do?" + +Upon hearing their complaints, their chief, after travelling with them +a great way, discovered a fountain of clear water. But, as many +Rabbits who happened, to be in their burrows were crushed to death +under the feet of so many Elephants trampling over their warren, at +length, one of them, reflected in this manner: "This troop of +Elephants, oppressed with thirst, will be coming here every day to +drink, and, at length, our whole race will be destroyed!" But an old +buck said to him, "Brother, don't be uneasy; for I am going to prevent +what thou dreadest." Saying which, he set off to try how he could +oppose them; but as he went along, he began to consider how he should +approach so formidable a troop; "for," observed he, "they say: + +"'An elephant killeth even by touching, a serpent even by smelling, a +king even by ruling, and a wicked man by laughing at one.' + +"Wherefore, I will mount the summit of a rock to address the head of +the troop." + +This being put in execution accordingly, the chief Elephant asked him +who he was, and whence he came. "I am," he replied, "an ambassador +sent here by the god Chandra." "Declare the purport of thy +commission," said the Elephant. "Sir," replied the Rabbit, "as +ambassadors, even when the weapons of war are lifted up, speak not +otherwise than for the benefit of their State; and although they speak +boldly according as it is their advantage, they are not to be put to +death; then I will declare what are the commands of the god Chandra. +He bade me say, that in driving away and destroying the Rabbits who are +appointed to guard the fountain which is consecrated to that duty, you +have done ill; 'for,' said he, 'they are my guards and it is notorious +that the figure of a Rabbit is my emblem.'" + +The head Elephant, upon hearing this became greatly alarmed, declared +that they had offended through ignorance, and would never go to the +fountain again. + +"If this be your resolution," said the ambassador, "go this once, and +make your submission before the diety himself, whom you will see in the +fountain, quite agitated with anger; and when you have pacified him, +you may depart." + +Accordingly, as soon as it was night, the ambassador Vijaya having +conducted the chief of the Elephants to the fountain, there showed him +the image of the moon, trembling, as it were, upon the smooth surface +of the water and when he had made him bow down to it, in token of +submission, he said: "Please your divinity! What hath been done having +been done through ignorance, I pray thee pardon them!" and upon saying +this, he caused the Elephant to depart. I repeat, therefore, "Great +things may be effected by wise counsel, when a sovereign enemy may be +too powerful." + + + +The Blue Jackal + +The fool who forsaketh his own party, and delighteth to dwell with the +opposite side may be killed by them; as was the case with the Blue +Jackal. + +A certain Jackal, as he was roaming about the borders of a town, just +as his inclinations led him, fell into a dyer's vat;[1] but being +unable to get out in the morning he feigned himself dead. At length, +the master of the vat, which was filled with indigo, came, and seeing a +Jackal lying with his legs uppermost, his eyes closed, and his teeth +bare, concluded that he was dead, and so, taking him out, he carried +him a good way from the town, and there left him. The sly animal +instantly got up, and ran into the woods; when, observing that his coat +was turned blue, he meditated in this manner: "I am now of the finest +colour! what great exaltation may I not bring about for myself?" +Saying this, he called a number of Jackals together, and addressed them +in the following words: "Know that I have lately been sprinkled king of +the forests, by the hands of the goddess herself who presides over +these woods, with a water drawn from a variety of choice herbs. +Observe my colour, and henceforward let every business be transacted +according to my orders." + +The rest of the Jackals, seeing him of such a fine complexion, +prostrated themselves before him, and said: "According as your Highness +commands!" By this step he made himself honoured by his own relations, +and so gained the supreme power over those of his own species, as well +as all the other inhabitants of the forests. But after a while, +finding himself surrounded by a levee of the first quality, such as the +tiger and the like, he began to look down upon his relations; and, at +length, he kept them at a distance. A certain old Jackal perceiving +that his brethren were very much cast down at this behaviour, cried: +"Do not despair! If it continues thus, this imprudent friend of ours +will force us to be revenged. Let me alone to contrive his downfall. +The lion, and the rest who pay him court, are taken by his outward +appearance; and they obey him as their king, because they are not aware +that he is nothing but a Jackal: do something then by which he may be +found out. Let this plan be pursued: Assemble all of you in a body +about the close of the evening, and set up one general howl in his +hearing; and I'll warrant you, the natural disposition of his species +will incline him to join in the cry for: + +"'Whatever may be the natural propensity of any one is very hard to be +overcome. If a dog were made king, would he not gnaw his shoe straps?' + +"And thus, the tiger discovering that he is nothing but a Jackal, will +presently put him to death." + +In short, the plan was executed, and the event was just as it had been +foretold. I repeat, therefore: "The fool who forsaketh his own party +and delighteth to dwell with the opposite side, may be killed by them." + +[1]A dyer's vat, in Hindostan, is a large pan sunk in the ground, often +in the little court before the dyer's house. + + + +The Mouse Who Became a Tiger + +One of low degree, having obtained a worthy station, seeketh to +destroy his master; like the mouse, who having been raised to the state +of a Tiger, went to kill the Hermit. + +In a certain forest, there once dwelt a Hermit whose name was +Maha-tapa. One day seeing a young Mouse fall from the mouth of a crow +near his hermitage, out of compassion be took it up and reared it with +broken particles of rice. He now observed that the cat was seeking to +destroy it; so, by the sacred powers of a saint, he metamorphosed his +Mouse into a cat; but his cat being afraid of his dog, he changed her +into a dog; and the dog being terrified at the tiger, at length he was +transformed into a Tiger. The holy man now regarded the Tiger as no +way superior to his Mouse. But the people who came to visit the +Hermit, used to tell one another that the Tiger which they saw there +had been made so by the power of the saint, from a Mouse; and this +being overheard by the Tiger, he was very uneasy, and said to himself: +"As long as this Hermit is alive, the disgraceful story of my former +state will be brought to my ears"; saying which he went to kill his +protector; but as the holy man penetrated his design with his +supernatural eye, he reduced him to his former state of a Mouse. I +repeat, therefore: "One of low degree, having obtained a worthy +station, may seek to destroy his master." + + + +The Brahmin and the Goat + +He who, judging by what passeth in his own breast, believeth a knave +to be a person of veracity, is deceived; as the Brahmin was concerning +his Goat. + +In a certain forest, a Brahmin, having determined to make an offering, +went to a neighbouring village and purchased a Goat, which having +thrown across his shoulder, he turned toward home. As he was +travelling along, he was perceived by three thieves. "If," said they, +"we could by some artifice get the Goat from that man, it would be a +great proof of our address." + +Saying this, they agreed upon their stratagem, and executed it in this +manner: They stationed themselves before the Brahmin, and sat down +under the trees in the road which led to his habitation, till he should +come up to them. Soon after, he was accosted by one of them in this +manner: "Is not that a dog? Brahmin, what is the reason thou carriest +it upon thy shoulder?" The Brahmin replied: "No, it is not a dog; it +is a Goat, which I have purchased to make an offering of." About a +mile farther on he met another of them, who repeating the same +question, he took the Goat from his shoulder, and putting it upon the +ground, examined it again and again; and at length, replacing it upon +his shoulder, he went on, quite staggered as it were, for: + +The minds even of good men are staggered by the arguments of the +wicked; but those who place confidence in them may suffer by it. + +At length the Brahmin, having heard the third thief, like the former +two, insist upon it that he had a dog upon his shoulder, was convinced +that it was indeed a dog; and so, leaving his Goat behind him, which +the thieves presently took away and made a feast of, the good man +washed himself and went home. Whence, I say, "He who, judging by what +passeth in his own breast, believeth a knave to be a person of +veracity, is deceived." + + + + +FABLES FROM INDIA + +"These simple children's stories have lived on, and maintained their +place of honour and their undisputed sway in every schoolroom of the +East and every nursery of the West." + +F. MAX MULLER + + +FABLES FROM INDIA + +The Lion, the Fox, and the Story-teller + +A Lion who was the king of a great forest once said to his subjects: "I +want some one among you to tell me stories one after another without +ceasing. If you fail to find somebody who can so amuse me, you will +all be put to death." + +In the East there is a proverb which says; "The king kills when he +will," so the animals were in great alarm. + +The Fox said: "Fear not; I shall save you all. Tell the king the +Story-teller is ready to come to court when ordered." So the animals +had orders to send the Story-teller at once to the presence. The Fox +bowed respectfully, and stood before the king, who said: "So you are to +tell us stories without ceasing?" + +"Yes, your Majesty," said the Fox. + +"Then begin," said the Lion. + +"But before I do so," said the Fox, "I would like to know what your +Majesty means by a story." + +"Why," said the Lion, "a narrative containing some interesting event or +fact." + +"Just so," said the Fox, and began: "There was once a fisherman who +went to sea with a huge net, and spread it far and wide. A great many +fish got into it. Just as the fisherman was about to draw the net the +coils snapped. A great opening was made. First one fish escaped." +Then the Fox stopped. + +"What then?" said the Lion. + +"Then two escaped," said the Fox. + +"What then?" asked the impatient Lion. + +"Then three escaped," said the Fox. Thus, as often as the Lion +repeated his query, the Fox increased the number by one, and said as +many escaped. The Lion was vexed, and said: "Why you are telling me +nothing new!" + +"I wish that your majesty may not forget your royal word," said the +Fox. "Each event occurred by itself, and each lot that escaped was +different from the rest." + +"But wherein is the wonder?" said the Lion. + +"Why, your majesty, what can be more wonderful than for Fish to escape +in lots, each exceeding the other by one?" + +"I am bound by my word," said the Lion, "else I would see your carcass +stretched on the ground." + +The Fox replied in a whisper: "_If tyrants that desire things +impossible are not at least bound by their own word, their subjects can +find nothing to bind them_." + + + +The Fox in the Well + +A Fox fell into a well, and was holding hard to some roots at the side +of it, just above the water. A Wolf who was passing by saw him, and +said, "Hollo, Reynard; after all you have fallen into a well!" + +"But not without a purpose, and not without the means of getting out of +it," said the Fox. + +"What do you mean?" said the Wolf. + +"Why," said the Fox, "there is a drought all over the country now, and +the water in this well is the only means of appeasing the thirst of the +thousands that live in this neighbourhood. They held a meeting, and +requested me to keep the water from going down lower; so I am holding +it up for the public good." + +"What will be your reward?" asked the Wolf. + +"They will give me a pension, and save me the trouble of going about +every day in quest of food, not to speak of innumerable other +privileges that will be granted me. Further, I am not to stay here all +day. I have asked a kinsman of mine, to whom I have communicated the +secret of holding up the water, to relieve me from time to time. Of +course he will also get a pension, and have other privileges. I expect +him here shortly." + +"Ah, Reynard, may I relieve you, then? May I hope to get a pension, +and other privileges? You know what a sad lot is mine, especially in +winter." + +"Certainly," said the Fox, "but you must get a long rope, that I may +come up and let you down." + +So the Wolf got a rope. Up came the Fox, and down went the Wolf; when +the former observed, with a laugh, "My dear sir, you may remain there +till doomsday, or till the owner of the well throws up your carcass," +and left the place. + +"Alas!" said the Wolf, when it was too late, "_greed hath its meed!_" + + + +The Fawn and the Little Tiger + +A Fawn met a little Tiger, and said: "What fine stripes you have!" + +The little Tiger said: "What fine spots you have!" + +Then the Fawn said: "It would be such a nice thing if you and I were to +live together as friends. We might then roam through the woods as we +like, and be so happy!" + +"I think so too," said the Tiger. + +The two joined hands, and went out for a long walk. It was breakfast +time. The Fawn saw some fine grass in the lawn, and said to himself: +"One should first see his friend fed and then feed." So he turned to +the Tiger and said, "Will you have some of this fine grass for your +breakfast?" + +The Tiger put his nose to the grass but could not bring himself to feed +upon it, because it was against his nature; so he replied, "I am so +sorry, I cannot eat it!" + +Then the Fawn said: "Allow me to go home for one moment and ask mamma +for something that would suit you for breakfast." + +So the Fawn went home and told the Hind of the happy friendship he had +formed, and of all that had happened since. + +The Hind replied, "Child, how lucky it is that you have come away! You +must know the Tiger is the most deadly enemy we have in the woods." + +At these words the Fawn drew near to his dam and trembled. + +The Hind said: "_It is indeed lucky to get away from the wicked at the +first hint!_" + + + +The Fox and the Villagers + +A Fox that had long been the dread of the village poultry yard was one +day found lying breathless in a field. The report went abroad that, +after all, he had been caught and killed by some one. In a moment, +everybody in the village came out to see the dead Fox. The village +Cock, with all his hens and chicks, was also there, to enjoy the sight. + +The Fox then got up, and, shaking off his drowsiness, said: "I ate a +number of hens and chicks last night; hence I must have slumbered +longer than usual." + +The Cock counted his hens and chicks, and found a number wanting. +"Alas!" said he, "how is it I did not know of it?" + +"My dear sir," said the Fox, as he retreated to the wood, "it was last +night I had a good meal on your hens and chicks, yet you did not know +of it. A moment ago they found me lying in the field, and you knew of +it at once. _Ill news travels fast!_" + + + +Tinsel and Lightning + +A piece of Tinsel on a rock once said to a Pebble: "You see how bright +I am! I am by birth related to the lightning." + +"Indeed!" said the Pebble; "then accept my humble respects." + +Some time after, a flash of lightning struck the rock, and the Tinsel +lost all its brilliancy by the scorching effects of the flash. + +"Where is your brilliancy now?" said the Pebble. + +"Oh, it is gone to the skies," said the Tinsel, "for I have lent it to +the lightning that came down a moment ago to borrow it of me." + +"Dear me!" said the Pebble; "_how many fibs doth good bragging need!_" + + + +The Glow-worm and the Daw + +A Jackdaw once ran up to a Glow-worm and was about to seize him. "Wait +a moment, good friend," said the Worm; "and you shall hear of something +to your advantage." + +"Ah! what is it?" said the Daw. + +"I am but one of the many Glow-worms that live in this forest. If you +wish to have them all, follow me," said the Glow-worm. + +"Certainly!" said the Daw. + +Then the Glow-worm led him to a place in the wood where a fire had been +kindled by some woodmen, and pointing to the sparks flying about, said: +"There you find the Glow-worms warming themselves around a fire. When +you have done with them, I will show you some more, at a distance from +this place." + +The Daw darted at the sparks, and tried to swallow some of them; but +his mouth being burnt by the attempt, he ran away exclaiming, "Ah, the +Glow-worm is a dangerous little creature!" + +Said the Glow-worm with pride: "_Wickedness yields to wisdom!_" + + + +The Lion and the Gadfly + +Once a Lion was sleeping in his den at the foot of a great mountain +when a Gadfly that had been sipping the blood from his mouth bit him +severely. The Lion started up with a roar, and catching the Fly in his +huge paws, cried: "Villain, you are at my mercy! How shall I punish +your impudence?" + +"Sire," said the Fly, "if you would pardon me now, and let me live, I +shall be able to show ere long how grateful I am to you." + +"Indeed!" said the Lion; "who ever heard of a Gadfly helping a Lion? +But still I admire your presence of mind and grant your life." + +Some time after, the Lion, having made great havoc on the cattle of a +neighbouring village, was snoring away in his den after a heavy meal. +The village hunters approached with the object of surrounding him and +putting an end to his depredations. + +The Fly saw them, and hurrying into the den, bit the Lion. He started +up with a roar as before, and cried: "Villain, you will get no pardon +this time!" + +"Sire," said the Fly, "the village hunters are on their way to your +den; you can't tarry a moment here without being surrounded and killed." + +"Saviour of my life!" cried the lion as he ran up the mountain. +"_There is nothing like forgiving, for it enables the humblest to help +the highest_." + + + +The Sunling + +In the good old days a Clown in the East, on a visit to a city kinsman, +while at dinner pointed to a burning candle and asked what it was. The +city man said, in jest, it was a Sunling, or one of the children of the +sun. + +The Clown thought that it was something rare; so he waited for an +opportunity, and hid it in a chest of drawers close by. Soon the chest +caught fire, then the curtains by its side, then the room, then the +whole house. + +After the flames had been put down, the city man and the Clown went +into the burnt building to see what remained. The Clown turned over +the embers of the chest of drawers. The city man asked what he was +seeking for. The Clown said: "It is in this chest that I hid the +bright Sunling; I wish to know if he has survived the flames." + +"Alas," said the city man, who now found out the cause of all the +mischief, "_Never jest with fools!_" + + + +The Despot and the Wag + +A Despot in the East wished to have a great name as a very munificent +prince, so he gave large presents to every one of note that came to his +court, but at the same time his officers had secret orders to waylay +the recipients of his gifts and recover them. + +In this manner many a man had been rewarded and plundered. Once a wag +came to court, and amused every one by his drolleries. The King gave +him a great many presents, including a horse. After taking leave of +the King and his courtiers, the Wag bundled up the presents and put +them over his shoulders, and mounting the horse, facing the tail, was +going out. The King asked him why he acted in that manner. + +"Sire," said the Wag, "simply to see if your officers were coming +behind, that I may at once hand over the bundle to them and go about my +business." + +The Despot was abashed, and stopped giving any more presents, saying: +"_Giving is but giving in vain, when we give to take again_." + + + +The Crane and the Fool + +In the East there lived a Fool, who went one day to his fields and +said: "I sowed a month ago; should the crops stand two months more, I +shall get three hundred bushels of corn. But I am in a hurry, so if I +should reap now, I dare say I shall have one hundred bushels at least." + +A Crane who heard his words said: "If I were you, I should have all the +three hundred bushels this very day." + +"How?" said the Fool. + +"Why," said the Crane, "you stored up water in the tank to feed the +crops for three months. A month has elapsed, so water enough for two +months more remains in the tank. Should you open the sluices and let +all the water flow into the fields, you will have all the corn at once." + +"Are you sure I shall have all the corn at once?" said the Fool. + +"Oh, yes," said the Crane, "there is not the slightest doubt. My +geographical knowledge is extensive, for I have travelled over a great +part of the world; so you may depend on my wide knowledge and +experience." + +The Fool then let all the water flow into the fields. The Crane +invited his kindred, and they together ate all the big fish left in the +tank first, and then, hovering over the fields, picked up all the small +fish that had gone out with the water. A great portion of the crops +was swept away; what remained was soon buried in the mud. + +The Fool sat on the bank of the lake and wept, saying: "The Crane's +geography ruined me." + +"My friend," said the Crane, "my geography was as good as your +arithmetic. _It is all the same whether you fall into the ditch from +this side or that!_" + + + +The Lion and the Goat + +A Lion was eating up one after another the animals of a certain +country. One day an old Goat said: "We must put a stop to this. I +have a plan by which he may be sent away from this part of the country." + +"Pray act up to it at once," said the other animals. + +The old Goat laid himself down in a cave on the roadside, with his +flowing beard and long curved horns. The Lion on his way to the +village saw him, and stopped at the mouth of the cave. + +"So you have come, after all," said the Goat. + +"What do you mean?" asked the Lion. + +"Why, I have long been lying in this cave. I have eaten up one hundred +elephants, a hundred tigers, a thousand wolves, and ninety-nine lions. +One more lion has been wanting. I have waited long and patiently. +Heaven has, after all, been kind to me," said the Goat, and shook his +horns and his beard, and made a start as if he were about to spring +upon the Lion. + +The latter said to himself: "This animal looks like a Goat, but it does +not talk like one, so it is very likely some wicked spirit in this +shape. Prudence often serves us better than valour, so for the present +I shall return to the wood," and he turned back. + +The Goat rose up and, advancing to the mouth of the cave, said, "Will +you come back to-morrow?" + +"Never again," said the Lion. + +"Do you think I shall be able to see you, at least, in the wood +to-morrow?" + +"Neither in the wood, nor in this neighbourhood any more," said the +Lion, and running to the forest, soon left it with his kindred. + +The animals in the country, not hearing him roar any more, gathered +around the Goat, and said: "_The wisdom of one doth save a host_." + + + +The Man and His Piece of Cloth + +A Man in the East, where they do not require as much clothing as in +colder climates, gave up all worldly concerns and retired to a wood, +where he built a hut and lived in it. + +His only clothing was a Piece of Cloth which he wore round his waist. +But, as ill-luck would have it, rats were plentiful in the wood, so he +had to keep a cat. The cat required milk to feed it, so a cow had to +be kept. The cow required tending, so a cowboy was employed. The boy +required a house to live in, so a house was built for him. To look +after the house, a maid had to be engaged. To provide company for the +maid, a few more houses had to be built, and people invited to live in +them. In this manner a little township sprang up. + +The man said: "_The farther we seek to go from the world and its cares, +the more they multiply!_" + + + +The Tiger, the Fox, and the Hunters + +A Fox was once caught in a trap. A hungry Tiger saw him and said, "So +you are here!" + +"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper. + +"How so?" said the Tiger. + +"Why, you were complaining you could not get men to eat, so I got into +this net to-day, that you may have the men when they come to take me," +said the Fox, and gave a hint that if the Tiger would wait a while in a +thicket close by, he would point out the men to him. + +"May I depend upon your word?" said the Tiger. + +"Certainly," said the Fox. + +The hunters came, and, seeing the Fox in the net, said: "So you are +here!" + +"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper. + +"How so?" said the men. + +"Why, you were complaining you could not get at the Tiger that has been +devouring your cattle. I got into this net to-day that you may have +him. As I expected, he came to eat me up, and is in yonder thicket," +said the Fox, and gave a hint that if they would take him out of the +trap he would point out the Tiger. "May we depend upon your word?" +said the men. + +"Certainly," said the Fox, while the men went with him in a circle to +see that he did not escape. + +Then the Fox said to the Tiger and the men: "Sir Tiger, here are the +men; gentlemen, here is the Tiger." + +The men left the Fox and turned to the Tiger. The former beat a hasty +retreat to the wood, saying, "I have kept my promise to both; now you +may settle it between yourselves." + +The Tiger exclaimed, when it was too late: "_Alas! what art for a +double part?_" + + + +The Hare and the Pig + +A Hare and a Pig once agreed to leap over a ditch. The Hare went a +great way, and fell into it, just short by an inch. The Pig went some +way and fell into it; but far behind the Hare. Yet they were eager to +know which of them leapt more, and was therefore the better animal. + +So they said to a Fox, who had been watching the race: "Will you tell +us which of us is superior, and which inferior, in the race?" + +The Fox said: "_Both in the ditch: can't say which!_" + + + +The Peacock and the Fox + +A Fox, who had an eye on a Peacock, was one day standing in a field +with his face turned up to the sky. + +"Reynard," said the Peacock, "what have you been doing?" + +"Oh, I have been counting the stars," said the Fox. + +"How many are they?" said the Peacock. + +"About as many as the fools on earth," said the Fox. + +"But which do you think is the greater, the number of the stars or of +the fools?" asked the Peacock. + +"If you put it so, I should say the fools are more by one," said the +Fox. + +"Who is that one?" said the Peacock. + +"Why, my own silly self!" said the Fox. + +"How are you silly, Reynard?" questioned the Peacock. + +"Why, was it not foolish of me to count the stars in the sky, when I +could have counted the stars in your brilliant plumage to better +advantage?" said the Fox. + +"No, Reynard," said the Peacock, "therein is not your folly--although +there is neither wit nor wisdom in your prattle--but in the thought +that your fine words would make an easy prey of me!" + +The Fox quietly left the place, saying: "_The Knave that hath been +found out cannot have legs too quick_." + + + +The Tiger and the Giraffe + +A Tiger, named Old Guile, who had grown weak with age, was lying under +a tree by the side of a lake in quest of some animal off which he could +make a meal. + +A Giraffe, named Tall Stripes, who came to the lake to quench his +thirst, attracted his attention, and Old Guile addressed him as +follows: "Oh, what a happy day! I see there the son of my old friend +Yellow Haunch, who lived in the great forest near that distant +mountain." + +Tall Stripes was astonished to hear the words of Old Guile, and asked +him how he, a Tiger, could be the friend of his father, a Giraffe. + +"I am not surprised at your question," replied Old Guile; "it is a +truth known to very few indeed that the Tiger and the Giraffe belong to +the same family. Just look at your skin and my own: yours is of a pale +yellow colour, mine is very nearly the same; you have stripes, I have +them, too. What more proofs do you want?" + +Tall Stripes, who was extremely simple and guileless, believed these +words, and said: "I am very happy to know that my father was your +friend, and that we are of the same family. Can I do anything for you?" + +Old Guile replied, "No, thank you; old as I am, I make it a point of +relying on myself. Further, a great part of my time is spent in prayer +and meditation; for I consider it necessary, at this age, to devote all +my attention to spiritual things. It will, however, be a great +gratification to me to have your company whenever you should chance to +pass by this lake." + +Tall Stripes acceded to this request, and was about to go on his Way, +when Old Guile observed; "My dear Tall Stripes, you are well aware of +the instability of all earthly things. I am old and infirm, and who +knows what may happen to me to-morrow. Perhaps I may not see you +again; so let me do myself the pleasure of embracing you before you +leave me for the present." + +"Certainly," said Tall Stripes. Thereupon Old Guile rose up slowly +from his seat, like one devoid of all energy, and embracing him, +plunged his deadly teeth into his long neck, and stretching him on the +ground made a hearty breakfast on him. + +_Beware of the crafty professions of the wicked_. + + + +The Man of Luck and the Man of Pluck + +A King in the East said to his Minister; "Do you believe in luck?" + +"I do," said the Minister. + +"Can you prove it?" said the King. + +"Yes, I can," said the Minister. + +So one night he tied up to the ceiling of a room a parcel containing +peas mixed with diamonds, and let in two men, one of whom believed in +luck and the other in human effort alone. The former quietly laid +himself down on the ground; the latter after a series of efforts +reached the parcel, and feeling in the dark the peas and the stones, +ate the former, one by one, and threw down the latter at his companion, +saying, "Here are the stones for your idleness." The man below +received them in his blanket. + +In the morning the king and the minister came to the room and bade each +take to himself what he had got. The Man of Effort found he had +nothing beyond the peas he had eaten. The Man of Luck quietly walked +away with the diamonds. + +The Minister said to the King: "Sire, there is such a thing as luck; +but it is as rare as peas mixed with diamonds. So I would say: '_Let +none hope to live by luck_.'" + + + +The Fox and the Crabs + +One day a Fox seated himself on a stone by a stream and wept aloud. +The Crabs in the holes around came up to him and said: "Friend, why are +you wailing so loud?" + +"Alas!" said the Fox, "I have been turned by my kindred out of the +wood, and do not know what to do." + +"Why were you turned out?" asked the Crabs in a tone of pity. + +"Because," said the Fox, sobbing, "they said they should go out +to-night hunting Crabs by the stream, and I said it would be a pity to +lull such pretty little creatures." + +"Where will you go hereafter?" said the Crabs. + +"Where I can get work," said the Fox; "for I would not go to my kindred +again, come what would." + +Then the Crabs held a meeting, and came to the conclusion that, as the +Fox had been thrown out by his kindred on their account, they could do +nothing better than engage his services to defend them. So they told +the Fox of their intention. He readily consented, and spent the whole +day in amusing the Crabs with all kinds of tricks. + +Night came. The moon rose in full splendour. The Fox said: "Have you +ever been out for a walk in the moonlight?" + +"Never, friend," said the Crabs; "we are such little creatures that we +are afraid of going far from our holes." + +"Oh, never mind!" said the Fox; "follow me! I can defend you against +any foe." + +So the Crabs followed him with pleasure. On the way the Fox told them +all sorts of delightful things, and cheered them on most heartily. +Having thus gone some distance, they reached a plain, where the Fox +came to a stand, and made a low moan in the direction of an adjacent +wood. Instantly a number of foxes came out of the wood and joined +their kinsman, and all of them at once set about hunting the poor +Crabs, who fled in all directions for their lives, but were soon caught +and devoured. + +When the banquet was over, the Foxes said to their friend: "How great +thy skill and cunning!" + +The heartless villain replied, with a wink: "My friends, _There is +cunning in cunning_." + + + +The Camel and the Pig + +A Camel said: "Nothing like being tall! Look how tall I am!" + +A Pig, who heard these words, said: "Nothing like being short! Look +how short I am!" + +The Camel said: "Well, if I fail to prove the truth of what I said, I +shall give up my hump." + +The Pig said: "If I fail to prove the truth of what I have said, I +shall give up my snout." + +"Agreed!" said the Camel. + +"Just so!" said the Pig. + +They came to a garden, enclosed by a low wall without any opening. The +Camel stood on this side the wall, and reaching the plants within by +means of his long neck made a breakfast on them. Then he turned +jeeringly to the Pig, who had been standing at the bottom of the wall +without even a look at the good things in the garden, and said: "Now, +would you be tall, or short?" + +Next they came to a garden, enclosed by a high wall, with a wicket gate +at one end. The Pig entered by the gate and, after having eaten his +fill of the vegetables within, came out, laughing at the poor Camel, +who had had to stay outside, because he was too tall to enter the +garden by the gate, and said: "Now, would you be tall, or short?" + +Then they thought the matter over, and came to the conclusion that the +Camel should keep his hump and the Pig his snout, observing: "_Tall is +good, where tall would do; if short, again, 'tis also true!