Speaker 1: The following are some of Esop's best loved fables. The
Speaker 1: goose with the golden eggs. A certain man had the
Speaker 1: good fortune to possess a goose that laid him a
Speaker 1: golden egg every day. But dissatisfied with so slow an income,
Speaker 1: and thinking to seize the whole treasure at once, he
Speaker 1: killed the goose, and cutting her open, found her just
Speaker 1: what any other goose would be. Much wants more and
Speaker 1: loses all. The town mouse and the country mouse. A
Speaker 1: country mouse invited a town mouse, an intimate friend, to
Speaker 1: pay him a visit and partake of his country fare.
Speaker 1: As they were on the bare plowed lands, eating their
Speaker 1: wheat stalks and roots pulled up from the hedgerow, the
Speaker 1: town mouse said to his friend, you live here the
Speaker 1: life of the ants, while in my house is the
Speaker 1: horn of plenty. I am surrounded with every luxury, and
Speaker 1: if you will come with me, as I much wish
Speaker 1: you would, you shall have an ample share of my dainties.
Speaker 1: The country mouse was easily persuaded and returned to town with
Speaker 1: his friend. On his arrival, the town mouse placed before
Speaker 1: him bread, barley, beans, dried figs, honey, raisins, and last
Speaker 1: of all brought a dainty piece of cheese from the basket.
Speaker 1: The country mouse, being much delighted at the sight of
Speaker 1: such good cheer, expressed his satisfaction in warm terms, and
Speaker 1: lamented his own hard fate. Just as they were beginning
Speaker 1: to eat, some one opened the door, and they both
Speaker 1: ran off, squeaking as fast as they could, to a
Speaker 1: hole so narrow that two could only find room in
Speaker 1: it by squeezing. They had scarcely again begun their repast
Speaker 1: when some one entered to take something out of a cupboard,
Speaker 1: on which the two mice, more frightened than before, ran
Speaker 1: away and hid themselves at last. The country mouse, almost famished,
Speaker 1: thus addressed his friend, although you have prepared for me
Speaker 1: so dainty a feast, I must leave you to enjoy
Speaker 1: it by yourself. It is surrounded by too many dangers
Speaker 1: to please me. Better a little in safety than an
Speaker 1: abundance surrounded by danger. The milk maid and her pot
Speaker 1: of milk. A maid was carrying her pail of milk
Speaker 1: to the farmhouse when she fell amusing. The money for
Speaker 1: which this milk will be sold will buy at least
Speaker 1: three hundred eggs. The eggs allowing for all mishaps will
Speaker 1: produce two hundred and fifty chickens. The chickens will become
Speaker 1: ready for market when poultry will fetch the highest price,
Speaker 1: so that by the end of the year I shall
Speaker 1: have money enough to buy a new gown. In this distress,
Speaker 1: I will go to the Christmas junketings, when all the
Speaker 1: young fellows will propose to me, but I will toss
Speaker 1: my head and refuse them every one. At this moment,
Speaker 1: she tossed her head in unison with her thoughts. When
Speaker 1: down fell the milk pot to the ground and broke
Speaker 1: into a hundred pieces, and all her fine schemes perished
Speaker 1: in a moment. Count not your chickens before they are hatched.
Speaker 1: The Man and the satyr. A man and a satyr
Speaker 1: once formed a bond of alliance one very cold wintry day.
Speaker 1: As they talked together, the man put his fingers in
Speaker 1: his mouth and blew on them on the satyr, inquiring
Speaker 1: the reason, he told him that he did it to
Speaker 1: warm his hands. Later on in the day they sat
Speaker 1: down to eat the food prepared. Being quite scalding, the
Speaker 1: man raised one of his dishes towards his mouth and
Speaker 1: blew in it on the satyr, again, inquiring the reason,
Speaker 1: he said that he did it to cool the meat.
Speaker 1: I can no longer consider you as a friend, said
Speaker 1: the satan. A fellow who, with the same breath blows
Speaker 1: hot and cold I could never trust. A man who
Speaker 1: talks for both sides is not to be trusted by either.
Speaker 1: The mice in council, the mice summoned a council to
Speaker 1: decide how they might best devise means for obtaining notice
Speaker 1: of the approach of their great enemy, the cat. Among
Speaker 1: the many plans devised, the one that found most favor
Speaker 1: was the proposal to tie a bell to the neck
Speaker 1: of the cat, that the mice, being warned by the
Speaker 1: sound of the tinkling, might run away and hide themselves
Speaker 1: in their holes at his approach. But when the mice
Speaker 1: further debated who among them should thus bell the cat,
Speaker 1: there was no one found to it. Let those who
Speaker 1: propose be willing to perform. The fighting cocks and the eagle.
Speaker 1: Two game cocks were fiercely fighting for the mastery of
Speaker 1: the farmyard. One at last put the other to flight.
Speaker 1: The vanquished cock skulked away and hid himself in a
Speaker 1: quiet corner. The conqueror, flying up to a high wall,
Speaker 1: flapped his wings and crowed exultingly with all his might.
Speaker 1: An eagle sailing through the air pounced upon him and
Speaker 1: carried him off in his talons. The vanquished cock immediately
Speaker 1: came out of his corner and ruled henceforth with undisputed mastery.
Speaker 1: Pride goes before destruction. The Lion and the Mouse. A
Speaker 1: lion was awakened from sleep by a mouse running over
Speaker 1: his face. Rising up in anger, he caught him and
Speaker 1: was about to kill him, when the mouse piteously entreated, saying,
Speaker 1: if you would only spare my life, I would be
Speaker 1: sure to repay your kindness. The lion laughed and let
Speaker 1: him go. It happened shortly after that that the lion
Speaker 1: was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong
Speaker 1: ropes to the ground. The mouse, recognizing his roar, came
Speaker 1: up and gnawed the rope with his teeth, and setting
Speaker 1: him free. Exclaimed, you ridicule the idea of my ever
Speaker 1: being able to help you, not expecting to receive from
Speaker 1: me any re payment for your favor. But now you
Speaker 1: know that it is possible for even a mouse to
Speaker 1: confer benefits on a lion. No one is too weak
Speaker 1: to do good. The Crow and the pitcher. A crow
Speaker 1: perishing with thirst, saw a pitcher, and, hoping to find water,
Speaker 1: flew to it with great delight. When he reached it,
Speaker 1: he discovered to his grief that it contained so little
Speaker 1: water that he could not possibly get at it. He
Speaker 1: tried everything he could think of to reach the water,
Speaker 1: but all his efforts were in vain. At last, he
Speaker 1: collected as many stones as he could carry and dropped
Speaker 1: them one by one with his beak into the pitcher,
Speaker 1: until he brought the water within his reach, and thus
Speaker 1: saved his life. Necessity is the mother of invention. The
Speaker 1: Fox and the crow. A crow, having stolen a bit
Speaker 1: of meat, perched in a tree and held it in
Speaker 1: her beak. A fox, seeing her, longed to possess himself
Speaker 1: of the meat, and by a wily stratagem, succeeded. How
Speaker 1: handsome is the crow, he exclaimed, in the beauty of
Speaker 1: her shape and in the fairness of her complexion. Oh,
Speaker 1: if her voice were only equal to her beauty, she
Speaker 1: would deservedly be considered the queen of birds. This, he said, deceitfully,
Speaker 1: having greater admiration for the meat than for the crow.
Speaker 1: But the crow, all her vanity, aroused by the cunning flattery,
Speaker 1: and anxious to refute the reflection cast upon her voice,
Speaker 1: set up a loud caw and dropped the meat. The
Speaker 1: fox quickly picked it up, and thus addressed the crow,
Speaker 1: My good crow, Your voice is right enough, but your
Speaker 1: wit is wanting. He who listens to flattery is not wise,
Speaker 1: for it has no good purpose. The shepherd's boy and Wolf.
Speaker 1: A shepherd boy who watched a flock of sheep near
Speaker 1: a village, brought out the villagers three or four times
Speaker 1: by crying wolf, Wolf, and when his neighbors came to
Speaker 1: help him, laughed at them for their pains. The wolf, however,
Speaker 1: did truly come. At last. The shepherd boy, now really alarmed, shouted,
Speaker 1: in an agony of terror, pray, do come and help me.
Speaker 1: The wolf is killing the sheep. But no one paid
Speaker 1: any heed to his cries. There is no believing a
Speaker 1: liar even when he speaks the truth. The Fox and
Speaker 1: the grapes. A famished fox saw some clusters of ripe
Speaker 1: black grapes hanging from a trellised vine. She resorted to
Speaker 1: all her tricks to get at them. But wearied herself
Speaker 1: in vain, for she could not reach them. At last,
Speaker 1: she turned away, beguiling herself of her disappointment, and saying,
Speaker 1: the grapes are sour and not ripe, as I thought,
Speaker 1: revile not things beyond your reach. The ants and the grasshopper.
Speaker 1: The ants were employing a fine winter's day and drying
Speaker 1: grain collected in the summer time. A grasshopper, perishing with famine,
Speaker 1: passed by, and earnestly he begged for a little food.
Speaker 1: The ants inquired of him, why do you not treasure
Speaker 1: of food during the summer, He replied, I had not leisure.
Speaker 1: I passed the days in singing. Then they said, if
Speaker 1: you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you
Speaker 1: must dance supperless to bed in the winter. Idleness brings want.
Speaker 1: The fox and the stark. The fox invited the stark
Speaker 1: to dinner, and provided nothing but a soup in a wide,
Speaker 1: shallow dish. This he could lap up with ease. But
Speaker 1: the stark, who could but just dip in the point
Speaker 1: of his bill, was not a bit better. A few
Speaker 1: days after, he returned the compliment and invited the fox,
Speaker 1: but suffered nothing to be brought to the table, but
Speaker 1: some minced meat in a glass jar, the neck of
Speaker 1: which was so deep and so narrow, that though the stark,
Speaker 1: with his long bill, could eat very well, all that
Speaker 1: the fox could do was to lick the brims. Reynard
Speaker 1: was heartily vexed, but owned that he had been used
Speaker 1: as he deserved. Those who practiced cunning must expect to
Speaker 1: suffer by it. End of section zero, Section one. The
Speaker 1: wolf turned shepherd. A wolf, finding that the sheep were
Speaker 1: so afraid of him that he could not get near them,
Speaker 1: disguised himself in the dress of a shepherd, and thus
Speaker 1: attired approached the flock. As he came near, he found
Speaker 1: the shepherd fast asleep. As the sheep did not run away,
Speaker 1: he resolved to imitate the voice of the shepherd. In
Speaker 1: trying to do so, he only howled and awoke the shepherd.
Speaker 1: As he could not run away, he was soon killed.
Speaker 1: Those who attempt to act in disguise are apt to
Speaker 1: overdo it. The stag at the pool. A stag saw
Speaker 1: his shadow reflected in the water, and greatly admired the
Speaker 1: size of his horns, but felt angry with himself for
Speaker 1: having such weak feet. While he was thus contemplating himself.
Speaker 1: A lion appeared at the pool. The stag betook himself
Speaker 1: to flight, and kept himself with ease at a safe
Speaker 1: distance from the lion, until he entered a wood and
Speaker 1: became entangled with his horns. The lion quickly came up
Speaker 1: with him and caught him, when too late. He thus
Speaker 1: reproached himself, woe is me? How have I deceived myself?
Speaker 1: These feet which would have saved me? I despised, and
Speaker 1: I gloried in these antlers which have proved my destruction.
Speaker 1: What is most truly valuable is often underrated. The Fox
Speaker 1: and the mask. A fox entered the house of an actor,
Speaker 1: and rummaging through all his properties, came upon a mask,
Speaker 1: an admirable imitation of a human head. He placed his
Speaker 1: paws on it and said, what a beautiful head. Yet
Speaker 1: it is of no value, as it entirely wants brains.
Speaker 1: A fair face is of little use without sense. The
Speaker 1: Bear and the Fox. A boar boasted very much of
Speaker 1: his philanthropy, saying that of all the animals, he was
Speaker 1: the most tender in his regard for man, for he
Speaker 1: had such respect for him that he would not even
Speaker 1: touch his dead body. A fox, hearing these words, said
Speaker 1: with a smile to the bear, oh, that you would
Speaker 1: eat the dead and not the living. We should not
Speaker 1: wait till a person is dead to give him our respect.
Speaker 1: The wolf and the lamb. A wolf, meeting with the
Speaker 1: lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent
Speaker 1: hands on him, but to find some plea which should
Speaker 1: justify to the lamb himself his right to eat him.
Speaker 1: He then addressed him, Sir, last year, you grossly insulted me. Indeed,
Speaker 1: pleaded the lamb in a mournful tone of voice. I
Speaker 1: was not then born, then, said the wolf. You feed
Speaker 1: in my pasture. No good, sir, replied the lamb. I
Speaker 1: have not yet tasted grass. Again, said the wolf, you
Speaker 1: drink it? My will no, exclaimed the lamb. I never
Speaker 1: yet drank water, for as yet, my mother's milk is
Speaker 1: both food and drink to me. On which the wolf
Speaker 1: seized him and ate him up, saying, well, I won't
Speaker 1: remain supperless. Even though you refute every one of my imputations.
Speaker 1: The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny,
Speaker 1: and it is useless for the innocent to try by
Speaker 1: reasoning to get justice when the oppressor intends to be unjust.
Speaker 1: The one eyed doe, a doe blind of an eye,
Speaker 1: was accustomed to graze as near to the edge of
Speaker 1: the sea as she possibly could. To secure greater safety.
Speaker 1: She turned her eye toward the land that she might
Speaker 1: perceive the approach of a hunter or hound, and her
Speaker 1: injured eye toward the sea, from which she entertained no
Speaker 1: anticipation of danger. Some boatmen sailing by saw her, and,
Speaker 1: taking a successful aim, mortially wounded her. Said she, O
Speaker 1: wretched creature that I am to take such precaution against
Speaker 1: the land, and after all, to find this seashore to
Speaker 1: which I had come for safety so much more perilous
Speaker 1: danger sometimes comes from a source that is least suspected.
Speaker 1: The dog, Cock and fox. A dog and a cock
Speaker 1: traveling together, took shelter at night in a thick wood.
Speaker 1: The cock perched himself on a high branch, while the
Speaker 1: dog found a bed at the foot of the tree.
Speaker 1: When morning dawned, the cock, as usual, crowed very loudly.
Speaker 1: A fox, hearing the sound and wishing to make a
Speaker 1: breakfast on him, came and stood under the branches, saying
Speaker 1: how earnestly. He desired to make the acquaintance of the
Speaker 1: owner of so sweet a voice. If you will admit me,
Speaker 1: said he, I should very much like to spend the
Speaker 1: day with you. The cock said, sir, do me the
Speaker 1: favor to go round and wake up my porter, that
Speaker 1: he may open the door and let you in. On
Speaker 1: the fox approaching the tree, the dog sprang out and
Speaker 1: caught him, and quickly tore him to pieces. Those who
Speaker 1: tried to entrap others are often caught by their own schemes.
Speaker 1: The mouse, the frog, and the hawk. A mouse, by
Speaker 1: an unlucky chance, formed an intimate acquaintance with a frog.
Speaker 1: The frog, one day, intent on mischief, bound the foot
Speaker 1: of the mouse tightly to his own. Thus joined together,
Speaker 1: the frog led his friend toward the pool in which
Speaker 1: he lived, until he reached the very brink, when, suddenly,
Speaker 1: jumping in, he dragged the mouse in with him. The
Speaker 1: frog enjoyed the water amazingly and swam croaking about as
Speaker 1: if he had done a meritorious action. The unhappy mouse
Speaker 1: was soon suffocated with the water, and his dead body
Speaker 1: floated about on the surface, tied to the foot of
Speaker 1: the frog. A hawk observed it and pouncing upon it,
Speaker 1: carried it up aloft. The frog, being still fastened to
Speaker 1: the leg of the mouse, was also carried off a prisoner,
Speaker 1: and was eaten by the hawk harm hatch harm catch.
Speaker 1: The dog and the oyster. A dog used to eating eggs,
Speaker 1: saw an oyster, and, opening his mouth to its widest extent,
Speaker 1: swallowed it down with the utmost relish, supposing it to
Speaker 1: be an egg. Soon afterwards, suffering great pain in his stomach,
Speaker 1: he said, I deserve all this torment for my folly
Speaker 1: in thinking that everything round must be an egg. Who
Speaker 1: acts in haste repents at leisure. The wolf and the
Speaker 1: shepherd's A wolf passing by saw some shepherds in a
Speaker 1: hut eating for their dinner a haunch of mutton. Approaching them,
Speaker 1: he said, what a clamor you would raise if I
Speaker 1: were to do as you are doing. Men are too
Speaker 1: apt to condemn in others the very things they practice themselves,
Speaker 1: the hares and the frogs. The hares, oppressed with a
Speaker 1: sense of their own exceeding timidity, and weary of the
Speaker 1: perpetual alarm to which they were exposed with one accord,
Speaker 1: determined to put an end to themselves, and their troubles
Speaker 1: by jumping from a lofty precipice into a deep lake below.
Speaker 1: As they scampered off in a very numerous body to
Speaker 1: carry out their resolve, the frogs lying on the banks
Speaker 1: of the lake heard the noise of their feet and
Speaker 1: rushed helter skelter to the deep water for safety. On
Speaker 1: seeing the rapid disappearance of the frogs, one of the
Speaker 1: hares cried out to his companions, stay, my friends, do
Speaker 1: not do as you intended. For you now see that
Speaker 1: other creatures who yet live are more timorous than ourselves.
Speaker 1: We are encouraged by seeing others that are worse off
Speaker 1: than ourselves. The lion and the boar, on a summer day,
Speaker 1: when the great heat induced a general thirst, a lion
Speaker 1: and a boar came at the same moment to a
Speaker 1: small well to drink. They fiercely disputed which of them
Speaker 1: should drink first, and were soon engaged in the agonies
Speaker 1: of a mortal combat. On their stopping on a sudden
Speaker 1: to take breath for the fierce renewal of the strife,
Speaker 1: they saw some vultures waiting in the distance to feast
Speaker 1: on the one which should fall first. They at once
Speaker 1: made up their quarrel, saying it is better for us
Speaker 1: to make friends than to become the food of crows
Speaker 1: or vultures, as will certainly happen if we are disabled.
Speaker 1: Those who strive are often watched by them who will
Speaker 1: take advantage of their defeat to benefit themselves. The mischievous
Speaker 1: dog a dog used to run up quietly to the
Speaker 1: heels of those he met, and to bite them without notice.
Speaker 1: His master sometimes suspended a bell about his neck that
Speaker 1: he might give notice of his presence wherever he went,
Speaker 1: and sometimes he fastened a chain about his neck, to
Speaker 1: which was attached a heavy clog, so that he could
Speaker 1: not be so quick at biting people's heels. The dog
Speaker 1: grew proud of his bell and clog, and went with
Speaker 1: them all over the marketplace. An old hound said to him,
Speaker 1: why do you make such an exhibition of yourself that
Speaker 1: bell and clog that you carry, Or not believe me
Speaker 1: orders of merit, but on the contrary marks of disgrace,
Speaker 1: a public notice to all men to avoid you as
Speaker 1: an ill mannered dog. Those who achieved notoriety often mistake
Speaker 1: it for fame. The quack frog a frog once made
Speaker 1: proclamation to all the beasts that he was a learned
Speaker 1: physician and able to heal all diseases. A fox asked him,
Speaker 1: how can you pretend to prescribe for others and you
Speaker 1: are unable to heal your own lame gait and wrinkled skin.
Speaker 1: Those who pretend that they can mend others should first
Speaker 1: mend themselves, and then they will be more readily believed.
Speaker 1: The ass, the fox and the lion. The ass and
Speaker 1: the fox, having entered into a partnership, together, went out
Speaker 1: into the forest to hunt. They had not proceeded far
Speaker 1: when they met a lion. The fox approached the lion
Speaker 1: and promised to contrive for him the capture of the
Speaker 1: ass if he would pledge his word that his own
Speaker 1: life should be spared on his assuring him that he
Speaker 1: would not injure him. The fox led the ass to
Speaker 1: a deep pitt and contrived that he would fall into it.
Speaker 1: The lion, seeing that the ass was secured, immediately clutched
Speaker 1: the fox and then attacked the ass at his leisure.
Speaker 1: Traitors must expect treachery. The wolf and the sheep. A wolf,
Speaker 1: being sick and maimed, called to a sheep who was
Speaker 1: passing and asked him to fetch water from the stream.
Speaker 1: For he said, if you will bring me drink, I
Speaker 1: will find means to provide myself with meat. Yes, said
Speaker 1: the sheep. If I should bring you draft, you would
Speaker 1: doubtless make me provide the meat. Also, hypocritical speeches are
Speaker 1: easily seen through the cock and the jewel. A cock,
Speaker 1: scratching for food for himself and his hens, found a
Speaker 1: rush a stone on which he said, if thy owner
Speaker 1: had found thee and not I, he would have taken
Speaker 1: thee up and have set thee in the first estate.
Speaker 1: But I have found thee for no purpose. I would
Speaker 1: rather have one barley corn than all the jewels in
Speaker 1: the world. The raven and the swan. A raven saw
Speaker 1: a swan and desired to secure for himself a like
Speaker 1: beauty of plumage, supposing that his splendid white color arose
Speaker 1: from his washing in the water in which he swam.
Speaker 1: The raven left the altars in the neighborhood of which
Speaker 1: he picked up his living, and took up his abode
Speaker 1: in the lakes and pools. But cleansing his fellers as
Speaker 1: often as he would, he could not change their color,
Speaker 1: While through want of food, he perished. Change of habit
Speaker 1: cannot alter nature. The lioness. A controversy prevailed among the
Speaker 1: beasts of the field as to which of the animals
Speaker 1: deserved the most credit for producing the greatest number of
Speaker 1: whelps at a birth. They rushed clamorously into the presence
Speaker 1: of the lioness and demanded of her the settlement of
Speaker 1: the dispute. And you, they said, how many sons have
Speaker 1: you at a birth? The lioness laughed at them and said, why,
Speaker 1: I have only one, but that one is altogether a
Speaker 1: thorough bred lion. The value is in the worth, not
Speaker 1: in the number. End of Section one. The two pots.
Speaker 1: A river carried down in its stream two pots, one
Speaker 1: made of earthenware and the other of brass. As they
Speaker 1: floated along on the surface of the stream, the earthen
Speaker 1: pot said to the brass pot, pray keep at a distance,
Speaker 1: and do not come near me, for if you touch
Speaker 1: me ever so slightly, I shall be broken in pieces.
Speaker 1: And besides, I by no means wish to come near you.
Speaker 1: Equals make the best friends. The gnat and the lion.
Speaker 1: A gnat came and said to a lion, I do
Speaker 1: not the least fear you, Nor are you stronger than
Speaker 1: I am? For in what does your strength consists? You
Speaker 1: can scratch with your claws and fight with your teeth,
Speaker 1: so can a woman in her quarrels. I repeat that
Speaker 1: I am altogether more powerful than you, and if you
Speaker 1: doubt it, let us fight and see who will conquer.
Speaker 1: The net. Having sounded his horn, fastened itself upon the
Speaker 1: lion and stung him on the nostrils. The lion, trying
Speaker 1: to crush him, tore himself with his claws until he
Speaker 1: punished himself severely. The gnat thus prevailed over the lion, and,
Speaker 1: buzzing about in a song of triumph, flew away. But
Speaker 1: shortly afterwards he became entangled in the meshes of a
Speaker 1: cobweb and was eaten by a spider. He greatly lamented
Speaker 1: his fate, saying, woe is me that I, who can
Speaker 1: wage war successfully with the hugest beasts, should perish myself
Speaker 1: from this spider. The Widow and her little Maidens. A
Speaker 1: widow woman fond of cleaning, had two little maidens to
Speaker 1: wait on her. She was in the habit of waking
Speaker 1: them early in the morning at cockrow. The maidens, being
Speaker 1: aggrieved by such excessive labor, resolved to kill the cock
Speaker 1: who roused their mistress so early. When they had done this,
Speaker 1: they found that they had only prepared for themselves greater troubles.
Speaker 1: For their mistress, no longer hearing the cock, was unable
Speaker 1: to tell the time, and so woke them up to
Speaker 1: their work in the middle of the night. Unlawful acts
Speaker 1: to escape trials only increase our troubles. The Fox and
Speaker 1: the Lion. A fox who had never yet seen a lion,
Speaker 1: when he fell in with him by a certain chance
Speaker 1: for the first time in the forest, was so frightened
Speaker 1: that he was near dying from fear. On his meeting
Speaker 1: with him for the second time, he was still much alarmed,
Speaker 1: but not to the same extent as at first. On
Speaker 1: seeing him the third time, he was so increased in
Speaker 1: boldness that he went up to him and commenced a
Speaker 1: familiar conversation with him. Acquaintance softens prejudices. The town mouse
Speaker 1: and the country mouse. A country mouse invited a town mouse,
Speaker 1: an intimate friend, to pay him a visit and partake
Speaker 1: of his country fair. As they were on the bare plots,
Speaker 1: eating their wheat, stalks and roots pulled up from the hedgerow,
Speaker 1: the town mouse said to his friend, you live here
Speaker 1: the life of the ants, while in my house is
Speaker 1: the horn of plenty. I am surrounded with every luxury,
Speaker 1: and if you will come with me, as I much
Speaker 1: wish you would, you shall have an ample share of
Speaker 1: my dainties. The country mouse was easily persuaded and returned
Speaker 1: to town with his friend. On his arrival, the town
Speaker 1: mouse placed before him bread, barley, beans, dried figs, honey raisins,
Speaker 1: and last of all, brought a dainty piece of cheese
Speaker 1: from a basket. The country mouse, being much delighted at
Speaker 1: the sight of such good cheer, expressed his satisfaction in
Speaker 1: warm terms and lamented his own hard fate. Just as
Speaker 1: they were beginning to eat, someone opened the door, and
Speaker 1: they both ran off, squeaking as fast as they could,
Speaker 1: to a hole so narrow that two could only find
Speaker 1: room in it by squeezing. They had scarcely again begun
Speaker 1: their repast when someone else entered to take something out
Speaker 1: of a cupboard, on which the two mice, more frightened
Speaker 1: than before, ran away and hid themselves. At last. The
Speaker 1: country mouse, almost famished, thus addressed his friend, although you
Speaker 1: have prepared for me so dainty a feast, I must
Speaker 1: leave you to enjoy it by yourself. It is surrounded
Speaker 1: by too many dangers to please me. Better a little
Speaker 1: in safety than an abundance surrounded by danger. The Monkey
Speaker 1: and the Dolphin, a sailor bound on a long voyage
Speaker 1: took with him a monkey to amuse him while on shipboard.
Speaker 1: As he sailed off the coast of Greece, a violent
Speaker 1: tempest arobe in which the ship was wrecked, and he,
Speaker 1: his monkey, and all the crew were obliged to swim
Speaker 1: for their lives. A dolphin saw the monkey contending with
Speaker 1: the waves, and, supposing him to be a man whom
Speaker 1: he has always said to befriend, came and placed himself
Speaker 1: under him to convey him on his back in safety
Speaker 1: to the shore. When the dolphin arrived with his burden,
Speaker 1: in sight of land not far from Athens, he demanded
Speaker 1: of the monkey if he were an Athenian, who answered
Speaker 1: that he was, and that he was descended from one
Speaker 1: of the noblest families in that city. The dolphin then
Speaker 1: inquired if he knew Piraeus, the famous harbor of Athens.
Speaker 1: The monkey, supposing that a man was meant and being
Speaker 1: obliged to support his previous lie, answered that he knew
Speaker 1: him very well, and that he was an intimate friend
Speaker 1: who would no doubt be very glad to see him.
Speaker 1: The dolphin, indignant at the falsehoods, dipped the monkey under
Speaker 1: the water and drowned him. He who once begins to
Speaker 1: tell falsehoods is obliged to tell others to make them
Speaker 1: appear true, and sooner or later they will get him
Speaker 1: into trouble. The game cocks and the partridge. A man
Speaker 1: had two game cocks in his poultry yard. One day,
Speaker 1: by chance, he fell in with a tame partridge for sale.
Speaker 1: He purchased it and brought it home that it might
Speaker 1: be reared with his game cocks. On its being put
Speaker 1: into the poultry yard, they struck at it and followed
Speaker 1: it about, so that the partridge was grievously troubled in mind,
Speaker 1: and supposed that he was thus badly treated because he
Speaker 1: was a stranger. Not long afterwards, he saw the cocks
Speaker 1: fighting together, and not separating before one had well beaten
Speaker 1: the other. He then said to himself, I shall know
Speaker 1: no longer distress myself at being struck at by these
Speaker 1: game cocks, when I see that they cannot even refrain
Speaker 1: from quarreling with each other. Strangers should avoid those who
Speaker 1: quarrel among themselves. The Boy and the nettle. A boy
Speaker 1: was stung by a nettle. He ran home and told
Speaker 1: his mother, saying, although it pains me so much, I
Speaker 1: did but touch it ever so gently. That was just it,
Speaker 1: said his mother, which caused it to sting you. The
Speaker 1: next time you touch a nettle, grasp it boldly, and
Speaker 1: it will be soft to silk to your hand, and
Speaker 1: not in the least hurt you. Whatever you do, do
Speaker 1: with all your might. The trumpeter taken prisoner. A trumpeter,
Speaker 1: bravely leading on the soldiers, was captured by the enemy.
Speaker 1: He cried out to his captors, praise hear me, and
Speaker 1: do not take my life without cause or without injury.
Speaker 1: I have not slain a single man of your troop.
Speaker 1: I have no arms, and carry nothing but this one
Speaker 1: brass trumpet. That is the very reason for which you
Speaker 1: should be put to death. They said, For while you
Speaker 1: do not fight yourself, your loud trumpet stirs up all
Speaker 1: the other soldiers to battle. He who incites strife is
Speaker 1: as guilty as they who strive. The fatal marriage. The lion,
Speaker 1: touched with gratitude by the noble procedure of a mouse,
Speaker 1: and resolving not to be outdone in generosity by any
Speaker 1: wild beast whatsoever, desired his little deliverer to name his
Speaker 1: own terms, for that he might depend upon his complying
Speaker 1: with any proposal he should make. The mouse fired with
Speaker 1: ambition at this gracious offer, did not so much consider
Speaker 1: what was proper for him to ask what was in
Speaker 1: the powers of his prince to grant, and so demanded
Speaker 1: his princely daughter, the young Lioness, in marriage. The lion consented,
Speaker 1: but when he would have given the royal virgin into
Speaker 1: his possession, she like a giddy thing, as she was
Speaker 1: not minding how she walked, by chance set her paw
Speaker 1: upon her spouse, who was coming to meet her, and
Speaker 1: crushed him to pieces. Beware of unequal matches a lions,
Speaker 1: as prompted by ambition, often prove fatal. The ass and
Speaker 1: the charger as an ass congratulated a horse on being
Speaker 1: so ungrudgingly and carefully provided for, while he himself had
Speaker 1: scarcely enough to eat, nor even that without hard work.
Speaker 1: But when war broke out, the heavy armed soldier mounted
Speaker 1: the horse and rushed into the very midst of the enemy,
Speaker 1: and the horse, being wounded, fell dead on the battlefield.
Speaker 1: Then the ass seeing all these things, changed his mind
Speaker 1: and commiserated the horse, saying, how much more fortunate am
Speaker 1: I than a charger. I can remain at home in
Speaker 1: safety while he is exposed to all the perils of war.
Speaker 1: Be not hasty to envy the condition of others. The
Speaker 1: vain jackdaw. Jupiter determined, it is said, to create a
Speaker 1: sovereign over the birds, and made a proclamation that on
Speaker 1: a certain day they should all present themselves before him,
Speaker 1: when he would choose the most beautiful among them to
Speaker 1: be king. The jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, searched through
Speaker 1: the woods and fields and collected the feathers which had
Speaker 1: fallen from the wings of his companions, and struck them
Speaker 1: to all parts of his body. When the appointed day
Speaker 1: arrived and the birds had assembled before Jupiter, the jackdaw
Speaker 1: also made his appearance in his many feathered finery, on Jupiter,
Speaker 1: proposing to make him king on account of the beauty
Speaker 1: of his plumage. The birds indignantly protested, and each plucking
Speaker 1: from him his own feathers. The jackdaw was again nothing
Speaker 1: but a jackdaw, hope not to succeed in borrowed plumes.
Speaker 1: The milk maid and her pot of milk. A maid
Speaker 1: was carrying her pail of milk to the farmhouse when
Speaker 1: she fell amusing. The money for which this milk will
Speaker 1: be sold will buy at least three hundred eggs. The eggs,
Speaker 1: allowing for all mishaps, will produce two hundred and fifty chickens.
Speaker 1: The chickens will become ready for market when poultry will
Speaker 1: fetch the highest price, so that by the end of
Speaker 1: the year I shall have money enough to buy a
Speaker 1: new gown. In this dress, I will go to the
Speaker 1: Christmas junketings when all the young fellows will propose to me,
Speaker 1: but I will toss my head and refuse them every one.
Speaker 1: At this moment, she tossed her head in unison with
Speaker 1: her thoughts. When down fell the milk pot to the
Speaker 1: ground and broke into a hundred pieces, and all her
Speaker 1: fine schemes perished in a moment. Count not your chickens
Speaker 1: before they are hatched. The playful ass. An ass climbed
Speaker 1: up to the roof of a building and frisking about
Speaker 1: there broke in the tiling. The owner went up after
Speaker 1: him and quickly drove him down, beating him severely with
Speaker 1: a thick wooden cudgel. The ass said, why, I saw
Speaker 1: the monkey do this very thing yesterday, and you all
Speaker 1: laughed heartily, as if it afforded you very great amusement.
Speaker 1: Those who do not know their right place must be
Speaker 1: taught it. The Man and the Satyr. A man and
Speaker 1: a satyr once formed a bond of alliance. On a
Speaker 1: very cold wintery day. As they talked together, the man
Speaker 1: put his fingers to his mouth and blew on them
Speaker 1: on the satyr. Inquiring the reason, he told him that
Speaker 1: he did it to warm his hands. Later on in
Speaker 1: the day they sat down to eat the food prepared,
Speaker 1: being quite scalding, the man raised one of his dishes
Speaker 1: towards his mouth and blewe in it on the satyr. Again,
Speaker 1: inquiring the reason, he said that he did it to
Speaker 1: cool the meat. I can no longer consider you as
Speaker 1: a friend, said the satan. A fellow who with the
Speaker 1: same breath blows hot and cold. I could never trust.
Speaker 1: A man who talks for both sides is not to
Speaker 1: be trusted by either the oak and the reeds. A
Speaker 1: very large oak was uprooted by the wind and thrown
Speaker 1: across a stream. It fell among some reeds, which it
Speaker 1: thus addressed. I wonder how you, who are so light
Speaker 1: and weak, are not entirely crushed by these strong winds.
Speaker 1: They replied, You fight and contend with the wind, and
Speaker 1: consequently you are destroyed, while we, on the contrary, bend
Speaker 1: before the least breath of air, and therefore remain unbroken.
Speaker 1: Stoop to conquer the huntsmen and the fisherman. A huntsman,
Speaker 1: returning with his dogs from the field, fell in by
Speaker 1: chance with the fishermen, bringing home a basket laden with fish.
Speaker 1: The huntsmen wished to have the fish, and their owner
Speaker 1: expressed an equal longing for the contents of the game bag.
Speaker 1: They quickly agreed to exchange the produce of their day's sport.
Speaker 1: Each was so well pleased with this bargain that they
Speaker 1: made for some time the same exchange day after day.
Speaker 1: A neighbor said to them, if you go on in
Speaker 1: this way, you will soon destroy by frequent use the
Speaker 1: pleasure of your exchange, and each will again wish to
Speaker 1: retain the fruits of his own sport. Pleasures are heightened
Speaker 1: by abstinence. The mother and the Wolf. A famished wolf
Speaker 1: was prowling about in the morning in search of food.
Speaker 1: As he passed the door of a cottage built in
Speaker 1: the forest, he heard a mother say to her child,
Speaker 1: be quiet, or I will throw you out of the window,
Speaker 1: and the wolf shall eat you. The wolf sat all
Speaker 1: day waiting at the door. In the evening, he heard
Speaker 1: the same woman fondling her child and saying, he is
Speaker 1: quiet now, and if the wolf should come, we will
Speaker 1: kill him. The wolf, hearing these words, went home, gaping
Speaker 1: with cold and hunger. Be not in haste to believe
Speaker 1: what is said in anger or thoughtlessness. The shepherd and
Speaker 1: the Wolf. A shepherd once found a young wolf and
Speaker 1: brought it up, and after a while taught it to
Speaker 1: steal lambs from the neighboring flocks. The wolf, having shown
Speaker 1: himself an apt pupil, said to the shepherd, since you
Speaker 1: have taught me to steal, you must keep a sharp lookout,
Speaker 1: or you will lose some of your own flock. The
Speaker 1: vices we teach may be practiced against us. The dove
Speaker 1: and the crow. A dove shut up in a cage
Speaker 1: was boasting of a large number of the young ones
Speaker 1: which she had hatched a crow. Hearing her, said, my
Speaker 1: good friend, cease from this unreasonable boasting. The larger the
Speaker 1: number of your family, the greater your cause of sorrow,
Speaker 1: and seeing them shut up in this prison house to
Speaker 1: enjoy our blessings, we must have freedom. End of Section two.
Speaker 1: The old man and the three young men. As an
Speaker 1: old man was planting a tree, three young men came
Speaker 1: along and began to make sport of him, saying, it
Speaker 1: shows your foolishness to be planting a tree at your age.
Speaker 1: The tree cannot bear fruit for many years, while you
Speaker 1: must very soon die. What is the use of your
Speaker 1: wasting your time in providing pleasure for others to share
Speaker 1: long after you are dead. The old man stopped in
Speaker 1: his labor and replied, others before me provided for my happiness,
Speaker 1: and it is my duty to provide for those who
Speaker 1: shall come after me. As for life, who is sure
Speaker 1: of it? For a day you may all die before me.
Speaker 1: The old man's words came true. One of the young
Speaker 1: men went on a voyage at sea and was drowned,
Speaker 1: another went to war and was shot, and the third
Speaker 1: fell from a tree and broke his neck. We should
Speaker 1: not think wholly of ourselves, and we should remember that
Speaker 1: life is uncertain. The lion and the Fox. A fox
Speaker 1: entered into partnership with the lion on the pretense of
Speaker 1: becoming his servant. Each undertook his proper duty in accordance
Speaker 1: with his own nature and powers. The fox discovered and
Speaker 1: pointed out the prey. The lion sprang on it and
Speaker 1: seized it. The fox soon became jealous of the lion,
Speaker 1: carrying off the lion's share, and said that he would
Speaker 1: no longer find out the prey, but would capture it
Speaker 1: on his own account. The next day, he attempted to
Speaker 1: snatch a lamb from the fold, but fell himself a
Speaker 1: prey to the huntsman and his hounds, Keep to your
Speaker 1: place if you would succeed. The horse and the stag.
Speaker 1: The horse had the plane entirely to himself. A stag
Speaker 1: intruded into his domain and shared his pasture. The horse,
Speaker 1: desiring to revenge himself on the stranger, requested a man
Speaker 1: if he were willing to help him in punishing the stag.