_" + + + + +MALAYAN FABLES + +"He who is not possessed of such a book as will dispel many doubts, +point out hidden treasures, and is, as it were, a mirror of all things, +is even an ignorant man." + + +MALAYAN FABLES + +Father "Lime-stick" and the Flower-pecker + +Old Father Lime-stick once limed a tree for birds and caught a +Flower-pecker. He was just about to kill and eat it when the bird +cried out, "O Grandfather, surely you are not going to eat me? Why, +flesh, feathers and all, I am no bigger than your thumb!" "What!" said +the old man; "do you expect me then to let you go?" "Yes," said the +bird, "only let me go, and I will fetch you such a talisman as never +was--a Bezoar-stone as big as a cocoanut and worth at least a +thousand." Said the old man, "Do you really mean it?" "Really, I do," +replied the bird. "Just let me go, and I'll bring it to you." Then, +on being released, he flew off and perched on a tree, and began to +preen his feathers, to get rid of the bird-lime. + +Presently the old man said: "Where has that bird got to? Bird, where +is the Bezoar-stone you promised to bring me, the one that was worth at +least a thousand?" "Out-on-you," was the reply, "this is really _too_ +ridiculous. Just think of me, with my body as big as your thumb, +carrying a Bezoar-stone as big as a cocoanut! It really is too absurd. +Why, have I even got the strength to lift it?" At this the old man +held his peace. "Well," continued the bird, "you will gain nothing by +repenting that you set me free. Only remember in future not to +undertake an affair quite out of keeping with your own powers. Neither +try to get your arms round a tree too big for your embrace, nor attempt +to climb one higher than your strength permits you." + + + +The Mouse-deer's Shipwreck + +"Come," said the Mouse-deer to the Stump-tailed Heron, "come and sail +with me to Java." So they set sail, and Friend Mouse-deer held the +tiller and Friend Heron spread the sail, and the wind blew from the +north. Soon however Friend Mouse-deer got drowsy, and let the boat +fall out of the wind. + +At this Friend Heron said: "Why does the boat fall off? How is your +helm, Friend Mouse-deer?" "I was only taking a few winks," said he. +"Bring her up to the wind again," said the Heron. And the Mouse-deer +replied: "All right, I'm 'on the spot.'" Presently, however, he dozed +again and the Heron exclaimed: "Oh, if that's to be it, you may die and +be done with. I'll peck a hole in this boat of ours and you'll go to +the bottom." + +But the Mouse-deer said: "_Please_ don't, I'm _such_ a bad hand at +swimming." So they sailed on. And the Mouse-deer dozed a third time. +At this the Heron could contain himself no longer, and said, "Confound +you, Friend Mouse-deer, for sleeping at the helm." And losing his +temper he pecked a hole in the boat, and the boat let in the water and +Friend Heron flew away. But the Mouse-deer swam struggling with his +feet in the midst of the sea. + +Presently there came up a young Shark who exclaimed, "I'll have a meal +off you this time at all events." But the Mouse-deer answered, "What, +Friend Shark, you'll make a meal off me? Why, in place of the little +flesh I've got, if you'll carry me ashore, I'll teach you some +excellent Magic which will save you from ever having to hunt for your +food again." To this the Shark replied, "Agreed. If you'll teach me +'your excellent Magic' I'll carry you ashore." So the Mouse-deer got +upon Friend Shark's back, and was carried straight ashore. + +And on their arrival the Mouse-deer said: "Wait here a bit, while I go +and get the simples." And going a-land he hunted up a rattan creeper +and took it back with him and said: "Now I'll give you the simples I +spoke of," and bound it fast to Friend Shark's tail. And presently the +Shark said: "Why have you made the line fast to my tail?" But the +Mouse-deer replied: "'Keep quite quiet till I have tied you up +properly, and then I'll give you the simples." But presently he +dragged the Shark up on to the dry beach, and made butcher's meat of +him. Just then, however, a Tiger came up, exclaiming, "Here's really a +good meal for Me, for once in a way!" To this, however, the Mouse-deer +replied: "What is the use of eating me, when there's already plenty of +butcher's meat and to spare?" "Very well, I'll share it with you," +said the Tiger. The Mouse-deer replied, "You may share it with me by +all means, if you will only go and get some water to do the cooking." +So the Tiger went off to get water and presently came back with it. + +"Wash the meat before you roast it," said the Mouse-deer. The Tiger +took the meat and washed it in the water. "Go and fetch fire and roast +it," said the Mouse-deer. The Tiger fetched fire and came back to do +the cooking. And when the meat was done, "Now go and fetch some +drinking water," said the Mouse-deer, "and we'll have our meal +together." So the Tiger went off again to fetch the drinking water. +But the Mouse-deer in the meantime made off with the Shark's meat and +climbed up with it to the top of a She-oak Tree. And presently the +Tiger came back and found both Mouse-deer and meat missing. At this he +exclaimed: "For once in a way, Mr. Mouse-deer, you've fairly cheated +Me; if we don't meet again no matter, but if we do, I'll be the death +of you." And here the story ends. + + + +The Tiger Gets His Deserts + +A Tiger which had been caught in a trap, seeing a man, begged to be +released. The man said to the Tiger: "If I let you out of the trap +will you promise not to attack me?" "Certainly," said the Tiger, and +the man therefore let the Tiger go; but the moment the Tiger was loose +it sprang upon the man and caught him. At this the man begged the +Tiger to wait until he had inquired how the law stood with reference to +their contract, and the Tiger agreed to do so. The man and the Tiger +therefore set out together; and on coming to a Road the man said: "O +Road, Road, is it lawful to requite evil for good, or good for good +only?" The Road replied: "I do good to mankind, but they requite me +with evil, defiling my surface as they go." Then they came to a Tree, +of which the man asked the same question. The Tree replied: "I do good +to mankind, but they requite me with evil, lopping off my branches and +cutting me down." At last they came to the Mouse-deer and the man made +the same inquiry as before. The Mouse-deer replied: "I must really go +into the question thoroughly before I answer it; let us go back +together to the trap." On reaching the trap, he requested the Tiger to +"Step inside," and the Tiger entering the trap, the Mouse-deer let down +the door of the trap, and exclaimed, "Accursed Brute, you have returned +evil for good and now you shall die for it." He then called in the +neighbours and had the Tiger killed. + + + +The Tune That Makes the Tiger Drowsy + +There is a tune which when played upon the "Kerotong" (a two-stringed +bamboo harp) makes Rimau the Tiger drowsy, but only a few old people +know it. One evening two men were sitting together and playing in a +hut in the jungle when two tigers overheard them. + +The Tigers took counsel together, and one of them said to the other, +"You shall be the first to go into the house. Whatever you seize shall +therefore be your portion, but Whatever plunges down the steps to +escape shall be mine." + +At this the second Tiger ascended the house-ladder and was just +crouching upon the topmost rung when one of the men to amuse himself +commenced to play the Tune that makes the Tiger drowsy. As soon as the +Tiger heard it he began to grow sleepy, and presently fell plump down +the steps to the ground, where he was seized by his companion. When he +objected his companion exclaimed, "Did we not agree that Whatever +plunged down the steps was to be my portion?" and, so saying, he +proceeded to devour him at his leisure. + + + +The Tiger and the Shadow + +There was a "salt-lick" in the jungle to which all the beasts of the +forest resorted, but they were greatly afraid by reason of an old Tiger +which killed one of them every day. At length, therefore, P'lando' the +Mouse-deer said to the Tiger, "Why not permit me to bring you a beast +every day, to save you from hunting for your food?" The Tiger +consented and P'lando' went off to make arrangement with the beasts. +But he could not persuade any of them to go, and after three days he +set off, taking nobody with him but Kuwis the smallest of the Flying +Squirrels. + +On their arrival P'lando' said to the Tiger: "I could not bring you any +of the other beasts because the way was blocked by a fat old Tiger with +a Flying Squirrel sitting astride its muzzle." On hearing this the +Tiger exclaimed, "Let us go and find it and drive it away." The three +therefore set out, the Flying Squirrel perched upon the Tiger's muzzle +and the Mouse-deer sitting astride upon its hind quarters. On reaching +the river, the Mouse-deer pointed to the Tiger's likeness in the water +and exclaimed, "Look there! That is the fat old Tiger that I saw." On +hearing this, the Tiger sprang into the river to attack his own shadow, +and was drowned immediately. + + + +The King-crow and the Water-snail + +A Water-snail was coming up-stream from the lower reaches, when a +King-crow heard it. Said the King-crow to himself: "Who can it be +coming up-stream that exclaims so loudly at the rapids? One might say +it was a man, but that there is nothing to be seen." So the King-crow +settled on a tree to watch, but as he could see nothing from his perch +on the tree he flew down to the ground, and walked along by the +water-side. And when he thought to see some man exclaiming, he caught +sight of the Water-snail. + +"Hullo, you there," said he, "where do you come from?" "I come from +the eddy below the rapids," said the Water-snail, "and I only want to +get as far as the head-waters of this river." Said the King-crow: +"Wait a bit. Suppose you go down to the river-mouth as quickly as you +can and we will have a wager on it." (Now rivers are the Water-snail's +domain, in which he has many comrades.) + +"What is to be the stake?" asked the Water-snail. "If I am beaten I +will be your slave, and look after your aroids and wild caladiums on +which all Water-snails feed." Then the King-crow asked: "And what will +you stake?" The Water-snail replied, "If I am beaten, the river shall +be handed over to you and you shall be King of the River." But the +Water-snail begged for a delay of twice seven days, saying that he felt +knocked up after ascending the rapids, and the delay was granted +accordingly. + +Meanwhile, however, the Water-snail hunted up a great number of his +friends and instructed them to conceal themselves in each of the higher +reaches of the river, and to reply immediately when the King-crow +challenged them. + +The day arrived, and the King-crow flew off, and in each of the higher +reaches the Water-snail's friends replied to the challenge, while at +the river-mouth the Water-snail replied in person. So the King-crow +was defeated and has ever since remained the slave of the Water-snail. + + + +The Elephant Has a Bet with the Tiger + +In the beginning Gajah the Elephant and Rimau the Tiger were sworn +friends. But one day they came to a clearing and presently encountered +Lotong, the long-tailed Spectacle-monkey. And when he saw the Monkey, +the Elephant said, "Mr. Lotong yonder is far too noisy; let us try and +shake him off; if he falls to me I am to eat you; and if he falls to +you, you are to eat me--we will make a wager of it." The Tiger said, +"Agreed"; and the Elephant replied, "Agreed." "Very well!" said the +Tiger; "you shall try and menace him first." So the Elephant tried to +menace the Monkey. "AU! AU! AU!" he trumpeted, and each time he +trumpeted the Monkey was scared. But the Monkey went jumping head +foremost through the branches and never fell to the ground at all. + +Presently, therefore, the Tiger asked the Elephant, "Well, Friend +Elephant, would you like to try your luck again?" But the Elephant +said, "No, thank you. It shall be your turn now; and if he falls to +you, you shall eat me--if you really can make him fall!" Then the +Tiger went and roared his longest and loudest, and shortened his body +as for a spring and growled and menaced the Monkey thrice. And the +Monkey leaped and fell at the Tiger's feet, for his feet and hands were +paralyzed and would not grip the branches any more. Then the Tiger +said: "Well, Friend Elephant, I suppose I may eat you now." But the +Elephant said: "You have, I admit, won the wager; but I beg you to +grant me just seven days' respite, to enable me to visit my wife and +children and to make my will." The Tiger granted the request, and the +Elephant went home, bellowing and sobbing every foot of the way. + +Now the Elephant's wife heard the sound of her husband's voice, and +said to her children, "What can be the matter with your Father that he +keeps sobbing so?" And the children listened to make sure, and said, +"Yes, it really is Father's voice, the sobbing, and not that of anybody +else." Presently Father Elephant arrived, and Mother Elephant asked: +"What were you sobbing for, Father? What have you done to yourself?" +Father Elephant replied: "I made a wager with Friend Tiger about +shaking down a Monkey, and Friend Tiger beat me; I menaced the Monkey, +but he did not fall; if he had fallen to me, I was to have eaten Friend +Tiger, but if he fell to Friend Tiger, Friend Tiger was to eat me. I +was beaten, and now Friend Tiger says he is going to eat me. So I +begged leave to come home and see you, and he has given me just seven +days' respite." + +Now for the seven days Father Elephant kept sobbing aloud, and neither +ate nor slept. And the thing came to the hearing of Friend Mouse-deer. +"What can be the matter with Friend Elephant that he keeps bellowing +and bellowing; neither does he sleep, so that night is turned into day, +and day into night? What on earth is the matter with him? Suppose I +go and see," said the Mouse-deer. Then the Mouse-deer went to see what +was wrong, and asked: "What is the matter with you, Friend Elephant, +that we hear you bellowing and bellowing every single day and every +single night, just now, too, when the Rains are upon us? You are far +too noisy." + +But the Elephant said: "It is no mere empty noise, Friend Mouse-deer; I +have got into a dreadful scrape." "What sort of a scrape?" inquired +the Mouse-deer. "I made a wager with Friend Tiger about shaking down a +Monkey, and he beat me." "What was the stake?" asked the Mouse-deer. +"The stake was that Friend Tiger might eat me if Friend Tiger +frightened it down; and if I frightened it down, I might eat Friend +Tiger. It fell to Friend Tiger, and now Friend Tiger wants to eat me. +And my reason for not eating or sleeping any more is that I have got +only just seven days' respite to go home and visit my wife and children +and to make my will." Then the Mouse-deer said: "If it came to Friend +Tiger's eating you, I should feel exceedingly sorrowful, exceedingly +distressed; but things being only as you say, I feel neither." "If you +will assist me," said the Elephant, "I will become your slave, and my +descendants shall be your slaves forever." "Very well, it that is the +case, I will assist you," said the Mouse-deer. "Go and look for a jar +full of molasses." Friend Elephant promised to do so, and went to look +for it at the house of a maker of palm-wine. The owner of the house +fled for his life, and the jar fell into Friend Elephant's possession, +who bore it back to the Mouse-deer. + +Then Friend Mouse-deer said, "When does your promise expire?" and +Friend Elephant replied, "To-morrow." So when next morning arrived +they started, and the Mouse-deer said, "Now pour the molasses over your +back and let it spread and spread and run down your legs." Friend +Elephant did as he was ordered. Friend Mouse-deer then instructed the +Elephant as follows: "As soon as I begin to lick up the molasses on +your back, bellow as loud as you can and make believe to be hurt, and +writhe and wriggle this way and that." + +And presently Friend Mouse-deer commenced to lick hard, and Friend +Elephant writhed and wriggled and made believe to be hurt, and made a +prodigious noise of trumpeting. In this way they proceeded and Friend +Mouse-deer got up and sat astride upon Friend Elephant's back. And the +Elephant trumpeted and trumpeted all the way till they met with Friend +Tiger. At this Friend Mouse-deer exclaimed, "A single Elephant is very +short commons; if I could only catch that big and fat old Tiger there, +it would be just enough to satisfy my hunger." + +Now when Friend Tiger heard these words of the Mouse-deer, he said to +himself, "So I suppose if you catch me, you'll eat me into the bargain, +will you?" And Friend Tiger stayed not a moment longer, but fled for +his life, fetching very lofty bounds. + +And soon he met with the Black Ape, and Friend Ape asked, "Why running +so hard, Friend Tiger? Why so much noise, and why, just when the Rains +are upon us, too, do you go fetching such lofty bounds?" Friend Tiger +replied, "What do you mean by 'so much noise'? What was the Thing that +was got upon Friend Elephant's back, that had caught Friend Elephant +and was devouring him so that he went writhing and wriggling for the +pain of it, and the blood went streaming down in floods? Moreover the +Thing that was got on Friend Elephant's back said, to my hearing, that +a single Elephant was very short commons: but if It could catch a fat +old Tiger like myself that would be just enough to satisfy Its hunger." +Friend Ape said, "What was that Thing, Friend Tiger?" "I don't know," +said the Tiger. "Ah," mused the Ape, "I wonder if it _could_ be Friend +Mouse-deer!" "Certainly not," said the Tiger; "why, how in the world +could Friend Mouse-deer swallow _Me_? To say nothing of his not being +used to meat food." "Come and let us go back again," said the Ape. + +Then they went back again to find the Elephant, and first the Ape went +the faster, and then the Tiger went the faster, and then the Ape got in +front again. But Friend Mouse-deer sitting on Friend Elephant's back +saw them coming and shouted. "Hullo, Father Ape," said he, "this is a +dog's trick indeed; you promised to bring me two tigers and you only +bring me one. I refuse to accept it, Father Ape." + +Now when Friend Tiger heard this, he ran off at first as fast as he +could, but presently he slackened his pace and said, "It is too bad of +you, Friend Ape, to try to cozen me in order to pay your own debts. +For shame, Father Ape! It was only through good luck that he refused +to accept me; if he had accepted, I should have been dead and done +with. So now, if you come down to the ground, you shall die the death +yourself, just for your trying to cheat me." + +Thus the Tiger and the Ape were set at enmity, and to this day the +Tiger is very wroth with the Ape for trying to cheat him. And here the +story ends. + + + + +MOORISH FABLES + + "While watching man in all his phases, + And seeing that, in many cases, + He acts just like the brute creation-- + I've thought the lord of all these races + Of no less failings showed the traces + Than do his lieges in relation." + + +MOORISH FABLES + +The Wagtail and the Jackal + +At a time when the animals spoke, a Wagtail laid her eggs on the +ground. The little ones grew up. A Jackal and a Fox came to them. +The Jackal said to the Fox: + +"Swear to me that the Wagtail owes me a pound of butter." + +The Fox swore to it. The Bird began to weep. A Greyhound came to her +and asked her what was the matter. She answered him: + +"The Fox has calumniated me." + +"Well," said the Hound, "put me in this sack of skin." + +She put him in the sack. "Tie up the top well," said the Hound. When +the Jackal returned she said to him, + +"Come and measure out the butter." + +The Jackal advanced and unfastened the sack. He saw the Hound, who +stretched out his paws and said to the Fox, + +"I am ill; come and measure, Fox." + +The Fox approached. The Hound seized him. The Jackal said: + +"Remember your false testimony." + + + +The Wren + +A Wren had built its nest on the side of a road. When the eggs were +hatched, a Camel passed that way. The little Wrens saw it and said to +their father when he returned from the fields: + +"O papa, a gigantic animal passed by." + +The Wren stretched out his foot. "As big as this, my children?" + +"O papa, much bigger." + +He stretched out his foot and his wing. "As big as this?" + +"O papa, much bigger." + +Finally he stretched out fully his feet and legs. + +"As big as this then?" + +"Much bigger." + +"That is a lie; there is no animal bigger than I am." + +"Well, wait," said the little ones, "and you will see." + +The Camel came back while browsing the grass of the roadside. + +The Wren stretched himself out near the nest. The Camel seized the +bird, which passed through its teeth safe and sound. + +"Truly," he said to them, "the Camel is a gigantic animal, but I am not +ashamed of myself." + +On the earth it generally happens that the vain are as if they did not +exist; but sooner or later a rock falls and crushes them. + + + +Mule, Jackal, and Lion + +The Mule, the Jackal, and the Lion went in company. + +"We will eat the one whose race is bad," they said to each other. + +"Lion, who is your father?" + +"My father is a lion, and my mother is a lioness." + +"And you, Jackal, what is your father?" + +"My father is a jackal, and my mother too." + +"And you, Mule, what is your father?" + +"My father is an ass, and my mother is a mare." + +"Your race is bad; we will eat you." + +He answered them: "I will consult an old man. If he says that my race +is bad, you may devour me." + +He went to a farrier, and said to him, "Shoe my hind feet, and make the +nails stick out well." + +He went back home. He called the Camel and showed him his feet, +saying, "See what is written on this tablet." + +"The writing is difficult to decipher," answered the Camel. "I do not +understand it, for I only know three words--_outini_, _ouzatini_, +_ouazakin_." + +He called the Lion, and said to him, "I do not understand these +letters; I only know three words--_outini_, _ouzatini_, _ouazakin_." + +"Show it to me," said the Lion. He approached. The Mule struck him +between the eyes and stretched him out level. + +He who goes with a knave is betrayed by him. + + + + +AFRICAN FABLES + + "The world is old, they say; I don't deny it; + But, infant still + In taste and will, + Whoe'er would teach, must gratify it." + + +AFRICAN FABLES + +The Hen and the Cat + +A Cat arose in her house, went to a Hen and said to her: "Let us make +friendship!" + +The Hen replied to the Cat: "Dost thou like me for a friend?" + +The Cat said, "Yes," and went away, and after having been at home for a +while, she sent her child to the Hen, saying, "Go and tell the Hen to +rise up early to-morrow morning, and to come and accompany me to a +neighbouring town." + +The child arose, went to the Hen's house and saluted her. + +The Hen arose, and asked it: "Thou child of the Cat, dost thou come to +me in peace?" + +The Cat's child replied, "I come in peace; my mother has sent me to +thee." + +The Hen said to the Cat's child, "Say what thy mother has sent thee +for; let me know." + +After the Cat's child had told it to the Hen, it said: "I will go," and +set out and went home. + +When it was gone the Hen arose, called a child of hers, and said: "Go +and ask the Cat at what time we shall go to the neighbouring town?" +When the child had already started, she called it back again, saying, +"Come back, I will tell thee something." + +The child returned, and when it had come to its mother, she said to it, +"When thou goest to the Cat, open thy ears and hear well what she says, +and come and tell me." + +The child went to the Cat, and saluted her, and when the Cat arose and +came out to it, the Hen's child was standing there. The Cat asked the +Hen's child, "Why did thy mother send thee to me?" + +The Hen's child said, "My mother said I must come and ask thee how +early shall we go to the neighbouring town?" + +The Cat said to the Hen's child, "Go and tell thy mother to arise and +come at the cockcrowing; for what should eat her?" + +The Hen's child returned to its mother, and said to her, "Behold I went +to the Cat's place where thou sentest me, and am come back." + +The Hen said to her child, "What did the Cat say? Let me hear what +word she spoke?" + +Her child answered and said to her, "My mother, the word which the Cat +spoke is this: 'Go and tell thy mother to come to me when the cock +crows, that we may go; for what should eat her?'" + +Its mother, the Hen, said to her child, "My child, lie down in your +house, for I have heard what the Cat said." + +The child of the Hen obeyed her mother, went and lay down, and also her +mother lay down. They slept their sleep until the cock crew, which +when the Cat heard, she arose, got ready and waited for the Hen, +thinking, "May she come that we may go!" The cock crew the second +time, and the Cat looked out on the way whence the Hen was to come, +thinking, "May she come that we may go!" + +The Hen did not get up at home and day came on. When it became day, +the Cat arose in her house, went to the Hen's home, and said to her, +"Hen, thou sentest thy child to me, and asked at what time thou +shouldst rise up, and I said to thy child, 'Go and tell thy mother to +come when the cock crows, that we may go.' Did it not tell thee what +it was told by me, that thou art still sitting at home although it has +become day?" + +The Hen said to the Cat, "Sister Cat, if thou wishest to have me for a +friend, I must never get up in my house and come out at night." + +The Cat said to the Hen, "What art thou afraid of that thou sayest, 'I +will never come out at night'? What is there in the way?" + +The Hen listened to what the Cat said, got herself ready and called her +children, saying, "Come and let us accompany the Cat to a neighbouring +town!" All the children arose and when they had set out on their way, +the Cat went before, and having gone on a little, she seized two of the +children of the Hen; and the Hen saw that the cat was seizing two of +her children; so she said to the Cat, "Sister Cat, we have scarcely set +out on our way and dost thou seize two of my children?" + +The Cat replied, "Thy two children which I took have not strength +enough to walk; therefore did I take them to my bosom that we may go +on." + +The Hen said to the Cat, "If thou actest thus, I and thou must dissolve +our friendship." + +The Cat replied, "If thou wilt not have a friend, I shall let thee go +home." So, as the Hen began to go home, the Cat made a bound, and +seized the Hen's head, whereupon the Hen cried for help. All the +people of the town heard her, arose, ran, and when they were come, the +Cat was holding the Hen's head tight. When the Cat saw the people of +the town, she left the Hen, ran away, and entered the forest. + +There the Hen was standing and the people of the town said to her: +"Foolish one, didst thou, a Hen, arise and go to befriend a Cat? If we +had not heard thy screams, and come to thee, she would have killed thee +and carried away all thy children into her forest." + +The Hen said to the people of the town: "God bless you: you have taken +me out of the Cat's mouth." + +The people of the town said to her: "To-day our Lord has delivered +thee, but for the future do thou no more make friendship with the Cat. +The Cat is too cunning for thee: beware of the Cat in future!" + +I have heard old people say, that on that day the cats and the fowls +dissolved their friendship. This is finished. + + + +The Stork and the Toad + +A Stork went and laid eggs in a tree, brooded and hatched young ones. +Then she left and went to seek food for her little ones; but she did +not get any food, and all her little ones were crying for hunger. The +Stork did not know what to do. So she arose one day, went to her +friend, and said, "My friend, I am come to thee." + +Her friend said: "What dost thou want that thou art come to me?" + +She replied to her friend: "My children are hungry, and I have no food; +therefore, am I come to thee; teach me a device!" + +Her friend said to her: "Arise in the morning, go to the brook, and see +whether there are Toads in it; then come back, and on the following +morning go again, and lie down by the side of the brook; stretch out +thy legs and thy wings, shut thine eyes, keep quite silent, and lie in +one place until the Toads come out in the morning, and, after seeing +thee, go home and call all their people to come, to take thee by the +wing and to drag thee away. But do not thou speak to them--be +perfectly quiet." + +She listened to what her friend said, and at night-quiet she arose, and +went to the brook, when all the Toads were singing; but as soon as they +saw her, they went and hid themselves at the bottom of the water. So +the Stork went home and slept, and having slept she arose up early and +went back again to the brook, without being observed by the Toads; she +went softly, and lay down by the side of the water, pretending to be +dead, stretched out her legs, her wings, and her mouth, and shut her +eyes. Thus she lay, until at break of day when one Toad arose, and, +finding that it was day, came forth and saw the Stork lying. He went +back, and called all the Toads: + +"Come, behold, I have seen something dead, lying at the door of our +house, and when I had seen it I came back to call you." + +So all the Toads arose and followed him, and having come out, they all +saw a Stork lying at the door of their house; but they did not know +that the Stork was more cunning than themselves. They returned home, +called a council together and said: "What shall we do? Some one who +came, we do not know whence, has died before the gate of our town." +All their great men answered, and said, "Arise all of you, go out, drag +this dead body far away, and leave it there." + +So they all arose, went, and, taking the Stork by its wings and legs, +dragged it away. + +The Stork was cunning; she saw them without their knowing it. They +sang, as they dragged her away: + +"Drag her and leave her! Drag her and leave her!" + +The Stork did not speak to them, as they all dragged her away, although +she saw them. Now when they had carried her far away, the Stork opened +her eyes, which when they saw they all began to run away. As soon as +the Stork saw that the Toads had begun to run away, she arose, and +pursued them; having overtaken one, she took and swallowed it, and went +on taking and swallowing them. The Toads kept running, but by the time +they would have got home the Stork had swallowed them all, one by one. +She had filled her bag, and then started on her way home. As soon as +her children saw her, they all ran to their mother, saying, "Our mother +has brought us food." When they came their mother threw all the Toads +in her bag down to her children, and her children ate them, so that +their hunger was appeased. + +The Stork arose, went to her friend, and said: + +"My friend, what thou toldest me yesterday is excellent: I went and lay +down by the side of the brook, and when the Toads saw me in the +morning, they thought I was dead; they came, dragged me along, and when +they had carried me far away, not knowing that I was wiser than they +and thinking that I was dead, I opened mine eyes to look at them; but +on seeing me open mine eyes, they all began to run away. Then I arose, +pursued them, and when I had overtaken one, I took and swallowed it; +and when I had overtaken a second I took and swallowed it; so by the +time they would have reached home I had swallowed them all, and filled +my