Speaker 1: The man replied that if the horse would receive a
Speaker 1: bit in his mouth and agree to carry him, he
Speaker 1: would contrive very effectual weapons against the stag. The horse
Speaker 1: consented and allowed the man to mount him. From that hour,
Speaker 1: he found that instead of obtaining revenge on the stag,
Speaker 1: he had enslaved himself to the service of man. He
Speaker 1: who seeks to injure others, often injures only himself. The
Speaker 1: Lion and the Dolphin. A lion doming by the sea
Speaker 1: shore saw a dolphin lift up his head out of
Speaker 1: the waves and asked him to contract an alliance with him,
Speaker 1: saying that of all the animals they ought to be
Speaker 1: best friends, since the one was the king of beasts
Speaker 1: on the earth and the other was the sovereign ruler
Speaker 1: of all the inhabitants of the ocean. The dolphin gladly
Speaker 1: consented to this request. Not long afterwards, the lion had
Speaker 1: a combat with a wild bull and called on the
Speaker 1: dolphin to help him. The dolphin, though quite willing to
Speaker 1: give him assistance, was unable to do so as he
Speaker 1: could not by any means reach the land. The lion
Speaker 1: abused him as a traitor. The dolphin replied, nay, my friend,
Speaker 1: blame not me, but nature, which, while giving me sovereignty
Speaker 1: of the sea, has quite denied me the power of
Speaker 1: living upon the land. Let every one stick to his
Speaker 1: own element. The mice in council. The mice summoned a
Speaker 1: council to decide how they might best devise means for
Speaker 1: obtaining notice of the approach of their great enemy, the cat.
Speaker 1: Among the many plans devised, the one that found most
Speaker 1: favor was the proposal to tie a bell to the
Speaker 1: neck of the cat, that the mice, being warned by
Speaker 1: the sound of the tinkling, might run away and hide
Speaker 1: themselves in their holes at his approach. But when the
Speaker 1: mice further debated who among them should thus bell the cat,
Speaker 1: there was no one found to do it. Let those
Speaker 1: who propose be willing to perform. The camel and the
Speaker 1: a rab an Arab camel driver, having completed the lading
Speaker 1: of his camel, asked him which he would like best
Speaker 1: to go up hill or down hill? The poor beast replied,
Speaker 1: not without a touch of reason. Why do you ask me,
Speaker 1: is it that the level way through the desert is closed?
Speaker 1: The fighting cocks and the eagle. Two game cocks were
Speaker 1: fiercely fighting for the mastery of the farmyard. One at
Speaker 1: last put the other to flight. The vanquished cock skulked
Speaker 1: away and hid himself in a quiet corner. The conqueror,
Speaker 1: flying up to a high wall, flapped his wings and
Speaker 1: crowed exultingly with all his might. An eagle sailing through
Speaker 1: the air pounced upon him and carried him off in
Speaker 1: his talons. The vanquished cock immediately came out of his
Speaker 1: corner and ruled his forth with undisputed mastery. Pride goes
Speaker 1: before destruction. The Boys and the frogs. Some boys playing
Speaker 1: near a pond saw a number of frogs in the
Speaker 1: water and began to pelt them with stones. They killed
Speaker 1: several of them, when one of the frogs, lifting his
Speaker 1: head out of the water, cried out, pray, stop, my boys.
Speaker 1: What is sport to you is death to us. What
Speaker 1: we do in sport often makes great trouble for others.
Speaker 1: The crab and its mother. A crab said to her son,
Speaker 1: why do you walk so one sided? My child? It
Speaker 1: is far more becoming to go straight forward. The young
Speaker 1: crab replied, quite true, dear mother, and if you will
Speaker 1: show me the straight way, I will promise to walk
Speaker 1: in it. The mother tried in vain and submitted, without
Speaker 1: remonstrance to the reproof of her child example is more
Speaker 1: powerful than precept. The wolf and the shepherd. A wolf
Speaker 1: followed a flock of sheep for a long time and
Speaker 1: did not attempt to injure one of them. The shepherd
Speaker 1: at first stood on his guard against him as against
Speaker 1: an enemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements.
Speaker 1: But when the wolf, day after day kept in the
Speaker 1: company of the sheep and did not make the slightest
Speaker 1: effort to seize them, the shepherd began to look upon
Speaker 1: him as a guardian of his flock rather than as
Speaker 1: a plotter of evil against it, And when the occasion
Speaker 1: called him one day into the city, he left the
Speaker 1: sheep entirely in his charge. The wolf, now that he
Speaker 1: had the opportunity, fell upon the sheep and destroyed the
Speaker 1: greater part of the flock. The shepherd, on his return,
Speaker 1: finding his flock destroyed, exclaimed, I have been rightly served.
Speaker 1: Why did I trust my sheep to a wolf? An
Speaker 1: evil mind will show in evil action sooner or later.
Speaker 1: The Man and the Lion. A man and a lion
Speaker 1: traveled together through the forest. They soon began to boast
Speaker 1: their respective superiority to each other in strength and prowess,
Speaker 1: as they were disputing, they passed a statue carved in
Speaker 1: stone which represented a lion strangled by a man. The
Speaker 1: traveler pointed to it and said, see there, how strong
Speaker 1: we are, and how we prevail over even the king
Speaker 1: of beasts. The lion replied, this statue was made by
Speaker 1: one of you men. If we lions knew how to
Speaker 1: erect statues, you will see the man placed under the
Speaker 1: paw of the lion. One story is good till another
Speaker 1: is told. The Ox and the Frog. An ox, drinking
Speaker 1: at a pool, trod on a brood of young frogs
Speaker 1: and crushed one of them to death. The mother, coming
Speaker 1: up and missing one of her sons, inquired of his brothers,
Speaker 1: what had become of him? He is dead, dear mother,
Speaker 1: For just now a very huge beast with four great
Speaker 1: feet came to the pool and crushed him to death
Speaker 1: with his cloven heel. The frog, puffing herself out, inquired
Speaker 1: if the beast was as big as that in size?
Speaker 1: Cease mother to puff yourself out, said her son. And
Speaker 1: do not be angry for you, would, I assure you
Speaker 1: sooner burst than successfully imitate the hugeness of that monster.
Speaker 1: Impossible things we cannot hope to attain, and it is
Speaker 1: of no use to try. The birds, the beasts and
Speaker 1: the bat. The birds waged war with the beasts, and
Speaker 1: each party were, by turns the conquerors. A bat, fearing
Speaker 1: the uncertain issues of the fight, always betook himself to
Speaker 1: the side which was the strongest. When peace was proclaimed,
Speaker 1: his deceitful conduct was apparent to both the combatants. He
Speaker 1: was driven forth from the light of day, and henceforth
Speaker 1: concealed himself in dark hiding places, flying always alone and
Speaker 1: at night. Those who practice deceit must expect to be shunned.
Speaker 1: The charcoal burner and the fuller. A charcoal burner carried
Speaker 1: on his trade in his own house. One day he
Speaker 1: met a friend, a fuller, and entreated him to come
Speaker 1: and live with him, saying that they should be far
Speaker 1: better neighbors, and that their housekeeping expenses would be lessened.
Speaker 1: The fuller replied, the arrangement is impossible as far as
Speaker 1: I am concerned. For whatever I should whiten, you would
Speaker 1: immediately blacken again with your charcoal, like will draw, like
Speaker 1: the bull and the goat. A bull escaping from a
Speaker 1: lion entered a cave which some shepherds had lately occupied.
Speaker 1: A he goat was left in it, who sharply attacked
Speaker 1: him with his horns. The bull quietly addressed him, but
Speaker 1: away as much as you will. I have no fear
Speaker 1: of you, but of the lion. Let that monster once go,
Speaker 1: and I will soon let you know what is the
Speaker 1: respective streadth of a goat and a bull. It shows
Speaker 1: an evil disposition to take advantage of a friend in distress.
Speaker 1: The lion and the mouse. A lion was awakened from
Speaker 1: sleep by a mouse running over his face. Rising up
Speaker 1: in anger, he caught him and was about to kill him,
Speaker 1: when the mouse piteously entreated, saying, if you would only
Speaker 1: spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.
Speaker 1: A lion laughed and let him go. It happened shortly
Speaker 1: after this that the lion was caught by some hunters,
Speaker 1: who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The mouse,
Speaker 1: recognizing his rouer, came up and gnawed the rope with
Speaker 1: his teeth, and setting him free. Exclaimed, you ridiculed the
Speaker 1: idea of my being able to help you, not expecting
Speaker 1: to receive from me in every payment of your favor.
Speaker 1: But now you know that it is possible for even
Speaker 1: a mouse to confer benefits on a lion. No one
Speaker 1: is too weak to do good. The horse and the ass.
Speaker 1: A horse, proud of his fine trappings, met an ass
Speaker 1: on the highway. The ass, being heavily ladened, moved slowly
Speaker 1: out of the way, hardly said the horse, can I
Speaker 1: resist kicking you with my heels? The ass held his
Speaker 1: peace and made only a silent appeal to the justice
Speaker 1: of the gods. Not long afterward, the horse, having become
Speaker 1: broken winded, was sent by his owner to the farm.
Speaker 1: The ass, seeing him drawing a dung cart, thus derided him, where, o, boaster,
Speaker 1: are now all thy gay trappings, thou, who art thyself
Speaker 1: reduced to the condition you so lately treated with contempt.
Speaker 1: The old hound, a hound who in the days of
Speaker 1: his youth and strength had never yielded to any beast
Speaker 1: of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar
Speaker 1: in the chase. He seized him boldly by the ear,
Speaker 1: but could not retain his hold because of the decay
Speaker 1: of his teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly,
Speaker 1: coming up, was very much disappointed and fiercely abused the dog.
Speaker 1: The hound looked up and said, it is not my fault. Master.
Speaker 1: My spirit was as good as ever, but I could
Speaker 1: not help mine infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised
Speaker 1: for what I have been than to be blamed for
Speaker 1: what I am. No one should be blamed for his infirmities.
Speaker 1: The Crow and the pitcher. A crow perishing with thirst,
Speaker 1: saw a pitcher, and, hoping to find water, flew to
Speaker 1: it with great delight. When he reached it, he discovered,
Speaker 1: to his grief that it contained so little water that
Speaker 1: he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything
Speaker 1: he could think of to reach the water, but all
Speaker 1: his efforts were in vain. At last, he collected as
Speaker 1: many stones as he could carry and dropped them one
Speaker 1: by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he
Speaker 1: brought the water within his reach, and thus saved his life.
Speaker 1: Necessity is the mother of invention. The ass eating thistles
Speaker 1: and ass was loaded with good provisions of several sorts, which,
Speaker 1: in time of harvest, he was carrying into the field
Speaker 1: for his master and the reapers to dine upon. By
Speaker 1: the way, he met with a fine, large thistle, and,
Speaker 1: being very hungry, began to mumble it and While he
Speaker 1: was doing so, he entered into this reflection, how many
Speaker 1: greedy epicures would think themselves happy amidst such delicate viands
Speaker 1: as I now carry. But to me, this bitter, prickly
Speaker 1: thistle is more savory and relishing than the most exquisite
Speaker 1: and sumptuous banquet. Let others choose what they may for food,
Speaker 1: but give me, above everything, a fine juicy thistle like this,
Speaker 1: and I will be content. Everyone to his taste. One
Speaker 1: man's meat is another man's poison, and one man's poison
Speaker 1: is another man's meat. What is rejected by one person
Speaker 1: may be valued very by another. End of Section three,
Speaker 1: The Wolf and the Lion, a wolf, having stolen a
Speaker 1: lamb from a fold, was carrying him off to his lair.
Speaker 1: A lion met him in the path, and, seizing the lamb,
Speaker 1: took it from him. The wolf, standing at a safe distance, exclaimed,
Speaker 1: you have unrighteously taken from me that which was mine.
Speaker 1: The lion, jeeringly replied, it was righteously yours. A was
Speaker 1: it the gift of a friend or did you get
Speaker 1: it by purchase? If you did not get it in
Speaker 1: one way or the other, how then did you come
Speaker 1: by it, one thief is no better than another. The
Speaker 1: king's son and the painted lion. A king who had
Speaker 1: only one son, fond of martial exercises, had a dream
Speaker 1: which he was warned that his son would be killed
Speaker 1: by a lion. Afraid lest the dream should prove true,
Speaker 1: he built for his son a pleasant palace and darned
Speaker 1: its walls for his amusement with all kinds of animals
Speaker 1: of the size of life, among which was the picture
Speaker 1: of a lion. When the young prince saw this, his
Speaker 1: grief at being thus confined burst out afresh, and standing
Speaker 1: near the lion, he thus spoke, O you, most detestable
Speaker 1: of animals, through a lying dream of my father's which
Speaker 1: he saw in his sleep, I am shut up on
Speaker 1: your account in this palace, as if I had been
Speaker 1: a girl. What shall I now do to you? With
Speaker 1: these words? He stretched out his hands toward a thorn tree,
Speaker 1: meaning to cut a stick from its branches that he
Speaker 1: might beat the lion, when one of its sharp prickles
Speaker 1: pierced his finger and caused great pain and inflammation, so
Speaker 1: that the young prince fell down in a fainting fit.
Speaker 1: A violent fever suddenly set in from which he died
Speaker 1: not many days later. We had better bear our troubles
Speaker 1: bravely than try to escape them. The trees and the Axe.
Speaker 1: A man came into a forest and made a petition
Speaker 1: to the trees to provide him a handle for his axe.
Speaker 1: The trees consented to his request and gave him a
Speaker 1: young ash tree. No sooner had the man fitted from
Speaker 1: it a new handle to his axe, than he began
Speaker 1: to use it, and quickly felled with his strokes the
Speaker 1: noblest giants of the forest. An old oak, lamenting when
Speaker 1: too late the destruction of his companions, said to a
Speaker 1: neighboring cedar, the first step has lost us all. If
Speaker 1: we had not given up the rights of the ash,
Speaker 1: we might yet have retained our own privileges, and have
Speaker 1: stood for ages. In yielding the rights of others, we
Speaker 1: may endanger our own. The seaside travelers. Some travelers journeying
Speaker 1: along the seashore climbed to the summit of a tall cliff, and,
Speaker 1: from thence, looking over the sea, saw in the distance
Speaker 1: what they thought was a large ship, and waited in
Speaker 1: the hope of seeing it enter the harbor. But as
Speaker 1: the object on which they looked was driven by the wind.
Speaker 1: Nearer to the shore, they found that it could be
Speaker 1: at most a small boat, and not a ship. When, however,
Speaker 1: it reached the beach, they discovered that it was only
Speaker 1: a large fagot of sticks. And one of them said
Speaker 1: to his companions, we have waited for no purpose, for
Speaker 1: after all there was nothing to see but a fagot.
Speaker 1: Our mere anticipations of life outrun its realities. The seagull
Speaker 1: and the kite. A seagull, who was born at home
Speaker 1: swimming on the sea than walking on the land, was
Speaker 1: in the habit of catching live fish for its food.
Speaker 1: One day, having bolted down too large a fish, it
Speaker 1: burst its deep gullic bag and lay down on the
Speaker 1: shore to die. A kite, seeing him, and thinking him
Speaker 1: a land bird like itself, exclaimed, you richly deserve your fate,
Speaker 1: for a bird of the air has no business to
Speaker 1: seek its food from the sea. Every man should be
Speaker 1: content to mind his own business. The monkey and the camel,
Speaker 1: the beasts of the forest gave a splendid entertainment at
Speaker 1: which the monkey stood up and danced. Having vastly delighted
Speaker 1: the assembly, he sat down amidst universal applause. The camel,
Speaker 1: envious of the praises bestowed upon the monkey and thes miers,
Speaker 1: to divert to himself the favor of the guests, proposed
Speaker 1: to stand up in his turn and dance for their amusement.
Speaker 1: He moved about in so very ridiculous a manner that
Speaker 1: the beasts, in a fit of indignation, set upon him
Speaker 1: with clubs and drove him out of the assembly. It
Speaker 1: is absurd to ape our betters. The rat and the elephant.
Speaker 1: A rat traveling on the highway met a huge elephant
Speaker 1: bearing his royal master and his suite, and also his
Speaker 1: favorite cat and dog, and parrot and monkey. The great
Speaker 1: beast and his attendants were followed by an admiring crowd,
Speaker 1: taking up all of the road. What fools you are,
Speaker 1: said the rat to the people, to make such a
Speaker 1: hubbub over an elephant. Is it his great bulk that
Speaker 1: you so much admire? It can only frighten little boys
Speaker 1: and girls. And I can do that as well. I
Speaker 1: am a beast as well as he, and have as
Speaker 1: many legs and ears and eyes. He has no right
Speaker 1: to take up all the highway, which belongs as much
Speaker 1: to me as to him. At this moment the cat
Speaker 1: spied the rat, and, jumping to the ground, soon convinced
Speaker 1: him that he was not an elephant. Because we are
Speaker 1: like the great in one respect, we must not think
Speaker 1: we are like them in all. The Fisherman piping, a
Speaker 1: fisherman skilled in music, took his flute and his nets
Speaker 1: to the sea shore. Standing on a projecting rock, he
Speaker 1: played several tunes in the hope that the fish, attracted
Speaker 1: by his melody would, of their own accord, dance into
Speaker 1: his net, which he had placed below. At last, having
Speaker 1: long waited in vain, he laid aside his flute, and,
Speaker 1: casting his net into the sea, made an excellent hall.
Speaker 1: The Wolf and the house Dog. A wolf meeting with
Speaker 1: a big, well fed mastiff, having a wooden collar about
Speaker 1: his neck, inquired of him who it was that fed
Speaker 1: him so well, and yet compelled him to drag that
Speaker 1: heavy log about wherever he went. The master, he replied,
Speaker 1: then said the wolf, may no friend of mine ever
Speaker 1: be in such a plight, for the weight of this
Speaker 1: chain is enough to spoil the appetite. Nothing can compensate
Speaker 1: us for the loss of our liberty. The Eagle and
Speaker 1: the kite an eagle overwhelmed with sorrow, sat upon the
Speaker 1: branches of a tree in company with the kite. Why,
Speaker 1: said the kite, do I see you with such a
Speaker 1: rueful look? I seek, she replied, for a mate suitable
Speaker 1: for me, and am not able to find one. Take me,
Speaker 1: returned the kite. I am much stronger than you are.
Speaker 1: Why are you able to secure the means of living
Speaker 1: by your plunder? Well? I have often caught and carried
Speaker 1: away an ostrich in my talons. The eagle, persuaded by
Speaker 1: these words, accepted him as her mate. Shortly after the nuptials,
Speaker 1: the eagle said, fly off and bring me back the
Speaker 1: ostriche you promised me. The kight, soaring aloft into the air,
Speaker 1: brought back the shabbiest possible mouse. Is this, said the eagle,
Speaker 1: the faithful fulfillment of your promise to me? The kit
Speaker 1: replied that I might attain to your royal hand, and
Speaker 1: there is nothing that I would not have promised. However
Speaker 1: much I knew that I must fail in the performance.
Speaker 1: Promises of a suitor must be taken with caution. The
Speaker 1: dogs and the hides. Some dogs, famished with hunger, saw
Speaker 1: some cow hides steeping in the river, not being able
Speaker 1: to reach them, they agreed to drink up the river,
Speaker 1: but it fell out that they burst themselves with drinking
Speaker 1: long before they reached the hides. Attempt not impossibilities. The
Speaker 1: fisherman and the little fish. A fisherman who lived on
Speaker 1: the produce of his nets, one day caught a single
Speaker 1: small fish as the results of his day's labor. The fish,
Speaker 1: panting convulsively, thus entreated for his life. Oh sir, what
Speaker 1: good can I be to you? And how little am
Speaker 1: I worth? I am not yet come to my full size. Pray,
Speaker 1: spare my life and put me back into the sea.
Speaker 1: I shall soon become a large fish, fit for the
Speaker 1: tables of the rich, and then you can catch me
Speaker 1: again and make a handsome profit of me. The fisherman replied,
Speaker 1: I should be a very simple fellow if I were
Speaker 1: to forego by certain gain for an uncertain prophet. The
Speaker 1: ass and his purchaser. A man wished to purchase an ass,
Speaker 1: and agreed with its owner that he should try him
Speaker 1: before he bought him. He took the ass home and
Speaker 1: put him in the straw yard with his other asses,
Speaker 1: upon which he left all the others and joined himself
Speaker 1: at once to the most idle and the greediest eater
Speaker 1: of them all. The man put a halter on him
Speaker 1: and led him back to his owner, saying, I do
Speaker 1: not need a trial. I know that he will be
Speaker 1: just such another as the one whom he chose for
Speaker 1: his companion. A man is known by the company he keeps,
Speaker 1: the shepherd and the sheep. A shepherd, driving his sheep
Speaker 1: to a wood, saw an oak of unusual size full
Speaker 1: of acorns, and spread his cloak under the branches. He
Speaker 1: climbed up into the tree and shook down the acorns.
Speaker 1: The sheep, eating the acorns, frayed and tore the cloak.
Speaker 1: The shepherd, coming down, and seeing what they had done, said, O,
Speaker 1: you most ungrateful creatures. You provide wool to make garments
Speaker 1: for all other men, but you destroy the clothes of
Speaker 1: him who feed you. The basest ingratitude is that which
Speaker 1: injures those who serve us. The fox and the crow.
Speaker 1: A crow, having stolen a bit of meat, perched in
Speaker 1: a tree and held it in her beak. A fox,
Speaker 1: seeing her, longed to possess himself of the meat, and
Speaker 1: by a wily stratagem, succeeded. How handsome is the crow,
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, in the beauty of her shape, and in
Speaker 1: the fairness of her complexion. Oh, if her voice were
Speaker 1: only equal to her beauty, she would deservedly be considered
Speaker 1: the queen of birds. This he said, deceitfully, having greater
Speaker 1: admiration for the meat than for the crow. But the crow,
Speaker 1: all her vanity, aroused by the cunning flattery, and anxious
Speaker 1: to refute the reflection cast upon her voice, set up
Speaker 1: a loud caw and dropped the meat. The fox quickly
Speaker 1: picked it up, and thus addressed the crow, My good crow,
Speaker 1: Your voice is right enough, but your wit is wanting.
Speaker 1: He who listens to flattery is not wise, for it
Speaker 1: has no good purpose. The swallow and the crow. The
Speaker 1: swallow and the crow had a contention about their plumage.
Speaker 1: The crow put an end to the dispute by saying,
Speaker 1: your feathers are all very well in the spring, but
Speaker 1: mine protect me against the winter. Fine weather, friends are
Speaker 1: not worth much. The hen and the golden eggs. A
Speaker 1: cottager and his wife had a hen which laid every
Speaker 1: day a golden egg. They supposed that it must contain
Speaker 1: a great lump of gold in its inside, and killed
Speaker 1: it in order that they might get it, when to
Speaker 1: their surprise they found that the hen differed in no
Speaker 1: respect from their other hens. The foolish pair, thus hoping
Speaker 1: to become rich, all at once deprived themselves of the
Speaker 1: gain of which they were day by day assured. The
Speaker 1: old man and death. An old man was employed in
Speaker 1: cutting wood in the forest and in carrying the faggots
Speaker 1: into the city for sale. One day, being very wearied
Speaker 1: with his long journey, he sat down by the wayside, and,
Speaker 1: throwing down his load, besought death to come. Death immediately
Speaker 1: appeared in answer to his summons, and asked for what
Speaker 1: reason he had called him. The old man replied, that,
Speaker 1: lifting up the load, you may place it again upon
Speaker 1: my shoulders. We do not always like to be taken
Speaker 1: at our word. The fox and the leopard. The fox
Speaker 1: and the leopard disputed which was the more beautiful of
Speaker 1: the two. The leopard exhibited one by one the various
Speaker 1: spots which decorated his skin. The fox, interrupting him, said,
Speaker 1: and how much more beautiful than you am, I, who
Speaker 1: am decorated not in body but in mind. People are
Speaker 1: not to be judged by their coats. The mountain in
Speaker 1: labor a mountain was once greatly agitated. Loud groans and
Speaker 1: noises were heard, and crowds of people came from all
Speaker 1: parts to see what was the matter. While they were
Speaker 1: assembled in anxious expectation of some terrible calamity, out came
Speaker 1: a mouse. Don't make much ado about nothing. End of
Speaker 1: Section four. The Bear and the two travelers. Two men
Speaker 1: were traveling together when a bear suddenly met them on
Speaker 1: their path. One of them climbed up quickly into a
Speaker 1: tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other, seeing
Speaker 1: that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground,
Speaker 1: And when the bear came up and felt him with
Speaker 1: his snout and smelt him all over, he held his
Speaker 1: breath and feigned the appearance of death as much as
Speaker 1: he could. The bear soon left him, for it is
Speaker 1: said he will not touch a dead body. When he
Speaker 1: was quite gone, the other traveler descended from the tree, and,
Speaker 1: accosting his friend, jocularly inquired what it was the bear
Speaker 1: had whispered in his ear. His friend replied, he gave
Speaker 1: me this advice. Never travel with a friend who deserts
Speaker 1: you at the approach of danger. Misfortune tests the sincerity
Speaker 1: of friends. The sick kite. A kite sick unto death
Speaker 1: said to his mother, O, mother, do not mourn, but
Speaker 1: at once invoked the gods that my life may be prolonged.
Speaker 1: She replied, alas, my son, which of the gods do
Speaker 1: you think will pity you? Is there one whom you
Speaker 1: have not outraged by filching from their very altars a
Speaker 1: part of the sacrifice which had been offered up to them.
Speaker 1: We must make friends in prosperity, if we would have
Speaker 1: their help in adversity. The wolf and the crane. A wolf,
Speaker 1: having a bone stuck in his throat, hired a crane
Speaker 1: for a large sum to put her head into his
Speaker 1: throat and draw out the bone. When the crane had
Speaker 1: extracted the bone and demanded the promised payment, the wolf,
Speaker 1: grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed, why you have surely
Speaker 1: already a sufficient recompense in having been permitted to draw
Speaker 1: out your head in safety from the mouth and jaws
Speaker 1: of a wolf. In serving the wicked, expect no reward,
Speaker 1: and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains.
Speaker 1: The cat and the cock. A cat caught a cock
Speaker 1: and took counsel with himself. How he might find a
Speaker 1: reasonable excuse for eating him. He accused him of being
Speaker 1: a nuisance to men by crowing in the night time
Speaker 1: and not permitting them to sleep. The cock defended himself
Speaker 1: by saying that he did this for the benefit of men,
Speaker 1: that they might rise betimes for their labors. The cat replied,
Speaker 1: although you abound in specious apologies, I shall not remain supperless,
Speaker 1: and he made a meal of him. It does no
Speaker 1: good to deny those who make false accusations knowingly. The
Speaker 1: wolf and the horse. A wolf coming out of a
Speaker 1: field of oats, met with the horse, and thus addressed him.
Speaker 1: I would advise you to go into that field. It
Speaker 1: is full of capital oats, which I have left untouched
Speaker 1: for you, as you are a friend, the very sound
Speaker 1: of whose teeth it would be a pleasure to me
Speaker 1: to hear. The horse replied, if oats had been the
Speaker 1: food for wolves, you would never have indulged your ears
Speaker 1: at the cost of your belly. Men of evil reputation,
Speaker 1: when they perform a good deed, fail to get credit
Speaker 1: for it. The two soldiers and the robber. Two soldiers
Speaker 1: traveling together were set upon by a robber. The one
Speaker 1: fled away, the other stood his ground and defended himself
Speaker 1: with his stout right hand. The robber being slain, the
Speaker 1: timid companion runs up and draws his sword, and then,
Speaker 1: throwing back his traveling cloak, says, I'll be at him,
Speaker 1: and I'll take care he shall learn whom he has
Speaker 1: attacked on this He who had fought with the robber
Speaker 1: made answer, I only wish that you had helped me
Speaker 1: just now, even if it had only been with those words,
Speaker 1: for I should have been the more encouraged, believing them
Speaker 1: to be true. But now put up your sword in
Speaker 1: its sheath and hold your equally useless tongue till you
Speaker 1: can deceive. Others who do not know you. I indeed,
Speaker 1: who have experienced with what speed you ran away, know
Speaker 1: right well that no dependence can be placed on your valor.
Speaker 1: When a coward is once found out, his pretensions of
Speaker 1: valor are useless. The monkey and the cat a monkey
Speaker 1: and a cat lived in the same family, and it
Speaker 1: was hard to tell which was the greatest thief. One day,
Speaker 1: as they were roaming about together, they spied some chestnuts
Speaker 1: roasting in the ashes. Come, said the cunning monkey, we
Speaker 1: shall not go without our dinner to day your claws
Speaker 1: are better than mine. For the purpose you pulled them
Speaker 1: out of the hot ashes, and you shall have half
Speaker 1: pussy pulled them out one by one, burning her claws
Speaker 1: very much in doing so. When she had stolen them all,
Speaker 1: she found that the monkey had eaten every one. A
Speaker 1: thief cannot be trusted even by another thief. The two
Speaker 1: frogs two frogs dwelt in the same pool, the pool
Speaker 1: being dried up under the summer's heat, they left it
Speaker 1: and set out together for another home. As they went along,
Speaker 1: they chanced to pass a deep well, amply supplied with water.
Speaker 1: On seeing which one of the frogs said to the other,
Speaker 1: let us descend and make our boat in this well.
Speaker 1: The other replied with greater caution. But suppose the water
Speaker 1: should fail us, how can we get out again from
Speaker 1: so great a depth? Do nothing without a regard to
Speaker 1: the consequences. The vine and the goat. A vine was
Speaker 1: luxuriant in the time of vintage, with leaves and grapes.
Speaker 1: A goat passing by, nibbled its young tendrils and its leaves.
Speaker 1: The vine said, why do you thus injure me and
Speaker 1: crop my leaves? Is there no young grass left? But
Speaker 1: I shall not have to wait long for my just revenge.
Speaker 1: For if you now crop my leaves and cut me
Speaker 1: down to my root, I shall provide the wine to
Speaker 1: pour over you when you were led as a victim
Speaker 1: to the sacrifice. Retribution is certain. The mouse and the
Speaker 1: boasting rat. A mouse lived in a granary which became,
Speaker 1: after a while, the frequent resort of a cat. The
Speaker 1: mouse was in great fear and did not know what
Speaker 1: to do. In her strait. She bethought herself of a
Speaker 1: rat who lived not far away, and who had said
Speaker 1: in her hearing a hundred times that he was not
Speaker 1: afraid of any cat living. She resolved to visit the
Speaker 1: bold rat and ask him to drive the cat away.
Speaker 1: She found the rat in his hold, and, relating her story,
Speaker 1: besought his help. Pooh, said the rat, you should be
Speaker 1: bold as I am. Go straight about your affairs, and
Speaker 1: do not mind the cat. I will soon follow you
Speaker 1: and drive him away. He thought, now he must do
Speaker 1: something to make good his boast, so he collected all
Speaker 1: the rats in the neighborhood resolved to frighten the cat
Speaker 1: by numbers. But when they all came to the granary,
Speaker 1: they found that the cat had already caught the foolish mouse,
Speaker 1: and a single growl from him sent them all scampering
Speaker 1: to their holes. Do not rely on a boaster. The
Speaker 1: dogs and the fox. Some dogs, finding the skin of
Speaker 1: a lion, began to tear it in pieces with their teeth.
Speaker 1: A fox, seeing them, said, if this lion were alive,
Speaker 1: you would soon find out that his claws were stronger
Speaker 1: than your teeth. It is easy to kick a man
Speaker 1: that is down. The thief and the house dog. A
Speaker 1: thief came in the night to break into a house.
Speaker 1: He brought with him several slices of meat that he
Speaker 1: might pacify the house dog, so that he should not
Speaker 1: alarm his master by barking. As through the pieces of meat,
Speaker 1: the dog said, if you think to stop my mouth,
Speaker 1: to relax my vigilance, or even to gain my regard
Speaker 1: by these gifts, you are greatly mistaken. This sudden kindness
Speaker 1: at your hands will only make me more watchful, lest
Speaker 1: under these unexpected favors to myself, you have some private
Speaker 1: ends to accomplish for your own benefit and for my
Speaker 1: master's injury. Besides, this is not the time that I
Speaker 1: am usually fed, which makes me all the more suspicious
Speaker 1: of your intentions. He who offers bribes needs watching, for
Speaker 1: his intentions are not honest. The sick Stag a six
Speaker 1: stag lay down in a quiet corner of his pasture ground.
Speaker 1: His companions came in great numbers to inquire after his health,
Speaker 1: and each one helped himself to a share of the
Speaker 1: food which had been placed for his youth use, so
Speaker 1: that he died not from his sickness, but from the
Speaker 1: failure of the means of living. Evil companions bring more
Speaker 1: hurt than profit. The Fowler and the ring Dove. A
Speaker 1: fowler took his gun and went into the woods a shooting.
Speaker 1: He spied a ringdove among the branches of an oak,
Speaker 1: and intended to kill it. He clapped the piece to
Speaker 1: his shoulder and took his aim accordingly. But just as
Speaker 1: he was going to pull the trigger, an adder which
Speaker 1: he had trod upon under the grass, stung him so
Speaker 1: painfully in the leg that he was forced to quit
Speaker 1: his design and threw his gun down in a passion.
Speaker 1: The poison immediately infected his blood, and his whole body
Speaker 1: began to mortify, which when he perceived, he could not help,
Speaker 1: owning it to be just fate. Said, he has brought
Speaker 1: destruction upon me while I was contriving the death of another.
Speaker 1: Men often fall into the trap which they prepare for others.
Speaker 1: The Kid and the Wolf. A kid returning without protection
Speaker 1: from the pasture, was pursued by a wolf. He turned
Speaker 1: round and said to the wolf, I know, friend, wolf,
Speaker 1: that I must be your prey. But before I die,
Speaker 1: I would ask of you one favor, that you will
Speaker 1: play me a tune to which I can dance. The
Speaker 1: wolf complied, and while he was piping and the kid
Speaker 1: was dancing, the hounds, hearing the sound, came up and
Speaker 1: gave chase to the wolf. The wolf, turning to the kid, said,
Speaker 1: it is just what I deserve for I, who am
Speaker 1: only a butcher, should not have turned piper to please you.
Speaker 1: Every One should keep his own colors. The blind man
Speaker 1: and the whelp. A blind man was accustomed to distinguishing
Speaker 1: different animals by touching them with his hands. The whelp
Speaker 1: of a wolf was brought him with a request that
Speaker 1: he would feel it and say what it was. He
Speaker 1: felt it, and, being in doubt, said, I do not
Speaker 1: quite know whether it is the cub of a fox
Speaker 1: or the whelp of a wolf, but this, I know
Speaker 1: full well that it would not be safe to admit
Speaker 1: him to the sheepfold. Evil tendencies are shown early in life.
Speaker 1: The geese and the cranes. The geese and the cranes
Speaker 1: fed in the same meadow. A bird capture came to
Speaker 1: ensnare them in his nets. The cranes, being light of wing,
Speaker 1: fled away at his approach, while the geese, being slower
Speaker 1: of flight and heavier in their bodies, were captured. Those
Speaker 1: who were caught are not always the most guilty. The
Speaker 1: north wind and the Sun. The north wind and the
Speaker 1: Sun disputed which was the more powerful, and agreed that
Speaker 1: he should be declared the victor who could first strip
Speaker 1: a wayfaring man of his clothes. The north wind first
Speaker 1: tried his power and blew with all his might, but
Speaker 1: the keener became his blasts the closer the traveler wrapped
Speaker 1: his cloak around him, till at last, resigning all hope
Speaker 1: of victory, he called upon the sun to see what
Speaker 1: he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out with all
Speaker 1: his warmth. The traveler no sooner felt his genial rays
Speaker 1: than he took off one garment after another, and at
Speaker 1: last fairly overcome with heat, undressed, and bathed in a
Speaker 1: stream that lay in his path. Persuasion is better than force.
Speaker 1: End of Section five. The laborer and the snake. A snake,
Speaker 1: having made his hole close to the porch of a cottage,
Speaker 1: inflicted a severe bite on the cottager's infant son, of
Speaker 1: which he died, to the great grief of his parents.
Speaker 1: The father resolved to kill the snake, and the next day,
Speaker 1: on its coming out of its hole for food, took
Speaker 1: up his axe, but making too much haste to hit
Speaker 1: him as he wriggled away, missed his head and cut
Speaker 1: off only the end of his tail. After some time,
Speaker 1: the cottager, afraid lest the snake should bite him, also
Speaker 1: endeavored to make peace, and placed some bread and salt
Speaker 1: in his hole. The snake said, there can henceforth be
Speaker 1: no peace between us, for whenever I see you, I
Speaker 1: shall remember the loss of my tale, and whenever you
Speaker 1: see me, you will be thinking of the death of
Speaker 1: your son. It is hard to forget injuries in the
Speaker 1: presence of him who caused the injury. The Bull and
Speaker 1: the calf. A bull was striving with all his might
Speaker 1: to squeeze himself through a narrow passage, which led to
Speaker 1: him stall. A young calf came up and offered to
Speaker 1: go before and show him the way by which he
Speaker 1: could manage to pass. Save yourself the trouble, said the bull.
Speaker 1: I knew that way long before you were born. Do
Speaker 1: not presume to teach your elders. The goat and the ass.
Speaker 1: A man once kept a goat and an ass. The goat,
Speaker 1: in being the ass, on account of his greater abundance
Speaker 1: of food, said how shamefully you are treated, at one
Speaker 1: time grinding in the mill, and at another carrying heavy burdens.
Speaker 1: And he further advised him that he should pretend to
Speaker 1: be epileptic and fall into a deep ditch, and so
Speaker 1: obtain rest. The ass gave credence to his words, and,
Speaker 1: falling into a ditch, was very much bruised. His master,
Speaker 1: sending for a leech, asked his advice. He bade him
Speaker 1: pour upon the wound the blood of a goat. They
Speaker 1: at once killed the goat, and so healed the ass.
Speaker 1: In injuring others, we are apt to receive a greater injury.
Speaker 1: The boasting traveler, a man who had traveled in foreign lands,
Speaker 1: boasted very much on returning to his own country, of
Speaker 1: the many wonderful and heroic things he had done in
Speaker 1: the different places he had visited. Among other things, he
Speaker 1: said that when he was at Rhodes, he had leaped
Speaker 1: to such a distance that no man of his day
Speaker 1: could leap anywhere near him. And as to that, there
Speaker 1: were in roads many persons who saw him do it,
Speaker 1: and whom he could call as witnesses. One of the bystanders,
Speaker 1: interrupting him, said, now, my good man, if this be
Speaker 1: all true, there is no need of witnesses. Suppose this
Speaker 1: to be roads, And now for your leap, cure a
Speaker 1: boaster by putting his words to the test. The ass,
Speaker 1: the cock, and the lion. An ass and a cock
Speaker 1: were together when a lion, desperate from hunger approached. He
Speaker 1: was about to spring upon the ass, when the cock,
Speaker 1: to the sound of whose voice the lion, it is said,
Speaker 1: has a singular aversion, crowed loudly, and the lion fled away.
Speaker 1: The ass, observing his trepidation at the mere crowing of
Speaker 1: a cock, summoned courage to attack him, and galloped after
Speaker 1: him for that purpose. He had run no long distance
Speaker 1: when the lion, turning about, seized him and tore him
Speaker 1: to pieces. False confidence often leads into danger. The Stag
Speaker 1: and the fawn. A stag, grown old and mischievous, was,
Speaker 1: according to custom, stamping with his foot, making offers with
Speaker 1: his head, and bellowing so terribly that the whole herd
Speaker 1: quaked for fear of him. When one of the little
Speaker 1: fawns coming up, I dressed him. Thus, pray, what is
Speaker 1: the reason that you, who are so formidable at all
Speaker 1: other times, if you do but hear the cry of
Speaker 1: the hounds, are ready to fly out of your skin
Speaker 1: for fear. What you observe is true, replied the stag,
Speaker 1: Though I know not how to account for it. I
Speaker 1: am indeed vigorous and able, and often resolved that nothing
Speaker 1: shall ever dismay my courage. But alas I no sooner
Speaker 1: hear the voice of a hound, but my spirits fail me,
Speaker 1: and I cannot help making off as fast as my
Speaker 1: legs can carry me. The greatest braggards are the greatest cowards.