bag with them. I brought them to my children, and when my children +were around me, I threw the Toads before them out of the bag and they +ate them, that their hunger was appeased." + +She also thanked her friend, saying: "God bless thee; thou hast taught +me an excellent device." + +Thus the Stork and her friend devised a plan, and thus they were able +to maintain their children while the Toads were sitting in their house. + +So now, when the Toads are croaking in a brook, and they see any one +come, they are all quite silent, supposing that a Stork is coming. + +This fable of the Stork and Toads, which I heard, is now finished. + + + +The Rat and the Toad + +The Toad said to the Rat, "I can do more than thou." + +The Rat replied to the Toad: "Thou dost not know how to run; having +flung thyself anywhere thou stoppest there. This is all thy run; and +wilt thou say that thou canst do more than I?" + +When the Toad had heard the words of the Rat he said to him: "If, +according to thy opinion, I cannot do more than thou, thou shalt see +what I will begin to do to-morrow; and if thou beginnest and doest the +same, without anything happening to thee, thou canst do more than I." + +The Rat agreed to the Toad's proposal, and went to see the Toad. + +The Toad prepared himself, and when the sun reached about the middle, +between the horizon and the zenith, the great men felt its heat, and +went to sit down in the shade of a tree. The Toad on seeing this, +arose, went to where the men were sitting, and passed through the midst +of them. When the men observed him they said: "If you touch him, your +hand will become bitter." So no one touched him, and the Toad passed +through and went home. + +Then the Toad said to the Rat, "Didst thou see me? Now if thou canst +do what I do, arise, and begin to do it. I will see!" + +The Rat, attending to what the toad said, got ready and the following +morning, when the sun had gained strength and the great men had stood +up and got under the shade of a tree, the Rat saw them sitting there, +and went to do what the Toad had done; but when he came to where the +men were sitting, and just went to pass through the midst of them, they +saw him, and they all took sticks, and sought to kill him: one man +attempting to kill him with a stick, struck at him, but did not hit him +well, the stick touching him only a little on the back; so he ran away +to the Toad. + +On his arrival the Rat said to the Toad: + +"Brother Toad, as thou wentest to where the people were sitting no one +said a word to thee, and thou camest home again with a sound skin; but +when I went, and they saw me, just as I went to pass through them they +all took sticks, and sought to kill me; and one man taking a stick and +striking at me to kill me, our Lord helped me, that the stick hit me +only a little on the back; so I ran away, and came to thee. I disputed +with thee, thinking that I could do what thou doest: now to-day I have +experienced something; to-morrow let us begin again and when I have the +experience of to-morrow, I shall be able to give thee an answer." + +The Toad said to the Rat: "The things of today are passed; to-morrow, +when the great men have gone and sat down under the tree, I will get +ready and when thou hast seen that, on observing me come to them and +pass through the midst of them, they will not say a word to me, thou +also shalt do what I did." So the Rat then went to see the Toad. + +As soon as the Toad saw the great men sitting under the tree, he again +began, saying to the Rat, "Look at me, as I go to the place where the +great men are sitting, with a sound skin: but if, on my return from +them, if thou seest the wale of a stick on any part of my body, thou +hast spoken the truth, and canst do more than I." + +The Toad got ready, and on coming to where the men were sitting no one +said anything to him; so he passed through the midst of them, and went +again to the Rat, saying: "Look at me! Look at my whole body! Canst +thou see the wale of a stick? If thou seest one, then tell me of it!" + +When the Rat had looked at the Toad's whole body and not seen any wale +of a stick he said to the Toad: + +"Brother Toad, I have looked at thy whole body, and not seen any wale +of a stick: thou art right." + +The Toad said to the Rat. "As thou disputest with me, and maintainest +that thou canst do what I do, get up again, and go to where the great +men are sitting; and if on seeing thee, these men do not say anything +to thee, so that I see thee come back to me again with a sound skin, +then I know that thou canst do more than I." + +The Rat, attending to what the Toad said, arose, got himself ready, and +when he saw the great men sitting under the tree, he went toward them; +but on observing him, they said: "Here comes a Rat," and they every one +took a stick, and pursued him in order to kill him; so he ran away, and +as he ran, a man with a stick pursued him; saying, "I will not let this +Rat escape." + +The Rat ran until his strength failed him. The man pursued him with +his stick, to kill him; and having come near to him, he took his stick, +and struck at him, with the purpose of killing him; but the stick did +not hit him, and God saved him, his time being not yet arrived, by +showing him a hole into which he crept. When the man saw that he had +gotten into the hole, he went back and returned home. The Rat, on +seeing that the man had gone home, came again out of the hole, and went +to the Toad, saying to him: + +"Brother Toad, I indeed at first disputed with thee, saying that I +could do more than thou; but, as for my disputing with thee, thou in +truth canst do more than I: when the people saw thee, they did not say +a word to thee, but when they saw me, they wished to kill me; if our +Lord had not helped me and showed me a hole, they, on seeing me, would +not have left, but killed me; thou surpassest me in greatness." + +At that time the Rat entreated our Lord and he placed it in a hole, but +the Toad he placed in the open air. The Rat does not come out by day, +before any one; as to the time when it comes out at night, it stretches +its head out of the hole, and when it does not see anybody it comes out +to seek its food. + +As for the Toad, it comes out by day and by night, at any time, +whenever it likes; it comes out and goes about, not anything likes to +molest it; it is bitter, no one eats it on account of its bitterness; +the Toad is left alone; therefore it goes about wherever it likes. + +The Rat does not come out of its hole and walk about except at night. + +What the Toad and the Rat did, this I heard, and have told to thee. +This fable of the Toad and the Rat is now finished. + + + +The Lion and the Wild Dog + +The Lion said to the Wild Dog that he did not fear any one in the +forest except these four, viz., tree-leaves, grass, flies, and earth, +and when the Wild Dog said, "There is certainly one stronger than +thou," the Lion replied to the Wild Dog, "I kill the young ones of the +elephant, the wild cow, and the leopard, and bring them to my children +to be eaten. If I give one roar, all the beasts of the forest tremble, +every one of them, on hearing me roar; none is greater than I within +this forest." + +The Wild Dog said to the Lion, "As thou sayest that thou fearest not +any one in this forest, so let us go and show me thy house; and I will +come and call thee, in order to show thee a place where a black bird +comes to eat, as soon as I shall see him again." + +The Lion took the Wild Dog with him and showed him his house; and then +the Wild Dog went home. + +The next day, when a hunter was come to the forest the Wild Dog, on +seeing him, went to the Lion's house, and said to the Lion: + +"Brother Lion, come, and follow me, and I will show thee something +which I have seen." + +The Lion arose and followed the Wild Dog, and when they were come to +where the hunter was, the hunter prepared himself: he had put on his +forest garment, had sewn the bill of a long bird to his cap, and put it +on his head, and he walked as a bird. The Wild Dog, seeing him, said +to the Lion: + +"Brother Lion, yonder is that black bird. Go and catch him, and when +thou hast caught him, please give me one of his legs, for I want it for +a charm." + +The Lion attended to what the Wild Dog said, and went softly to where +the bird was; but the Wild Dog ran back. + +The Lion went, thinking, "I will kill the bird," but he did not know +that on seeing him the hunter had prepared himself, and taken out his +arrow; so, as he thought, "I will go and seize the bird," and was come +close to the hunter, the hunter shot an arrow at the Lion and hit him. +Then the Lion fell back, and having got up and fallen down three times, +the arrow took effect and he felt giddy. In the same moment the hunter +had disappeared[1] so that he saw him no more. Then the Lion recovered +his courage and went very gently home. + +On his arrival at home the Wild Dog said to him: + +"Brother Lion, as thou saidst to me that thou art not afraid of any one +in the world except our Lord, tree-leaves, grass, flies, and dirt, why +didst thou not catch that black bird which I showed thee, and bring it +to thy children?" + +The Lion replied, "This man's strength is greater than mine." + +Then the Wild Dog said again, "Thou saidst that thou fearest no one, +except grass, flies, earth and tree-leaves; thou fearest, lest when +thou enterest the forest, the leaves of trees should touch thee, or +lest grass should touch thy body, or lest flies should sit on thy skin; +thou also fearest to lie upon the bare earth, and thou fearest our +Lord, who created thee: all these thou fearest, 'but not any other I +fear within this forest,' thou saidst; and yet I showed thee a bird, +the which thou couldst not kill, but thou leftest it, and rannest home; +now tell me how this bird looks?" + +The Lion answered and said to the Wild Dog: "Wild Dog, what thou saidst +is true, and I believe it; a black man is something to be feared; if we +do not fear a black man neither shall we fear our Lord who created us." + +Now all the wild beasts which God has created hunt for their food in +the forest, and eat it; but as soon as they see one black man standing, +they do not stop and wait, but run away. Now the following beasts are +dangerous in the forest: viz., the leopard, the lion, the wild cow, the +wild dog and the hyena; but when they see a black man, they do not stop +and wait. As for the dispute which the Lion and the Wild Dog had, the +Wild Dog was right, and the Lion gave him his right; then they shook +hands again, and each went and ran to his own home. This fable, which +I heard, respecting the Wild Dog and the Lion, is now finished. + +[1]This refers to the universal belief that hunters are able to render +themselves invisible, in moments of danger, by the operation of charms +and witchcraft. + + + +How Sense Was Distributed + +In the beginning not one of all the beasts of the forest was endowed +with sense: when they saw a hunter come to them intending to kill them, +they stood and looked at the hunter, and so the hunter killed them; day +after day he killed them. Then our Lord sent one who put all the sense +into a bag, tied it, carried it, and put it down under a large tree. + +The Weasel saw the man put the bag down, and afterward went, called the +Hare, and said to him: + +"Brother Hare, I saw a man put something down under a tree, but as I +went to take it, I could not; so let us go and if thou wilt take it I +will show it to thee that thou mayest do so." + +When the Weasel and the Hare had gone together to where the bag was, +the Weasel said to the Hare, "Behold, here is the thing which I could +not take and for which I called thee here." + +But as the Hare went and attempted to take it, he could not, so he left +it and went away. + +When he was gone the Weasel went again to take hold of the bag, but as +he attempted to take it, it was too heavy; so the Weasel did not know +what to do. Then came a Pigeon, who sat upon a tree, and said +something to the Weasel. The Weasel heard it say: "Lean it over and +take it." And again, "Bend it and take it." + +As soon as he had heard this, he dragged the bag along and thus brought +it and leaned it against a tree, and caused it to stand in an inclined +position; then having gone to the bottom of it, he bowed down, put his +head to the bag, and as he drew the bag toward him it went upon his +head; this being done, he pressed himself upon the ground, rose up and +stood there. After this he went his way home, and on putting the bag +down upon the ground and untying it, the Weasel saw that there was no +other thing in the bag, but pure sense. + +So he went and called the Hare again, and when the Hare was come, he +said to him: + +"Brother Hare, there was not a single other thing in that bag but pure +sense: God has loved us so that to-day we have obtained sense; but do +not tell it to anybody, then I will give thee a little, and what +remains I will hide in my hole until some one comes and begs of me, and +then I will give him also a little." + +So he took one sense and gave to the Hare, saying, "If thou takest home +this one sense, which I give thee, it will preserve thee. When thou +sleepest by day open thy eyes; then if one comes to thee, thinking, 'I +have got meat, I will take it,' and sees that thine eyes are open, he +will think that thou art not asleep, will leave thee alone and go; but +when thou goest and liest down without sleeping, then shut thine eyes, +and if one sees thee, and sees that thine eyes are shut, when he comes +close to thee, saying, 'I have got meat, I will take it,' then thou +wilt see him, rise up and run away into thy forest. This one sense +will be enough for thee; but what remains I will keep in mine own +house." The Hare took his one sense and went home. + +Now if one sees a Hare lying with his eyes open, it sleeps, but if its +eyes are closed it is awake, and does not sleep. By this one sense +which it has got the Hare is preserved. + +The Weasel took all the sense that was left and hid it in his house. +The Weasel surpasses all the beasts of the field in sense. When you +see the Weasel, and say, "There the King of Sense has come out," and +drive it before you, saying, "I will catch it," it runs into its hole; +and if you begin to dig up the hole, it comes out behind you, and runs +until you see it no more. This is why now if one sees a Weasel, one +calls it "The King of Sense." + +Amongst all the beasts of the field he distributed sense only little by +little, and this is what they now have. + +This word, showing how sense came abroad in the world, and the meaning +of which I have heard, is now finished. + + + +What Employment Our Lord Gave to Insects + +All the Insects assembled and went to our Lord to seek employment. On +their arrival they said to our Lord, "Thou hast given every one his +work; now give us also a work to do, that we may have something to eat." + +Our Lord attended to the request of the Insects, and said to them, "Who +will give notice that to-morrow all the Insects are to come?" + +The Merchant-insect arose and said to our Lord, "The Cricket can give +notice well." + +So our Lord called the Cricket and said to him when he was come, "Go +and give notice this evening, when the sun has set, that to-morrow +morning all the Insects are to come to me, for I wish to see them." + +The Cricket, obeying our Lord's command, went back to his house, waited +until evening, until the sun set, and as soon as he had seen the +setting of the sun, he prepared and arose to give notice. So when the +Cricket had given notice until midnight, our Lord sent a man to him +saying: "Go and tell the Cricket, that there has been much notice, and +that it is now enough; else he will have the headache." But the +Cricket would not hear, he said: "If I am out they will see me." So he +went into his hole, stretched only his head out, and began to give +notice. The Cricket went on giving notice until the day dawned; but +when it was day he became silent and stopped giving notice. Then all +the Insects arose and went to the prayer-place of our Lord, the +Merchant alone being left behind. To all the Insects who came first, +our Lord gave their employment, which they all took and went home. + +Afterward also the Merchant-insect went to our Lord, and our Lord said +to him: "To all thy people who came before, I have given their work, +and they are gone; now what kept thee back that thou camest to me last?" + +The Merchant-insect replied to our Lord, "My bags are many and on the +day when I took my bags and bound them up in my large travelling sacks +to load them upon my asses, then my people left me behind and came to +thee first." + +Our Lord said to him: "All other employments are assigned; the people +who came first took them and went away; but stop, I will also give one +to thee. Go, and having arrived at the entrance of the black ants, +where are a great many ant-heads, when thou seest these many heads of +the black ants, take them, and fill thy bags with them; then load thy +bags upon thy ass, carry them to market, spread mats there, and sell +them." + +So the Merchant-insect obtained his employment, drove his ass, and went +from our Lord, picked up ant-heads at the entrance of the black ants, +loaded his ass, and went his way to the market. As he went the ass +threw off the large bag. Then, he alone not being able to lift the +bag, he called people, saying: "Come, be so good as to help me; let us +take the sacks and load mine ass;" but not any of the people would do +so. Then the little red ants came after him, and when they were come +to where he was, he said to them, "Please come and help me to load mine +ass". The little red Ants said to the Merchant-insect, "We will not +help thee for nothing." + +The Merchant-insect said to the little red Ants, "If you will not help +me for nothing, then come and help me, and when I have come back from +the market, I will pay you." + +The little red Ants helped him to load his ass, and the Merchant-insect +drove his ass to the market, put down his sacks in the midst of the +market-place, prepared the ground, spread his mat there, and having +sold his ant-heads, he bought his things, and the market people began +to disperse. + +Then the Merchant-insect started on his way home, and as he went the +little red Ants saw him, and said to him, "Father-merchant, give us +what thou owest us." + +The Merchant, however, refused them their due, and went on his way. +Now as he went he got fever so that he sat down under a tree, tied his +ass fast, and took off the sacks from his ass's back. As he sat there +the fever overpowered him, and he lay down. On seeing him lying the +little red Ants assembled and came to him. Now the fever was consuming +the Merchant-insect's strength, and when the little red Ants saw this +they assembled together and killed him. + +There was one Insect who saw them kill him, and he ran to our Lord, and +said to him, "All the little red Ants assembled together and killed a +man in the midst of the town--that I saw it." + +When our Lord heard what the Insect said he called a man and sent him, +saying: "Go and call the little red Ants which kill people and bring +them to me." + +The messenger arose, went, called all the little red Ants and brought +them before our Lord. On seeing the little red Ants, our Lord asked +them, "Why did you kill the man?" The little red Ants answered, and +said to our Lord, "The reason why we killed this man is this: When he +went to market and his ass had thrown off the sacks, those sacks were +too heavy for him to take alone, so he called us, and when we came to +him, he said to us, 'Please help me to take my large bag and load it +upon mine ass, that I may go to market. When I have sold my things and +come back, I will pay you.' Accordingly we helped him to load his ass; +but when he had gone to market and sold all his things there, we saw +him on his return home, and went to him, to ask him for what he owed +us; but he refused it, drove his ass, and went homeward. However, he +was only gone a little while, when he got fever, sat down under a tree, +tied his ass fast, took off his sacks and laid them down; and on the +same spot where he sat down, the fever overpowered him that he lay +down. Then on seeing him lying we went, assembled ourselves and killed +him, because he had refused what he owed us." + +Our Lord gave them right. + +Our Lord said to the Merchant, "Thou goest to market until thy life +stands still." Our Lord said to the Cricket, "Do thou give notice +whenever it is time! This is thy work." + +Our Lord said to the little red Ants, "Whenever ye see any Insect +unwell and lying down in a place, then go, assemble yourselves and +finish it." + +Now the Cricket begins to give notice as soon as it is evening and does +not keep silence in his hole until the morning comes; this is its +employment. The Merchant has no farm and does not do any work, but +constantly goes to market; this is its employment, given to it by the +Lord. Now the little red Ants, whenever they see an Insect unwell and +lying down they go and assemble themselves against that Insect, and, +even if that Insect has not yet expired they finish it. This our Lord +gave to the little red Ants for their employment. + +I have now told thee the fable of the Insects, which I have heard of +Omar Pesami. This is finished. + + + +Man and Turtle + +Let me tell of Turtle of Koka. + +Man of Lubi la Suku caught a Turtle in the bush; he came with it to the +village. They said: "Let us kill it!" + +Some people said: "How shall we kill it?" They said: "We shall cut it +with hatchets." Turtle replied, saying: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And hatchet of Koka; + Hatchet not kill me a bit." + +The people said: "What shall we kill him with?" Some said: "We shall +kill him with stones." Turtle, fear grasped him, he said: "I am going +to die." He says by mouth: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And stone of Koka; + Stone will not kill me a bit." + +The people said: "Let us cast him into the fire!" Turtle said: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And fire of Koka; + Fire will not kill me a bit. + On my back, + It is like stone; + Not there can + Catch on fire." + +The people said: "We will kill him with knives." Turtle said: + + "Turtle of Koka, + And knife of Koka; + Knife will not kill me a bit." + +The people said: "This fellow, how shall we do? How shall we kill +him?" These said: "Let us cast him into the depth of water." Turtle +said: "Woe! I shall die there! How shall I do?" The people said: "We +have it! We have found the way we can kill him!" + +They carry him; they arrive with him at the river. They cast him into +the depth. Turtle dives; after a while he emerges. There he is +swimming and singing: + + "In water, in my home! + In water, in my home!" + +The people said: "Oh! Turtle has fooled us. We were going to kill him +with hatchets; he says, 'Hatchet will not kill me a bit.' We spoke of +casting him into the water; he says, 'I am going to die.' We came; we +cast him into the water; but we saved him." + +This is what caused the Turtle to live in the water: the people were +going to kill him; but he was shrewd. + + + +Nianga Dia Ngenga and Leopard + +Nianga Dia Ngenga takes up his gun, saying: "I will go a-hunting." He +has reached the bush; he has hunted; he saw not game; he says: "I will +go." + +When he returns home, he finds Mr. Leopard, whom they have stuck up in +the fork of a tree. When he sees Nianga, he says: "Father Nianga, help +me out!" Nianga says: "What has done this to thee?" He says: "Unfork +me first; I shall tell thee." + +Nianga took him out; he set him on the ground. He says: "Elephant has +stuck me up in the fork of the tree. Sir, to whom one has given life, +one gives more. I have been two days on the tree; give me a little +food." Nianga says: "Where shall I find food?" He says: "Anywhere." + +Nianga takes up his dog; he gives it to Mr. Leopard. Mr. Leopard ate +it and said, "I am not satisfied." Nianga takes up also the other dog; +he gives it to Mr. Leopard. He has eaten, says, "Still I have not +enough." Nianga dia Ngenga took up his cartridge-box; he gives him it. +Mr. Leopard, when he had eaten it, said, "Still I have not enough." + +Hare comes; he finds them talking; says: "Why are you quarrelling?" +Nianga says: "Mr. Leopard, I found him in the fork of a tree. Says +he, 'Take me out!' I took him out. Says he, 'Give me to eat!' I gave +him both my dogs and my cartridge-box. He says, 'Give me more to eat.' +That is what we are quarrelling about." + +Hare says: "Mr. Leopard, let him be again on the tree, where he was; +that I may see." Mr. Leopard returns to the tree, where he was. Hare +moves off to a distance; he calls Nianga. He says: "Thou, Nianga, art +unwise. Mr. Leopard is a wild beast, he is wont to catch people. +Thou, who didst get him out of there, he wanted to devour thee. Shoot +him." + +Nianga then shoots Mr. Leopard. + +The end . . . "is with God." + + + +Leopard and the Other Animals + +Mr. Leopard lived. One day hunger grasps him. He says: "How shall I +do? I will call all the animals in the world, saying, 'Come ye, let us +have a medical consultation.' When the animals come then I may catch +and eat." + +He sends at once to call Deer, Antelope, Soko, Hare, and Philantomba. +They gather, saying: "Why didst thou send for us?" He says: "Let us +consult medicine, that we get health." + +The sun is broken down. They begin the drums outside with the songs. +Mr. Leopard himself is beating the drum; he is saying, saying: + + "O Antelope! O Deer! + Your friend is sick; + Do not shun him! + O Antelope! O Deer! + Your friend is sick; + Do not shun him! + O Antelope! O Deer! + Your friend is sick; + Do not shun him'" + +Deer says: "Chief, the drum, how art thou playing it? Bring it here; +that I play it." Mr. Leopard gives him it. Deer takes the drum, says: + + "Not sickness; + Wiliness holds thee + Not sickness; + Wiliness holds thee! + Not sickness; + Wiliness holds thee!" + +Mr. Leopard stood up from ground, said: "Thou, Deer, knowest not how to +play the drum." + +The animals all then ran away, saying, "Mr. Leopard has a scheme to +catch us." + + + +Elephant and Frog + +I often tell of Mr. Elephant and Mr. Frog, who were courting at one +house. + +One day Mr. Frog spake to the sweetheart of Mr. Elephant, saying: "Mr. +Elephant is my horse." Mr. Elephant, when he came at night, then the +girls tell him, saying: "Thou art the horse of Mr. Frog!" + +Mr. Elephant then goes to Mr. Frog's, saying: "Didst thou tell my +sweetheart that I am thy horse?" Mr. Frog says, saying: "No; I did not +say so." They go together to find the sweetheart of Mr. Elephant. + +On the way, Mr. Frog told Mr. Elephant, saying: "Grandfather, I have +not strength to walk. Let me get up on thy back!" Mr. Elephant said: +"Get up, my grandson." Mr. Frog then goes up. + +When a while passed, he told Mr. Elephant: "Grandfather, I am going to +fall. Let me seek small cords to bind thee in mouth." Mr. Elephant +consents. Mr. Frog then does what he has asked. + +When passed a little while, he told again Mr. Elephant, saying: "Let me +seek a green twig to fan the mosquitoes off thee." Mr. Elephant says: +"Go." He then fetches the twig. + +Then, when they were about to arrive, the girls saw them, and they went +to meet them with shouting, saying: "Thou, Mr. Elephant, art the horse +indeed of Mr. Frog!" + + + +Dog and the Kingship + +Mr. Dog, they wanted to invest him with the kingship. They sought all +the things of royalty: the cap, the sceptre, the rings, the skin of +mulkaka. The things are complete; they say: "The day has come to +install." + +The headmen all came in full; they sent for the players of drum and +marimba; they have come. They spread coarse mats and fine mats. Where +the lord is going to sit, they laid a coarse mat; they spread on it a +fine mat; they set a chair on. They say: "Let the lord sit down." He +sat down. The people begin to divide the victuals. + +He, Mr. Dog, on seeing the breast of a fowl, greed grasped him. He +stood up in haste; took the breast of the fowl; ran into the bush. The +people said: "The lord, whom we are installing, has run away with the +breast of the fowl into the bush!" The people separated. + +Mr. Dog, who was going to be invested with the kingship, because of his +thievery, the kingship he lost it. + +I have told my little tale. Finished. + + + +The Builder of Ability and the Builder of Haste + +Two men called themselves one name. This one said: "I am Ndala, the +builder of ability." The other one said: "I am Ndala, the builder of +haste." + +They say: "We will go to trade." They start; they arrive in middle of +road. A storm comes. They stop, saying: "Let us build grass-huts!" +Ndala, the builder of haste, built in haste; he entered into his hut. +Ndala, the builder of ability is building carefully. The storm comes; +it kills him outside. Ndala, the builder of haste escaped, because his +hut was finished; it sheltered him when the storm came on. + + + + +FABLES FROM KRILOF + + "Shall not my fable censure vice, + Because a Knave is over-nice? + And, lest the guilty hear and dread, + Shall not the decalogue be read?" + + JOHN GAY + + +FABLES FROM KRILOF + + +The Education of the Lion + +To the Lion, king of the forests, was given a son. + +Among us, a child a year old, even if it belong to a royal family, is +small and weak. But, by the time it has lived a twelve-month, a +lion-cub has long ago left off its baby-clothes. + +So, at the end of a year, the Lion began to consider that he must not +allow his royal son to remain ignorant, that the dignity of the kingdom +be not degraded, and that when the son's turn should come to govern the +kingdom the nation should have no cause to reproach the father on his +account. + +But whom should he entreat, or compel, or induce by rewards, to +instruct the czarevitch to become a czar? + +The Fox is clever, but it is terribly addicted to lying, and a liar is +perpetually getting into trouble. "No," thought the Lion, "the science +of falsehood is not one which princes ought to study." + +Should he trust him to the Mole? All who speak of that animal say that +it is an extreme admirer of order and regularity; that it never takes a +step till it has examined the ground before it, and that it cleans and +shells with its own paws every grain of corn that comes to its table. +In fact, the Mole has the reputation of being very great in small +affairs; but, unfortunately, it cannot see anything at a distance. The +Mole's love of order is an excellent thing for animals of its own kind, +but the Lion's kingdom is considerably more extensive than a mole-run. + +Should he choose the Panther? The Panther is brave and strong, and is, +besides, a great master of military tactics; but the Panther knows +nothing of politics, is ignorant of everything that belongs to civil +affairs. A king must be a judge and a minister as well as a warrior. +The Panther is good for nothing but fighting; so it, too, is unfit to +educate royal children. + +To be brief, not a single beast, not even the Elephant himself, who was +as much esteemed in the forest as Plato used to be in Greece, seemed +wise enough to satisfy the Lion. + +By good fortune, or the opposite--we shall find out which--another +king, the king of birds, the Eagle, an old acquaintance and friend of +the Lion, heard of that monarch's difficulty, and, wishing to do his +friend a great kindness, offered to educate the young Lion himself. + +The Lion felt a great weight removed from his shoulders. What could be +better than a king as the tutor for a prince? So the Lion-cub was got +ready, and sent off to the Eagle's court, there to learn how to govern. + +And now two or three years go by. Ask whom you will, meanwhile, you +hear nothing but praise of the young Lion; and all the birds scatter +throughout the forests the wonderful stories of his merits. + +At last the appointed time comes, and the Lion sends for his son. The +prince arrives, and all the people are gathered together, great and +small alike. + +The king embraces his son before them all, and thus addresses him: "My +beloved son, you are my only heir. I am looking forward to the grave, +but you are just entering upon life. Before I make over my sceptre to +you, tell me, in the presence of this assembly, what you have been +taught, and in what manner you propose to make your people happy." + +"Papa," exclaimed the prince, "I know what no one here knows. I can +tell where each bird, from the Eagle to the Quail, can most readily +find water, on what each of them lives, and how many eggs it lays; and +I can count up the wants of every bird, without missing one. Here is +the certificate my tutor gave me. It was not for nothing that the +birds used to say that I could pick the stars out of the sky. When you +have made up your mind to transfer the kingdom to me, I