Speaker 1: The partridge and the fowler. A fowler caught a partridge
Speaker 1: and was to kill him. The partridge earnestly besought him
Speaker 1: to spare his life, saying, pray, master, permit me to live,
Speaker 1: and I will entice many partridges to you in recompense
Speaker 1: for your mercy to me. The fowler replied, I shall, now,
Speaker 1: with the less scruble, take your life, because you are
Speaker 1: willing to save it at the cost of betraying your
Speaker 1: friends and relations. And without more ado, he twisted his
Speaker 1: neck and put him in his bag with his other game.
Speaker 1: Those who had sacrificed their friends to save themselves from
Speaker 1: horm are not entitled to mercy. The farmer and the stark.
Speaker 1: A farmer placed his nets on his newly sown plow
Speaker 1: lands and caught a quantity of cranes which came to
Speaker 1: pick up his seed. With them, he trapped a stark also.
Speaker 1: The stark, having his leg fractured by the net, earnestly,
Speaker 1: besought the farmer to spare his life. Pray save me, master,
Speaker 1: he said, and let me go free. This once, my
Speaker 1: broken limbs should excite your pity. Besides, I am no crane.
Speaker 1: I am a stark, a bird of excellent character. And
Speaker 1: see how I love and slave from my father and mother.
Speaker 1: Look to it, my feathers, they are not the least
Speaker 1: like to those of a crane. The farmer laughed, aloud
Speaker 1: and said, it may be all as you say. I
Speaker 1: only know this. I have taken you with these robbers
Speaker 1: the cranes, and you must die in their company. Birds
Speaker 1: of a feather flock together. The ass and his driver.
Speaker 1: An ass being driven along the high road, suddenly started
Speaker 1: off and bolted to the brink of a deep precipice.
Speaker 1: When he was in the act of throwing himself over,
Speaker 1: his owner seized him by the tail endeavoring to pull
Speaker 1: him back. The ass persisted in his effort. The man
Speaker 1: let him go and said, conquer, but conquer to your cost.
Speaker 1: The perverse generally come to harm. The hare and the hound.
Speaker 1: A hound, having started a hare from his form, after
Speaker 1: a long run, gave up the chase. A goatherd, seeing
Speaker 1: him stop, mocked him, saying, the little one is the
Speaker 1: best runner of the two. The hound replied, you do
Speaker 1: not see the difference between us. I was only running
Speaker 1: for a dinner, but he for his life. Incentive spurs effort.
Speaker 1: The kites and the swans. The kites of old time
Speaker 1: had equally with the swans the privilege of song, But
Speaker 1: having heard the neigh of the horse, they were so
Speaker 1: enchanted with the sound that they tried to imitate it,
Speaker 1: and in trying to neigh, they forgot how to sing.
Speaker 1: The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of
Speaker 1: present blessings. The Dog in the manger. A dog lay
Speaker 1: in a manger, and by his growling and snapping, prevented
Speaker 1: the oxen from eating the hay which had been placed
Speaker 1: for them. What a selfish dog, said one of them
Speaker 1: to his companions. He cannot eat the hay himself, and
Speaker 1: yet he refuses to allow those to eat who can.
Speaker 1: We should not deprive others of blessings because we cannot
Speaker 1: enjoy them ourselves. The Crow and the serpent. A crow,
Speaker 1: in great want of food, saw a serpent asleep in
Speaker 1: a sunny nook, and, flying down, greedily seized him. The serpent,
Speaker 1: turning about, bit the crow with a mortal wound. The crow,
Speaker 1: in the agony of exclaimed, Oh, unhappy me, who were
Speaker 1: found in that which I deemed a most happy windfall,
Speaker 1: the source of my certain destruction? What seemed to be
Speaker 1: blessings are not always so. The Cat and the Fox.
Speaker 1: As the cat and the fox were talking politics together,
Speaker 1: Reynard said, let things turn out ever so bad. He
Speaker 1: did not care for he had a thousand tricks for
Speaker 1: them yet before they should hurt him. But pray, says
Speaker 1: he Mistress Puss, suppose there should be an invasion, what
Speaker 1: course do you design to take? Nay, says the cat.
Speaker 1: I have but one shift for it, and if that
Speaker 1: won't do, I am undone. I am sorry for you,
Speaker 1: replies Reynard, with all my heart, and would gladly help you.
Speaker 1: But indeed, neighbor, as times go, it is not good
Speaker 1: to trust. We must even be every one for himself,
Speaker 1: as the saying is. These words were scarcely out of
Speaker 1: his mouth when they were alarmed with a pack of
Speaker 1: hounds that came upon them in full cry. The cat,
Speaker 1: by the help of her single shift, ran up a
Speaker 1: tree and sat securely among the top branches. From whence
Speaker 1: she beheld Reynard, who had not been able to get
Speaker 1: out of sight, overtaken with his thousand tricks, and torn
Speaker 1: in as many pieces by the dogs which has surrounded him.
Speaker 1: A little common sense is often of more value than
Speaker 1: much cunning. The Eagle and the Arrow. An eagle sat
Speaker 1: on a lofty rock, watching the movements of a hare
Speaker 1: whom he sought to make his prey. An archer, who
Speaker 1: saw him from a place of concealment, took in accurate
Speaker 1: aim and wounded him mortally. The eagle took one look
Speaker 1: at the arrow that had entered his heart, and saw
Speaker 1: in that single glands that its feathers had been furnished
Speaker 1: by himself. It is a double grief to me, he exclaimed,
Speaker 1: that I should perish by an arrow feathered from my
Speaker 1: own wings. The misfortunes arising from a man's own misconduct
Speaker 1: are the hardest to bear. The dog invited to supper.
Speaker 1: A gentleman, having prepared a great feast, invited a friend
Speaker 1: to supper, and the gentleman's dog, meeting the friend's dog, come,
Speaker 1: said he, by good fellow, and sup with us to night.
Speaker 1: The dog was delighted with the invitation, and as he
Speaker 1: stood by and saw the preparations for the feast, said
Speaker 1: to himself, capital fair, indeed, this is in truth good luck.
Speaker 1: I shall revel in dainties, and I will take good
Speaker 1: care to lay in an ample stock to night, for
Speaker 1: I may have nothing to eat tomorrow. As he said
Speaker 1: this to himself, he wagged his tail and gave a
Speaker 1: sly look at his friend, who had incited him but
Speaker 1: his tail wagging to and fro, caught the cook's eye, who,
Speaker 1: seeing a stranger straightway, seized him by the legs and
Speaker 1: threw him out the window to the street below. When
Speaker 1: he reached the ground, he set off yelping down the street,
Speaker 1: upon which the neighbor's dogs ran up to him and
Speaker 1: asked him how he liked to supper in faith, said he,
Speaker 1: with a sorry smile. I hardly know, for we drank
Speaker 1: so deeply that I can't even tell you which way
Speaker 1: I got out. Those who enter by the back stairs
Speaker 1: must not complain if they are thrown out by the window.
Speaker 1: The frogs asking for a king. The frogs, grieved at
Speaker 1: having no established ruler, sent ambassadors to Jupiter, entreating for
Speaker 1: a king. He, perceiving their simplicity, cast down a huge
Speaker 1: log into the lake. The frogs, terrified at a splash
Speaker 1: occasioned by its fall, hid themselves in the depth of
Speaker 1: the pool. But no sooner did they see that the
Speaker 1: huge log continued motionless, than they swam again to the
Speaker 1: top of the water, dismissed their fears, and came so
Speaker 1: to despise it as to climb up and to squat
Speaker 1: upon it. After some time, they began to think themselves
Speaker 1: ill treated in the appointment of so inert a ruler,
Speaker 1: and sent a second deputation to Jupiter to pray that
Speaker 1: he would set over them another sovereign. He then gave
Speaker 1: them an eel to govern them. When the frogs discovered
Speaker 1: his easy good nature, they yet a third time sent
Speaker 1: to Jupiter to beg that he would once more choose
Speaker 1: for them another king. Jupiter, displeased at their complaints, sent
Speaker 1: a heron, who preyed upon the frogs day by day
Speaker 1: till there were none left to complain. When you seek
Speaker 1: to change your condition, be sure that you can better it.
Speaker 1: The prophet. A wizard sitting in the marketplace, told the
Speaker 1: fortunes of the passers by. A person ran up in
Speaker 1: great haste and announced to him that the doors of
Speaker 1: his house had been broken open, and that all his
Speaker 1: goods were being stolen. He sighed heavily and hastened away
Speaker 1: as fast as he could run. A neighbor saw him
Speaker 1: running and said, oh, you follow those You say you
Speaker 1: can foretell the fortunes of others, How is it you
Speaker 1: did not foresee your own? The dog and his master's dinner.
Speaker 1: A dog had been taught to take his master's dinner
Speaker 1: to him every day. As he smelled the good things
Speaker 1: in the basket, he was sorely tempted to taste them,
Speaker 1: but he resisted the temptation and continued day after day
Speaker 1: to carry the basket faithfully. One day, all the dogs
Speaker 1: in the neighborhood followed him with longing eyes and greedy jaws,
Speaker 1: and tried to steal the dinner from the basket. At first,
Speaker 1: the faithful dog tried to run away from them, but
Speaker 1: they pressed him so close that at last he stopped
Speaker 1: to argue with him. This was what the thieves desired,
Speaker 1: and they soon ridiculed him to that extent that he said,
Speaker 1: very well, I will divide with you, and he sees
Speaker 1: the best piece of chicken in the basket, and left
Speaker 1: the rest for the others to enjoy. He who stops
Speaker 1: to parley with temptation will be very likely to yield.
Speaker 1: The buffoon and the countryman, a rich nobleman, once opened
Speaker 1: the theater to the public without charge, and gave notice
Speaker 1: that he would handsomely reward guard anyone who would produce
Speaker 1: a new amusement. A baffoon, well known for his jokes,
Speaker 1: said that he had a kind of entertainment that had
Speaker 1: never been produced in a theater. This report, being spread about,
Speaker 1: created a great stir in the place, and the theater
Speaker 1: was crowded to see the new entertainment. The buffoon appeared
Speaker 1: and imitated the squeaking of a little pig so admirably
Speaker 1: with his voice that the audience declared that he had
Speaker 1: a porker under his cloak, and demanded that it should
Speaker 1: be shaken out. When that was done, and yet nothing
Speaker 1: was found, they cheered the actor with the loudest applause.
Speaker 1: A countryman in the crowd proclaimed that he would do
Speaker 1: the same thing on the next day. On the morrow,
Speaker 1: a still larger crowd assembled in the theater. Both of
Speaker 1: the performers appeared on the stage. The buffoon grunted and squeaked,
Speaker 1: and obtained, as on the preceding day, the applause and
Speaker 1: cheers of the spectators. Next, the countryman commenced, and pretending
Speaker 1: that he concealed a little pig beneath his clothes, which
Speaker 1: in truth he did, contrived to lay hold of and
Speaker 1: to pull his ear when he began to squeak. The crowd, however,
Speaker 1: cried out that the buffoon had given a far more
Speaker 1: exact invitation. On this, the rustic produced the pig and
Speaker 1: showed them the greatness of their mistake. Critics are not
Speaker 1: always to be depended upon. End of section six. The
Speaker 1: boar and the ass. A little scoundrel of an ass
Speaker 1: happening to meet with a boar, had a mind to
Speaker 1: be arch upon him, and so says he, your humble servant.
Speaker 1: The boar, somewhat nettled at his familiarity, bristled up to
Speaker 1: him and told him he was surprised to hear him
Speaker 1: utter so impudent an untruth, and was going to show
Speaker 1: his resentment by giving him a rip in the flake,
Speaker 1: But wisely stifling his passion, he contented himself with saying,
Speaker 1: go you, sorry, beast. I do not care to foul
Speaker 1: my tusks with the blood of so base A creature
Speaker 1: dignity cannot afford to quarrel with its inferiors. The fox
Speaker 1: and the goat. A fox, having fallen into a well,
Speaker 1: could find no means of escape. A goat, overcome with thirst,
Speaker 1: came to the well, and, seeing the fox, inquired if
Speaker 1: the water was good. The fox, concealing his sad light
Speaker 1: under a merry guise indulged in lavish praise of the water,
Speaker 1: saying it was beyond measure excellent, and encouraged him to descend.
Speaker 1: The goat, mindful only of his thirst, thoughtlessly jumped down,
Speaker 1: When just as he quenched his thirst, the fox informed
Speaker 1: him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested
Speaker 1: a scheme for their common escape. If, said he, you
Speaker 1: will place your fore feet upon the wall and bend
Speaker 1: your head, I will run up your back and escape,
Speaker 1: and will help you out on the goat. Readily assenting
Speaker 1: to this proposal, the fox leaped upon his back, and,
Speaker 1: steadying himself with the goat's horns, reached in safety the
Speaker 1: mouth of the well, and immediately made off as fast
Speaker 1: as he could. The goat upbraided him with the breach
Speaker 1: of his bargain when he turned round, and cried out,
Speaker 1: you foolish fellow. If you had as many brains in
Speaker 1: your head as you have hairs in your beard, you
Speaker 1: would never have gone down before you had inspected the
Speaker 1: way up, nor have exposed yourself to danger from which
Speaker 1: you had determined upon no means of escape. Look before
Speaker 1: you leap, the oxen and the butchers. The oxen once
Speaker 1: upon a time sought to destroy the butchers, who practiced
Speaker 1: a trade destructive to their race. They assembled on a
Speaker 1: certain day to carry out their purpose, and sharpened their
Speaker 1: horns for the contest. One of them an exceedingly old one,
Speaker 1: for many a field had he plowed. Thus spoke these butchers.
Speaker 1: It is true slaughter us, But they do so with
Speaker 1: skillful hands and with no unnecessary pain. If we get
Speaker 1: rid of them, we shall fall into the hands of
Speaker 1: unskillful operators, and thus suffer a double death. For you
Speaker 1: may be assured that though all the butchers should perish,
Speaker 1: yet will men ever want beef? Do not be in
Speaker 1: a hurry to change one evil for another. The horse
Speaker 1: and his rider a horse soldier took great pains with
Speaker 1: his charger. As long as the war lasted. He looked
Speaker 1: upon him as his fellow helper in all emergencies, and
Speaker 1: fed him carefully with hay and corn. When the war
Speaker 1: was over, he only allowed him chaff to eat, and
Speaker 1: made him carry heavy loads of wood, and subjected him
Speaker 1: to much slavish drudgery and ill treatment. War, however, being
Speaker 1: again proclaimed, the soldier put on his charger its military
Speaker 1: trappings and mounted, being clad in his heavy coat of mail.
Speaker 1: The horse fell down straightway under the weight, no longer
Speaker 1: equal to the burden, and said to his master, you
Speaker 1: must now go to the war on foot, for you
Speaker 1: have transformed me from a horse into an ass. He
Speaker 1: who slights his friends when they are not needed must
Speaker 1: not expect them to serve him when he needs them.
Speaker 1: The and the hare. A hound, having started a hare
Speaker 1: on the hillside, pursued her for some distance, at one
Speaker 1: time biting her with his teeth as if he would
Speaker 1: take her life, and at another time fawning upon her
Speaker 1: as if in play with another dog. The hare said
Speaker 1: to him, I wish you would act sincerely by me
Speaker 1: and show yourself in your true colors. If you are
Speaker 1: a friend, why do you bite me so hard? If
Speaker 1: you are an enemy, why do you fawn on me?
Speaker 1: There are no friends whom you know not whether to
Speaker 1: trust or to distrust. The fawn and his mother. A
Speaker 1: young fawn once said to his mother, you are larger
Speaker 1: than a dog, and swifter and more used to running. Why, then,
Speaker 1: o mother, are you always in such a terrible fright
Speaker 1: of the hounds. She smiled and said, I know full well,
Speaker 1: my son, that all you say is true, I have
Speaker 1: the advantages you mention, But yet when I hear the
Speaker 1: bark of a single dog, I feel ready to faint.
Speaker 1: No arguments will give courage to the coward. The lark
Speaker 1: and her young ones. A lark had made her nest
Speaker 1: in the young green wheat. The brood had almost grown
Speaker 1: when the owner of the field, overlooking his crop, said
Speaker 1: I must send to all my neighbors to help me
Speaker 1: with my harvest. One of the young larks heard him
Speaker 1: and asked his mother to what place they should move
Speaker 1: for safety. There was no occasion to move yet, my son,
Speaker 1: she replied. The owner of the field came a few
Speaker 1: days later and said, I will come myself tomorrow and
Speaker 1: will get in the harvest. Then the lark said to
Speaker 1: her brood, it is time now to be off. He
Speaker 1: no longer tried to his friends, but will reap the
Speaker 1: field himself. Self. Help is the best help. The bowman
Speaker 1: and the lion. A very skillful bowman went to the
Speaker 1: mountains in search of game. All the beasts of the
Speaker 1: forest fled at his approach. The lion alone challenged him
Speaker 1: to combat. The bowman immediately let fly an arrow and
Speaker 1: said to the lion, I send thee my messenger, that
Speaker 1: from him thou mayest learn what I myself shall be
Speaker 1: when I assail thee. The lion, thus wounded, rushed away
Speaker 1: in great fear and on a fox, exhorting him to
Speaker 1: be of good courage and not to run away at
Speaker 1: the first attack, he replied, you counsel me in vain,
Speaker 1: For if he sends so fearful a messenger, how shall
Speaker 1: I abide the attack of a man himself. A man
Speaker 1: who can strike from a distance is no pleasant neighbor.
Speaker 1: The Boy and the philberts. A boy put his hand
Speaker 1: into a pitcher full of filberts. He grasped as many
Speaker 1: as he could possibly hold, but when he endeavored to
Speaker 1: pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so
Speaker 1: by the neck of the pitcher, which was much smaller
Speaker 1: than his closed hand. Unwilling to lose his filberts, and
Speaker 1: yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears
Speaker 1: and bitterly lamented his disappointment. A bystander said to him,
Speaker 1: be satisfied with half the quantity, and you will readily
Speaker 1: draw out your hand. Do not attempt too much at once.
Speaker 1: The woman and her hen A woman possessed a hen
Speaker 1: that gave her an egg every day. She often thought
Speaker 1: with herself how she might obtain two eggs daily instead
Speaker 1: of one, and, at last, to gain her purpose, determined
Speaker 1: to give the hen a double allowance of barley. From
Speaker 1: that day, the hen became fat and sleek, and never
Speaker 1: once laid another egg. Competeousness overreacheth itself. The lamb and
Speaker 1: the Wolf. A wolf pursued a lamb which fled for
Speaker 1: refuge to a certain temple. The wolf called out to
Speaker 1: him and said, the priest will slay you in sacrifice
Speaker 1: if he should catch you, on which the lamb replied,
Speaker 1: it would be better for me to be sacrificed in
Speaker 1: the temple than to be eaten by you. It is
Speaker 1: safer to be among friends than enemies. The Bear and
Speaker 1: the gardener. A gardener who lived alone became discontented and
Speaker 1: set out one day to seek a friend who would
Speaker 1: be a suitable companion. He had not gone far when
Speaker 1: he met a bear, whom he invited to come and
Speaker 1: live with him. The bear was a very silly one
Speaker 1: who was also discontented with living alone, so he went
Speaker 1: home with the gardener very willingly. The gardener provided all
Speaker 1: the food and the only service he required of the
Speaker 1: bear was to keep the flies off his face while
Speaker 1: he slept in the shade. One day, a fly insisted
Speaker 1: upon lighting on the gardener's face. Although he was brushed
Speaker 1: off again and again, the silly bear finally became so
Speaker 1: enraged that he threw a heavy stone upon it. He
Speaker 1: killed the fly, but alas he also killed his friend.
Speaker 1: Better have no friend at all than a foolish one.
Speaker 1: The Heifer and the Ox. A heifer saw an ox
Speaker 1: hard at work, harnessed to applow, and tormented him with
Speaker 1: the reflections on his unhappy fate in being compelled to labor.