will +immediately begin to teach the beasts how to make nests." + +On this the king and all his beasts howled aloud; the members of the +council hung their heads; and, too late, the Lion perceived that the +young Lion had learned nothing of what was wanted, that he was +acquainted with birds only, not knowing anything of the nature of +beasts, although he was destined to rule over them, and that he was +destitute of that which is most requisite in kings--the knowledge of +the wants of their own people and the interests of their own country. + + + +The Pebble and the Diamond + +A Diamond, which some one had lost, lay for some time on the high road. +At last it happened that a merchant picked it up. By him it was +offered to the king, who bought it, had it set in gold, and made it one +of the ornaments of the royal crown. Having heard of this, a Pebble +began to make a fuss. The brilliant fate of the Diamond fascinated it; +and, one day, seeing a Moujik passing, it besought him thus: + +"Do me a kindness, fellow-countryman, and take me with you to the +capital. Why should I go on suffering here in rain and mud, while our +Diamond is, men say, in honour there? I don't understand why it has +been treated with such respect. Side by side with me here it lay so +many years; it is just such a stone as I am--my close companion. Do +take me! How can one tell? If I am seen there, I too, perhaps, may be +found worthy of being turned to account." + +The Moujik took the stone into his lumbering cart, and conveyed it to +the city. Our stone tumbled into the cart, thinking that it would soon +be sitting by the side of the Diamond. But a quite different fate +befell it. It really was turned to account, but only to mend a hole in +the road. + + + +The Pike and the Cat + +A conceited Pike took it into its head to exercise the functions of a +cat. I do not know whether the Evil One had plagued it with envy, or +whether, perhaps, it had grown tired of fishy fare; but, at all events, +it thought fit to ask the Cat to take it out to the chase, with the +intention of catching a few mice in the warehouse. "But, my dear +friend," Vaska says to the Pike, "do you understand that kind of work? +Take care, gossip, that you don't incur disgrace. It isn't without +reason that they say: 'The work ought to be in the master's power.'" + +"Why really, gossip, what a tremendous affair it is! Mice, indeed! +Why, I have been in the habit of catching perches!" + +"Oh, very well. Come along!" + +They went; they lay each in ambush. The Cat thoroughly enjoyed itself; +made a hearty meal; then went to look after its comrade. Alas! the +Pike, almost destitute of life, lay there gasping, its tail nibbled +away by the mice. So the Cat, seeing that its comrade had undertaken a +task quite beyond its strength, dragged it back, half dead, to its pond. + + + +Trishka's Caftan + +Trishka's caftan was out at the elbows. But why should he ponder long +over it? He took to his needle, cut a quarter off each sleeve: so +mended the elbows. + +The caftan was all right again, only his arms were bare for a quarter +of their length. That is no great matter, but every one is always +laughing at Trishka. So Trishka says: + +"I'm not a fool. I'll set this affair straight also. I'll make the +sleeves longer than they were before. They shall see Trishka is no +mere commonplace fellow." + +So he cut off the skirts of his caftan, and used them to lengthen his +sleeves. + +Then Trishka was happy, though he had a caftan which was as short as a +waistcoat. + +In a similar way I have sometimes seen other embarrassed people set +straight their affairs. Take a look at them as they dash away. They +have all got on Trishka's caftan. + + + +The Elephant as Governor + +An Elephant was once appointed ruler of a forest. Now it is well known +that the race of elephants is endowed with great intelligence; but +every family has its unworthy scion. Our Governor was as stout as the +rest of his race are, but as foolish as the rest of his race are not. +As to his character, he would not intentionally hurt a fly. Well, the +worthy Governor becomes aware of a petition laid before him by the +Sheep, stating that their skins are entirely torn off their backs by +the Wolves. + +"Oh, rogues!" cries the Elephant, "what a crime! Who gave you leave to +plunder?" + +But the Wolves say: + +"Allow us to explain, O father. Did not you give us leave to take from +the Sheep a trifling contribution for our pelisses in winter? It is +only because they are stupid sheep that they cry out. They have only a +single fleece taken from each of them, but they grumble about giving +even that!" + +"Well, well," says the Elephant, "take care what you do. I will not +permit any one to commit injustice. As it must be so, take a fleece +from each of them. But do not take from them a single hair besides." + + + +The Quartette + +The tricksy Monkey, the Goat, the Ass, and bandy-legged Mishka the +Bear, determine to play a quartette. They provide themselves with the +necessary pieces of music--with two fiddles, and with an alto and a +counter-bass. Then they sit down on a meadow under a lime-tree, +prepared to enchant the world by their skill. They work away at their +fiddlesticks with a will; and they make a noise, but there is no music +in it. + +"Stop, brothers, stop!" cries the Monkey, "wait a little! How can we +get our music right? It's plain, you mustn't sit as you are. You, +Mishka, with your counter-bass, face the alto. I will sit opposite the +second fiddle. Then a different sort of music will begin: we shall set +the very hills and forests dancing." + +So they change places, and recommence; but the music is just as +discordant as before. + +"Stop a little," exclaims the Ass; "I have found out the secret. We +shall be sure to play in tune if we sit in a row." + +They follow its advice, and form in an orderly line. But the quartette +is as unmusical as ever. Louder than before there arose among them +squabbling and wrangling as to how they ought to be seated. It +happened that a Nightingale came flying that way, attracted by their +noise. At once they all entreated it to solve their difficulty. + +"Be so kind," they say, "as to bear with us a little, in order that our +quartette may come off properly. Music we have; instruments we have: +tell us only how we ought to place ourselves." + +But the Nightingale replies, + +"To be a musician, one must have a quicker intelligence and a finer ear +than you possess. You, my friends, may place yourselves just as you +like, but you will never become musicians." + + + +Demian's Fish Soup + +"Neighbour, light of mine eyes! do eat a little more!" + +"Dear neighbour, I am full to the throat." + +"No matter; just a little plateful. Believe me, the soup is cooked +gloriously." + +"But I've had three platefuls already." + +"Well, what does that matter? If you like it, and it does you good, +why not eat it all up? What a soup it is! How rich! It looks as if +it had been sprinkled with amber. Here is a bream; there a lump of +sterlet. Take a little more, dear, kind friend. Just another +spoonful. Wife, come and entreat him!" + +Thus does Demian feast his neighbour Phocas, not giving him a moment's +breathing time. + +Phocas feels the moisture trickling down his forehead. Still he takes +the soup, attacks it with all the strength he has left, and somehow +manages to swallow the whole of it. + +"That's the sort of friend I like!" cries Demian. "I can't bear people +who require pressing. But now, dear friend, take just this one little +plateful more." + +But, on hearing this, our poor Phocas, much as he liked fish soup, +catching hold of his cap and sash, runs away home, not once looking +behind him. + +Nor from that day to this has he crossed Demian's threshold. + + + +The Wolf and Its Cub + +A Wolf, which had begun to accustom its Cub to support itself by its +father's profession, sent it one day to prowl about the skirts of the +wood. At the same time it ordered it to give all its attention to +seeing whether it would not be possible, even at the cost of sinning a +little, for them both to make their breakfast or dinner at the expense +of some shepherd or other. The pupil returns home, and says: + +"Come along, quick! Our dinner awaits us: nothing could possibly be +safer. There are sheep feeding at the foot of yon hill, each one +fatter than the other. We have only to choose which to carry off and +eat; and the flock is so large that it would be difficult to count it +over again----" + +"Wait a minute," says the Wolf. "First of all I must know what sort of +a man the shepherd of this flock is. + +"It is said that he is a good one--painstaking and intelligent. But I +went round the flock on all sides, and examined the dogs: they are not +at all fat, and seem to be spiritless and indolent." + +"This description," says the old Wolf, "does not greatly attract me to +the flock. For, decidedly, if the shepherd is good, he will not keep +bad dogs about him. One might very soon get into trouble there. But +come with me: I will take you to a flock where we shall be in less +danger of losing our skins. Over that flock it is true that a great +many dogs watch; but the shepherd is himself a fool. And where the +shepherd is a fool there the dogs too are of little worth." + + + +The Pike + +An appeal to justice was made against the Pike, on the ground that it +had rendered the pond uninhabitable. A whole cart-load of proofs was +tendered as evidence; and the culprit, as was beseeming, was brought +into court in a large tub. The judges were assembled not far off, +having been set to graze in a neighbouring field. Their names are +still preserved in the archives. There were two Donkeys, a couple of +old Horses, and two or three Goats. The Fox also was added to their +number, as assessor, in order that the business might be carried on +under competent supervision. + +Now, popular report said that the Pike used to supply the table of the +Fox with fish. However this might be, there was no partiality among +the judges; and it must also be stated that it was impossible to +conceal the Pike's roguery in the affair in question. So there was no +help for it. Sentence was passed, condemning the Pike to an +ignominious punishment. In order to frighten others, it was to be hung +from a tree. + +"Respected judges," thus did the Fox begin to speak, "hanging is a +trifle. I should have liked to have sentenced the culprit to such a +punishment as has never been seen here among us. In order that rogues +may in future live in fear, and run a terrible risk, I would drown it +in the river." + +"Excellent!" cry the judges, and unanimously accept the proposition. + +So the Pike was flung--into the river. + + + +The Cuckoo and the Eagle + +The Eagle promoted a Cuckoo to the rank of a Nightingale. The Cuckoo, +proud of its new position, seated itself proudly on an aspen, and began +to exhibit its musical talents. After a time, it looks round. All the +birds are flying away, some laughing at it, others abusing it. Our +Cuckoo grows angry, and hastens to the Eagle with a complaint against +the birds. + +"Have pity on me!" it says. "According to your command, I have been +appointed Nightingale to these woods, and yet the birds dare to laugh +at my singing." + +"My friend," answers the Eagle, "I am a king, but I am not God. It is +impossible for me to remedy the cause of your complaint. I can order a +Cuckoo to be styled a Nightingale; but to make a Nightingale out of a +Cuckoo--that I cannot do." + + + +The Peasant and the Sheep + +A Peasant summoned a Sheep into courts charging the poor thing with a +criminal offence. The judge was--the Fox. + +The case was immediately in full swing. Plaintiff and defendant were +equally adjured to state, point by point, and without both speaking at +once, how the affair took place, and in what their proof consisted. + +Says the Peasant: "On such and such a day, I missed two of my fowls +early in the morning. Nothing was left of them but bones and leathers; +and no one had been in the yard but the Sheep." + +Then the Sheep depones that it was fast asleep all the night in +question, and it calls all its neighbours to testify that they had +never known it guilty either of theft or any roguery; and besides this, +it states that it never touches flesh-meat. + +Here is the Fox's decision, word for word: + +"The explanation of the Sheep cannot, under any circumstances, be +accepted, for all rogues are notoriously clever at concealing their +real designs; and it appears manifest, on due inquiry, that, on the +aforesaid night, the Sheep was not separated from the fowls. Fowls are +exceedingly savoury, and opportunity favoured. Therefore I decide, +according to my conscience, that it is impossible that the Sheep should +have forborne to eat the fowls. The Sheep shall accordingly be put to +death. Its carcass shall be given to the court, and its fleece be +taken by the Plaintiff." + + + +The Elephant in Favour + +Once upon a time the Elephant stood high in the good graces of the +Lion. The forest immediately began to talk of the matter, and, as +usual, many guesses were made as to the means by which the Elephant had +gained such favour. + +"It is no beauty," say the beasts to each other, "and it is not +amusing; and what habits it has! what manners!" + +Says the Fox, whisking about his brush, "If it had possessed such a +bushy tail as mine, I should not have wondered." + +"Or, sister," says the Bear, "if it had gotten into favour on account +of its claws, no one would have found the matter at all extraordinary; +but it has no claws at all, as we all know well." + +"Isn't it its tusks that have gotten it into favour?" thus the Ox broke +in upon their conversation. "Haven't they, perhaps, been mistaken for +horns." + +"Is it possible," said the Ass, shaking its ears, "that you don't know +how it has succeeded in making itself liked, and in becoming +distinguished? Why, I have guessed the reason! If it hadn't been +remarkable for its long ears, it would never in the world have gotten +into favour." + + + +The Sword-blade + +The keen blade of a Sword, made of Damascus steel, which had been +thrown aside on a heap of old iron, was sent to market with the other +pieces of metal, and sold for a trifle to a Moujik. Now, a Moujik's +ideas move in a narrow circle. He immediately set to work to turn the +blade to account. Our Moujik fitted a handle to the blade, and began +to strip lime-trees in the forest with it, of the bark he wanted for +shoes, while at home he unceremoniously splintered fir chips with it. +Sometimes, also, he would lop off twigs with it, or small branches for +mending his wattled fences, or would shape stakes with it for his +garden paling. And the result was that, before the year was out, our +blade was notched and rusted from one end to the other, and the +children used to ride astride of it. So one day a Hedgehog, which was +lying under a bench in the cottage, close by the spot where the blade +had been flung, said to it: + +"Tell me, what do you think of this life of yours? If there is any +truth in all the fine things that are said about Damascus steel, you +surely must be ashamed of having to splinter fir chips, and square +stakes, and of being turned, at last, into a plaything for children." + +But the Sword-blade replied: + +"In the hands of a warrior, I should have been a terror to the foe; but +here my special faculties are of no avail. So in this house I am +turned to base uses only. But am I free to choose my employment? No, +not I, but he, ought to be ashamed who could not see for what I was fit +to be employed." + + + +The Cuckoo and the Turtle-dove + +A Cuckoo sat on a bough, bitterly complaining. + +"Why art thou so sad, dear friend?" sympathizingly cooed the +Turtle-dove to her, from a neighbouring twig. "Is it because spring +has passed away from us, and love with it; that the sun has sunk lower, +and that we are nearer to the winter?" + +"How can I help grieving, unhappy one that I am?" replied the Cuckoo: +"thou shalt thyself be the judge. This spring my love was a happy one, +and, after a while, I became a mother. But my offspring utterly +refused even to recognize me. Was it such a return that I expected +from them? And how can I help being envious when I see how ducklings +crowd around their mother--how chickens hasten to the hen when she +calls to them. Just like an orphan I sit here, utterly alone, and know +not what filial affection means." + +"Poor thing!" says the Dove, "I pity you from my heart. As for me, +though I know such things often occur, I should die outright it my +dovelets did not love me. But tell me, have you already brought up +your little ones? When did you find time to build a nest? I never saw +you doing anything of the kind: you were always flying and fluttering +about." + +"No, indeed!" says the Cuckoo. "Pretty nonsense it would have been if +I had spent such fine days in sitting on a nest! That would, indeed, +have been the highest pitch of stupidity! I always laid my eggs in the +nests of other birds." + +"Then how can you expect your little ones to care for you?" says the +Turtle-dove. + + + +The Peasant and the Horse + +A Peasant was sowing oats one day. Seeing the work go on, a young +Horse began to reason about it, grumbling to himself: + +"A pretty piece of work, this, for which he brings such a quantity of +oats here! And yet they are all the time saying that men are wiser +than we are. Can anything possibly be more foolish or ridiculous than +to plough up a whole field like this in order to scatter one's oats +over it afterward to no purpose. Had he given them to me, or to the +bay there, or had he even thought fit to fling them to the fowls, it +would have been more like business. Or even if he had hoarded them up, +I should have recognized avarice in that. But to fling them uselessly +away--why, that is sheer stupidity!" + +Meanwhile time passed; and in the autumn the oats were garnered, and +the Peasant fed this very Horse upon them all the winter. + +There can be no doubt, Reader, that you do not approve of the opinions +of the Horse. But from the oldest times to our own days has not man +been equally audacious in criticising the designs of a Providence of +whose means or ends he sees and knows nothing? + + + +The Wolf and the Cat + +A Wolf ran out of the forest into a village--not to pay a visit, but to +save its life; for it trembled for its skin. + +The huntsmen and a pack of hounds were after it. It would fain have +rushed in through the first gateway; but there was this unfortunate +circumstance against the scheme that all the gateways were closed. + +The Wolf sees a Cat on a partition fence, and says pleadingly, "Vaska, +my friend, tell me quickly, which of the moujiks here is the kindest, +so that I may hide myself from my evil foes? Listen to the cry of the +dogs and the terrible sound of the horns? All that noise is actually +made in chase of me!" + +"Go quickly, and ask Stefan," says Vaska, the Cat; "he is a very kind +man." + +"Quite true; only I have torn the skin off one of his sheep." + +"Well, then, you can try Demian." + +"I'm afraid he's angry with me, too; I carried off one of his kids." + +"Run over there, then; Trofim lives there." + +"Trofim! I should be afraid of even meeting him. Ever since the +spring he has been threatening me about a lamb." + +"Dear me, that's bad! But perhaps Klim will protect you." + +"Oh, Vaska, I have killed one of his calves." + +"What do I hear, friend? You've quarrelled with all the village," +cried Vaska to the Wolf. "What sort of protection can you hope for +here? No, no; our moujiks are not so destitute of sense as to be +willing to save you to their own hurt. And, really, you have only +yourself to blame. What you have sown, that you must now reap." + + + +The Eagle and the Mole + +An Eagle and his mate flew into a deep forest and determined to make it +their permanent abode. So they chose an oak, lofty and wide-spreading, +and began to build themselves a nest on the top of it, hoping there to +rear their young in the summer. + +A Mole, who heard about all this, plucked up courage enough to inform +the Eagles that the oak was not a proper dwelling-place for them; that +it was almost entirely rotten at the root, and was likely soon to fall, +and that therefore the Eagles ought not to make their nest upon it. + +But is it becoming that an Eagle should accept advice coming from a +Mole in a hole? Where then would be the glory of an Eagle having such +keen eyes? And how comes it that Moles dare to meddle in the affairs +of the king of Birds? + +So, saying very little to the Mole, whose counsel he despised, the +Eagle set to work quickly--and the King soon got ready the new dwelling +for the Queen. + +All goes well, and now the Eagles have little ones. But what happens? +One day, when at early dawn the Eagle is hastening back from the chase, +bringing a rich breakfast to his family, as he drops down from the sky +he sees--his oak has fallen, and has crushed beneath it his mate and +his little ones! + +"Wretched creature that I am!" he cries, anguish blotting out from him +the light; "for my pride has fate so terribly punished me, and because +I gave no heed to wise counsel. But could one expect that wise counsel +could possibly come from a miserable Mole?" + +Then from its hole the Mole replies: "Had not you despised me, you +would have remembered that I burrow within the earth, and that, as I +live among the roots, I can tell with certainty whether a tree be sound +or not." + + + +The Spider and the Bee + +A Merchant brought some linen to a fair. That's a thing everybody +wants to buy, so it would have been a sin in the Merchant if he had +complained of his sale. There was no keeping the buyers back: the shop +was at times crammed full. + +Seeing how rapidly the goods went off, an envious Spider was tempted by +the Merchant's gains. She took it into her head to weave goods for +sale herself, and determined to open a little shop for them in a window +corner, seeking thereby to undermine the Merchant's success. + +She commenced her web, spun the whole night long, and then set out her +wares on view. From her shop she did not stir, but remained sitting +there, puffed up with pride, and thinking, "So soon as the day shall +dawn will all buyers be enticed to me." + +Well, the day did dawn. But what then? There came a broom, and the +ingenious creatures and her little shop were swept clean away. + +Our Spider went wild with vexation. + +"There!" she cried, "what's the good of expecting a just reward? And +yet I ask the whole world--Whose work is the finer, mine or that +Merchant's?" + +"Yours, to be sure," answered the Bee. "Who would venture to deny the +fact? Every one knew that long ago. But what is the good of it if +there's neither warmth nor wear in it?" + + + +The Cuckoo and the Cock + +"How proudly and sonorously you sing, my dear Cock!" + +"But you, dear Cuckoo, my light, how smoothly flows your long drawn-out +note! There is no such singer in all the rest of our forest." + +"To you, dear friend, I could listen forever." + +"And as for you, my beauty, I protest that when you are silent I +scarcely know how to wait till you begin again. Where do you get such +a voice?--so clear, so soft, so high! But no doubt you were always +like that: not very large in stature, but in song--a nightingale." + +"Thanks, friend. As for you, I declare on my conscience you sing +better than the birds in the Garden of Eden. I appeal to public +opinion for a proof of this." + +At this moment a Sparrow, who had overheard their conversation, said to +them: + +"You may go on praising each other till you are hoarse, my friends; but +your music is utterly worthless." + +Why was it, that, not fearing to sin, the Cuckoo praised the Cock? +Simply because the Cock praised the Cuckoo. + + + +The Peasant and the Robber + +A Peasant who was beginning to stock his little farm had bought a cow +and a milk-pail at the fair, and was going quietly home by a lonely +path through the forest, when he suddenly fell into the hands of a +Robber. The Robber stripped him as bare as a lime-tree. + +"Have mercy!" cried the Peasant. "I am utterly ruined. You have +reduced me to beggary. For a whole year I have worked to buy this dear +little cow. I could hardly bear to wait for this day to arrive." + +"Very good," replied the Robber, touched with compassion; "Don't cry +out so against me. After all, I shall not want to milk your cow; so +I'll give you back your milk-pail." + + + + +FABLES FROM THE CHINESE + +"Why have some more power than others? Only one knows. Why have some +longer life than others? Only one knows. Why do some try and not +succeed; while others do not try and yet they do succeed? Only one +knows." + + +FABLES PROM THE CHINESE + +The Animals' Peace Party + +The ancient books say that the pig is a very unclean animal and of no +great use to the world or man, and one of them contains this story: + +Once upon a time the Horses and Cattle gave a party. Although the Pigs +were very greedy, the Horses said: "Let us invite them, and it may be +we can settle our quarrels in this way and become better friends. We +will call this a Peace Party. + +"Generations and generations of pigs have broken through our fences, +taken our food, drunk our water, and rooted up our clean green grass; +but it is also true that the cattle children have hurt many young pigs. + +"All this trouble and fighting is not right, and we know the Master +wishes we should live at peace with one another. Do you not think it a +good plan to give a Peace Party and settle this trouble?" + +The Cattle said: "Who will be the leader of our party and do the +inviting? We should have a leader, both gentle and kind, to go to the +Pig's home and invite them." + +The next day a small and very gentle Cow was sent to invite the Pigs. +As she went across to the pigs' yard, all the young ones jumped up and +grunted, "What are you coming here for? Do you want to fight?" + +"No, I do not want to fight," said the Cow. "I was sent here to invite +you to our party. I should like to know if you will come, so that I +may tell our leader." + +The young Pigs and the old ones talked together and the old ones said: +"The New Year feast will soon be here. Maybe they will have some good +things for us to eat at the party. I think we should go." + +Then the old Pigs found the best talker in all the family, and sent +word by him that they would attend the party. + +The day came, and the Pigs all went to the party. There were about +three hundred all together. + +When they arrived they saw that the leader of the cows was the most +beautiful of all the herd and very kind and gentle to her guests. + +After a while the leader spoke to them in a gentle voice and said to +the oldest Pigs: "We think it would be a good and pleasant thing if +there were no more quarrels in this pasture. + +"Will you tell your people not to break down the fences and spoil the +place and eat our food? We will then agree that the oxen and horses +shall not hurt your children and all the old troubles shall be +forgotten from this day." + +Then one young Pig stood up to talk. "All this big pasture belongs to +the Master, and not to you," he said. "We cannot go to other places +for food. + +"The Master sends a servant to feed us, and sometimes he sends us to +your yard to eat the corn and potatoes. + +"The servants clean our pen every day. When summer comes, they fill +the ponds with fresh water for us to bathe in. + +"Now, friends, can you not see that this place and this food all belong +to the Master? We eat the food and go wherever we like. We take your +food only after you have finished. It would spoil on the ground if we +did not do this. + +"Answer this question--Do our people ever hurt your people? No; even +though every year some of our children are killed by bad oxen and cows. + +"What is our food? It is nothing; but our lives are worth much to us. + +"Our Master never sends our people to work as he does the horses and +oxen. He sends us food and allows us to play a year and a year the +same, because he likes us best. + +"You see the Horses and Oxen are always at work. Some pull wagons, +others plough land for rice; and they must work--sick or well. + +"Our people never work. Every day at happy time we play; and do you +see how fat we are? + +"You never see our bones. Look at the old Horses and the old Oxen. +Twenty years' work and no rest! + +"I tell you the Master does not honour the Horses and Oxen as he does +the Pigs. + +"Friends, that is all I have to say. Have you any questions to ask? +Is what I have said not the truth?" + +The old Cow said, "Moo, Moo," and shook her head sadly. The tired old +Horses groaned, "Huh, Huh," and never spoke a word. + +The leader said, "My friends, it is best not to worry about things we +cannot know. We do not seem to understand our Master. + +"It will soon be time for the New Year feast day; so, good night. And +may the Pig people live in the world as long and happily as the Horses +and the Oxen, although our Peace Party did not succeed." + +On their way home the little Pigs made a big noise, and every one said, +"We, we! We win, we win!" + +Then the old Horses and Oxen talked among themselves. "We are +stronger, wiser, and more useful than the Pigs," they said. "Why does +the Master treat us so?" + +EE-SZE (Meaning): Why have some more power than others? Only one +knows. Why have some longer life than others? Only one knows. Why do +some try and not succeed; while others do not try and yet they do +succeed? Only one knows. + + + +The Proud Chicken + +A Widow named Hong-Mo lived in a little house near the market place. +Every year she raised many hundreds of chickens, which she sold to +support herself and her two children. + +Each day the Chickens went to the fields near by and hunted bugs, rice, +and green things to eat. + +The largest one was called the King of the Chickens, because of all the +hundreds in the flock he was the strongest. And for this reason he was +the leader of them all. + +He led the flock to new places for food. He could crow the loudest, +and as he was the strongest, none dared oppose him in any way. + +One day he said to the flock, "Let us go to the other side of the +mountain near the wilderness to-day, and hunt rice, wheat, corn, and +wild silkworms. There is not enough food here." + +But the other Chickens said, "We are afraid to go so far. There are +foxes and eagles in the wilderness, and they will catch us." + +The King of the Chickens said, "It is better that all the old hens and +cowards stay at home." + +The King's secretary said, "I do not know fear. I will go with you." +Then they started away together. + +When they had gone a little distance, the Secretary found a beetle, and +just as he was going to swallow it, the King flew at him in great +anger, saying, "Beetles are for kings, not for common chickens. Why +did you not give it to me?" So they fought together, and while they +were fighting, the beetle ran away and hid under the grass where he +could not be found. + +And the Secretary said, "I will not fight for you, neither will I go to +the wilderness with you." And he went home again. + +At sunset the King came home. The other Chickens had saved the best +roosting place for him; but he was angry because none of them had been +willing to go to the wilderness with him, and he fought first with one +and then with another. + +He was a mighty warrior, and therefore none of them could stand up +against him. And he pulled the feathers out of many of the flock. + +At last the Chickens said, "We will not serve this king any longer. We +will leave this place. If Hong-Mo will not give us another home, we +will stay in the vegetable garden. We will do that two or three +nights, and see if she will give us another place to live." + +So the next day, when Hong-Mo waited at sunset for the Chickens to come +home, the King was the only one who came. + +And she asked the King, "Where are all my Chickens?" + +But he was proud and angry, and said, "They are of no use in the world. +I would not care if they always stayed away." + +Hong-Mo answered, "You are not the only Chicken in the world. I want +the others to come back. If you drive them all away, you will surely +see trouble." + +But the King laughed and jumped up on the fence and crowed. +"Nga-Un-Gan-Yu-Na" (cock-a-doodle-doo-oo) in a loud voice. "I don't +care for you! I don't care for you!" + +Hong-Mo went out and called the Chickens, and she hunted long through +the twilight until the dark night came, but she could not find them. +The next morning early she went to the vegetable garden, and there she +found her Chickens. They were glad to see her, and bowed their heads +and flew to her. + +Hong-Mo said, "What are you doing? Why do you children stay out here, +when I have given you a good house to live in?" + +The Secretary told her all about the trouble with the King. + +Hong-Mo said, "Now you must be friendly to each other. Come with me, +and I will bring you and your King together. We must have peace here." + +When the Chickens came to where the King was he walked about, and +scraped his wings on the ground, and sharpened his spurs. His people +had come to make peace, and they bowed their heads and looked happy +when they saw their King. But he still walked about alone and would +not bow. + +He said, "I am a King--always a King. Do you know that? You bow your +heads and think that pleases me. But what do I care? I should not +care if there was never another Chicken in the world but myself. I am +King." + +And he hopped up on a tree and sang some war songs. But suddenly an +eagle who heard him, flew down and caught him in his talons and carried +him away. And the Chickens never saw their proud, quarrelsome King +again. + +EE-SZE (Meaning): No position in life is so high that it gives the +right to be proud and quarrelsome. + + + +The Hen and the Chinese Mountain Turtle + +Four hundred and fifty years ago in Lze-Cheung Province, Western China, +there lived an old farmer named Ah-Po. + +The young farmers all said Ah-Po knew everything. If they wanted to +know when it would rain, they asked Ah-Po, and when he said: "It will +not rain to-morrow," or, "You will need your bamboo-hat this time +to-morrow," it was as he said. He knew all about the things of nature +and how to make the earth yield best her fruits and seeds, and some +said he was a prophet. + +One day Ah-Po caught a fine Mountain Turtle. It was so large that it +took both of Ah-Po's sons to carry it home. They tied its legs +together and hung it on a strong stick, and each son put an end of the +stick on his shoulder. + +Ah-Po said, "We will not kill the Turtle. He is too old to eat, and I +think we will keep him and watch the rings grow around his legs each +year." So they gave him a corner in the barnyard and fed him rice and +water. + +Ah-Po had many Chickens, and for three months the Turtle and Chickens +lived in peace with each other. But one day all the young Chickens +came together and laughed at the Turtle. Then they said to him, "Why +do you live here so long? Why do you not go back to your own place? +This small barnyard corner is not so good as your cave in the +wilderness. You have only a little sand and grass to live on here. +The servant feeds you, but she never gives you any wilderness fruits. +You are very large, and you take up too much room. We need all the +room there is here. You foolish old thing, do you think our fathers +and mothers want you? No. There is not one of our people who likes +you. Besides, you are not clean. You make too much dirt. The servant +girl gave you this water to drink, and your water bowl is even now +upside down. You scatter rice on our floor. Too many flies come here +to see you, and we do not like flies." + +The Turtle waited until they had all finished scolding. Then he said, +"Do you think I came here myself? Who put me here, do you know? Do +you suppose I like to be in jail? You need not be jealous. I never +ate any rice that belonged to you or your family. I am not living in +your house. What are you complaining about? If our master should take +your whole family and sell it, he would only get one piece of silver. +Who and what are you to talk so much? Wait and see; some day I may +have the honoured place." + +Some of the Chickens went home and told their mother, "We had an +argument with the Turtle to-day and he had the last word. To-morrow we +want you to go with us and show him that a Chicken can argue as well as +a Turtle." + +The next day all the Chickens of the barnyard went to see the Turtle. +And the old Hen said, "My children came here to play yesterday, and you +scolded them and drove them away. You said all my family was not worth +one piece of silver. You think you are worth many pieces of gold, I +suppose. No one likes you. Your own master would not eat you. And +the market people would never buy a thing so old and tough as you are. +But I suppose you will have to stay here in our yard a thousand years +or so, until you die. Then they will carry you to the wilderness and +throw you into the Nobody-Knows Lake." + +Then the Turtle answered and said, "I am a Mountain Turtle. I come +from a wise family, and it is not easy for even man to catch me. +Educated men, doctors, know that I am useful for sickness, but if all +the people knew the many ways they could use me, I think there would +soon be no more turtles in the world. Many Chinese know that my skin +is good for skin disease, and my forefeet are good for the +devil-sickness in children, as they drive the devil away; and then my +shells are good for sore throat, and my stomach is good for +stomach-ache, and my bones are good for tooth-ache. Do you remember +that not long ago our master brought three turtle eggs to feed your +children? I heard him say: 'Those little Chickens caught cold in that +damp place, and so I must give them some turtle eggs.' I saw your +children eat those three eggs, and in two or three days they were well. + +"So you see the Turtle is a useful creature in the world, even to +Chickens. Why do you not leave me in peace? As I must stay here +against my will, it is not right that your children should trouble me. +Sometimes they take all my rice and I go hungry, for our master will +not allow me to go outside of this fence to hunt food for myself. I +never come to your house and bother you, but your children will not +even let me live in peace in the little corner our master gave me. If +I had a few of my own people here with me, as you have, I think you +would not trouble me. But I have only myself, while you are many. + +"Yesterday your children scolded me and disturbed my peace. To-day you +come again; and to-morrow and many to-morrows will see generations and +still more unhatched generations of Chickens coming here to scold me, I +fear; for the length of life of a cackling hen is as a day to me--a +Mountain Turtle. I know the heaven is large, I know the earth is large +and made for all creatures alike. But you think the heavens and the +earth were both made for you and your Chickens only. If you could +drive me away to-day you would try to-morrow to drive the dog away, and +in time you would think the master himself ought not to have enough of +your earth and air to live in. This barnyard is large enough for +birds, chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. It makes our master happy to +have us all here." + +The Chickens went away ashamed. Talking to each other about it, they +said: "The Turtle is right. It is foolish to want everything. We +barnyard creatures must live at peace with each other until we die. +The barnyard is not ours; we use it only a little while." + +EE-SZE (Meaning): The Creator made the world for all to use, and, while +using it, the strong should not try to drive out the weak. + + + +The Proud Fox and the Crab + +One day a Fox said to a Crab: "Crawling thing, did you ever run in all +your life?" + +"Yes," said the Crab, "I run very often from the mud to the grass and +back to the river." + +"Oh, shame!" said the Fox, "that is no distance to run. How many feet +and legs have you? I have only four. Why, if I had as many feet as +you have, I would run at least six times as fast as you do. Did you +know that you are really a very slow, stupid creature? Though I have +only four feet I run ten times as far as you do. I never heard of any +one with so many feet as you have, running so slowly." + +The Crab said: "Would you like to run a race with a stupid creature +like me? I will try to run as fast as you. I know I am small, so +suppose we go to the scales and see how much heavier you are. As you +are ten times larger than I, of course you will have to run ten times +faster. + +"Another reason why you can run so fast is because you have such a fine +tail and hold it so high. If you would allow me to put it down, I do +not think you would run any faster than I." + +"Oh, very well," said the Fox, contemptuously, "do as you like, and +still the race will be so easy for me that I will not even need to try. +Your many legs and your stupid head do not go very well together. Now, +if I had my sense and all of your legs, no creature in the forest could +outrun me. As it is, there are none that can outwit me. I am known as +the sharp-witted. Even man says, 'Qui-kwat-wui-lai' (sly as a fox). +So do what you will, stupid one." + +"If you will let me tie your beautiful tail down so it will stay," said +the Crab, "I am sure I can win the race." + +"Oh, no, you cannot," said the Fox. "But I will prove to even your +stupid, slow brain that it will make no difference. Now, how do you +wish that I should hold my tail?" + +Said the Crab: "If you will allow me to hang something on your tail to +hold it down, I am sure you cannot run faster than I." + +"Do as you like," said the Fox. + +"Allow me to come nearer," said the Crab, "and when I have it fastened +to your tail, I will say 'Ready!' Then you are to start." + +So the Crab crawled behind and caught the Fox's tail with his pincers +and said, "Ready!" The Fox ran and ran until he was tired. And when he +stopped, there was the Crab beside him. + +"Where are you now?" said the Crab. "I thought you were to run ten +times faster than I. You are not even ahead of me with all your +boasting." + +The Fox, panting for breath, hung his head in shame and went away where +he might never see the crab again. + +EE-SZE (Meaning): A big, proud, boastful mouth, is a worse thing for a +man than it is for a fox. + + + +The Mule and the Lion + +One night the Lion was very hungry, but as the creatures of the +wilderness knew and feared him even from afar, he could not find food. +So he went to visit the young Mule that lived near the farmer's house, +and when he saw him he smiled blandly and asked, "What do you eat, fair +Lii, to make you so sleek and fat? What makes your hair so smooth and +beautiful? I think your master gives you tender fresh grass and fat +young pig to eat." + +The Mule answered, "No, I am fat because I am gentle. My hair is +beautiful because I do not fight with other creatures. But why do you +come here, Sii? Are you hungry? I believe you are seeking for food." + +The Lion said, "Oh, no, I am not hungry. I only walk around to get the +cool, fresh air. And then the night is very beautiful. The moon hangs +up in the clear sky with the stars and makes a soft light, and so I +came to visit you. Would you not like to take a walk with me? I will +take you to visit my friend, the Pig. I never go to his house alone; I +always take a friend with me." + +The Mule asked, "Shall we go to any other place?" + +"Yes," answered the Lion, "I think we will go to visit another friend +of mine who lives not far away." + +Then the Mule asked his mother, "Will you allow me to go with Sii to +see his friend?" + +"Who is his friend?" asked the mother. + +"The farmer's Pig." said the Mule. + +"I think it is no harm if you go only there," said the mother Mule. +"But you must not go anywhere else with Sii. The hunter is looking for +him, I hear, and you must be careful. Do not trust him fully, for I +fear he will tempt you to go to some other place or into some wrong +thing. If I allow you to go, you must come home before midnight. The +moon will not be gone then and you can see to find your way." + +So the Lion and the Mule went to visit the Pig, who lived in a house in +the farmer's yard. But as soon as the Pig saw the Lion, he called out +in a loud voice to his mother. + +The Lion said, "He is afraid of me. I will hide and you may go in +first." + +When the Pig saw that the Mule was alone, he thought the Lion had gone. +He opened his door wide and was very friendly to the Mule, saying, +"Come in." + +But the Lion jumped from his hiding place and caught the Pig as he came +to the door. The Pig called to his mother in great fear, and the Mule +begged the Lion, saying, "Let the poor little creature go free." + +But the Lion said, "No, indeed; I have many Pigs at my house. It is +better for him to go with me." + +Then the Lion carried the Pig, while the Mule followed. Soon they came +to where a fine looking dog lay on some hay behind a net. The Lion did +not seem to see the net, for he dropped the Pig and tried to catch the +Dog, who cried loudly for mercy. + +But the Lion said to the foolish Mule, "See how rude the Dog is to us. +We came to visit him and he makes a loud noise and tries to call the +hunter so that he will drive us away. I have never been so insulted. +Come here, Lii-Tsze, at once and help me!" + +The Mule went to the Lion and the net fell and caught them both. At +sunrise the Hunter came and found the Mule and the Lion in his net. +The Mule begged earnestly and said, "Hunter, you know me and you know +my mother. We are your friends and we do no wrong. Set me free, oh, +hunter, set me free!" + +The Hunter said, "No, I will not set you free. You may be good, but +you are in bad company and must take what it brings. I will take you +and the Lion both to the market place and sell you for silver. That is +my right. I am a hunter. If you get in my net, that is your business. +If I catch you, that is my business." + +EE-SZE (Meaning): Bad company is a dangerous thing for man or beast. + + + +The Lion and the Mosquitoes + +One day Ah-Fou's father said to him, "Come here, my boy, and I will +tell you a story. Do you remember the great lion we saw one day, which +Ah-Kay caught? You know a strong rope held him, and he roared and +tried to free himself until he died. Then when Ah-Kay took him from +the net, he looked at the rope and the bamboo carefully, and found five +of the great ropes broken. + +"How strong is the lion? Twenty children like you could not break one +strand of that great rope. But the lion broke five complete ropes. He +is the strongest of all animals. He catches many creatures for his +food, but once he lost a battle with one of the least of the wilderness +creatures. Do you know what it was?" + +"A bird could fight and then fly away. Was it a bird?" + +"No, my son." + +"A man is stronger than a lion." + +"No; do you not remember the woodcutter who could put down five strong +men? One night a wilderness lion caught and killed him." + +"Then what was the smallest of all creatures of the wilderness that +battled with a lion?" + +The father said, "I will tell you the story: Once in the summer time +the Lion was very thirsty. But the sun had taken all the water near +the Lion's home and he went to many places seeking for it. In time he +found an old well, but the water was not fresh. As the Lion was very +thirsty, he said, 'I must drink, even though the water is stale.' + +"But when he reached down into the old well, he found that it was the +home of all the Mosquitoes of the wilderness. + +"The Mosquitoes said to the Lion, 'Go away, we do not want you. This +is our home and we are happy. We do not wish the lion, the fox, or the +bear to come here. You are not our friend. Why do you come?" + +"The Lion roared and said, 'Weak and foolish things! I am the Lion. +It is you that should go away, for I have come to drink. This is my +wilderness, and I am king. Do you know, weak things, that when I come +out from my place and send forth my voice, all the creatures of the +wilderness shake like leaves and bow their heads to me? What are you +that you should have a place you call your home and tell me that I may +or I may not?' + +"Then the Mosquitoes answered, 'You are only one. You speak as if you +were many. Our people had this old well for a home before your roar +was heard in the wilderness. And many generations of us have been born +here. This home is ours, and we are they that say who shall come or +go. And yet you come and tell us to go out of our own door. If you do +not leave us, we will call our people, and you shall know trouble.' + +"But the Lion held his head high with pride and anger and said, 'What +are you, oh, small of the small? I will kill every one of your useless +people. When I drink, I will open my mouth only a little wider, and +you shall be swallowed like the water. And to-morrow I shall forget +that I drank to-day.' + +"'Boastful one,' said the Mosquitoes, 'we do not believe that you have +the power to destroy all our people. If you wish battle, we shall see. +We know your name is great and that all animals bow their heads before +you; but our people can kill you.' + +"The Lion jumped high in his rage and said, 'No other creature in the +wilderness has dared to say these things to me--the king. Have I come +to the vile well of the silly Mosquitoes for wisdom?' And he held his +head high, and gave the mighty roar of battle, and made ready to kill +all the Mosquitoes. + +"Then the Mosquitoes, big and little, flew around him. Many went into +his ears, and the smallest ones went into his nose, and the big old +ones went into his mouth to sting. A thousand and a thousand hung in +the air just over his head and made a great noise, and the Lion soon +knew that he could not conquer. + +"He roared and jumped, and two of his front feet went down into the +well. The well was narrow and deep and he could not get out, for his +two hind feet were in the air and his head hung downward. And as he +died, he said to himself: + +"'My pride and anger have brought me this fate. Had I used gentle +words, the Mosquitoes might have given me water for my thirst. I was +wise and strong in the wilderness, and even the greatest of the animals +feared my power. But I fought with the Mosquitoes and I die--not +because I have not strength to overcome, but because of the foolishness +of anger." + +EE-SZE (Meaning): The wise can conquer the foolish. Power is nothing, +strength is nothing. The wise, gentle and careful can always win. + + + + +FABLES OF LA FONTAINE* + + "Of Fables judge not by their face; + They give the simplest brute a teacher's place. + Bare precepts were inert and tedious things; + The story gives them life and wings." + + JEAN DE LA FONTAINE + +*Translated by Elizur Wright, Jr. + + + FABLES OF LA FONTAINE + + The Grasshopper and the Ant + + A Grasshopper gay + Sang the summer away, + And found herself poor + By the winter's first roar. + Of meat or of bread, + Not a morsel she had! + So a-begging she went, + To her neighbour the Ant, + For the loan of some wheat, + Which would serve her to eat, + Till the season came round. + "I will pay you," she saith, + "On an animal's faith, + Double weight in the pound + Ere the harvest be bound." + The Ant is a friend-- + (And here she might mend) + Little given to lend. + "How spent you the summer?" + Quoth she, looking shame + At the borrowing dame. + "Night and day to each comer + I sang, if you please." + "You sang! I'm at ease, + For 'tis plain at a glance, + Now, ma'am, you must dance." + + + + The Swan and the Cook + + The pleasures of a poultry yard + Were by a Swan and Gosling shared. + The Swan was kept there for his looks, + The thrifty Gosling for the Cooks; + The first the garden's pride, the latter + A greater favourite on the platter. + They swam the ditches, side by side, + And oft in sports aquatic vied, + Plunging, splashing far and wide, + With rivalry ne'er satisfied. + One day the Cook, named Thirsty John, + Sent for the Gosling, took the Swan, + In haste his throat to cut, + And put him in the pot. + The bird's complaint resounded + In glorious melody; + Whereat the Cook, astounded + His sad mistake to see, + Cried, "What! make soup of a musician! + Please God, I'll never set such dish on. + No, no; I'll never cut a throat + That sings so passing sweet a note." + + _'Tis thus, whatever peril may alarm us, + Sweet words will surely never harm us_. + + + + The Hornets and the Bees + + "The artist by his work is known." + A piece of honey-comb, one day, + Discovered as a waif and stray, + The Hornets treated as their own. + Their title did the Bees dispute, + And brought before a Wasp the suit. + The judge was puzzled to decide, + For nothing could be testified + Save that around this honey-comb + There had been seen, as if at home, + Some longish, brownish, buzzing creatures, + Much like the Bees in wings and features. + But what of that? for marks the same, + The Hornets, too, could truly claim. + Between assertion and denial, + The Wasp, in doubt, proclaimed new trial; + And, hearing what an ant-hill swore, + Could see no clearer than before. + "What use, I pray, of this expense?" + At last exclaim'd a Bee of sense. + "We've laboured months in this affair, + And now are only where we were. + Meanwhile the honey runs to waste: + 'Tis time the judge should show some haste. + Both sides have had sufficient bleeding, + Without more fuss of scrawls and pleading. + Let's set to work, these drones and we, + And then all eyes the truth may see, + Whose art it is that can produce + The magic cells, the nectar juice." + The Hornets, flinching on their part, + Show that the work transcends their art. + The Wasp at length their title sees, + And gives the honey to the Bees. + + _Oh, would that suits at law with us + Might every one be managed thus!_ + + + + The Two Rats, the Fox, and the Egg + + Two Rats in foraging fell on an Egg-- + For gentry such as they + A genteel dinner every way; + They needed not to find an ox's leg. + Brimful of joy and appetite, + They were about to sack the box, + So tight without the aid of locks, + When suddenly there came in sight + A personage--Sir Slyboots Fox. + Sure, luck was never more untoward + Since Fortune was a vixen froward! + How should they save their Egg--and bacon? + Their plunder couldn't then be bagg'd. + Should it in forward paws be taken, + Or roll'd along, or dragg'd? + Each method seem'd impossible, + And each was then of danger full. + Necessity, ingenious mother, + Brought forth what help'd them from their pother. + As still there was a chance to save their prey, + The sponger yet some hundred yards away-- + One seized the Egg, and turned upon his back, + And then, in spite of many a thump and thwack, + That would have torn, perhaps, a coat of mail, + The other dragg'd him by the tail. + Who dares the inference to blink, + That beasts possess wherewith to think? + + _Were I commission'd to bestow + This power on creatures here below, + The beasts should have as much of mind + As infants of the human kind._ + + + + The Lion's Share + + The Heifer, the Goat, and their sister the Sheep, + Compacted their earnings in common to keep, + 'Tis said, in time past, with a Lion, who swayed + Full lordship o'er neighbours, of whatever grade. + The Goat, as it happened, a Stag having snared, + Sent off to the rest, that the beast might be shared. + All gathered; the Lion first counts on his claws, + And says, "We'll proceed to divide with our paws + The stag into pieces, as fix'd by our laws." + This done, he announces part first as his own; + "'Tis mine," he says, "truly, as Lion alone." + To such a decision there's nought to be said, + As he who has made it is doubtless the head. + "Well, also, the second to me should belong; + 'Tis mine, be it known, by the right of the strong. + Again, as the bravest, the third must be mine. + To touch but the fourth whoso maketh a sign, + I'll choke him to death + In the space of a breath!" + + + + The Shepherd and His Dog + + A Shepherd, with a single Dog, + Was ask'd the reason why + He kept a Dog, whose least supply + Amounted to a loaf of bread + For every day. The people said + He'd better give the animal + To guard the village seignior's hall; + For him, a Shepherd, it would be + A thriftier economy + To keep small curs, say two or three, + That would not cost him half the food, + And yet for watching be as good. + The fools, perhaps, forgot to tell + If they would fight the wolf as well. + The silly Shepherd, giving heed, + Cast off his Dog of mastiff breed, + And took three dogs to watch his cattle, + Which ate far less, but fled in battle. + + _Not vain our tale, if it convinces + Small states that 'tis a wiser thing + To trust a single powerful king, + Than half a dozen petty princes._ + + + + The Old Man and the Ass + + An Old Man, riding on his Ass, + Had found a spot of thrifty grass, + And there turn'd loose his weary beast. + Old Grizzle, pleased with such a feast, + Flung up his heels, and caper'd round, + Then roll'd and rubb'd upon the ground, + And frisk'd and browsed and bray'd, + And many a clean spot made. + Arm'd men came on them as he fed: + "Let's fly!" in haste the Old Man said. + "And wherefore so?" the Ass replied; + "With heavier burdens will they ride?" + "No," said the man, already started, + "Then," cried the Ass, as he departed. + "I'll stay, and be--no matter whose; + Save you yourself, and leave me loose, + But let me tell you, ere you go + (I speak plain English, as you know), + My master is my only foe." + + + + The Lion Going to War + + The Lion had an enterprise in hand; + Held a war-council, sent his provost-marshal, + And gave the animals a call impartial-- + Each, in his way, to serve his high command. + The Elephant should carry on his back + The tools of war, the mighty public pack, + And fight in elephantine way and form; + The Bear should hold himself prepared to storm; + The Fox all secret stratagems should fix; + The Monkey should amuse the foe by tricks. + "Dismiss," said one, "the blockhead Asses, + And Hares, too cowardly and fleet." + "No," said the King; "I use all classes; + Without their aid my force were incomplete. + The Ass shall be our trumpeter, to scare + Our enemy. And then the nimble Hare + Our royal bulletins shall homeward bear." + + _A monarch provident and wise + Will hold his subjects all of consequence, + And know in each what talent lies. + There's nothing useless to a man of sense._ + + + + The Ass and the Lap-dog + + One's native talent from its course + Cannot be turned aside by force; + But poorly apes the country clown + The polish'd manners of the town. + Their Maker chooses but a few + With power of pleasing to imbue; + Where wisely leave it we, the mass, + Unlike a certain fabled Ass, + That thought to gain his master's blessing + By jumping on him and caressing. + "What!" said the Donkey in his heart; + "Ought it to be that Puppy's part + To lead his useless life + In full companionship + With master and his wife, + While I must bear the whip? + What doth the Cur a kiss to draw + Forsooth, he only gives his paw! + If that is all there needs to please, + I'll do the thing myself, with ease." + Possess'd with this bright notion-- + His master sitting on his chair, + At leisure in the open air-- + He ambled up, with awkward motion, + And put his talents to the proof; + Upraised his bruised and batter'd hoof, + And, with an amiable mien, + His master patted on the chin, + The action gracing with a word-- + The fondest bray that e'er was heard! + Oh, such caressing was there ever? + Or melody with such a quaver? + "Ho! Martin! here! a club, a club bring!" + Out cried the master, sore offended. + So Martin gave the Ass a drubbing-- + And so the comedy was ended. + + + + The Hare and the Partridge + + A field in common share + A Partridge and a Hare, + And live in peaceful state, + Till, woeful to relate! + The hunters mingled cry + Compels the Hare to fly. + He hurries to his fort, + And spoils almost the sport + By faulting every hound + That yelps upon the ground. + At last his reeking heat + Betrays his snug retreat. + Old Tray, with philosophic nose, + Snuffs carefully, and grows + So certain, that he cries, + "The Hare is here; bow wow!" + And veteran Ranger now-- + The dog that never lies-- + "The Hare is gone," replies. + Alas! poor, wretched Hare, + Back comes he to his lair, + To meet destruction there! + The Partridge, void of fear, + Begins her friend to jeer:-- + "You bragg'd of being fleet; + How serve you, now, your feet?" + Scarce has she ceased to speak-- + The laugh yet in her beak-- + When comes her turn to die, + From which she could not fly. + She thought her wings, indeed, + Enough for every need; + But in her laugh and talk, + Forgot the cruel hawk! + + + The Weasel in the Granary + + A Weasel through a hole contrived to squeeze, + (She was recovering from disease), + Which led her to a farmer's hoard. + There lodged, her wasted form she cherish'd; + Heaven knows the lard and victuals stored + That by her gnawing perish'd! + Of which the consequence + Was sudden corpulence. + A week or so was past, + When having fully broken fast, + A noise she heard, and hurried + To find the hole by which she came, + And seem'd to find it not the same; + So round she ran, most sadly flurried; + And, coming back, thrust out her head, + Which, sticking there, she said, + "This is the hole, there can't be blunder: + What makes it now so small, I wonder, + Where, but the other day, I pass'd with ease?" + A Rat her trouble sees, + And cries, "But with an emptier belly; + You entered lean, and lean must sally." + + + + The Wolf Turned Shepherd + + A Wolf, whose gettings from the flocks + Began to be but few, + Bethought himself to play the fox + In character quite new. + A Shepherd's hat and coat he took, + A cudgel for a crook, + Nor e'en the pipe forgot: + And more to seem what he was not, + Himself upon his hat he wrote, + "I'm Willie, shepherd of these sheep." + His person thus complete, + His crook in upraised feet, + The impostor Willie stole upon the keep. + The proper Willie, on the grass asleep, + Slept there, indeed, profoundly, + His dog and pipe slept, also soundly; + His drowsy sheep around lay. + As for the greatest number, + Much bless'd the hypocrite their slumber + And hoped to drive away the flock, + Could he the Shepherd's voice but mock. + He thought undoubtedly he could. + He tried: the tone in which he spoke, + Loud echoing from the wood, + The plot and slumber broke; + Sheep, dog, and man awoke. + The Wolf, in sorry plight, + In hampering coat bedight, + Could neither run nor fight. + + _There's always leakage of deceit + Which makes it never safe to cheat, + Whoever is a Wolf had better + Keep clear of hypocritic fetter._ + + + + The Lion and the Ass Hunting + + The King of animals, with royal grace, + Would celebrate his birthday in the chase. + Twas not with bow and arrows, + To slay some wretched sparrows; + The Lion hunts the wild boar of the wood, + The antlered deer and stags, the fat and good. + This time, the King, t' insure success, + Took for his aide-de-camp an Ass, + A creature of stentorian voice, + That felt much honoured by the choice. + The Lion hid him in a proper station, + And ordered him to bray, for his vocation, + Assured that his tempestuous cry + The boldest beasts would terrify, + And cause them from their lairs to fly. + And, sooth, the horrid noise the creature made + Did strike the tenants of the wood with dread; + And, as they headlong fled, + All fell within the Lion's ambuscade. + "Has not my service glorious + Made both of us victorious?" + Cried out the much-elated Ass. + "Yes," said the Lion; "bravely bray'd! + Had I not known yourself and race, + I should have been myself afraid!" + The Donkey, had he dared, + With anger would have flared + At this retort, though justly made; + For who could suffer boasts to pass + So ill-befitting to an Ass? + + + + The Oak and the Reed + + The Oak one day address'd the Reed: + "To you ungenerous indeed + Has nature been, my humble friend, + With weakness aye obliged to bend. + The smallest bird that flits in air + Is quite too much for you to bear; + The slightest wind that wreathes the lake + Your ever-trembling head doth shake. + The while, my towering form + Dares with the mountain top + The solar blaze to stop, + And wrestle with the storm. + What seems to you the blast of death, + To me is but a zephyr's breath. + Beneath my branches had you grown, + Less suffering would your life have known, + Unhappily you oftenest show + In open air your slender form, + Along the marshes wet and low, + That fringe the kingdom of the storm. + To you, declare I must, + Dame Nature seems unjust." + Then modestly replied the Reed: + "Your pity, sir, is kind indeed, + But wholly needless for my sake. + The wildest wind that ever blew + Is safe to me compared with you. + I bend, indeed, but never break. + Thus far, I own, the hurricane + Has beat your sturdy back in vain; + But wait the end." Just at the word, + The tempest's hollow voice was heard. + The North sent forth her fiercest child, + Dark, jagged, pitiless, and wild. + The Oak, erect, endured the blow; + The Reed bow'd gracefully and low. + But, gathering up its strength once more, + In greater fury than before, + The savage blast o'erthrew, at last, + That proud, old, sky-encircled head, + Whose feet entwined the empire of the dead! + + + + The Bat and the Two Weasels + + A blundering Bat once stuck her head + Into a wakeful Weasel's bed; + Whereat the mistress of the house, + A deadly foe of rats and mice, + Was making ready in a trice + To eat the stranger as a mouse. + "What! do you dare," she said, "to creep in + The very bed I sometimes sleep in, + Now, after all the provocation + I've suffered from your thievish nation? + It's plain to see you are a mouse, + That gnawing pest of every house, + Your special aim to do the cheese ill. + Ay, that you are, or I'm no Weasel." + "I beg your pardon," said the Bat; + "My kind is very far from that. + What! I a mouse! Who told you such a lie? + Why, ma'am, I am a bird; + And, if you doubt my word, + Just see the wings with which I fly. + Long live the mice that cleave the sky!" + These reasons had so fair a show, + The Weasel let the creature go. + + By some strange fancy led, + The same wise blunderhead, + But two or three days later, + Had chosen for her rest + Another Weasel's nest, + This last, of birds a special hater. + New peril brought this step absurd: + Without a moment's thought or puzzle, + Dame Weasel, oped her peaked muzzle + To eat th' intruder as a bird. + "Hold! do not wrong me," cried the Bat; + "I'm truly no such thing as that. + Your eyesight strange conclusions gathers. + What makes a bird, I pray? Its feathers. + I'm cousin of the mice and rats. + Great Jupiter confound the cats!" + The Bat, by such adroit replying, + Twice saved herself from dying. + + _And many a human stranger + Thus turns his coat in danger; + And sings, as suits, where'er he goes, + "God save the king!"