Speaker 1: Shortly afterward, at the harvest home, the owner released the
Speaker 1: ox from his yoke, but bound the heifer with cords
Speaker 1: and led her away to the altar to be slain
Speaker 1: in honor of the festival. The ox saw what was
Speaker 1: being done and said to the heifer, for this you
Speaker 1: were allowed to live in idleness, because you were presently
Speaker 1: to be sacrificed. The lives of the idol can best
Speaker 1: be spared. The Eagle and the Fox. An eagle and
Speaker 1: a fox formed an intimate friendship and decided to live
Speaker 1: near each other. The eagle built her nest in a
Speaker 1: tall tree, while the fox crept into the underwood, and
Speaker 1: there produced her young. Not long after, when the fox
Speaker 1: was ranging for food, the eagle, being in want of
Speaker 1: provision for her young ones, swooped down and seized one
Speaker 1: of the little cubs, and feasted herself and brood. The fox,
Speaker 1: on her return, discovering what had happened, was less grieved
Speaker 1: for the death of her young than for her inability
Speaker 1: to avenge them. A just retribution, however, quickly fell upon
Speaker 1: the eagle. While hovering near an altar on which some
Speaker 1: villagers were sacrificing a goat, she suddenly seized a piece
Speaker 1: of flesh and carried with it to her nest a
Speaker 1: burning cinder. A strong breeze soon fanned the spark into
Speaker 1: a flame, and the eaglets, as yet unfledged and helpless,
Speaker 1: were roasted in their nest and dropped down dead at
Speaker 1: the bottom of the tree. The fox gobbled them up.
Speaker 1: In the sight of the eagle, the tyrant is never
Speaker 1: safe from those whom he oppresses. The hawk and the nightingale.
Speaker 1: A nightingale sitting aloft upon an oak, was seen by
Speaker 1: a hawk, who made a swoop down and seized him.
Speaker 1: The nightingale earnestly besought the hawk to let him go,
Speaker 1: saying that he was not big enough to satisfy the
Speaker 1: hunger of a hawk who ought to pursue the larger birds.
Speaker 1: The hawk said, I should indeed have lost my senses
Speaker 1: if I should let go food ready to my hand
Speaker 1: for the sake of pursuing birds which are not yet
Speaker 1: even within sight. A bird in the hand is worth
Speaker 1: two in the bush. The hen and the swallow. A hen,
Speaker 1: finding the eggs of a viper, and carefully keeping them warm,
Speaker 1: nourished them into life. A swallow, observing what she had done, said, you,
Speaker 1: silly creature, Why have you hatched these vipers, which, when
Speaker 1: they shall have grown, will surely inflict injury on all
Speaker 1: of us, beginning with yourself. If we nourish evil, it
Speaker 1: will sooner or later turn upon us. The herdsman and
Speaker 1: the lost bull. A herdsman tending kine in a forest
Speaker 1: lost a bull calf from the fold. After a long
Speaker 1: and fruitless search, he made a vow that if he
Speaker 1: could only discover the thief who had stolen the calf,
Speaker 1: he would offer a lamb and sacrifice to the guardian
Speaker 1: deities of the forest. Not long afterwards, as he ascended
Speaker 1: a small hillock, he saw at its foot a lion
Speaker 1: feeding on the calf. Terrified at the sight, he lifted
Speaker 1: his eyes and his hands to heaven and said, just now,
Speaker 1: I vowed to offer a lamb to the guardian deities
Speaker 1: of the forest if I could only find out who
Speaker 1: had robbed me. But now that I have discovered the thief,
Speaker 1: I would willingly add a full grown bull to the
Speaker 1: calf I have lost, and give them both to the
Speaker 1: guardians of the forest, if I may only secure my
Speaker 1: own escape from this terrible lion in safety. That which
Speaker 1: we are anxious to find, we are sometimes even more
Speaker 1: anxious to escape from when we have succeeded in finding it.
Speaker 1: The shepherd's Boy and Wolf. A shepherd boy who watched
Speaker 1: a flock of sheep near a village brought out the
Speaker 1: villagers three or four times by crying out, wolf, Wolf,
Speaker 1: and when his neighbors came to help him, laughed at
Speaker 1: them for their pains. The wolf, however, did truly come.
Speaker 1: At last, the shepherd boy, now really alarmed, shouted, in
Speaker 1: an agony of terror, pray, do come and help me.
Speaker 1: The wolf is killing the sheep. But no one paid
Speaker 1: any heed to his cries. There is no believing a liar,
Speaker 1: even when he speaks the truth. The hawk, the kite,
Speaker 1: and the pigeons. The pigeons, terrified by the appearance of
Speaker 1: a kite, called upon the hawk to defend them. He
Speaker 1: at once consented. When they had admitted him into the coat,
Speaker 1: they found that he made more havoc and slew a
Speaker 1: larger number of them in a single day than the
Speaker 1: kite could possibly pounce upon in a whole year of
Speaker 1: wide a remedy that is worse than the disease. The
Speaker 1: farmer and the cranes. Some cranes made their feeding grounds
Speaker 1: on some plow lands newly sown with wheat. For a
Speaker 1: long time. The farmer, brandishing an empty sling, chased them
Speaker 1: away by the terror he inspired. But when the birds
Speaker 1: found that the sling was only swung in the air,
Speaker 1: they ceased to take any notice of it and would
Speaker 1: not move. The farmer, on seeing this, charged his sling
Speaker 1: with stones and killed a great number. They at once
Speaker 1: forsook his plow lands and cried to each other, it
Speaker 1: is time for us to be off, for this man
Speaker 1: is no longer content to scare, but begins to show
Speaker 1: us in earnest what he can do. If words suffice
Speaker 1: not blows. Must follow the cat and the mice. A
Speaker 1: certain house was overrun with mice. A cat, discovering this,
Speaker 1: made her way into it and began to catch and
Speaker 1: eat them one by one. The mice, being continually devoured,
Speaker 1: kept themselves close in their holes. The cat, no longer
Speaker 1: able to get at them, perceived that she must tempt
Speaker 1: them forth by some device. For this purpose, she jumped
Speaker 1: upon a peg, and, suspending herself from it, pretended to
Speaker 1: be dead. When the mice came near, she pounced upon
Speaker 1: them and killed a great number. Pleased with the success
Speaker 1: of this trick, she tried another. She whitened herself with
Speaker 1: flour and lay still on the heap of bags, as
Speaker 1: though she was one of them. The young mice crept
Speaker 1: dangerously near her, but an old one, peering stealthily out, said, ah,
Speaker 1: my good madam, though you should turn into a real
Speaker 1: flower bag, I will not come too near you avoid
Speaker 1: even appearance of danger. End of Section seven. The Father
Speaker 1: and his sons. A father had a family of sons
Speaker 1: who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to
Speaker 1: heal their disputes by his exhortations, he one day told
Speaker 1: them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they
Speaker 1: had done so, he placed the bundle into the hands
Speaker 1: of each one of them in succession, and ordered them
Speaker 1: to break it in pieces. They each tried with all
Speaker 1: their strength, and were not able to do it. He
Speaker 1: next unclosed the faggot and took the sticks separately, one
Speaker 1: by one, and again put them into their hands, on
Speaker 1: which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in
Speaker 1: these words, my sons, if you are of one mind
Speaker 1: and unite to assist each other, you will be as
Speaker 1: this faggot, uninjured by all attempts of your enemies. But
Speaker 1: if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken
Speaker 1: as easily as these sticks. Disunited families are easily injured
Speaker 1: by others. The owl and the grasshopper. An owl who
Speaker 1: was sitting in a hollow tree dozing away a summer's afternoon,
Speaker 1: was very much disturbed by a rogue of a grasshopper
Speaker 1: singing in the grass beneath. So far from keeping quiet
Speaker 1: or moving away at the request of the owl, the
Speaker 1: grasshopper sang all the more and called her, an old
Speaker 1: blinker that only came out at night when all honest
Speaker 1: people had gone to bed. The owl waited in silence
Speaker 1: for a time, and then artfully addressed the grasshopper as
Speaker 1: f well, my dear, if one cannot be allowed to sleep,
Speaker 1: it is something to be kept awake by such a
Speaker 1: pleasant voice. And now I think of it, I have
Speaker 1: a bottle of delicious nectar. If you will come up,
Speaker 1: you shall have a drop. The silly grasshopper came hopping
Speaker 1: up to the owl, who at once caught and killed him,
Speaker 1: and finished her nap in comfort. Flattery is not a
Speaker 1: proof of admiration. The Fox and the grapes. A famished
Speaker 1: fox saw some clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from
Speaker 1: a trellised vine. She resorted to all her tricks to
Speaker 1: get at them, but wearied herself in vain for she
Speaker 1: could not reach them. At last, she turned away, beguiling
Speaker 1: herself of her disappointment, and saying, the grapes are sour
Speaker 1: and not ripe, as I thought. Revile not things beyond
Speaker 1: your reach. The ass carrying the image. An ass once
Speaker 1: carried through the streets of a city a famous wooden
Speaker 1: image to be placed in one of its temples. The crowd,
Speaker 1: as he passed along, made lowly prostration before the image.
Speaker 1: The ass, thinking that they bowed their heads in token
Speaker 1: of respect for him, bristled up with pride and gave
Speaker 1: himself airs and refused to move another step. The driver,
Speaker 1: seeing him thus stop, laid his whip lustily about his
Speaker 1: shoulders and said, oh, you perverse, dull head. It has
Speaker 1: not yet come to this that men pay worship to
Speaker 1: an ass. They are not wise who take to themselves
Speaker 1: the credit due to others. The ass and the lap dog.
Speaker 1: A man had an ass and a Maltese lap dog,
Speaker 1: a very great beauty. The ass was left in his
Speaker 1: stable and had plenty of oats and hay to eat,
Speaker 1: just as any other ass would. The lap dog was
Speaker 1: a great favorite with his master, and he frisked and
Speaker 1: jumped about him in a manner pleasant to see. The
Speaker 1: ass had much work to do, in grinding the corn mill,
Speaker 1: and in carrying wood from the forest or burdens from
Speaker 1: the farm. He often lamented his own hard fate and
Speaker 1: contrasted it with the luxury and idleness of the lap dog.
Speaker 1: So at last one day he broke his halter and
Speaker 1: galloped into his master's house, kicking up his heels without measure,
Speaker 1: and frisking and fawning as well as he could. He
Speaker 1: next tried to jump about his master, as he had
Speaker 1: seen the lap dog do, but he broke the table
Speaker 1: and smashed all the dishes upon it to atoms. He
Speaker 1: then attempted to lick his master and jumped upon his back.
Speaker 1: The servants, hearing the strange hubbub and perceiving the danger
Speaker 1: of their master, quickly relieved him and drove out. The
Speaker 1: asked to his stable with kicks and clubs and cuffs.
Speaker 1: The ass beaten nearly to death, thus lamented, I have
Speaker 1: brought it all on myself. Why could I not have
Speaker 1: been contented to labor with my companions and not try
Speaker 1: to live by idleness? The Tortoise and the Eagle. A
Speaker 1: tortoise lazily basking in the sun complained to the sea
Speaker 1: birds of her hard fate that no one would teach
Speaker 1: her to fly. An eagle hovering near heard her lamentation
Speaker 1: and demanded what reward she would give him if he
Speaker 1: would take her aloft and float her in the air.
Speaker 1: I will give you, she said, all the riches of
Speaker 1: the red sea. I will teach you to fly, then
Speaker 1: said the eagle, and taken her up in his talons.
Speaker 1: He carried her almost to the clouds, when suddenly letting
Speaker 1: her go, she fell on a lofty mountain and dashed
Speaker 1: her shell to pieces. The tartis exclaimed in the moment
Speaker 1: of death. I have deserved my present fate, for what
Speaker 1: had I to do with wings and clouds? Who can
Speaker 1: with difficulty move about on the earth? If men had
Speaker 1: all they wished, they would be often ruined. The porcupine
Speaker 1: and the snakes. A porcupine, wanting to shelter himself, desired
Speaker 1: a nest of snakes to give him admittance into their cave.
Speaker 1: They were prevailed upon and let him in accordingly, but
Speaker 1: were so annoyed with his sharp, prickly quills that they
Speaker 1: soon repented of their easy compliance, and entreated the porcupine
Speaker 1: to withdraw and leave them their whole to themselves. No,
Speaker 1: says he let them quit the place that don't like it.
Speaker 1: For my part, I am well enough satisfied as I am.
Speaker 1: Hospitality is a very, but should be wisely exercised. We may,
Speaker 1: by thoughtlessness entertain foes instead of friends. The fox, who
Speaker 1: had lost his tail. A fox caught in a trap
Speaker 1: escaped with the loss of his brush. Henceforth, feeling his
Speaker 1: life a burden from the shame and reticule to which
Speaker 1: he was exposed, he schemed to bring all the other
Speaker 1: foxes into a like condition with himself. He publicly advised
Speaker 1: them to cut off their tails, saying that they would
Speaker 1: not only look much better without them, but that they
Speaker 1: would be rid of the weight of the brush. One
Speaker 1: of them said, if you had not yourself lost your tail,
Speaker 1: my friend, you would not thus counsel us. Advice prompted
Speaker 1: by selfishness should not be heeded. The Old Lion, a
Speaker 1: lion worn out with years, lay on the ground at
Speaker 1: the point of death. A boar rushed upon him and
Speaker 1: avenged with a stroke of his tusks, a long remembered injury.
Speaker 1: Shortly afterwards, the bull, with his horns, gored him as
Speaker 1: if he were an enemy. When the ass saw that
Speaker 1: the huge beast could be assailed with impunity, he let
Speaker 1: drive at his forehead with his heels. The ass and
Speaker 1: the wolf. An ass feeding in a meadow saw a
Speaker 1: wolf approaching to seize him, and immediately pretended to be lame.
Speaker 1: The wolf coming up, inquired the cause of his lameness.
Speaker 1: The ass said that he had a thorn in his
Speaker 1: foot and requested the wolf to pull it out. The wolf, consenting,
Speaker 1: the ass with his heels, kicked his teeth into his
Speaker 1: mouth and galloped away. The wolf said, I am rightly served.
Speaker 1: For why did I attempt the order healing when my
Speaker 1: father only taught me the trade of a butcher. Every
Speaker 1: one to his trade. The horse and the groom. A
Speaker 1: groom used to spend whole days in currycombing and rubbing
Speaker 1: down his horse, but at the same time stole his
Speaker 1: oats and sold them for his own profit. Alas said
Speaker 1: the horse, if you really wish me to be in
Speaker 1: good condition, you should groom me less and feed me more.
Speaker 1: If you wish to do a service, do it right.
Speaker 1: The ass and his shadow. A traveler hired an asked
Speaker 1: to convey him to a distant place. The day being
Speaker 1: intensely hot and the sun shining in its strength, the
Speaker 1: traveler stopped to rest and sought shelter from the heat
Speaker 1: under the shadow of the ass. As this afforded only
Speaker 1: protection for one, and as the traveler and the owner
Speaker 1: of the ass both claimed it a violent dispute arose
Speaker 1: between them as to which of them had the right
Speaker 1: to it. The owner maintained that he had let the
Speaker 1: ass only, and not his shadow. The traveler asserted that
Speaker 1: he had, with the hire of the ass, hired his
Speaker 1: shadow also. The quarrel proceeded from words to blows, and
Speaker 1: while the men thought the ass galloped off. By quarreling
Speaker 1: about the shadow, we often lose the substance. The horse
Speaker 1: and the loaded ass. An idle horse and an ass
Speaker 1: laboring under a heavy burden were traveling the road together.
Speaker 1: The ass, ready to faint under his heavy load, entreated
Speaker 1: the horse to assist him and lighten his burden by
Speaker 1: taking some of it upon his back. The horse was
Speaker 1: ill natured and refused to do it, upon which the
Speaker 1: poor ass tumbled down in the midst of the highway
Speaker 1: and expired. The countryman then took the whole burden and
Speaker 1: laid it upon the horse, together with the skin of
Speaker 1: the dead ass. Laziness often prepares a burden for its
Speaker 1: own back. The mules and the robbers. Two mules laden
Speaker 1: with packs were trudging along. One carried panniers filled with money,
Speaker 1: the other sacks of grain. The mule carrying the treasure,
Speaker 1: walked with head erect and tossed up and down the
Speaker 1: bells fastened to his deck. His companion followed with quiet
Speaker 1: and easy step. All of a sudden, robbers rushed from
Speaker 1: their hiding places upon them, and, in the scuffle with
Speaker 1: their owners, wounded the mule carrying the treasure, which they
Speaker 1: greedily seized upon. While they took no notice of the grain.
Speaker 1: The mule, which had been wounded, bewailed his misfortunes. The
Speaker 1: other replied, I am glad that I was thought so
Speaker 1: little of, for I have lost nothing, nor am I
Speaker 1: hurt with any wound. Conspicuous run the greatest risk. The
Speaker 1: lion and the three bulls. Three bulls, for a long
Speaker 1: time pastured together. A lion lay an ambush in the
Speaker 1: hope of making them his prey, but was afraid to
Speaker 1: attack them while they kept together. Having at last, by
Speaker 1: guile full speeches, succeeded in separating them, he attacked them
Speaker 1: without fear as they fed alone, and feasted on them
Speaker 1: one by one at his own leisure. In union is strength.
Speaker 1: The dog and the shadow. A dog crossing a bridge
Speaker 1: over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth,
Speaker 1: saw his own shadow in the water, and took it
Speaker 1: for another dog with a piece of meat double his
Speaker 1: own in size. He therefore let go his own and
Speaker 1: fiercely attacked the other dog to get his larger piece
Speaker 1: from him. He thus lost both that which he grasped
Speaker 1: at in the water because it was a shadow, and
Speaker 1: his own because the stream swept it away. It is
Speaker 1: not wise to be too greedy. The ants and the grasshopper.
Speaker 1: The ants were employing a fine winter's day in drying
Speaker 1: grain collected in the summertime. A grasshopper, perishing with famine,
Speaker 1: passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The
Speaker 1: ants inquired of him, why did you not treasure up
Speaker 1: food during the summer, He replied, I had not leisure.
Speaker 1: I passed the days in singing. Then they said, if
Speaker 1: you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you
Speaker 1: must dance supperless to bed in the winter. Idleness brings want.
Speaker 1: The thirsty pigeon. A pigeon oppressed by excessive thirst, saw
Speaker 1: a goblet of water painted on a signboard. Not supposing
Speaker 1: it to be only a picture, she flew toward it
Speaker 1: with a loud whir and unwillingly dashed against the signboard
Speaker 1: and jarred herself terribly. Having broken her wings by the blow,
Speaker 1: she fell to the ground and was caught by one
Speaker 1: of the bystanders. Zeal should not outrun discretion. The flies
Speaker 1: and the honey. A jar of honey having been upset
Speaker 1: in a housekeeper's room. A number of flies were attracted
Speaker 1: by its sweetness, and placing their feet in it ate greedily.
Speaker 1: Their feet, however, became so smeared with the honey that
Speaker 1: they could not use their wings nor release themselves, and
Speaker 1: were suffocated. Just as they were expiring, they exclaimed, oh,
Speaker 1: foolish creatures that we are, for the sake of a
Speaker 1: little pleasure, we have destroyed ourselves. The great and the
Speaker 1: little fishes. A fisherman was drawing up a net which
Speaker 1: he had cast into the sea full of all sorts
Speaker 1: of fish. The little fish escaped through the meshes of
Speaker 1: the net and got back into the deep, but the
Speaker 1: great fish were all caught and hauled into the ship.
Speaker 1: Our insignificance is often the cause of our safety. Into
Speaker 1: Section eight. The Wolves and the sheep. Why should there
Speaker 1: always be this implacable warfare between us? Said the wolves
Speaker 1: to the sheep. Those evil disposed dogs have much to
Speaker 1: answer for they always bark whenever we approach, and attack
Speaker 1: us before we have done any harm. If you would
Speaker 1: only dismiss them from your heels, there might soon be
Speaker 1: treaties of peace between us. The sheep, poor silly creatures,
Speaker 1: were easily beguiled and dismissed the dogs. The wolves destroyed
Speaker 1: the unguarded flock at their pleasure, change not friends for foes.