--or "save his foes!_" + + + + The Dove and the Ant + + A Dove came to a brook to drink, + When, leaning o'er its crumbling brink, + An Ant fell in, and vainly tried, + In this, to her, an ocean tide, + To reach the land; whereat the Dove, + With every living thing in love, + Was prompt a spire of grass to throw her, + By which the Ant regained the shore. + + A barefoot scamp, both mean and sly, + Soon after chanced this Dove to spy; + And, being arm'd with bow and arrow, + The hungry codger doubted not + The bird of Venus, in his pot, + Would make a soup before the morrow. + Just as his deadly bow he drew, + Our Ant just bit his heel. + Roused by the villain's squeal, + The Dove took timely hint, and flew + Far from the rascal's coop-- + And with her flew his soup. + + + + The Cock and the Fox + + Upon a tree there mounted guard + A veteran Cock, adroit and cunning; + When to the roots a Fox up running, + Spoke thus, in tones of kind regard: + "Our quarrel, brother, 's at an end; + Henceforth I hope to live your friend; + For peace now reigns + Throughout the animal domains. + I bear the news--come down, I pray, + And give me the embrace fraternal; + And please, my brother, don't delay. + So much the tidings do concern all, + That I must spread them far to-day. + Now you and yours can take your walks + Without a fear or thought of hawks. + And should you clash with them or others, + In us you'll find the best of brothers; + For which you may, this joyful night, + Your merry bonfires light. + But, first, let's seal the bliss + With one fraternal kiss." + The Cock replied, "Upon my word, + A better thing I never heard; + And doubly I rejoice + To hear it from your voice; + There really must be something in it, + For yonder come two greyhounds, which I flatter + Myself are couriers on this very matter. + They come so fast, they'll be here in a minute. + I'll down, and all of us will seal the blessing + With general kissing and caressing." + "Adieu," said Fox; "my errand's pressing; + I'll hurry on my way, + And we'll rejoice some other day." + So off the fellow scampered, quick and light, + To gain the fox-holes of a neighbouring height, + Less happy in his stratagem than flight. + The Cock laugh'd sweetly in his sleeve-- + 'Tis doubly sweet deceiver to deceive. + + + + The Wolf, the Goat, and the Kid + + As went a Goat of grass to take her fill, + And browse the herbage of a distant hill, + She latch'd her door, and bid, + With matron care, her Kid; + "My daughter, as you live, + This portal don't undo + To any creature who + This watchword does not give: + 'Deuce take the Wolf and all his race'!" + The Wolf was passing near the place + By chance, and heard the words with pleasure, + And laid them up as useful treasure; + And hardly need we mention, + Escaped the Goat's attention. + No sooner did he see + The matron off, than he, + With hypocritic tone and face, + Cried out before the place, + "Deuce take the Wolf and all his race!" + Not doubting thus to gain admission. + The Kid, not void of all suspicion, + Peer'd through a crack, and cried, + "Show me white paw before + You ask me to undo the door." + The Wolf could not, if he had died, + For wolves have no connection + With paws of that complexion. + So, much surprised, our gourmandiser + Retired to fast till he was wiser. + + _How would the Kid have been undone + Had she but trusted to the word + The Wolf by chance had overheard! + Two sureties better are than one; + And cautions worth its cost, + Though sometimes seeming lost._ + + + The Fox, the Monkey, and the Animals + + Left kingless by the lion's death, + The beasts once met, our story saith, + Some fit successor to install. + Forth from a dragon-guarded, moated place, + The crown was brought and, taken from its case, + And being tried by turns on all, + The heads of most were found too small; + Some horned were, and some too big; + Not one would fit the regal gear. + Forever ripe for such a rig, + The Monkey, looking very queer, + Approached with antics and grimaces, + And, after scores of monkey faces, + With what would seem a gracious stoop, + Pass'd through the crown as through a hoop. + The beasts, diverted with the thing, + Did homage to him as their king. + The Fox alone the vote regretted, + But yet in public never fretted. + When he his compliments had paid + To royalty, thus newly made, + "Great sire, I know a place," said he, + "Where lies conceal'd a treasure, + Which, by the right of royalty, + Should bide your royal pleasure." + The King lack'd not an appetite + For such financial pelf, + And, not to lose his royal right, + Ran straight to see it for himself. + It was a trap, and he was caught. + Said Reynard, "Would you have it thought, + You Ape, that you can fill a throne, + And guard the rights of all, alone. + Not knowing how to guard your own?" + + _The beasts all gathered from the farce, + That stuff for kings is very scarce._ + + + The Rat and the Oyster + + A country Rat of little brains, + Grown weary of inglorious rest, + Left home with all its straws and grains, + Resolved to know beyond his nest. + When peeping through the nearest fence, + "How big the world is, how immense!" + He cried; "there rise the Alps, and that + Is doubtless famous Ararat." + His mountains were the works of moles, + Or dirt thrown up in digging holes! + Some days of travel brought him where + The tide had left the Oysters bare. + Since here our traveller saw the sea, + He thought these shells the ships must be. + "My father was, in truth," said he, + "A coward, and an ignoramus; + He dared not travel: as for me, + I've seen the ships and ocean famous; + Have cross'd the deserts without drinking, + And many dangerous streams, unshrinking." + Among the shut-up shell-fish, one + Was gaping widely at the sun; + It breathed, and drank the air's perfume, + Expanding, like a flower in bloom. + Both white and fat, its meat + Appear'd a dainty treat. + Our Rat, when he this shell espied, + Thought for his stomach to provide. + "If not mistaken in the matter," + Said he, "no meat was ever fatter, + Or in its flavour half so fine, + As that on which to-day I dine." + Thus full of hope, the foolish chap + Thrust in his head to taste, + And felt the pinching of a trap-- + The Oyster closed in haste. + + _Now those to whom the world is new + Are wonder-struck at every view; + And the marauder finds his match + When he is caught who thinks to catch._ + + + + The Ass and the Dog + + Along the road an Ass and Dog + One master following, did jog. + Their master slept: meanwhile, the Ass + Applied his nippers to the grass, + Much pleased in such a place to stop, + Though there no thistle he could crop. + He would not be too delicate, + Nor spoil a dinner for a plate, + Which, but for that, his favourite dish, + Were all that any Ass could wish. + "My dear companion," Towser said-- + "'Tis as a starving Dog I ask it-- + Pray lower down your loaded basket, + And let me get a piece of bread." + No answer--not a word!--indeed, + The truth was, our Arcadian steed + Fear'd lest, for every moment's flight, + His nimble teeth should lose a bite. + At last, "I counsel you," said he, "to wait + Till master is himself awake, + Who then, unless I much mistake, + Will give his Dog the usual bait." + Meanwhile, there issued from the wood + A creature of the wolfish brood, + Himself by famine sorely pinch'd. + At sight of him the Donkey flinch'd, + And begg'd the Dog to give him aid. + The Dog budged not, but answer made, + "I counsel thee, my friend, to run, + Till master's nap is fairly done; + There can, indeed, be no mistake + That he will very soon awake; + Till then, scud off with all your might; + And should he snap you in your flight, + This ugly Wolf--why, let him feel + The greeting of your well-shod heel. + I do not doubt, at all, but that + Will be enough to lay him flat." + But ere he ceased it was too late; + The Ass had met his cruel fate. + + + + The Monkey and the Leopard + + A Monkey and a Leopard were + The rivals at a country fair. + Each advertised his own attractions. + Said one, "Good sirs, the highest place + My merit knows; for, of his grace, + The King hath seen me face to face; + And, judging by his looks and actions, + I gave the best of satisfactions. + When I am dead, 'tis plain enough, + My skin will make his royal muff. + So richly is it streak'd and spotted, + So delicately waved and dotted, + Its various beauty cannot fail to please." + And, thus invited, everybody sees; + But soon they see, and soon depart. + The Monkey's show-bill to the mart + His merits thus sets forth the while, + All in his own peculiar style: + "Come, gentlemen, I pray you, come; + In magic arts I am at home. + The whole variety in which + My neighbour boasts himself so rich + Is to his simple skin confined, + While mine is living in the mind. + For I can speak, you understand; + Can dance, and practise sleight-of-hand; + Can jump through hoops, and balance sticks; + In short, can do a thousand tricks; + One penny is my charge to you, + And, if you think the price won't do, + When you have seen, then I'll restore, + Each man his money at the door." + + _The Ape was not to reason blind; + For who in wealth of dress can find + Such charms as dwell in wealth of mind? + One meets our ever-new desires, + The other in a moment tires. + Alas! how many lords there are, + Of mighty sway and lofty mien, + Who, like this Leopard at the fair, + Show all their talents on the skin!_ + + + + The Rat and the Elephant + + A Rat, of quite the smallest size, + Fix'd on an Elephant his eyes, + And jeer'd the beast of high descent + Because his feet so slowly went. + Upon his back, three stories high, + There sat, beneath a canopy, + A certain sultan of renown, + His Dog, and Cat, and wife sublime, + His parrot, servant, and his wine, + All pilgrims to a distant town. + The Rat profess'd to be amazed + That all the people stood and gazed + With wonder, as he pass'd the road, + Both at the creature and his load. + "As if," said he, "to occupy + A little more of land or sky + Made one, in view of common sense, + Of greater worth and consequence! + What see ye, men, in this parade, + That food for wonder need be made? + The bulk which makes a child afraid? + In truth, I take myself to be, + In all aspects, as good as he." + And further might have gone his vaunt; + But, darting down, the Cat + Convinced him that a Rat + Is smaller than an elephant. + + + + The Acorn and the Pumpkin + + God's works are good. This truth to prove + Around the world I need not move; + I do it by the nearest Pumpkin. + "This fruit so large, on vine so small," + Surveying once, exclaim'd a bumpkin-- + "What could He mean who made us all? + He's left this Pumpkin out of place. + If I had order'd in the case, + Upon that oak it should have hung---- + A noble fruit as ever swung + To grace a tree so firm and strong. + Indeed, it was a great mistake, + As this discovery teaches, + That I myself did not partake + His counsels whom my curate preaches. + All things had then in order come; + This Acorn, for example, + Not bigger than my thumb, + Had not disgraced a tree so ample. + The more I think, the more I wonder + To see outraged proportion's laws, + And that without the slightest cause; + God surely made an awkward blunder." + With such reflections proudly fraught, + Our sage grew tired of mighty thought, + And threw himself on Nature's lap, + Beneath an oak, to take his nap. + Plump on his nose, by lucky hap, + An Acorn fell: he waked, and in + The scarf he wore beneath his chin, + He found the cause of such a bruise + As made him different language use. + "Oh! Oh!" he cried; "I bleed! I bleed! + And this is what has done the deed! + But, truly, what had been my fate, + Had this had half a Pumpkin's weight! + I see that God had reasons good, + And all His works were understood." + Thus home he went in humbler mood. + + + + The Cat and the Fox + + The Cat and Fox, when saints were all the rage + Together went upon pilgrimage. + Our Pilgrims, as a thing of course, + Disputed till their throats were hoarse. + Then, dropping to a lower tone, + They talk'd of this, and talk'd of that, + Till Reynard whisper'd to the Cat, + "You think yourself a knowing one: + How many cunning tricks have you? + For I've a hundred, old and new, + All ready in my haversack." + The Cat replied, "I do not lack, + Though with but one provided; + And, truth to honour, for that matter, + I hold it than a thousand better." + In fresh dispute they sided; + And loudly were they at it, when + Approach'd a mob of dogs and men. + "Now," said the Cat, "your tricks ransack, + And put your cunning brains to rack, + One life to save; I'll show you mine-- + A trick, you see, for saving nine." + With that, she climb'd a lofty pine. + The Fox his hundred ruses tried, + And yet no safety found. + A hundred times he falsified. + The nose of every hound + Was here, and there, and everywhere, + Above, and under ground; + But yet to stop he did not dare, + Pent in a hole, it was no joke, + To meet the terriers or the smoke. + So, leaping into upper air, + He met two dogs, that choked him there. + + _Expedients may be too many, + Consuming time to choose and try. + On one, but that as good as any, + 'Tis best in danger to rely._ + + + + The City Rat and the Country Rat + + A city Rat, one night + Did with a civil stoop + A Country Rat invite + To end a turtle soup. + + Upon a Turkey carpet + They found the table spread, + And sure I need not harp it + How well the fellows fed. + + The entertainment was + A truly noble one; + But some unlucky cause + Disturbed it when begun + + It was a slight rat-tat, + That put their Joys to rout; + Out ran the City Rat; + His guest, too, scampered out. + + Our rats but fairly quit, + The fearful knocking ceased, + "Return we," said the cit, + "To finish there our feast." + + "No," said the Rustic Rat; + "To-morrow dine with me. + I'm not offended at + Your feast so grand and free, + + "For I've no fare resembling; + But then I eat at leisure, + And would not swap for pleasure + So mixed with fear and trembling." + + + + The Ploughman and His Sons + + A wealthy Ploughman drawing near his end + Call'd in his Sons apart from every friend, + And said, "When of your sire bereft, + The heritage our fathers left + Guard well, nor sell a single field. + A treasure in it is conceal'd: + The place, precisely, I don't know, + But industry will serve to show. + The harvest past. Time's forelock take, + And search with plough, and spade, and rake; + Turn over every inch of sod, + Nor leave unsearch'd a single clod." + The father died. The Sons in vain-- + Turn'd o'er the soil, and o'er again; + That year their acres bore + More grain than e'er before. + Though hidden money found they none, + Yet had their Father wisely done, + To show by such a measure + That toil itself is treasure. + + _The farmer's patient care and toil + Are oftener wanting than the soil._ + + + + The Fox, the Wolf, and the Horse + + A Fox, though young, by no means raw, + Had seen a Horse, the first he ever saw: + "Ho! neighbour Wolf," said he to one quite green, + "A creature in our meadow I have seen-- + Sleek, grand! I seem to see him yet-- + The finest beast I ever met." + "Is he a stouter one than we?" + The Wolf demanded, eagerly; + "Some picture of him let me see." + "If I could paint," said Fox, "I should delight + T' anticipate your pleasure at the sight; + But come; who knows? perhaps it is a prey + By fortune offer'd in our way." + They went. The Horse, turn'd loose to graze, + Not liking much their looks and ways, + Was just about to gallop off. + "Sir," said the Fox, "your humble servants, we + Make bold to ask you what your name may be." + The Horse, an animal with brains enough, + Replied, "Sirs, you yourselves may read my name; + My shoer round my heel hath writ the same." + The Fox excus'd himself for want of knowledge: + "Me, sir, my parents did not educate, + So poor, a hole was their entire estate. + My friend, the Wolf, however, taught at college, + Could read it, were it even Greek." + The Wolf, to flattery weak, + Approached to verify the boast; + For which four teeth he lost. + The high raised hoof came down with such a blow + As laid him bleeding on the ground full low. + "My brother," said the Fox, "this shows how just + What once was taught me by a fox of wit-- + Which on thy jaws this animal hath writ-- + 'All unknown things the wise mistrust.'" + + + + The Woodman and Mercury + + A Man that laboured in the wood + Had lost his honest livelihood; + That is to say, + His axe was gone astray. + He had no tools to spare; + This wholly earn'd his fare. + Without a hope beside, + He sat him down and cried, + "Alas, my axe! where can it be? + O Jove! but send it back to me, + And it shall strike good blows for thee." + His prayer in high Olympus heard, + Swift Mercury started at the word. + "Your axe must not be lost," said he: + "Now, will you know it when you see? + An axe I found upon the road." + With that an axe of gold he show'd. + "Is't this?" The Woodman answer'd, "Nay." + An axe of silver, bright and gay, + Refused the honest Woodman too. + At last the finder brought to view + An axe of iron, steel, and wood. + "That's mine," he said, in joyful mood; + "With that I'll quite contented be." + The god replied, "I give the three, + As due reward of honesty." + This luck when neighbouring choppers knew, + They lost their axes, not a few, + And sent their prayers to Jupiter + So fast, he knew not which to hear. + His winged son, however, sent + With gold and silver axes, went. + Each would have thought himself a fool + Not to have own'd the richest tool. + But Mercury promptly gave, instead + Of it, a blow upon the head. + + _With simple truth to be contented, + Is surest not to be repented: + But still there are who would + With evil trap the good, + Whose cunning is but stupid, + For Jove is never duped._ + + + + The Eagle and the Owl + + The Eagle and the Owl, resolved to cease + Their war, embraced in pledge of peace. + On faith of King, on faith of Owl, they swore + That they would eat each other's chicks no more. + "But know you mine?" said Wisdom's bird. + "Not I, indeed," the Eagle cried. + "The worse for that," the Owl replied: + "I fear your oath's a useless word; + I fear that you, as king, will not + Consider duly who or what: + Adieu, my young, if you should meet them!" + "Describe them, then, and I'll not eat them," + The Eagle said. The Owl replied: + "My little ones, I say with pride, + For grace of form cannot be match'd-- + The prettiest birds that e'er were hatch'd; + By this you cannot fail to know them; + 'Tis needless, therefore, that I show them." + At length God gives the Owl some heirs, + And while at early eve abroad he fares, + In quest of birds and mice for food, + Our Eagle haply spies the brood, + As on some craggy rock they sprawl, + Or nestle in some ruined wall, + (But which it matters not at all,) + And thinks them ugly little frights, + Grim, sad, with voice like shrieking sprites. + "These chicks," says he, "with looks almost infernal, + Can't be the darlings of our friend nocturnal. + I'll sup of them." And so he did, not slightly: + He never sups, if he can help it, lightly. + The Owl return'd; and, sad, he found + Nought left but claws upon the ground. + He pray'd the gods above and gods below + To smite the brigand who had caused his woe. + Quoth one, "On you alone the blame must fall; + Thinking your like the loveliest of all, + You told the Eagle of your young ones' graces; + You gave the picture of their faces: + Had it of likeness any traces?" + + + + The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot + + An Iron Pot proposed + To an Earthen Pot a journey. + The latter was opposed, + Expressing the concern he + Had felt about the danger + Of going out a ranger. + He thought the kitchen hearth + The safest place on earth + For one so very brittle. + "For thee, who art a kettle, + And hast a tougher skin, + There's nought to keep thee in." + "I'll be thy bodyguard," + Replied the Iron Pot; + "If anything that's hard + Should threaten thee a jot, + Between you I will go, + And save thee from the blow." + This offer him persuaded. + The Iron Pot paraded + Himself as guard and guide + Close at his cousin's side. + Now, in their tripod way, + They hobble as they may; + And eke together bolt + At every little jolt-- + Which gives the crockery pain; + But presently his comrade hits + So hard, he dashes him to bits, + Before he can complain. + + _Take care that you associate + With equals only, lest your fate + Between these pots should find its mate._ + + + + The Wolf and the Lean Dog + + A Troutling, some time since, + Endeavoured vainly to convince + A hungry fisherman + Of his unfitness for the frying-pan. + The fisherman had reason good-- + The troutling did the best he could-- + Both argued for their lives. + Now, if my present purpose thrives, + I'll prop my former proposition + By building on a small addition. + A certain Wolf, in point of wit + The prudent fisher's opposite, + A Dog once finding far astray, + Prepared to take him as his prey. + The Dog his leanness plead; + "Your lordship, sure," he said, + "Cannot be very eager + To eat a dog so meagre. + To wait a little do not grudge: + The wedding of my master's only daughter + Will cause of fatted calves and fowls a slaughter; + And then, as you yourself can judge, + I cannot help becoming fatter." + The Wolf, believing, waived the matter, + And so, some days therefrom, + Return'd with sole design to see + If fat enough his Dog might be. + The rogue was now at home: + He saw the hunter through the fence. + "My friend," said he, "please wait; + I'll be with you a moment hence, + And fetch our porter of the gate." + This porter was a dog immense, + That left to wolves no future tense. + Suspicion gave our Wolf a jog-- + It might not be so safely tamper'd. + "My service to your porter dog," + Was his reply, as off he scampered. + His legs proved better than his head, + And saved him life to learn his trade. + + + + The Ears of the Hare + + Some beast with horns did gore + The Lion; and that sovereign dread, + Resolved to suffer so no more, + Straight banish'd from his realm, 'tis said, + All sorts of beasts with horns-- + Rams, bulls, goats, stags, and unicorns. + Such brutes all promptly fled. + A Hare, the shadow of his ears perceiving, + Could hardly help believing + That some vile spy for horns would take them, + And food for accusation make them. + "Adieu," said he, "my neighbour cricket; + I take my foreign ticket. + My ears, should I stay here, + Will turn to horns, I fear; + And were they shorter than a bird's, + I fear the effect of words." + "These horns!" the cricket answered; "why, + God made them ears who can deny?" + "Yes," said the coward, "still they'll make them horns, + And horns, perhaps, of unicorns! + In vain shall I protest, + With all the learning of the schools: + My reasons they will send to rest + In th' Hospital of Fools." + + + + The Ass Carrying Relics + + An Ass, with relics for his load, + Supposed the worship on the road + Meant for himself alone, + And took on lofty airs, + Receiving as his own + The incense and the prayers. + Some one, who saw his great mistake, + Cried, "Master Donkey, do not make + Yourself so big a fool. + Not you they worship, but your pack; + They praise the idols on your back, + And count yourself a paltry tool." + + _'Tis thus a brainless magistrate + Is honoured for his robe of state._ + + + The Two Mules + + Two Mules were bearing on their backs, + One, oats; the other, silver of the tax. + The latter glorying in his load, + March'd proudly forward on the road; + And, from the jingle of his bell, + 'Twas plain he liked his burden well. + But in a wild-wood glen + A band of robber men + Rush'd forth upon the twain. + Well with the silver pleased, + They by the bridle seized + The treasure Mule so vain. + Poor Mule! in struggling to repel + His ruthless foes, he fell + Stabb'd through; and with a bitter sighing, + He cried: "Is this the lot they promised me? + My humble friend from danger free, + While, weltering in my gore, I'm dying?" + "My friend," his fellow-mule replied, + "It is not well to have one's work too high. + If thou hadst been a miller's drudge, as I, + Thou wouldst not thus have died." + + + + The Lion and the Gnat + + "Go, paltry insect, nature's meanest brat!" + Thus said the royal Lion to the Gnat. + The Gnat declared immediate war. + "Think you," said he, "your royal name + To me worth caring for? + Think you I tremble at your power or fame? + The ox is bigger far than you; + Yet him I drive, and all his crew." + This said, as one that did no fear owe, + Himself he blew the battle charge, + Himself both trumpeter and hero. + At first he play'd about at large, + Then on the Lion's neck, at leisure, settled, + And there the royal beast full sorely nettled. + With foaming mouth, and flashing eye, + He roars. All creatures hide or fly-- + Such mortal terror at + The work of one poor Gnat! + With constant change of his attack, + The snout now stinging, now the back, + And now the chambers of the nose; + The pigmy fly no mercy shows. + The Lion's rage was at its height; + His viewless foe now laugh'd outright, + When on his battle-ground he saw, + That every savage tooth and claw + Had got its proper beauty + By doing bloody duty; + Himself, the hapless Lion tore his hide, + And lash'd with sounding tail from side to side. + Ah! bootless blow, and bite, and curse! + He beat the harmless air, and worse; + For, though so fierce and stout, + By effort wearied out, + He fainted, fell, gave up the quarrel; + The Gnat retires with verdant laurel. + + _We often have the most to fear + From those we most despise; + Again, great risks a man may clear + Who by the smallest dies._ + + + + The Countryman and the Serpent + + A Countryman, as Aesop certifies, + A charitable man, but not so wise, + One day in winter found, + Stretched on the snowy ground, + A chill'd or frozen Snake, + As torpid as a stake, + And, if alive, devoid of sense. + He took him up, and bore him home, + And, thinking not what recompense + For such a charity would come, + Before the fire stretch'd him, + And back to being fetch'd him. + The Snake scarce felt the genial heat + Before his heart with native malice beat. + He raised his head, thrust out his forked tongue, + Coil'd up, and at his benefactor sprung. + "Ungrateful wretch!" said he, "is this the way + My care and kindness you repay? + Now you shall die." With that his axe he takes, + And with two blows three serpents makes. + Trunk, head, and tail were separate snakes; + And, leaping up with all their might, + They vainly sought to reunite. + + _'Tis good and lovely to be kind; + But charity should not be blind; + For as to wretchedness ingrate, + You cannot raise it from its wretched state._ + + + + The Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk + + A Pot of Milk upon her cushioned crown, + Good Peggy hastened to the market town; + Short-clad and light, with step she went, + Not fearing any accident; + Indeed to be the nimbler tripper, + Her dress that day, + The truth to say, + Was simply petticoat and slipper. + And, thus bedight, + Good Peggy, light, + Her gains already counted, + Laid out the cash + At single dash, + Which to a hundred eggs amounted. + Three nests she made, + Which, by the aid + Of diligence and care, were hatched. + "To raise the chicks, + We'll easily fix," + Said she, "beside our cottage thatched. + The fox must get + More cunning yet, + Or leave enough to buy a pig. + With little care, + And any fare, + He'll grow quite fat and big; + And then the price + Will be so nice + For which the pork will sell! + 'Twill go quite hard + But in our yard + I'll bring a cow and calf to dwell-- + A calf to frisk among the flock!" + The thought made Peggy do the same; + And down at once the milk pot came, + And perished with the shock. + Calf, cow, and pig, and chicks, adieu! + Your mistress' face is sad to view-- + She gives a tear to fortune spilt; + Then, with the down-cast look of guilt, + Home to her husband empty goes, + Somewhat in danger of his blows. + + Who buildeth not, sometimes, in air, + His cots, or seats, or castles fair? + From kings to dairywomen--all-- + The wise, the foolish, great and small-- + Each thinks his waking dream the best. + Some flattering error fills the breast: + The world, with all its wealth, is ours, + Its honours, dames, and loveliest bowers. + Instinct with valour, where alone, + I hurl the monarch from his throne; + The people glad to see him dead, + Elect me monarch in his stead, + And diadems rain on my head. + Some accident then calls me back, + And I'm no more than simple Jack! + + + + The Monkey and the Cat + + Sly Bertrand and Ratto in company sat, + (The one was a Monkey, the other a Cat,) + Co-servants and lodgers: + More mischievous codgers + Ne'er mess'd from a platter, since platters were flat. + Was anything wrong in the house or about it, + The neighbours were blameless--no mortal could doubt it; + For Bertrand was thievish, and Ratto so nice, + More attentive to cheese than he was to the mice. + One day the two plunderers sat by the fire, + Where chestnuts were roasting, with looks of desire. + To steal them would be a right noble affair. + A double inducement our heroes drew there-- + 'Twould benefit them, could they swallow their fill, + And then 'twould occasion to somebody ill. + Said Bertrand to Ratto, "My brother, to-day + Exhibit your powers in a masterly way, + And take me these chestnuts, I pray. + Which were I but otherwise fitted + (As I am ingeniously wilted) + For pulling things out of the flame, + Would stand but a pitiful game." + "'Tis done," replied Ratto, all prompt to obey; + And thrust out his paw in a delicate way. + First giving the ashes a scratch, + He open'd the coveted batch; + Then lightly and quickly impinging, + He drew out, in spite of the singeing, + One after another, the chestnuts at last-- + While Bertrand contrived to devour them as fast. + A servant girl enters. Adieu to the fun. + Our Ratto was hardly contented, says one. + + _No more are the princes, by flattery paid + For furnishing help in a different trade, + And burning their fingers to bring + More power to some mightier king._ + + + + The Lioness and the Bear + + The Lioness had lost her young; + A hunter stole it from the vale; + The forests and the mountains rung + Responsive to her hideous wail. + Nor night, nor charms of sweet repose, + Could still the loud lament that rose + From that grim forest queen. + No animal, as you might think, + With such a noise could sleep a wink. + A Bear presumed to intervene. + "One word, sweet friend," quoth she, + "And that is all, from me. + The young that through your teeth have passed, + In file unbroken by a fast, + Had they nor dam nor sire?" + "They had them both." "Then I desire, + Since all their deaths caused no such grievous riot, + While mothers died of grief beneath your fiat, + To know why you yourself cannot be quiet?" + "I quiet!--I!--a wretch bereaved! + My only son!--such anguish be relieved! + No, never! All for me below + Is but a life of tears and woe!"-- + "But say, why doom yourself to sorrow so?" + "Alas! 