Speaker 1: The fox and the stark. The fox invited the stalk
Speaker 1: to dinner and provided nothing but a soup in a wide,
Speaker 1: shallow dish. This he could lap up with ease. But
Speaker 1: the stark, who could but dip in the point of
Speaker 1: his bill, was not a bit better. A few days after,
Speaker 1: he returned the compliment and invited the fox, but suffered
Speaker 1: nothing to be brought to the table but some minced
Speaker 1: meat in a glass jar, the neck of which was
Speaker 1: so deep and so narrow, that though the stalk with
Speaker 1: his long bill, could eat very well, all that the
Speaker 1: fox could do was to lick the brims. Reynard was
Speaker 1: heartily vexed, but owned that he had been used as
Speaker 1: he deserved. Those who practiced cunning must expect to suffer
Speaker 1: by it. The bat and the weasels. A bat, falling
Speaker 1: upon the ground, was caught by a weasel, of whom
Speaker 1: he earnestly besought his life. The weasel refused, saying that
Speaker 1: he was by nature the enemy of all birds. The
Speaker 1: bat assured him that he was not a bird but
Speaker 1: a mouse, and thus saved his life. Shortly afterward, the
Speaker 1: bat again fell on the ground and was caught by
Speaker 1: another weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him.
Speaker 1: The weasel said that he had a special hostility to mice.
Speaker 1: The bat assured him that he was not a mouse,
Speaker 1: but a bat, and thus a second time escaped. The
Speaker 1: hare and the tortoise. A hare one day ridiculed the
Speaker 1: sharp feet in slow pace of the tortoise. The latter, laughing, said,
Speaker 1: though you be swift as the wind, I will beat
Speaker 1: you in a race. The hare, deeming her assertion to
Speaker 1: be simply impossible, assented to the proposal, and they agreed
Speaker 1: that the fox should choose the course and fix the goal.
Speaker 1: On the day appointed for the race, they started together.
Speaker 1: The tartis never for a moment stopped, but went on
Speaker 1: with a slow but steady pace straight to the end
Speaker 1: of the course. The hare, trusting to his native swiftness,
Speaker 1: cared little about the race, and, lying down by the wayside,
Speaker 1: fell fast asleep. At last, waking up and moving as
Speaker 1: fast as he could, he saw the tartise had reached
Speaker 1: the goal and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue. Perseverance
Speaker 1: is surer than swiftness. Jupiter and the Monkey. Jupiter issued
Speaker 1: a proclamation to all the beasts of the forest and
Speaker 1: promised a royal reward to the one whose offspring should
Speaker 1: be deemed the handsomest. The monkey came with the rest
Speaker 1: and presented, with all a mother's tenderness, a flat nosed, hairless,
Speaker 1: ill featured young monkey as a candidate for the promised reward.
Speaker 1: A general laugh saluted her on the presentation of her son.
Speaker 1: She resolutely said, I know not whether Jupiter will allot
Speaker 1: the prize to my son, but this I do know
Speaker 1: that he is the dearest, handsomest, and most beautiful of
Speaker 1: all who are here. A mother's love blinds her to
Speaker 1: many imperfections. The lion in love A lion demanded the
Speaker 1: daughter of a wigcutter in marriage. The father unwilling to grant,
Speaker 1: and yet afraid to refuse his request, hit. Upon this expedient,
Speaker 1: he expressed his willingness to accept him as a suitor
Speaker 1: of his daughter, on one condition that he should allow
Speaker 1: him to extract his teeth and cut off his claws.
Speaker 1: The lion cheerfully assented to the proposal. When, however, he
Speaker 1: next repeated his request, the woodman set upon him with
Speaker 1: his club. The Miser. A miser had a lump of
Speaker 1: gold which he buried in the ground, coming to look
Speaker 1: at the spot every day. One day he found that
Speaker 1: it was stolen, and he began to tear his hair
Speaker 1: and loudly lament. A neighbor, seeing him, said, pray, do
Speaker 1: not grieve, so bury a stone in the hole, and
Speaker 1: fancy it is the gold. It will serve you just
Speaker 1: as well, for when the gold was there, you made
Speaker 1: no use of it. A wolf saw a goat feeding
Speaker 1: at the summit of a steep precipice, where he had
Speaker 1: not a chance of reaching her. He called to her
Speaker 1: and earnestly besought her to come lower down, lest she should,
Speaker 1: by some mishap get a fall. And he added that
Speaker 1: the meadows lay where he was standing, and that the
Speaker 1: herbage was most tender. She replied, no, my friend, it
Speaker 1: is not of me your thinking, but of yourself. Invitations
Speaker 1: prompted by selfishness are not to be accepted. A bald knight.
Speaker 1: A bald knight who wore a wig went out to hunt.
Speaker 1: A sudden puff of wind blew off his hat and wig,
Speaker 1: at which a loud laugh rang forth from his companions.
Speaker 1: He joined in the joke by saying, what marvel that
Speaker 1: hairs which are not mine should fly from me when
Speaker 1: my own have forsaken even the man with whom they
Speaker 1: were born. Those who cannot take care of their own
Speaker 1: should not be entrusted with the care of another's property.
Speaker 1: The Fox and the woodcutter. A fox running before the
Speaker 1: hounds came across a woodcutter felling an oak, and besought
Speaker 1: him to show him a safe hiding place. The woodcutter
Speaker 1: advised him to take shelter in his own hut. The
Speaker 1: fox crept in and hid himself in a corner. The
Speaker 1: huntsman came up with his hounds in a few minutes
Speaker 1: and inquired of the woodcutter if he had seen the fox.
Speaker 1: He declared that he had not seen him, and yet
Speaker 1: pointed all the time he was speaking to the hut
Speaker 1: where the fox lay hid. The huntsman took no notice
Speaker 1: of the signs, but believing his word, hastened forward in
Speaker 1: the chase. As soon as they were well away, the
Speaker 1: fox departed without taking any notice of the woodcutter, whereon
Speaker 1: he called to him and reproached him, saying, you, ungrateful fellow.
Speaker 1: You owe your life to me, and yet you leave
Speaker 1: me without a word of thanks. The fox replied, indeed,
Speaker 1: I should have thanked you most fervently if your deeds
Speaker 1: had been as good as your words. The Kid and
Speaker 1: the Wolf. A kid mounted on a high rock bestowed
Speaker 1: all manner of abuse upon a wolf on the ground below.
Speaker 1: The wolf, looking up, replied, do not think, vain creature
Speaker 1: that you annoy me. I regard this ill language as
Speaker 1: coming not from you, but from the place on which
Speaker 1: you stand. The Lion, the bear and the fox. A
Speaker 1: lion and a bear seized upon a kid at the
Speaker 1: same moment and fought fiercely for its possession. When they
Speaker 1: had fearfully lacerated each other and were faint from the
Speaker 1: long combat, they lay down, exhausted with fatigue. A fox,
Speaker 1: who had gone round them at a distance several times,
Speaker 1: saw them both stretched on the ground and the kid,
Speaker 1: lying untouched in the middle, ran in between them and
Speaker 1: seized the kid, scampering off as fast as he could.
Speaker 1: The lion and the bear saw him, but not being
Speaker 1: able to get up, said, woe betide us, that we
Speaker 1: should have fought and belabored ourselves only to serve the
Speaker 1: turn of a fox. It sometimes happens that one man
Speaker 1: has all the toil and another all the profit. The
Speaker 1: stag in the ox stall. A stag, hardly pressed by
Speaker 1: the hounds and blind from fear to the danger he
Speaker 1: was running into, took shelter in a farmyard and hid
Speaker 1: himself in a shed among the oxen. An ox gave
Speaker 1: him this kindly warning, oh, unhappy creature, why should you thus,
Speaker 1: of your own accord, incur destruction and trust yourself in
Speaker 1: the house of your enemy? The stag replied, do you
Speaker 1: only suffer me, friend, to stay where I am, and
Speaker 1: I will undertake to find some favorable opportunity of affecting
Speaker 1: my escape. At the approach of the evil, the herdsman
Speaker 1: came to feed his cattle, but did not see the stag.
Speaker 1: The stag, congratulating himself on his safety, began to express
Speaker 1: his sincere thanks to the oxen, who had kindly afforded
Speaker 1: him help in the hour of need. One of them
Speaker 1: again answered him, we indeed wish you well, but the
Speaker 1: danger is not over. There is one other yet to
Speaker 1: pass through this shed, who has, as it were, a
Speaker 1: hundred eyes, And until he is come and gone, your
Speaker 1: life is still in peril. At that moment, the Mastery
Speaker 1: himself entered, and, having had to complain that his oxen
Speaker 1: had not been properly fed, he went up to their
Speaker 1: racks and cried out, why is there such a scarcity
Speaker 1: of fodder? There is not half enough straw for them
Speaker 1: to lie on. Those lazy fellows have not even swept
Speaker 1: the cobwebs away. While he thus examined everything, he spied
Speaker 1: the antlers of the stag peeping out of the straw.
Speaker 1: Summoning his laborers, he ordered that the stag should be killed.
Speaker 1: What is safety for one is not always safety for another.
Speaker 1: The eagle and the jackdaw. An eagle, flying down from
Speaker 1: his eyrie on a lofty rock, seized upon a lamb
Speaker 1: and carried him aloft in his talons. A jackdaw, who
Speaker 1: witnessed the capture of the lamb, was stirred with envy,
Speaker 1: and determined to emulate the strength and flight of the eagle.
Speaker 1: He flew round with a great word of his wings
Speaker 1: and settled upon a large sheep, with the intention of
Speaker 1: carrying it off. But his claws becoming entangled in his fleece,
Speaker 1: he was unable to release himself, although he fluttered with
Speaker 1: his feathers as much as he could. The shepherd, seeing
Speaker 1: what had happened, ran up and caught him. He at
Speaker 1: once clipped his wings, and taking him home at night,
Speaker 1: gave him to his children. We should not permit our
Speaker 1: ambition to lead us beyond the limits of our power.
Speaker 1: The three tradesmen. A great city was besieged, and its
Speaker 1: inhabitants were called together to consider the best means of
Speaker 1: protecting it from the enemy. A brick layer present earnestly
Speaker 1: recommended bricks, as it afforded the best materials for an
Speaker 1: effectual resistance. A carpenter with equal energy proposed timber as
Speaker 1: providing a preferable method of defense, upon which a courier
Speaker 1: stood up and said, Sirs, I differ from you. Altogether.
Speaker 1: There was no material for resistance equal to a covering
Speaker 1: of hides, and nothing so good as leather every man
Speaker 1: for his trade. The dancing monkeys. A prince had some
Speaker 1: monkeys trained to dance. Being naturally great mimics of men's actions,
Speaker 1: they showed themselves most apt students, and when arrayed in
Speaker 1: their rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as
Speaker 1: any of the courtiers. The spectacle was often repeated with
Speaker 1: great applause, till on one occasion a courtier, bent on mischief,
Speaker 1: took from his pocket a handful of nuts and threw
Speaker 1: them upon the stage. The monkeys, at the sight of
Speaker 1: the nuts, forgot their dancing and became as indeed they
Speaker 1: were monkeys instead of actors, and pulling off their masks
Speaker 1: and tearing their robes, they fought with one another for
Speaker 1: the nuts. The dancing spectacle thus came to an end,
Speaker 1: amid the laughter and ridicule of the audience. Those who
Speaker 1: assume a character will betray themselves by their actions. The
Speaker 1: ass and the grasshopper. An ass, having heard some grasshoppers chirping,
Speaker 1: was highly he enchanted, and, desiring to possess the same
Speaker 1: charms of melody, demanded what sort of food they lived
Speaker 1: on to give them such beautiful voices, They replied, the
Speaker 1: dew the ass resolved that he would live only on dew,
Speaker 1: and in a short time died of hunger. Where one
Speaker 1: may live, another may starve. The ass in the lion's skin.
Speaker 1: An ass, having put on the lion's skin, roamed about
Speaker 1: in the forest and amused himself by frightening all the
Speaker 1: foolish animals he met with in his wanderings. At last,
Speaker 1: meeting a fox, he tried to frighten him also, But
Speaker 1: the fox no sooner heard the sound of his voice
Speaker 1: than he exclaimed. I might possibly have been frightened myself
Speaker 1: if I had not heard your bray. No disguise will
Speaker 1: hide one's true character. The Boy Babe, a boy bathing
Speaker 1: in a river was in danger of being drowned. He
Speaker 1: called out to a traveler passing by for help. The traveler,
Speaker 1: instead of holding out a helping hand, stood up unconcernedly
Speaker 1: and scolded the boy for his imprudence. Oh, sir, cried
Speaker 1: the youth. Pray help me now, and scold me afterwards.
Speaker 1: Counsel without help is useless. The cock and the Fox.
Speaker 1: The fox, passing early one summer's morning near a farmyard,
Speaker 1: was caught in a springe which the farmer had planted
Speaker 1: there for that end. The cock, at a distance saw
Speaker 1: what happened, and, hardly yet daring to trust herself too
Speaker 1: near so dangerous a foe, approached him cautiously and peeped
Speaker 1: at him. Reynard addressed himself to him, with all the
Speaker 1: designing artifice imaginable. Dear cousin, said he, you see what
Speaker 1: an unfortunate accident has befallen me here and all upon
Speaker 1: your account. For as I was creeping through under hedge
Speaker 1: in my way homeward, I heard you crow, and was
Speaker 1: resolved to ask you how you did before I went
Speaker 1: away any further. But I met with this disaster, and
Speaker 1: therefore now I must ask you for a knife to
Speaker 1: cut this string, or at least to conceal my misfortune
Speaker 1: till I have gnawed it asunder. The cock, seeing how
Speaker 1: the case stood, made no reply, but posted away as
Speaker 1: fast as he could, and told the former who came
Speaker 1: and killed the fox. To aid the vicious is to
Speaker 1: become a partner in their guilt. End of Section nine.
Speaker 1: The Viper and the File. A viper entering the workshop
Speaker 1: of a smith, sought from the tools the means of
Speaker 1: satisfying his hunger. He more particularly addressed himself to a
Speaker 1: file and asked of him the favor of a meal.
Speaker 1: The file replied, you must indeed be a simple minded
Speaker 1: fellow if you expect to get anything from me, who
Speaker 1: am accustomed to take from every one and never to
Speaker 1: give anything in return. The covetous are poor givers. The
Speaker 1: oxen and the axle trees. A heavy wagon was being
Speaker 1: dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen.
Speaker 1: The axle trees groaned and creaked terribly when the oxen,
Speaker 1: turning round, thus addressed the wheels, hallo there, why do
Speaker 1: you make so much noise? We bear all the labor,
Speaker 1: and we not. You ought to cry out those who
Speaker 1: suffer most, cry out the least. The bear and the beehives.
Speaker 1: A bear that had found his way into a garden
Speaker 1: where bees were kept, began to turn over the hives
Speaker 1: and devour the honey. The bees settled in swarms about
Speaker 1: his head and stung his eyes and nose so much that,
Speaker 1: maddened with pain, he tore the skin from his head
Speaker 1: with his own claws. The thrush and the swallow. A
Speaker 1: young thrush who lived in an orchard once became acquainted
Speaker 1: with a swallow. A friendship sprang up between them, and
Speaker 1: the swallow, after skimming the orchard and the neighboring meadow,
Speaker 1: would every now and then come and visit the thrush.
Speaker 1: Thee thrush, hopping from branch to branch, would welcome him
Speaker 1: with his most cheerful note. Oh, mother, said he to
Speaker 1: his parent one day. Never had creatures such a friend
Speaker 1: as I have in this same swallow, nor ever any mother,
Speaker 1: replied the parent bird, such a silly son as I
Speaker 1: have in this same thrush. Long before the approach of wind,
Speaker 1: your friend will have left you, and while you sit
Speaker 1: shivering on a leafless bow, he will be sporting under
Speaker 1: sunny skies hundreds of miles away. The sensible ass, an
Speaker 1: old fellow in time of war, was allowing his ass
Speaker 1: to feed in a green meadow when he was alarmed
Speaker 1: by a sudden advance of the enemy. He tried every
Speaker 1: means in his power to urge the ass to fly.
Speaker 1: But in vain the enemy are upon us, said he.
Speaker 1: And what will the enemy do? Asked the ass? Will
Speaker 1: they put two pairs of panniers on my back? Instead
Speaker 1: of one? No, answered the man. There is no fear
Speaker 1: of that, Why, then, replied the ass, I'll not stir
Speaker 1: an inch. I am born to be a slave, and
Speaker 1: my greatest enemy is he who gives me most to carry.
Speaker 1: The Lion and the ass. A lion and an ass
Speaker 1: made an agreement to go out hunting together. By and
Speaker 1: by they came to a cave where wild goats abode.
Speaker 1: The lion took up his station at the mouth of
Speaker 1: the cave, and the ass, going within, kicked and brayed
Speaker 1: and made a mighty fuss to frighten them out. When
Speaker 1: the lion had caught them, the ass came out and
Speaker 1: asked him if he had not made a noble fight. Yes, indeed,
Speaker 1: said the lion, and I assure you you would have
Speaker 1: frightened me too, if I had not known you to
Speaker 1: be an ass. The fox and the ape. Upon the
Speaker 1: decease of the lion, the beasts of the forest assembled
Speaker 1: to choose another king. The ape played so many grimaces, gambols,
Speaker 1: and antiq tricks that he was elected by a large majority,
Speaker 1: and the crown was placed upon his head. The fox,
Speaker 1: in of this distinction, seeing soon after a trap baited
Speaker 1: with a piece of meat, approached the new king and said,
Speaker 1: with mock humility, may it please your majesty, I have
Speaker 1: found on your domain a treasure to which, if you
Speaker 1: will deign to accompany me, I will conduct you. The
Speaker 1: ape thereupon set off with the fox, and, on arriving
Speaker 1: at the spot, laid his paw upon the meat, snap
Speaker 1: went the trap and caught him by the fingers. Mad
Speaker 1: with the shame and the pain, he reproached the fox
Speaker 1: for a false thief and a traitor. Reynard laughed heartily
Speaker 1: and said, with a sneer, you a king and not
Speaker 1: understand a trap? The lion and the wolf. A wolf
Speaker 1: roaming by the mountain side saw his own shadow as
Speaker 1: the sun was setting, becoming greatly extended and magnified, and
Speaker 1: he said to himself, why should I, being of such
Speaker 1: an immense size, and extending nearly an acre and lyth,
Speaker 1: be afraid of a lion? Ought I not to be
Speaker 1: acknowledged as king of all the collected beasts? While he
Speaker 1: was indulging in these proud thoughts, a lion fell upon
Speaker 1: him and killed him. He exclaimed, with a too late repentance,
Speaker 1: wretched me. This overestimation of myself is the cause of
Speaker 1: my destruction. It is not wise to hold too exalted
Speaker 1: an opinion of oneself, the miller, his son, and their ass.
Speaker 1: A miller and his son were driving their ass to affair.
Speaker 1: On the way, they met a group of girls. Look there,
Speaker 1: cried one of them. Did you ever see such fools
Speaker 1: to be trudging along on foot when they might be riding.
Speaker 1: The old man, hearing this, quietly bade his son get
Speaker 1: on the ass and walked along merrily by his side.
Speaker 1: Presently they came to a group of old men in
Speaker 1: earnest debate. There said one of them. It proves what
Speaker 1: I was saying, what respect is shown to old age
Speaker 1: in these days? Do you see that idle young rogue
Speaker 1: riding while his old father has to walk? Get down, you,
Speaker 1: scape grace, and let the old man rest his weary limbs.
Speaker 1: Upon this, the father made his son dismount and got
Speaker 1: up himself. In this manner, they had not proceeded far
Speaker 1: when they met a company of women and children. Why you,
Speaker 1: lazy old man, cried several tongues at once. How can
Speaker 1: you ride upon the beast while that poor little lad
Speaker 1: there can scarcely keep pace by the side of you.
Speaker 1: The good natured miller immediately took up his son behind him.
Speaker 1: They had now almost reached the town. Pray, honest, friend,
Speaker 1: said a townsman, Is that ass your own? Yes, said
Speaker 1: the old man. Oh, one would not have thought so
Speaker 1: by the way you load him. Why you two fellows
Speaker 1: are better able to carry the poor beast than he.