'tis Destiny that is my foe." + + _Such language, since the mortal fall, + Has fallen from the lips of all. + Ye human wretches, give your heed; + For your complaints there's little need. + Let him who thinks his own the hardest case, + Some widowed, childless Hecuba behold, + Herself to toil and shame of slavery sold, + And he will own the wealth of heavenly grace._ + + + + The Cat and the Two Sparrows + + Contemporary with a Sparrow tame + There lived a Cat; from tenderest age, + Of both, the basket and the cage + Had household gods the same. + The Bird's sharp beak full oft provoked the Cat, + Who play'd in turn, but with a gentle pat, + His wee friend sparing with a merry laugh, + Not punishing his faults by half. + In short, he scrupled much the harm, + Should he with points his ferule arm. + The Sparrow, less discreet than he, + With dagger beak made very free. + Sir Cat, a person wise and staid, + Excused the warmth with which he play'd: + For 'tis full half of friendship's art + To take no joke in serious part. + Familiar since they saw the light, + Mere habit kept their friendship good; + Fair play had never turn'd to fight, + Till, of their neighbourhood, + Another sparrow came to greet + Old Ratto grave and Saucy Pete. + Between the birds a quarrel rose, + And Ratto took his side. + "A pretty stranger, with such blows + To beat our friend!" he cried. + "A neighbour's sparrow eating ours! + Not so, by all the feline powers." + And quick the stranger he devours. + "Now, truly," saith Sir Cat, + "I know how sparrows taste by that. + Exquisite, tender, delicate!" + This thought soon seal'd the other's fate. + But hence what moral can I bring? + For, lacking that important thing, + A fable lacks its finishing: + I seem to see of one some trace, + But still its shadow mocks my chase. + + + + The Sick Stag + + A Stag, where stags abounded, + Fell sick and was surrounded + Forthwith by comrades kind, + All--pressing to assist, + Or see, their friend, at least, + And ease his anxious mind-- + An irksome multitude. + "Ah, sirs!" the sick was fain to cry, + "Pray leave me here to die, + As others do, in solitude. + Pray, let your kind attentions cease, + Till death my spirit shall release." + But comforters are not so sent: + On duty sad full long intent, + When Heaven pleased, they went: + But not without a friendly glass; + That is to say, they cropp'd the grass + And leaves which in that quarter grew, + From which the sick his pittance drew. + By kindness thus compell'd to fast, + He died for want of food at last. + + _The men take off no trifling dole + Who heal the body, or the soul. + Alas the times! do what we will, + They have their payment, cure or kill._ + + + + The Wolf and the Fox + + "Dear Wolf," complain'd a hungry Fox, + "A lean chick's meat, or veteran cock's, + Is all I get by toil or trick: + Of such a living I am sick. + With far less risk, you've better cheer; + A house you need not venture near, + But I must do it, spite of fear. + Pray, make me master of your trade. + And let me by that means be made + The first of all my race that took + Fat mutton to his larder's hook: + Your kindness shall not be repented." + The Wolf quite readily consented. + "I have a brother, lately dead: + Go fit his skin to yours," he said. + 'Twas done; and then the wolf proceeded: + "Now mark you well what must be done + The dogs that guard the flock to shun." + The Fox the lessons strictly heeded. + At first he boggled in his dress; + But awkwardness grew less and less, + Till perseverance gave success. + His education scarce complete, + A flock, his scholarship to greet, + Came rambling out that way. + The new-made Wolf his work began, + Amidst the heedless nibblers ran, + And spread a sore dismay. + The bleating host now surely thought + That fifty wolves were on the spot: + Dog, shepherd, sheep, all homeward fled, + And left a single sheep in pawn, + Which Reynard seized when they were gone. + But, ere upon his prize he fed, + There crow'd a cock near by, and down + The scholar threw his prey and gown, + That he might run that way the faster-- + Forgetting lessons, prize and master. + + _Reality, in every station, + Will burst out on the first occasion._ + + + + The Woods and the Woodman + + A certain Wood-chopper lost or broke + From his axe's eye a bit of oak. + The forest must needs be somewhat spared + While such a loss was being repair'd. + Came the man at last, and humbly pray'd + That the Woods would kindly lend to him-- + A moderate loan--a single limb, + Whereof might another helve be made, + And his axe should elsewhere drive its trade. + Oh, the oaks and firs that then might stand, + A pride and a joy throughout the land, + For their ancientness and glorious charms! + The innocent Forest lent him arms; + But bitter indeed was her regret; + For the wretch, his axe new-helved and whet, + Did nought but his benefactress spoil + Of the finest trees that graced her soil; + And ceaselessly was she made to groan, + Doing penance for that fatal loan. + + _Behold the world-stage and its actors, + Where benefits hurt benefactors! + A weary theme, and full of pain; + For where's the shade so cool and sweet, + Protecting strangers from the heat, + But might of such a wrong complain? + Alas! I vex myself in vain; + Ingratitude, do what I will, + Is sure to be the fashion still._ + + + + The Shepherd and the Lion + + The Fable Aesop tells is nearly this: + A Shepherd from his flock began to miss, + And long'd to catch the stealer of his sheep. + Before a cavern, dark and deep, + Where wolves retired by day to sleep, + Which he suspected as the thieves, + He set his trap among the leaves; + And, ere he left the place, + He thus invoked celestial grace: + "O king of all the powers divine, + Against the rogue but grant me this delight, + That this my trap may catch him in my sight, + And I, from twenty calves of mine, + Will make the fattest thine." + But while the words were on his tongue, + Forth came a Lion great and strong. + Down crouch'd the man of sheep, and said. + With shivering fright half dead, + "Alas! that man should never be aware + Of what may be the meaning of his prayer! + To catch the robber of my flocks, + O king of gods, I pledged a calf to thee: + If from his clutches thou wilt rescue me, + I'll raise my offering to an ox." + + + + The Animals Sick of the Plague + + The sorest ill that Heaven hath + Sent on this lower world in wrath-- + The Plague (to call it by its name) + One single day of which + Would Pluto's ferryman enrich-- + Waged war on beasts, both wild and tame. + They died not all, but all were sick: + No hunting now, by force or trick, + To save what might so soon expire, + No food excited their desire; + Nor wolf nor fox now watch'd to slay + The innocent and tender prey. + The turtles fled; + So love and therefore joy were dead. + The Lion council held, and said: + "My friends, I do believe + This awful scourge, for which we grieve, + Is for our sins a punishment + Most righteously by Heaven sent. + Let us our guiltiest beast resign, + A sacrifice to wrath divine. + Perhaps this offering, truly small, + May gain me life and health of all. + By history we find it noted + That lives have been just so devoted. + Then let us all turn eyes within, + And ferret out the hidden sin. + Himself let no one spare nor flatter, + But make clean conscience in the matter. + For me, my appetite has play'd the glutton + Too much and often upon mutton. + What harm had e'er my victims done? + I answer, truly, None. + Perhaps, sometimes, by hunger pressed, + I've eat the shepherd with the rest. + I yield myself, if need there be; + And yet I think, in equity, + Each should confess his sins with me; + For laws of right and justice cry, + The guiltiest alone should die." + "Sire," said the Fox, "your majesty + Is humbler than a king should be, + And over-squeamish in the case. + What! eating stupid sheep a crime? + No, never, sire, at any time. + It rather was an act of grace, + A mark of honour to their race. + And as to shepherds, one may swear, + The fate your majesty describes + Is recompense less full than fair + For such usurpers o'er our tribes." + + Thus Reynard glibly spoke, + And loud applause from flatterers broke, + Of neither tiger, boar, nor bear, + Did any keen inquirer dare + To ask for crimes of high degree; + The fighters, biters, scratchers, all + From every mortal sin were free; + The very dogs, both great and small, + Were saints, as far as dogs could be. + + The Ass, confessing in his turn, + Thus spoke in tones of deep concern: + "I happen'd through a mead to pass; + The monks, its owners, were at mass; + Keen hunger, leisure, tender grass, + And add to these the devil too, + All tempted me the deed to do. + I browsed the bigness of my tongue; + Since truth must out, I own it wrong." + + On this, a hue and cry arose, + As if the beasts were all his foes: + A Wolf, haranguing lawyer-wise, + Denounced the Ass for sacrifice-- + The bald-pate, scabby, ragged lout, + By whom the plague had come, no doubt. + His fault was judged a hanging crime. + "What? eat another's grass? O shame! + The noose of rope and death sublime, + For that offence, were all too tame!" + And soon poor Grizzle felt the same. + + _Thus human courts acquit the strong, + And doom the weak, as therefore wrong._ + + + + The Fowler, the Hawk, and the Lark + + From wrongs of wicked men we draw + Excuses for our own; + Such is the universal law. + Would you have mercy shown, + Let yours be clearly known. + + A Fowler's mirror served to snare + The little tenants of the air. + A Lark there saw her pretty face, + And was approaching to the place. + A Hawk, that sailed on high, + Like vapour in the sky, + Came down, as still as infant's breath, + On her who sang so near her death. + She thus escaped the Fowler's steel, + The Hawk's malignant claws to feel. + While in his cruel way, + The pirate plucked his prey, + Upon himself the net was sprung. + "O Fowler," prayed he in the hawkish tongue, + "Release me in thy clemency! + I never did a wrong to thee." + The man replied, "'Tis true; + And did the Lark to you?" + + + + Phoebus and Boreas + + Old Boreas and the Sun, one day, + Espied a traveller on his way, + Whose dress did happily provide + Against whatever might betide. + The time was autumn, when, indeed, + All prudent travellers take heed. + The rains that then the sunshine dash, + And Iris with her splendid sash, + Warn one who does not like to soak + To wear abroad a good thick coat. + Our man was therefore well bedight + With double mantle, strong and tight. + "This fellow," said the Wind, "has meant + To guard from every ill event; + But little does he wot that I + Can blow him such a blast + That, not a button fast, + His cloak shall cleave the sky. + Come, here's a pleasant game. Sir Sun! + Wilt play?" Said Phoebus, "Done! + We'll bet between us here + Which first will take the gear + From off this cavalier. + Begin, and shut away + The brightness of my ray." + "Enough." Our blower, on the bet, + Swelled out his pursy form + With all the stuff for storm-- + The thunder, hail, and drenching wet, + And all the fury he could muster; + Then, with a very demon's bluster, + He whistled, whirled, and splashed, + And down the torrents dashed, + Full many a roof uptearing + He never did before, + Full many a vessel bearing + To wreck upon the shore-- + And all to doff a single cloak. + But vain the furious stroke; + The traveller was stout, + And kept the tempest out, + Defied the hurricane, + Defied the pelting rain; + And as the fiercer roared the blast, + His cloak the tighter held he fast. + The Sun broke out, to win the bet; + He caused the clouds to disappear, + Refreshed and warmed the cavalier, + And through his mantle made him sweat, + Till off it came, of course, + In less than half an hour; + And yet the Sun saved half his power-- + So much does mildness more than force. + + + + The Stag and the Vine + + A Stag, by favour of a Vine, + Which grew where suns most genial shine, + And formed a thick and matted bower + Which might have turned a summer shower, + Was saved by ruinous assault. + The hunters thought their dogs at fault, + And called them off. In danger now no more + The Stag, a thankless wretch and vile, + Began to browse his benefactress o'er. + The hunters listening the while, + The rustling heard, came back, + With all their yelping pack, + And seized him in that very place. + "This is," said he, "but justice, in my case. + Let every black ingrate + Henceforward profit by my fate." + The dogs fell to--'twere wasting breath + To pray those hunters at the death. + They left, and we will not revile 'em, + A warning for profaners of asylum. + + + + The Peacock Complaining to Juno + + The Peacock to the Queen of heaven + Complained in some such words: + "Great goddess, you have given + To me, the laughing stock of birds, + A voice which fills, by taste quite just, + All nature with disgust; + Whereas that little paltry thing, + The nightingale, pours from her throat + So sweet and ravishing a note; + She bears alone the honours of the spring." + In anger Juno heard, + And cried, "Shame on you, jealous bird! + Grudge you the nightingale her voice, + Who in the rainbow neck rejoice, + Than costliest silks more richly tinted, + In charms of grace and form unstinted-- + Who strut in kingly pride, + Your glorious tail spread wide + With brilliants which in sheen do + Outshine the jeweller's bow window? + Is there a bird beneath the blue + That has more charms than you? + No animal in everything can shine. + By just partition of our gifts divine, + Each has its full and proper share. + Among the birds that cleave the air + The hawk's a swift, the eagle is a brave one, + For omens serves the hoarse old raven, + The rook's of coming ills the prophet; + And if there's any discontent, + I've heard not of it. + Cease, then, your envious complaint; + Or I, instead of making up your lack, + Will take your boasted plumage from your back." + + + + The Eagle and the Beetle + + John Rabbit, by Dame Eagle chased, + Was making for his hole in haste, + When, on his way, he met a Beetle's burrow. + I leave you all to think + If such a little chink + Could to a rabbit give protection thorough; + But, since no better could be got, + John Rabbit, there was fain to squat. + Of course, in an asylum so absurd, + John felt ere long the talons of the bird. + But first the Beetle, interceding, cried, + "Great queen of birds, it cannot be denied + That, maugre my protection, you can bear + My trembling guest, John Rabbit, through the air, + But do not give me such affront, I pray; + And since he craves your grace, + In pity of his case, + Grant him his life, or take us both away; + For he's my gossip, friend and neighbour." + In vain the Beetle's friendly labour; + The Eagle clutched her prey without reply, + And as she flapped her vasty wings to fly, + Struck down our orator and stilled him-- + The wonder is she hadn't killed him. + The Beetle soon, of sweet revenge in quest + Flew to the old, gnarled mountain oak, + Which proudly bore that haughty Eagle's nest. + And while the bird was gone, + Her eggs, her cherished eggs, he broke, + Not sparing one. + Returning from her flight, the Eagle's cry + Of rage and bitter anguish filled the sky, + But, by excess of passion blind, + Her enemy she failed to find. + Her wrath in vain, that year it was her fate + To live a mourning mother, desolate. + The next, she built a loftier nest; 'twas vain; + The Beetle found and dashed her eggs again. + + John Rabbit's death was thus avenged anew. + The second mourning for her murdered brood + Was such that through the giant mountain wood, + For six long months, the sleepless echo flew. + The bird, once Ganymede, now made + Her prayer to Jupiter for aid; + And, laying them within his godship's lap, + She thought her eggs now safe from all mishap; + The god his own could not but make them-- + No wretch would venture there to break them. + And no one did. Their enemy, this time, + Upsoaring to a place sublime, + Let fall upon his royal robes some dirt, + Which Jove just shaking, with a sudden flirt, + Threw out the eggs, no one knows whither. + When Jupiter informed her how th' event + Occurred by purest accident, + The Eagle raved; there was no reasoning with her; + She gave out threats of leaving court, + To make the desert her resort, + And other brav'ries of this sort. + Poor Jupiter in silence heard + The uproar of his favourite bird. + Before his throne the Beetle now appeared, + And by a clear complaint the mystery cleared. + The god pronounced the Eagle in the wrong. + But still, their hatred was so old and strong, + These enemies could not be reconciled; + And, that the general peace might not be spoiled-- + The best that he could do--the god arranged + That thence the Eagle's pairing should be changed, + To come when Beetle folks are only found + Concealed and dormant under ground. + + + + +FABLES FROM THE SPANISH + +OF + +CARLOS YRIARTE* + + +"_As the impressions made upon a new vessel are not easily to be +effaced, so here youth are taught prudence through the allurement of +fable._" + + +*Translated by Richard Andrew + + + FABLES FROM THE SPANISH + + The Bee and the Cuckoo + + A Cuckoo, near a hive, one day, + Was chaunting in his usual way, + When to the door the Queen-bee ran, + And, humming angrily, began: + + "Do cease that tuneless song I hear-- + How can we work while thou art near? + There is no other bird, I vow, + Half so fantastical as thou, + Since all that ugly voice can do, + Is to sing on--'Cuckoo! cuckoo'!" + + "If my monotony of song + Displeases you, shall I be wrong," + The Cuckoo answered, "if I find + Your comb has little to my mind? + Look at the cells--through every one + Does not unvaried sameness run? + Then if in me there's nothing new, + Dear knows, all's old enough in you." + The Bee replied: "Hear me, my friend. + In works that have a useful end + It is not always worth the while + To seek variety in style, + But if those works whose only views + Are to give pleasure and amuse, + Want either fancy or invention, + They fail of gaining their intention." + + + + The Rope Dancer and His Pupil + + A Tight-rope Dancer who, they say, + Was a great master in his way, + Was tutoring a Youth to spring + Upon the slight and yielding string, + Who, though a novice in the science, + Had in his talents great reliance, + And, as on high his steps he tried, + Thus to his sage instructor cried: + "This pole you call the counterpoise + My every attitude annoys; + I really cannot think it good + To use this cumbrous piece of wood + In such a business as ours, + An art requiring all our powers. + Why should I with this burden couple? + Am I not active, strong and supple? + So--see me try this step without it, + I'll manage better, do not doubt it-- + See, 'tis not difficult at all," + He said, and let the balance fall, + And, taking fearlessly a bound, + He tumbled headlong on the ground, + With compound fracture of the shin, + And six or seven ribs crushed in. + + "Unhappy youth!" the Master said, + "What was your truest help and aid + Impediment you thought to be-- + For art and method if you flee, + Believe me, ere your life is past, + This tumble will not be your last." + + + + The Squirrel and the Horse + + A Squirrel, on his hind legs raised, + Upon a noble Charger gazed, + Who docile to the spur and rein, + Went through his menage on the plain; + Now seeming like the wind to fly, + Now gracefully curvetting by. + "Good Sir," the little Tumbler said, + And with much coolness, scratched his head, + "In all your swiftness, skill and spirit, + I do not see there's much of merit, + For, all you seem so proud to do, + I can perform, and better too; + I'm light and nimble, brisk and sprightly, + I trot, and skip, and canter lightly, + Backward and forward--here and there, + Now on the earth--now in the air-- + From bough to bough--from hill to hill, + And never for a moment still." + The Courser tossed his head on high; + And made the Squirrel this reply: + "My little nimble jealous friend, + Those turns and tumbles without end-- + That hither, thither, restless springing-- + Those ups and downs and leaps and swinging-- + And other feats more wondrous far, + Pray tell me, of what use they are? + But what I do, this praise may claim-- + My master's service is my aim, + And laudably I use for him + My warmth of blood and strength of limb." + + + + The Bear, the Monkey, and the Pig + + A Bear with whom a Piedmontese + Had voyaged from the Polar seas, + And by whose strange unwieldy gambols + He earned a living in his rambles, + One day, upon his hind legs set, + Began to dance a minuet. + At length, being tired, as well he might, + Of standing such a time upright, + He to a Monkey near advancing, + Exclaimed: "What think you of my dancing?" + "Really," he said, "ahem!" (I'm sure + This Monkey was a connoisseur) + "To praise it, I'd indeed be glad, + Only it is so very bad!" + "How!" said the Bear, not over pleased, + "Surely, your judgment is diseased, + Or else you cannot well have seen + My elegance of step and mien; + Just look again, and say what graces + You think are wanting in my paces." + "Indeed, his taste is quite amazing," + Replied a Pig with rapture gazing; + "Bravo! encore! well done! Sir Bear, + By heaven, you trip as light as air; + I vow that Paris never knew + A dancer half so fine as you." + + With some confusion, Bruin heard + Such praises by a Pig conferred; + He communed with himself a while, + And muttered thus, in altered style: + "I must confess the Monkey's blame + Made me feel doubtful of my fame; + But since the Pigs their praise concede, + My dancing must be bad, indeed!" + + + + The Muff, the Fan, and the Parasol + + "It sounds presumptuous and ill + To boast of universal skill, + But 'tis a scarce less fault, I own, + To serve one sort of use alone." + An idle Parasol, one day, + Within a lady's chamber lay, + And having nothing else to do, + Addressing his companions two, + Reclining near, a Muff and Fan, + He thus insultingly began, + Using a form of dialect, + In which, if Aesop is correct, + The Brass and Earthern Jars, of old, + Conversed as down the stream they rolled. + "Oh! sirs, ye merit mighty praise! + Yon Muff may do for wintry days, + A corner is your lot in spring; + While you, Fan, are a useless thing + When cold succeeds to heat; for neither + Can change yourself to suit the weather + Learn, if you're able to possess, + Like me a double usefulness, + From winter's rain I help to shun + And guard in summer from the sun." + + + + The Duck and the Serpent + + A self-conceited Duck, one day, + Was waddling from her pond away: + "What other race can boast," she cried, + "The many gifts to ours allied? + Earth--water--air--are all for us. + When I am tired of walking thus, + I fly, if so I take the whim, + Or if it pleases me I swim." + A cunning Serpent overheard + The boasting of the clumsy bird, + And, with contempt and scorn inflamed, + Came hissing up, and thus exclaimed: + "It strikes me, ma'am, there's small occasion + For your just uttered proclamation; + These gifts of yours shine rather dim, + Since neither like the trout you swim, + Nor like the deer, step swift and light, + Nor match the eagle in your flight." + They err who think that merit clings + To knowledge slight of many things; + He who his fellows would excel, + Whate'er he does should do it well. + + + + The Tea and the Sage + + The Tea from China on her way, + Met in some sea, or gulf, or bay-- + (Would to her log I might refer!) + The Sage, who thus accosted her: + "Sister--ahoy! ho--whither bound?" + "I leave," she said, "my native ground + For Europe's markets, where, I'm told, + They purchase me by weight of gold." + "And I," the Sage replied, "am seeking + The route to Canton or to Peking; + Your Chinese use me largely in + Their cookery and medicine; + They know my virtues, nor deny + The praise I ask, however high, + While Europe scorns me, just indeed, + As if I was the vilest weed. + Go; and good luck t'ye; know full well + That you are sure enough to sell, + For nations all, (fools that they are!) + Value whatever comes from afar, + And give their money nothing loth, + For anything of foreign growth." + + + + The Swan and the Linnet + + Piqued at the Linnet's song one day, + The Swan exclaimed: "Leave off! I say-- + Be still, you little noisy thing! + What!--dare _you_ challenge me to sing, + When there's no voice, however fine, + Can match the melody of mine?" + (The Linnet warbled on)--"D'ye hear? + This impudence may cost you dear; + I could with one harmonious note + Forever stop your squeaking throat, + And, if I do not choose to try, + Respect my magnanimity." + "I wish," at length the Linnet said, + "I wish, to heaven, the proof were made; + You cannot imagine how I long + To hear that rich and flowing song + Which though so sweet, by fame averred, + I know not who has ever heard." + + The Swan essayed to sing, but--whew! + She screeched and squalled a note or two, + Until the Linnet, it appears, + Took to her wings to save her ears. + 'Tis strange when some of learned fame + _Will_ prove their title to the name, + How often ill-placed praise they mar, + And show how ignorant they are. + + + + The Flint and the Steel + + The Flint, with language harsh and high, + Accused the Steel of cruelty + In striking her with all his might, + Whene'er he wanted fire and light. + The Steel the imputation spurned, + And with such warmth the contest burned + That both, at last, agreed to slip + Their contract of companionship. + "Good-by then, madame," said the one; + "And since my company you shun, + And to continue with me, doubt, + We'll see what use you are without." + "About as much as you will be, + Good sir," she answered, "without me." + + + + + FABLES OF GAY, COWPER, AND OTHERS + + + "Brutes are my theme. Am I to blame + If men in morals are the same? + I no man call or ape or ass; + 'Tis his own conscience holds the glass. + Thus void of all offence I write; + Who claims the fable, knows his right." + + JOHN GAY + + + FABLES OF GAY AND COWPER + + The Monkey Who Had Seen the World + + A Monkey, to reform the times, + Resolved to visit foreign climes; + For men in distant regions roam, + To bring politer manners home. + So forth he fares, all toil defies; + Misfortune serves to make us wise. + At length the treacherous snare was laid; + Poor Pug was caught, to town conveyed; + There sold. How envied was his doom, + Made captive in a lady's room! + Proud as a lover of his chains, + He day by day her favour gains. + Whene'er the duty of the day + The toilette calls, with mimic play + He twirls her knot, he cracks her fan, + Like any other gentleman. + In visits, too, his parts and wit, + When jests grew dull, were sure to hit. + Proud with applause, he thought his mind + In every courtly art refined; + Like Orpheus, burned with public zeal + To civilize the monkey weal: + So watched occasion, broke his chain, + And sought his native woods again. + The hairy sylvans round him press + Astonished at his strut and dress. + Some praise his sleeve, and others gloat + Upon his rich embroidered coat; + His dapper periwig commending, + With the black tail behind depending; + His powdered back above, below, + Like hoary frost or fleecy snow: + But all, with envy and desire, + His fluttering shoulder-knot admire. + "Hear and improve," he pertly cries, + "I come to make a nation wise. + Weigh your own worth, support your place, + The next in rank to human race. + In cities long I passed my days, + Conversed with men, and learned their ways, + Their dress, their courtly manners see; + Reform your state, and copy me. + Seek ye to thrive? in flatt'ry deal; + Your scorn, your hate, with that conceal. + Seem only to regard your friends, + But use them for your private ends. + Stint not to truth the flow of wit; + Be prompt to lie whene'er 'tis fit. + Bend all your force to spatter merit; + Scandal is conversation's spirit. + Boldly to everything pretend, + And men your talents shall commend. + I know the Great. Observe me right, + So shall you grow like man polite." + He spoke and bowed. With mutt'ring jaws + The wond'ring circle grinned applause. + Now, warmed with malice, envy, spite, + Their most obliging friends they bite; + And, fond to copy human ways, + Practise new mischiefs all their days. + Thus the dull lad, too tall for school. + With travel finishes the fool: + Studious of every coxcomb's airs, + He gambles, dresses, drinks, and swears; + O'er looks with scorn all virtuous arts, + For vice is fitted to his parts. + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf + + A Wolf, with hunger fierce and bold, + Ravag'd the plains, and thinn'd the fold: + Deep in the wood secure he lay, + The thefts of night regal'd the day. + In vain the shepherd's wakeful care + Had spread the toils, and watch'd the snare; + In vain the Dog pursued his pace, + The fleeter robber mock'd the chase. + As Lightfoot rang'd the forest round, + By chance his foe's retreat he found. + "Let us a while the war suspend, + And reason as from friend to friend." + "A truce?" replies the Wolf. "'Tis done." + The Dog the parley thus begun. + "How can that strong intrepid mind + Attack a weak defenceless kind? + Those jaws should prey on nobler food, + And drink the boar's and lion's blood, + Great souls with generous pity melt, + Which coward tyrants never felt. + How harmless is our fleecy care! + Be brave, and let thy mercy spare." + "Friend," says the Wolf, "the matter weigh; + Nature designed us beasts of prey; + As such, when hunger finds a treat, + 'Tis necessary Wolves should eat. + If mindful of the bleating weal, + Thy bosom burn with real zeal, + Hence, and thy tyrant lord beseech; + To him repeat the moving speech: + A Wolf eats sheep but now and then; + Ten thousands are devoured by men. + An open foe may prove a curse, + But a pretended friend is worse." + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Rat-catcher and Cats + + The rats by night such mischief did, + Betty was ev'ry morning chid. + They undermin'd whole sides of bacon, + Her cheese was sapp'd, her tarts were taken. + Her pasties, fenc'd with thickest paste, + Were all demolish'd, and laid waste. + She curs'd the cat for want of duty, + Who left her foes a constant booty. + An Engineer, of noted skill, + Engag'd to stop the growing ill. + From room to room he now surveys + Their haunts, their works, their secret ways; + Finds where they 'scape an ambuscade. + And whence the nightly sally's made. + An envious Cat from place to place, + Unseen, attends his silent pace. + She saw, that if his trade went on, + The purring race must be undone; + So, secretly removes his baits, + And ev'ry stratagem defeats. + Again he sets the poisoned toils, + And Puss again the labour foils. + "What foe, to frustrate my designs, + My schemes thus nightly countermines?" + Incens'd, he cries: "This very hour + This wretch shall bleed beneath my power." + So said, a ponderous trap he brought, + And in the fact poor Puss was caught. + "Smuggler," says he, "thou shalt be made + A victim to our loss of trade." + The captive Cat, with piteous mews, + For pardon, life, and freedom sues. + "A sister of the science spare; + One int'rest is our common care." + "What insolence!" the man replies; + "Shall Cats with us the game divide? + Were all your interloping band + Extinguished, or expell'd the land, + We Rat-catchers might raise our fees. + Sole guardians of a nation's cheese!" + A Cat, who saw the lifted knife, + Thus spoke and sav'd her sister's life. + "In ev'ry age and clime we see + Two of a trade can ne'er agree. + Each hates his neighbour for encroaching; + 'Squire stigmatizes 'squire for poaching; + Beauties with beauties are in arms. + And scandal pelts each other's charms; + Kings too their neighbour kings dethrone, + In hope to make the world their own. + But let us limit our desires; + Not war like beauties, kings, and 'squires! + For though we both one prey pursue, + There's game enough for us and you." + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Farmer's Wife and the Raven + + Between her swaggering pannier's load + A Farmer's Wife to market rode, + And jogging on, with thoughtful care, + Summed up the profits of her ware; + When, starting from her silver dream, + Thus far and wide was heard her scream: + "That Raven on yon left-hand oak + (Curse on his ill-betiding croak) + Bodes me no good." No more she said, + When poor blind Ball, with stumbling head, + Fell prone; o'erturned the panniers lay, + And her mashed eggs bestrewed the way. + She, sprawling on the yellow road, + Railed, cursed, and swore: "Thou croaking toad, + A murrain take thy noisy throat! + I knew misfortune in the note." + "Dame," quoth the Raven, "spare your oaths, + Unclench your fist and wipe your clothes. + But why on me those curses thrown? + Goody, the fault was all your own; + For had you laid this brittle ware + On Dun, the old sure-footed mare, + Though all the Ravens of the hundred + With croaking had your tongue out-thundered, + Sure-footed Dun had kept her legs, + And you, good woman, saved your eggs." + + JOHN GAY + + + The Council of Horses + + Upon a time, a neighing steed, + Who grazed among a numerous breed, + With mutiny had fired the train, + And spread dissension through the plain. + On matters that concerned the state + The Council met in grand debate. + A Colt, whose eyeballs flamed with ire, + Elate with strength and youthful fire, + In haste stepped forth before the rest, + And thus the listening throng addressed: + + "Good gods! how abject is our race, + Condemned to slavery and disgrace! + Shall we our servitude retain + Because our sires have borne the chain? + Consider, friends, your strength and might; + 'Tis conquest to assert your right. + How cumb'rous is the gilded coach! + The pride of man is our reproach. + Were we designed for daily toil; + To drag the ploughshare through the soil; + To sweat in harness through the road; + To groan beneath the carrier's load? + How feeble are the two-legged kind! + What force is in our nerves combined! + Shall, then, our nobler jaws submit + To foam, and champ the galling bit? + Shall haughty man my back bestride? + Shall the sharp spur provoke my side? + Forbid it, heavens! Reject the rein; + Your shame, your infamy, disdain. + Let him the lion first control, + And still the tiger's famished growl; + Let us, like them, our freedom claim, + And make him tremble at our name." + + A general nod approved the cause, + And all the circle neighed applause, + When, lo! with grave and solemn face, + A Steed advanced before the race, + With age and long experience wise; + Around he cast his thoughtful eyes, + And to the murmurs of the train + Thus spoke the Nestor of the plain: + "When I had health and strength like you, + The toils of servitude I knew; + Now grateful man rewards my pains, + And gives me all these wide domains. + At will I crop the year's increase; + My latter life is rest and peace. + I grant, to man we lend our pains, + And aid him to correct the plains; + But doth he not divide the care + Through all the labours of the year? + How many thousand structures rise + To fence us from inclement skies! + For us he bears the sultry day, + And stores up all our winter's hay: + He sows, he reaps the harvest's gain, + We share the toil and share the grain. + Since every creature was decreed + To aid each other's mutual need, + Appease your discontented mind, + And act the part by Heaven assigned." + The tumult ceased. The colt submitted, + And, like his ancestors, was bitted. + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Hare and Many Friends + + Friendship, like love, is but a name, + Unless to one you stint the flame; + The child whom many fathers share + Hath seldom known a father's care. + 'Tis thus in friendships; who depend + On many, rarely find a friend. + + A Hare, who in a civil way + Complied with everything, like Gay, + Was known by all the bestial train + Who haunt the wood or graze the plain; + Her care was never to offend, + And every creature was her friend. + As forth she went at early dawn, + To taste the dew-besprinkled lawn, + Behind she hears the hunter's cries, + And from the deep-mouthed thunder flies. + She starts, she stops, she pants for breath; + She hears the near advance of death; + She doubles to mislead the Hound, + And measures back her mazy round, + Till, fainting in the public way, + Half dead with fear she gasping lay. + What transport in her bosom grew + When first the Horse appeared in view! + "Let me," says she, "your back ascend. + And owe my safety to a friend. + You know my feet betray my flight; + To friendship every burden's light," + The Horse replied, "Poor honest Puss, + It grieves my heart to see you thus: + Be comforted, relief is near, + For all your friends are in the rear." + She next the stately Bull implored; + And thus replied the mighty lord: + "Since every beast alive can tell + That I sincerely wish you well, + I may without offence pretend + To take the freedom of a friend. + Love calls me hence; a fav'rite Cow + Expects me near the barley-mow, + And when a lady's in the case + You know all other things give place. + To leave you thus might seem unkind; + But see, the Goat is just behind." + The Goat remarked her pulse was high, + Her languid head, her heavy eye. + "My back," says she, "may do you harm. + The Sheep's at hand, and wool is warm." + The Sheep was feeble, and complained + His sides a load of wool sustained: + Said he was slow, confessed his fears; + For Hounds eat Sheep as well as Hares. + She now the trotting Calf addressed + To save from death a friend distressed. + "Shall I," says he, "of tender age, + In this important care engage? + Older and abler passed you by-- + How strong are those; how weak am I! + Should I presume to bear you hence, + Those friends of mine may take offence; + Excuse me, then; you know my heart, + But dearest friends, alas! must part. + How shall we all lament! Adieu! + For see, the Hounds are just in view." + + JOHN GAY + + + + The Nightingale and the Glowworm + + A Nightingale, that all day long + Had cheered the village with his song, + Nor had at eve his note suspended, + Nor yet when eventide was ended + Began to feel, as well he might, + The keen demands of appetite; + When, looking eagerly around, + He spied far off, upon the ground, + A something shining in the dark, + And knew the Glowworm by his spark; + So stepping down from hawthorn top, + He thought to put him in his crop. + The Worm, aware of his intent, + Harangued him thus, right eloquent: + "Did you admire my lamp," quoth he, + "As much as I your minstrelsy, + You would abhor to do me wrong, + As much as I to spoil your song; + For, 'twas the self-same Power Divine + Taught you to sing and me to shine; + That you with music, I with light, + Might beautify and cheer the night." + The Songster heard his short oration, + And warbling out his approbation. + Released him, as my story tells, + And found a supper somewhere else. + Hence, jarring sectaries may learn + Their real interest to discern, + That brother should not war with brother, + And worry and devour each other; + But sing and shine by sweet consent, + Until life's poor transient night is spent. + Respecting in each other's case. + The gifts of Nature and of Grace. + + Those Christians best deserve the name + Who studiously make peace their aim; + Peace both the duty and the prize + Of him that creeps and him that flies. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + The Raven + + A Raven, while with glossy breast + Her new-laid eggs she fondly pressed, + And on her wickerwork high mounted, + Her chickens prematurely counted, + (A fault philosophers might blame + If quite exempted from the same). + Enjoyed at ease the genial day; + 'Twas April, as the bumpkins say; + The legislature called it May. + But suddenly a wind, as high + As ever swept a winter sky, + Shook the young leaves about her ears + And filled her with a thousand fears, + Lest the rude blast should snap the bough, + And spread her golden hopes below. + But just at eve the blowing weather + Changed, and her fears were hushed together: + "And now," quoth poor unthinking Ralph,[1] + "'Tis over, and the brood is safe." + (For Ravens, though, as birds of omen, + They teach both conjurers and old women + To tell us what is to befall, + Can't prophesy themselves at all.) + The morning came, when Neighbour Hodge, + Who long had marked her airy lodge, + And destined all the treasure there + A gift to his expecting fair, + Climbed, like a squirrel to his dray, + And bore the worthless prize away. + + + Moral + + 'Tis Providence alone secures, + In every change, both mine and yours: + Safety consists not in escape + From dangers of a frightful shape; + An earthquake may be bid to spare + The man that's strangled by a hair. + Fate steals along with silent tread + Found oftenest in what least we dread, + Frowns in the storm with angry brow, + But in the sunshine strikes the blow. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + [1]Pronounced Rafe. + + + + Pairing Time Anticipated + + I shall not ask Jean Jacques Rousseau + If birds confabulate or no; + 'Tis clear that they were always able + To hold discourse, at least in fable; + And e'en the child who knows no better + Than to interpret by the letter + A story of a cock and bull + Must have a most uncommon skull. + It chanced then on a winter day, + But warm and bright and calm as May, + The Birds conceiving a design + To forestall sweet Saint Valentine, + In many an orchard, copse and grove, + Assembled on affairs of love, + And with much twitter, and much chatter, + Began to agitate the matter. + At length a Bullfinch, who could boast + More years and wisdom than the most, + Entreated, opening wide his beak, + A moment's liberty to speak; + And silence publicly enjoined, + Delivered, briefly, thus his mind-- + "My friends! Be cautious how ye treat + The subject upon which we meet; + I fear we shall have winter yet." + + A Finch, whose tongue knew no control, + With golden wing and satin poll, + A last year's bird who ne'er had tried + What marriage means, thus pert replied: + "Methinks the gentleman," quoth she, + "Opposite in the appletree, + By his good will would keep us single, + Until yonder heavens and earth shall mingle, + Or (which is likelier to befall) + Until death exterminate us all. + I marry without more ado, + My dear Dick Redcap; what say you?" + + Dick heard, and tweedling, ogling, bridling; + With many a strut and many a sidling, + Attested, glad, his approbation + Of an immediate conjugation. + Their sentiments so well expressed + Influenced mightily the rest; + All paired, and each pair built a nest. + + But though the birds were thus in haste, + The leaves came on not quite so fast, + And Destiny, that sometimes bears + An aspect stern on man's affairs, + Not altogether smiled on theirs. + The wind, of late breathed gently forth, + Now shifted east and east by north; + Bare trees and shrubs but ill, you know, + Could shelter them from rain or snow; + Stepping into their nests, they paddled, + Themselves were chilled, their eggs were addled, + Soon every father-bird and mother + Grew quarrelsome and pecked each other, + Parted without the least regret, + Except that they had ever met, + And learned in future to be wiser + Than to neglect a good adviser. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + The Poet, the Oyster, and Sensitive Plant + + An Oyster cast upon the shore + Was heard, though never heard before, + Complaining in a speech well worded, + And worthy thus to be recorded: + "Ah, hapless wretch comdemn'd to dwell + Forever in my native shell, + Ordain'd to move when others please, + Not for my own content or ease, + But toss'd and buffeted about, + Now in the water, and now out. + 'Twere better to be born a stone + Of ruder shape and feeling none, + Than with a tenderness like mine, + And sensibilities so fine! + I envy that unfeeling shrub, + Fast rooted against every rub." + The plant he meant grew not far off, + And felt the sneer with scorn enough; + Was hurt, disgusted, mortified, + And with asperity replied. + ("When," cry the botanists, and stare, + "Did plants call'd Sensitive grow there?" + No matter when--a poet's muse is + To make them grow just where she chooses): + "You shapeless nothing in a dish, + You that are but almost a fish, + I scorn your coarse insinuation, + And have most plentiful occasion + To wish myself the rock I view, + Or such another dolt as you. + For many a grave and learned clerk, + And many a gay unlettered spark, + With curious touch examines me + If I can feel as well as he; + And when I bend, retire, and shrink, + Says, 'Well--'tis more than one would think.' + Thus life is spent! oh fie upon't, + In being touched, and crying--'Don't'!" + A poet, in his evening walk, + Overheard and checked this idle talk. + "And your fine sense," he said, "and yours, + Whatever evil it endures, + Deserves not, if so soon offended, + Much to be pitied or commended. + Disputes, though short, are far too long, + Where both alike are in the wrong; + Your feelings in their full amount + Are all upon your own account." + "You, in your grotto-work enclosed, + Complain of being thus exposed, + Yet nothing feel in that rough coat, + Save when the knife is at your throat. + Wherever driven by wind or tide, + Exempt from every ill beside." + "And as for you, my Lady Squeamish, + Who reckon every touch a blemish, + If all the plants that can be found + Embellishing the scene around, + Should droop and wither where they grow, + You would not feel at all, not you. + The noblest minds their virtue prove + By pity, sympathy, and love: + These, these are feelings truly fine, + And prove their owner half divine." + His censure reached them as he dealt it. + And each by shrinking show'd he felt it. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + The Pineapple and the Bee + + The Pineapples, in triple row, + Were basking hot, and all in blow. + A Bee of most deserving taste + Perceived the fragrance as he pass'd. + On eager wing the spoiler came, + And searched for crannies in the frame, + Urged his attempt on every side, + To every pane his trunk applied; + But still in vain, the frame was tight, + And only pervious to the light: + Thus having wasted half the day, + He trimm'd his flight another way. + + * * * * * + + Our dear delights are often such, + Exposed to view, but not to touch; + The sight our foolish heart inflames, + We long for pineapples in frames; + With hopeless wish one looks and lingers; + One breaks the glass, and cuts his fingers; + But they whom Truth and Wisdom lead, + Can gather honey from a weed. + + WILLIAM COWPER + + + + Amelia and the Spider + + The muslin torn, from tears of grief + In vain Amelia sought relief; + In sighs and plaints she passed the day, + The tattered frock neglected lay: + While busied at the weaving trade, + A Spider heard the sighing maid, + And kindly stopping in a trice, + Thus offered (gratis) her advice: + "Turn, little girl, behold in me + A stimulus to industry; + Compare your woes my dear, with mine, + Then tell me who should most repine; + This morning, ere you'd left your room, + The chambermaid's relentless broom, + In one sad moment that destroyed + To build which thousands were employed. + The shock was great, but as my life + I saved in the relentless strife, + I knew lamenting was in vain, + So patient went to work again; + By constant work a day or more + My little mansion did restore. + And if each tear which you have shed + Had been a needleful of thread, + If every sigh of sad despair + Had been a stitch of proper care, + Closed would have been the luckless rent, + Nor thus the day have been misspent." + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Goose and the Swans + + A Goose, affected, empty, vain, + The shrillest of the cackling train, + With proud and elevated crest, + Precedence claimed above the rest, + Says she, "I laugh at human race, + Who say Geese hobble in their pace; + Look here--the slander base detect; + Not haughty man is so erect. + That Peacock yonder, see how vain + The creature's of his gaudy train. + If both were stripped, I'd pledge my word + A Goose would be the finer bird. + Nature, to hide her own defects, + Her bungled work with finery decks. + Were Geese set off with half that show, + Would men admire the Peacock? No!" + Thus vaunting, 'cross the mead she stalks, + The cackling breed attend her walks; + The sun shot down his noontide beams, + The Swans were sporting in the streams. + Their snowy plumes and stately pride + Provoked her spleen. "Why, there," she cried, + "Again, what arrogance we see! + Those creatures, how they mimic me! + Shall every fowl the waters skim + Because we Geese are known to swim? + Humility they soon shall learn, + And their own emptiness discern." + So saying, with extended wings, + Lightly upon the wave she springs; + Her bosom swells, she spreads her plumes, + And the Swan's stately crest assumes. + Contempt and mockery ensued, + And bursts of laughter shook the flood. + A Swan, superior to the rest, + Sprung forth, and thus the fool addressed: + "Conceited thing, elate with pride, + Thy affectation all deride; + These airs thy awkwardness impart, + And show thee plainly as thou art. + Among thy equals of the flock, + Thou hadst escaped the public mock; + And, as thy parts to good conduce, + Been deemed an honest, hobbling Goose. + Learn hence to study wisdom's rules; + Know, foppery's the pride of fools; + And, striving nature to conceal, + You only her defects reveal." + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Rats and the Cheese + + If Bees a government maintain, + Why may not Rats, of stronger brain + And greater power, as well be thought + By Machiavellian axioms taught? + And so they are, for thus of late + It happened in the Rats' free state. + Their prince (his subjects more to please) + Had got a mighty Cheshire Cheese, + In which his ministers of state + Might live in plenty and grow great. + A powerful party straight combined, + And their united forces joined + To bring their measures into play, + For none so loyal were as they; + And none such patriots to support + As well the country as the court. + No sooner were those Dons admitted, + But (all those wondrous virtues quitted) + They all the speediest means devise + To raise themselves and families. + Another party well observing + These pampered were, while they were starving, + Their ministry brought in disgrace, + Expelled them and supplied their place; + These on just principles were known + The true supporters of the throne. + And for the subjects' liberty, + They'd (marry, would they) freely die; + But being well fixed in their station, + Regardless of their prince and nation, + Just like the others, all their skill + Was how they might their paunches fill. + On this a Rat not quite so blind + In state intrigues as human kind, + But of more honour, thus replied: + "Confound ye all on either side; + All your contentions are but these, + Whose arts shall best secure the Cheese." + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Drop of Rain + + A little particle of rain + That from a passing cloud descended: + Was heard thus idly to complain: + "My brief existence now is ended! + Outcast alike of earth and sky, + Useless to live, unknown to die!" + It chanced to fall into the sea, + And there an open shell received it; + And after years how rich was he + Who from its prison-house released it! + The drop of rain had formed a gem + To deck a monarch's diadem. + + ANONYMOUS + + + + The Lion and the Echo + + A Lion bravest of the wood, + Whose title undisputed stood, + As o'er the wide domains he prowled, + And in pursuit of booty growled, + An Echo from a distant cave + Re-growled articulately grave. + His Majesty, surprised, began + To think at first it was a man; + But, on reflection sage, he found + It was too like a lion's sound. + "Whose voice is that which growls at mine?" + His Highness asked. Says Echo, "Mine!" + "Thine," says the Lion; "who art thou?" + Echo as stern cried, "Who art thou?" + "Know I'm a lion, hear and tremble!" + Replied the king. Cried Echo, "Tremble!" + "Come forth," says Lion, "show thyself!" + Laconic Echo answered, "Elf!" + "Elf dost thou call me, vile pretender?" + Echo as loud replied, "Pretender?" + At this, as jealous of his reign, + He growled in rage--she growled again. + Incensed the more, he chafed and foamed, + And round the spacious forest roamed, + To find the rival of his throne, + Who durst with him dispute the crown. + A Fox, who listened all the while, + Addressed the monarch with a smile: + "My liege, most humbly I make bold, + Though truth may not be always told, + That this same phantom that you hear, + That so alarms your royal ear, + Is not a rival of your throne-- + The voice and fears are all your own." + + Imaginary terrors scare + A timorous soul with real fear! + Nay, e'en the wise and brave are cowed + By apprehensions from the crowd; + + A frog a lion may disarm, + And yet how causeless the alarm! + + ANONYMOUS + + + + Here check we our career; + Long books I greatly fear; + I would not quite exhaust my stuff; + The flower of subjects is enough. + + JEAN DE LA FONTAINE + + + +THE END + + + + + INDEX OF TITLES + + + Acorn and the Pumpkin, The. La Fontaine (French) + Aesop and His Fellow Servants. Aesop (Greek) + Amelia and the Spider. Anonymous (English) + Animals' Peace Party, The. (Chinese) + Animals Sick of the Plague, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ant and the Fly, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and His Master, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and His Purchaser, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and His Shadow, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ass and the Dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ass and the Lap-dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ass Carrying Relics, The. La Fontaine (French) + Ass in the Lion's Skin, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Bat and the Two Weasels, The. La Fontaine (French) + Bear and the Fowls, The. Aesop (Greek) + Bear, the Monkey and the Pig, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Bee and the Cuckoo, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Belling the Cat. Aesop (Greek) + Birds and the Monkeys, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Blackamoor, The. Aesop (Greek) + Blue Jackal, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Boasting Traveller, The. Aesop (Greek) + Boy and the Filberts, The. Aesop (Greek) + Boy and the Wolf, The. Aesop (Greek) + Boys and the Frogs, The. Aesop (Greek) + Brahmin and the Goat, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Buffoon and the Countryman, The. Aesop (Greek) + Builder of Ability and the Builder of Haste, The. (African) + + Camel and His Master, The. Aesop (Greek) + Camel and the Pig, The. Raju (Indian) + Cat and the Fox, The. La Fontaine (French) + Cat and the Mice, The. Aesop (Greek) + Cat and the Two Sparrows, The. La Fontaine (French) + Chameleon, The. Aesop (Greek) + City Rat and the Country Rat, The. La Fontaine (French) + Cock and the Fox, The. La Fontaine (French) + Cock and the Jewel, The. Aesop (Greek) + Council of Horses, The. Gay (English) + Country Fellow and the River, A. Aesop (Greek) + Countryman and the Serpent, The. La Fontaine (French) + Crab and Its Mother, The. Aesop (Greek) + Crane and the Fool, The. Raju (Indian) + Crow and the Mussel, The. Aesop (Greek) + Crow and the Partridge, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Crow and the Pitcher, The. Aesop (Greek) + Cuckoo and the Cock, The. Krilof (Russian) + Cuckoo and the Eagle, The. Krilof (Russian) + Cuckoo and the Turtle-dove, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Dairywoman and the Pot of Milk, The. La Fontaine (French) + Deer and the Lion, The. Aesop (Greek) + Demian's Fish Soup. Krilof (Russian) + Despot and the Wag, The. Raju (Indian) + Discontented Ass, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dog and His Shadow, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dog and the Crocodile, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dog and the Kingship. (African) + Dog in the Manger, The. Aesop (Greek) + Dove and the Ant, The. La Fontaine (French) + Drop of Rain, The. Anonymous (English) + Duck and the Serpent, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Eagle and the Beetle, The. La Fontaine (French) + Eagle and the Mole, The. Krilof (Russian) + Eagle and the Owl, The. Aesop (Greek) + Eagle and the Owl, The. La Fontaine (French) + Eagle, the Jackdaw and the Magpie, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ears of the Hare, The. La Fontaine (French) + Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot, The. La Fontaine (French) + Education of the Lion, The. Krilof (Russian) + Elephant and Frog (African) + Elephant and the Jackal, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Elephant as Governor, The. Krilof (Russian) + Elephant Has a Bet with the Tiger, The. (Malayan) + Elephant in Favour, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Falcon and the Capon, The. Aesop (Greek) + Farmer and His Dog, The. Aesop (Greek) + Farmer and the Stork, The. Aesop (Greek) + Farmer's Wife and the Raven, The. Gay (English) + Father "Lime-stick" and the Flower-pecker (Malayan) + Fawn and the Little Tiger, The. Raju (Indian) + Flies and the Honey-pot, The. Aesop (Greek) + Flint and the Steel, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Fowler, the Hawk, and the Lark, The. La Fontaine (French) + Fox and the Countryman, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Crabs, The. Raju (Indian) + Fox and the Crow, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Drum, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Fox and the Grapes, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Stork, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox and the Villagers, The. Raju (Indian) + Fox in the Well, The. Aesop (Greek) + Fox in the Well, The. Raju (Indian) + Fox, the Monkey, and the Animals, The. La Fontaine (French) + Fox, the Wolf, and the Horse, The. La Fontaine (French) + Fox Without a Tail, The. Aesop (Greek) + Frog Who Wished to Be as Big as an Ox, The. (Greek) + Frogs Desiring a King, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Geese and the Tortoise, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Glowworm and the Daw, The. Raju (Indian) + Gnat and the Bull, The. Aesop (Greek) + Goose and the Swans, The. Anonymous (English) + Goose with the Golden Eggs, The. Aesop (Greek) + Grasshopper and the Ant, The. La Fontaine (French) + Greedy Jackal, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + + Hare and Many Friends, The. Gay (English) + Hare and the Partridge, The, La Fontaine (French) + Hare and the Pig, The. Raju (Indian) + Hare and the Tortoise, The. Aesop (Greek) + Hares and the Frogs, The. Aesop (Greek) + Hen and the Cat, The. (African) + Hen and the Chinese Mountain Turtle, The. (Chinese) + Hen and the Fox, The. Aesop (Greek) + Hercules and the Wagoner. Aesop (Greek) + Hermit, the Thief, and the Demon, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Hornets and the Bees, The. La Fontaine (French) + How Sense Was Distributed. (African) + + Invalid Lion, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Jackal and the Cat, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Jackdaw with Borrowed Plumes, The. Aesop (Greek) + Jupiter's Two Wallets. Aesop (Greek) + + King and the Hawk, The. Bidpai (Indian) + King-crow and the Water-snail, The. (Malayan) + Kite and the Pigeons, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Lark and Her Young Ones, The. Aesop (Greek) + Leopard and the Other Animals (African) + Lion and the Ass Hunting, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lion and the Echo, The. Anonymous (English) + Lion and the Gadfly, The. Raju (Indian) + Lion and the Gnat, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lion and the Goat, The. Raju (Indian) + Lion and the Mosquitoes, The. (Chinese) + Lion and the Mouse, The. Aesop (Greek) + Lion and the Rabbit, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Lion and the Wild Dog, The. (African) + Lion Going to War, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lion, the Bear, the Monkey, and the Fox, The. Aesop (Greek) + Lion, the Fox, and the Story-teller, The. Raju (Indian) + Lion, the Mouse, and the Cat, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Lion's Share, The. La Fontaine (French) + Lioness and the Bear, The. La Fontaine (French) + + Man and His Piece of Cloth, The. Raju (Indian) + Man and the Lion, The. Aesop (Greek) + Man and Turtle (African) + Man of Luck, and the Man of Pluck, The. Raju (Indian) + Matter of Arbitration, A. Aesop (Greek) + Monkey and the Cat, The. La Fontaine (French) + Monkey and the Leopard, The. La Fontaine (French) + Monkey Who Had Seen the World, The. Gay (English) + Mouse and the Frog, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Mouse Who Became a Tiger, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Mouse-deer's Shipwreck, The. (Malayan) + Muff, the Fan, and the Parasol, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Mule and the Lion, The. (Chinese) + Mule, Jackal and Lion. (Moorish) + + Nianga Dia Ngenga and Leopard. (African) + Nightingale and the Glowworm, The. Cowper (English) + + Oak and the Reed, The, La Fontaine (French) + Old Man and His Sons, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Man and the Ass, The. La Fontaine (French) + Old Man, His Son, and the Ass, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Woman and Her Maids, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Woman and the Doctor, The. Aesop (Greek) + Old Woman's Cat, The. Bidpai (Indian) + + Pairing Time Anticipated. Cowper (English) + Passenger and the Pilot, The. Aesop (Greek) + Peacock and the Fox, The. Raju (Indian) + Peacock Complaining to Juno, The. La Fontaine (French) + Peasant and the Horse, The. Krilof (Russian) + Peasant and the Robber, The. Krilof (Russian) + Peasant and the Sheep, The. Krilof (Russian) + Pebble and the Diamond, The. Krilof (Russian) + Phoebus and Boreas. La Fontaine (French) + Pike, The. Krilof (Russian) + Pike and the Cat, The. Krilof (Russian) + Pineapple and the Bee, The. Cowper (English) + Playful Ass, The. Aesop (Greek) + Ploughman and His Sons, The. La Fontaine (French) + Poet, the Oyster, and Sensitive Plant, The. Cowper (English) + Poor Woman and the Bell, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Porcupine and the Snakes, The. Aesop (Greek) + Power of Fables, The. Aesop (Greek) + Proud Chicken, The. (Chinese) + Proud Fox and the Crab, The. (Chinese) + + Quartette, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Rabbits and the Elephants, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Rat and the Elephant, The. La Fontaine (French) + Rat and the Oyster, The. La Fontaine (French) + Rat and the Toad, The. (African) + Rat-catcher and Cats, The. Gay (English) + Rats and the Cheese, The. Anonymous (English) + Raven, The. Cowper (English) + Rope Dancer and His Pupil, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + + Sagacious Snake, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Satyr and the Traveller, The. Aesop (Greek) + Shepherd and His Dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Shepherd and the Lion, The. La Fontaine (French) + Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf, The. Gay. (English) + Sick Stag, The. La Fontaine (French) + Snake and the Sparrows, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Sparrows and the Falcon, The. Bidpai (Indian) + Spectacles, The. Aesop (Greek) + Spider and the Bee, The. Krilof (Russian) + Squirrel and the Horse, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Stag and the Vine, The. La Fontaine (French) + Stork and the Toad, The. (African) + Sunling, The. Raju (Indian) + Swallow and Other Birds, The. Aesop (Greek) + Swan and the Cook, The. La Fontaine (French) + Swan and the Linnet, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Sword-blade, The. Krilof (Russian) + + Tail of the Serpent, The. Aesop (Greek) + Tea and the Sage, The. Yriarte (Spanish) + Tiger and the Giraffe, The. Raju (Indian) + Tiger and the Shadow, The. (Malayan) + + Tiger Gets His Deserts, The. (Malayan) + Tiger, the Fox, and the Hunters, The. Raju (Indian) + Tinsel and Lightning. Raju (Indian) + Traveller and the Tiger, The. Hitopadesa (Sanskrit) + Travellers and the Bear, The. Aesop (Greek) + Trishka's Caftan. Krilof (Russian) + Tune that Makes the Tiger Drowsy, The (Malayan) + Two Mules, The. La Fontaine (French) + Two Rats, the Fox, and the Egg, The. La Fontaine (French) + Two Travellers, The. Aesop (Greek) + Two Travellers and the Oyster, The. Aesop (Greek) + + Wagtail and the Jackal, The. (Moorish) + Weasel in the Granary, The. La Fontaine (French) + What Employment Our Lord Gave to Insects (African) + Wolf and Its Cub, The. Krilof (Russian) + Wolf and the Cat. The. Krilof (Russian) + Wolf and the Crane, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Fox, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wolf and the Lamb, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Lamb, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Lean Dog, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wolf and the Mastiff, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf and the Sheep, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, The. Aesop (Greek) + Wolf, the Goat, and the Kid, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wolf Turned Shepherd, The. La Fontaine (French) + Woodman and Mercury, The. La Fontaine (French) + Woods and the Woodman, The. La Fontaine (French) + Wren, The. (Moorish) + + Young Mouse, the Cock, and the Cat, The. Aesop (Greek) + Young Tiger, The. Bidpai (Indian) + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALKING BEASTS*** + + +******* This file should be named 13815.txt or 13815.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/8/1/13815 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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