Speaker 1: You anything to please you, said the old man. So,
Speaker 1: Alighting with his son, they tied the ass's legs together, and,
Speaker 1: by the help of a pole, endeavored to carry him
Speaker 1: on their shoulders over a bridge. The people ran out
Speaker 1: in crowds to laugh at the sight, till the ass,
Speaker 1: not liking the noise nor his situation, kicked asunder the cords, and,
Speaker 1: tumbling off the pole, fell into the river. On this
Speaker 1: the old man made the best of his way home
Speaker 1: with his son, convinced that by endeavoring to please everybody,
Speaker 1: he had succeeded in pleasing nobody, and lost his ass
Speaker 1: into the bargain. The Travelers and the plane Tree. Two travelers,
Speaker 1: worn by the heat of the summer's sun, laid themselves
Speaker 1: down at noon under the wide, spreading branches of a
Speaker 1: plane tree. As they rested under its shade, one of
Speaker 1: the travelers said to the other, what a singularly useless
Speaker 1: tree is? The plain it bears no fruit and is
Speaker 1: not of the least service to man. The plain tree,
Speaker 1: interrupting him, said, you, ungrateful fellows, do you, while receiving
Speaker 1: benefits from me and resting under my shade, dare to
Speaker 1: describe me as useless and unprofitable? Some men despise their
Speaker 1: best blessings because they come without cost. The Tortoise and
Speaker 1: the two Ducks. A tortoise, becoming tired of her humble home,
Speaker 1: resolved to visit foreign lands. But she did not know
Speaker 1: which way to go. She repaired to two ducks to
Speaker 1: show her the road, and they told her that the
Speaker 1: best way to travel was through the air. On her
Speaker 1: imploring their help, they made her grasp a stick with
Speaker 1: her mouth, and so they bore her aloft as they
Speaker 1: flew along. The gaping people beneath shouted at sight of
Speaker 1: the spectacle. The vain tartis mistook their shouts for applause.
Speaker 1: I am surely a queen, said she, But alas as
Speaker 1: she opened her mouth to speak, she lost her hold
Speaker 1: of the stick, and, falling to the ground, was dashed
Speaker 1: to pieces. Those who were not able to roam should
Speaker 1: stay at home. The Countryman and the Snake, a villager
Speaker 1: found a snake under a hedge, almost dead with cold.
Speaker 1: He could not help having compassion for the poor creature,
Speaker 1: so he brought it home and laid it upon the
Speaker 1: hearth near the fire. But it had not lain there
Speaker 1: long before, being revived with the heat, it began to
Speaker 1: erect itself and fly at his wife and shechildren. The countryman,
Speaker 1: hearing an outcry and perceiving what the matter was, caught
Speaker 1: up a mattock and soon despatched him upbraiding him at
Speaker 1: the same time in these words, is this vile wretch
Speaker 1: the rewards you make to him that saved your life?
Speaker 1: Kindness to the ungrateful, and the vicious is thrown away.
Speaker 1: The madman who sold wisdom. A madman once set himself
Speaker 1: up in the marketplace, and, with loud cries, announced that
Speaker 1: he would sell wisdom. The people at once crowded about him,
Speaker 1: and some gave him gold for his wares, But they
Speaker 1: each got only a blow on the ear and a
Speaker 1: bunch of thread, and were well laughed at by their companions.
Speaker 1: One of them, however, took it more seriously than the others,
Speaker 1: and asked a wise sage what it meant. It means?
Speaker 1: Said the sage that if one would not be hurt
Speaker 1: by a madman, he must put a bunch of thread
Speaker 1: over his ears. So the madman was really selling wisdom.
Speaker 1: The leopard and the fox. A leopard, being no longer
Speaker 1: able by reason of old age to pursue his prey,
Speaker 1: feigned illness and gave out that he would confer great
Speaker 1: favors upon any animal that would cure him. A cunning
Speaker 1: fox heard of the proclamation and lost no time in
Speaker 1: visiting the leopard, first making himself look as much like
Speaker 1: a physician as he could. On seeing him, the leopard
Speaker 1: declared that such a distinguished looking animal could not fail
Speaker 1: to cure him. This so flattered the fox that he
Speaker 1: came near and at once fell a victim to his vanity,
Speaker 1: being unable to flee because of the disguise which fettered
Speaker 1: his limbs. Flattery is a dangerous weapon in the hands
Speaker 1: of an enemy. The hair afraid of his ears. The lion,
Speaker 1: being badly hurt by the horns of a goat, swore
Speaker 1: in a great rage that every animal with horns should
Speaker 1: be banished from his kingdom. A silly hare, seeing the
Speaker 1: shadows of his ears, was in great fear lest they
Speaker 1: should be taken for horns and scampered away. The peacock
Speaker 1: and the crane. A peacock, spreading its gorgeous tail, mocked
Speaker 1: a crane that passed by, ridiculing the ashen hue of
Speaker 1: its plumage, and saying, I am robed like a king
Speaker 1: in gold and purple and all the colors of the rainbow,
Speaker 1: while you have not a bit of color on your wings. True,
Speaker 1: replied the crane. But I soar to the heights of
Speaker 1: heaven and lift up my voice to the stars, while
Speaker 1: you walk below like a cock among the birds of
Speaker 1: the dunghill. Fine feathers don't make fine birds. The mouse
Speaker 1: and the weasel. A little starveling mouse had made his
Speaker 1: way with some difficulty into a basket of corn, where,
Speaker 1: finding the entertainment so good, he stuffed and crammed himself
Speaker 1: to such an extent that when he would have got
Speaker 1: out again, he found the hole too small to allow
Speaker 1: his puffed up body to pass. As he sat at
Speaker 1: the hole groaning over his fate, a weasel, who was
Speaker 1: brought to the spot by his cries, thus addressed him,
Speaker 1: stop there, my friend, and fast till you are thin,
Speaker 1: for you will never come out till you reduce yourself
Speaker 1: to the same condition as when you entered. The Fox
Speaker 1: and the Tiger, a skillful archer coming into the woods,
Speaker 1: directed his arrows so successfully that he slew many wild
Speaker 1: beasts and pursued several others. This put the whole savage
Speaker 1: com mind into a fearful consternation, and made them fly
Speaker 1: to the most retired thickets for refuge. At last, the
Speaker 1: tiger resumed courage, and, bidding them not be afraid, said
Speaker 1: that he alone would engage the enemy, telling them they
Speaker 1: might depend upon his valor and strength to revenge their wrongs.
Speaker 1: In the midst of these threats, while he was lashing
Speaker 1: himself with his tail and tearing up the ground for anger,
Speaker 1: an arrow pierced his ribs and hung by its barbed
Speaker 1: point in his side. He set up a hideous and
Speaker 1: loud roar, occasioned by the anguish which he felt, and
Speaker 1: endeavored to draw out the painful dart with his teeth.
Speaker 1: When the fox approached him, inquiring with an air of surprise,
Speaker 1: who it was that they could have strength and courage
Speaker 1: enough to wound so mighty and valorous a beast, ah
Speaker 1: said the tiger, I was mistaken in my reckoning. It
Speaker 1: was that invincible man Yonder. There was always some vulnerable
Speaker 1: point in the strongest armor. The fox and the Turkeys.
Speaker 1: A fox bied some turkeys roosting in a tree. He
Speaker 1: managed to attract their attention, and then ran about the tree,
Speaker 1: pretending to climb, walked on his hind legs, and did
Speaker 1: all sorts of tricks. Filled with fear, the turkeys watched
Speaker 1: every one of his movements until they became dizzy, and
Speaker 1: one by one fell from their safe perch. By too
Speaker 1: much attention to danger, we may fall victims to it.
Speaker 1: The eagle, the cat, and the wild sow. An eagle
Speaker 1: had made her nest at the top of a lofty oak.
Speaker 1: A cat, having found a convenient hole, lived with her
Speaker 1: kittens in the middle of the trunk, and a wild
Speaker 1: sow with her young, had taken up shelter in a
Speaker 1: hollow at its foot. The cat resolved to destroy by
Speaker 1: her arts this chance made colony. She climbed to the
Speaker 1: nest of the eagle and said, destruction is preparing for
Speaker 1: you and me too. The wild sow, whom you may
Speaker 1: see daily digging up the earth, wishes to uproot the
Speaker 1: oak that she may, on its fall seize our families
Speaker 1: as food. Then she crept down to the cave of
Speaker 1: the sow and said, your children are in great danger,
Speaker 1: for as soon as you shall go out with your
Speaker 1: litter to find food, the eagle is prepared to pounce
Speaker 1: upon one of your little pigs. When night came, she
Speaker 1: went forth with silent foot and obtained food for herself
Speaker 1: and her kittens, But feigning to be afraid, she kept
Speaker 1: the lookout all through the day. Meanwhile, the eagle, full
Speaker 1: of fear of the sow, sat still on the branches,
Speaker 1: and the sow, terrified by the eagle, did not dare
Speaker 1: to go out from her cave. And thus they, each
Speaker 1: with their families, perished from hunger. Those who star up
Speaker 1: enmities are not to be trusted. End of Section ten.
Speaker 1: The peacock and the magpie, the birds once met together
Speaker 1: to choose a king, and among others. The peacock was
Speaker 1: a candidate. Spreading his showy tail and stalking up and
Speaker 1: down with affected grandeur. He caught the eyes of the
Speaker 1: silly multitude by his brilliant appearance, and was elected with acclamation.
Speaker 1: The magpie then stepped forth into the midst of the assembly,
Speaker 1: and thus addressed the new King. May it please your
Speaker 1: Majesty elect to permit a humbler admirer to propose a question,
Speaker 1: As our King, we put our lives and fortunes in
Speaker 1: your hands, If therefore the eagle, the vulture, and the
Speaker 1: kite should make a descent upon us, what means would
Speaker 1: you take for our defense? This pithy question opened the
Speaker 1: eyes of the birds to the weakness of their choice,
Speaker 1: and they canceled the election. The two goats. Two goats
Speaker 1: started at the same moment from opposite ends to cross
Speaker 1: a rude bridge that was only wide enough for one
Speaker 1: to cross at a time. Meeting in the middle of
Speaker 1: the bridge, neither would give way to the other. They
Speaker 1: locked horns and fought for the right of way until
Speaker 1: they both fell into the torrent below and were drowned.
Speaker 1: The dove and the ant. An ant went to the
Speaker 1: bank of a river to quench its thirst, and, being
Speaker 1: carried away by the rush of the stream, was on
Speaker 1: the point of being drowned. A dove sitting on a
Speaker 1: tree overhanging the water, plucked the leaf and let it
Speaker 1: fall into the stream close to her. The ant, climbing
Speaker 1: on it, floated in safety to the bank. Shortly afterwards,
Speaker 1: a bird care came close and stood under the tree
Speaker 1: and laid his lime twigs for the dove which sat
Speaker 1: in the branches. The ant, perceiving his design, stung him
Speaker 1: in the foot. He suddenly threw down the twigs, and
Speaker 1: thereupon made the dove take wing. The grateful heart will
Speaker 1: always find opportunities to show its gratitude. The eagle and
Speaker 1: the beetle. The eagle and the beetle were at enmity together,
Speaker 1: and they destroyed one another's nests. The eagle gave the
Speaker 1: first provocation is seizing upon and in eating the young
Speaker 1: ones of the beetle. The beetle got by stealth at
Speaker 1: the eagle's eggs and rolled them out of the nest,
Speaker 1: and followed the eagle even into the presence of Jupiter.
Speaker 1: On the eagle making his complaint, Jupiter ordered him to
Speaker 1: make his nest in his lap. And while Jupiter had
Speaker 1: the eggs in his lap, the beetle came flying about him,
Speaker 1: and Jupiter, rising up unawares to drive him away from
Speaker 1: his head, threw down the eggs and broke them. The
Speaker 1: week often revenged themselves on those who used them ill,
Speaker 1: even though they be the more powerful. The mule. A
Speaker 1: mule frolicsome from want of work and from overmuch corn,
Speaker 1: galloped about in a very extravagant manner, and said to himself,
Speaker 1: my father surely was a high mettled racer, and I
Speaker 1: am his own child in speed and spirit. On the
Speaker 1: next day, being driven a long journey and feeling very weary,
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, in a disconsolate tone, I must have made
Speaker 1: a mistake. My father, after all, could have been only
Speaker 1: an ass the cat, the weasel, and the rabbit. While
Speaker 1: a rabbit was absent from his hole one day, a
Speaker 1: weasel took possession of it. On the rabbit's return, seeing
Speaker 1: the weasel's nose sticking out, he said, you must leave
Speaker 1: this hole immediately. There is only room for one, and
Speaker 1: it has always belonged to me and my father's before me.
Speaker 1: The more reason that you should give it up now,
Speaker 1: said the weasel, and leave its possession to me. As
Speaker 1: they could not settle thee dispute, they agreed to leave
Speaker 1: the question of ownership to a wise old cat, to
Speaker 1: whom they went without more ado. I am deaf, said
Speaker 1: the cat. Put your noses close to my ears. No
Speaker 1: sooner had they done so, than she clapped a paw
Speaker 1: upon each of them and killed them both. These strong
Speaker 1: are apt to settle all questions by the rule of might.
Speaker 1: The rat and the frog. A rat in an evil
Speaker 1: day made acquaintance with a frog, and they set off
Speaker 1: on their travels together. The frog, on pretense of great
Speaker 1: affection and of keeping his companion out of harm's way,
Speaker 1: tied the rat's foot to his own hind leg, and
Speaker 1: thus they proceeded for some distance by land. Presently they
Speaker 1: came to some water, and the frog, bidding the rat
Speaker 1: have good courage, began to swim across. They had, scarcely, however,
Speaker 1: arrived midway when the frog took a sudden plunge to
Speaker 1: the bottom, dragging the unfortunate rat after him. But the
Speaker 1: struggling and floundering of the rat made so great a
Speaker 1: commotion in the water that it attracted the attention of
Speaker 1: a kite, who, pouncing down and bearing off the rat,
Speaker 1: carried away the frog at the same time in his train.
Speaker 1: Inconsiderate and ill matched alliances generally and in ruin and
Speaker 1: the the man who compasses the destruction of his neighbor
Speaker 1: is often caught in his own snare. The widow and
Speaker 1: the sheep. There was a certain widow who had an
Speaker 1: only sheep, and wishing to make the most of his wool,
Speaker 1: she sheared him so closely that she cut his skin
Speaker 1: as well as his fleece. The sheep, smarting under this treatment,
Speaker 1: cried out, why do you torture me thus? What will
Speaker 1: my blood add to the weight of the wool. If
Speaker 1: you want my flesh name, send for the butcher, who
Speaker 1: will put me out of my misery at once. But
Speaker 1: if you want my fleece, send for the shearer who
Speaker 1: will clip my wool without drawing my blood. Economy may
Speaker 1: be carried too far. The man bitten by a dog.
Speaker 1: A man who had been bitten by a dog was
Speaker 1: going about, asking who could cure him. One that met
Speaker 1: him said, sir, if you would be cured, take a
Speaker 1: bit of bread and dip it in the blood of
Speaker 1: the wound, and give it to the dog that bit you.
Speaker 1: The man smiled and said, if I were to follow
Speaker 1: your advice, I would be bitten by all the dogs
Speaker 1: in the city. He who proclaims himself ready to buy
Speaker 1: up his enemies will never want a supply of them.
Speaker 1: The horse and the wolf. A wolf saw a horse
Speaker 1: grazing in a field. Putting on a grave air, he
Speaker 1: approached him and said, sir, you must be very ill.
Speaker 1: I have some skill as a physician, and if you
Speaker 1: will tell me where your ailment is, I shall be
Speaker 1: glad to be of service. Said the horse. If you
Speaker 1: will examine my foot, you will find what ails me.
Speaker 1: But as the wily wolf approached him with a kick,
Speaker 1: he sent him flying into the air. The goatherd and
Speaker 1: the goats. It was a stormy day and the snow
Speaker 1: was falling fast when a goatherd drove his goats, all
Speaker 1: white with snow, into a desert cave for shelter. There
Speaker 1: he found that a herd of wild goats, more numerous
Speaker 1: and larger than his own, had already taken possession, so,
Speaker 1: thinking to secure them all, he left his own goats
Speaker 1: to take care of themselves, and through the branches which
Speaker 1: he had brought for them, to the wildgoats to browse on.
Speaker 1: But when the weather cleared up, he found his own
Speaker 1: goats had perished from hunger, while the wildgoats were off
Speaker 1: and away to the hills and woods. So the goatherd
Speaker 1: returned a laughing stock to his neighbors, having failed to
Speaker 1: gain the wildgoats, and having lost his own. Those who
Speaker 1: neglect their old friends for the sake of new ones
Speaker 1: are rightly served if they lose both. The goose with
Speaker 1: the golden eggs a certain man had the good fortune
Speaker 1: to possess a goose that laid a golden egg every day.
Speaker 1: But dissatisfied with so slow an income, and thinking to
Speaker 1: seize the whole treasure at once, he killed the goose,
Speaker 1: and cutting her open, found her just what any other
Speaker 1: goose would be much once more, and loses all. The
Speaker 1: old woman and the wine jar. An old woman found
Speaker 1: an empty jar which had lately been full of prime
Speaker 1: old wine, and which still retained the fragrant smell of
Speaker 1: its former contents. She greedily placed it several times to
Speaker 1: her nose, and, drawing it backwards and forward, said, oh,
Speaker 1: most delicious, How nice must the wine itself have been,
Speaker 1: when it leaves behind in every vessel which contained it
Speaker 1: so sweet a perfume. The memory of a good deed
Speaker 1: lives the ass carrying salt. A certain huckster who kept
Speaker 1: an ass, hearing that salt was to be had cheap
Speaker 1: at the seaside drove his ass thither to buy some.
Speaker 1: Having loaded the beast as much as he could bear,
Speaker 1: he was driving him home when, as they were passing
Speaker 1: a slippery ledge of rock, the ass fell into the
Speaker 1: stream below, and the salt being melted, the ass was
Speaker 1: relieved of his burden, and, having gained the bank with ease,
Speaker 1: pursued his journey onward. Light in body and in spirit.
Speaker 1: The huckster soon afterwards set off for the seashore for
Speaker 1: some more salt, and loaded the ass, if possible, yet
Speaker 1: more heavily than before. On their return, as they crossed
Speaker 1: the stream into which he had formerly fallen, the ass
Speaker 1: fell down on purpose, and by dissolving the salt, was
Speaker 1: again released from his load. The master, provoked at the loss,
Speaker 1: and thinking how he might cure him of this trick,
Speaker 1: on his next journey to the coast, freighted the beast
Speaker 1: with a load of sponges. When they arrived at the
Speaker 1: same stream as before, the ass was at his old
Speaker 1: tricks again and rolled himself into the water. But he
Speaker 1: found to his cost, as he proceeded homeward, that instead
Speaker 1: of lightening his burden, he had more than doubled its weight.
Speaker 1: The same measures will not suit all circumstances. The gnat
Speaker 1: and the bull. A gnat that had been buzzing about
Speaker 1: the head of a bull at length, settling himself down
Speaker 1: upon his horn, begged his pardon for incommoding him. But
Speaker 1: if says he my weight at all inconveniences you pray,
Speaker 1: say so, and I will be off in a moment. Oh,
Speaker 1: never trouble your head about, that, says the bull, For
Speaker 1: tis all one to me, whether you go or stay.
Speaker 1: And to say the truth, I did not know you
Speaker 1: were there. The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit.
Speaker 1: The lion and the gnat. As a gnat was buzzing
Speaker 1: around a lion, the lion said to him, how dare
Speaker 1: you approach me near? Be off, or I will kill
Speaker 1: you with the least stroke of my paw. The gnat,
Speaker 1: knowing the advantage of his small size and his alertness,
Speaker 1: immediately challenged the boaster to combat, and, alighting first upon
Speaker 1: his nose and then upon his tail, made the lion
Speaker 1: so furious that he injured himself grievously with his paws.
Speaker 1: As the gnat flew away, he boasted of his own
Speaker 1: prowess in thus defeating the king of beasts without the
Speaker 1: slightest injury to himself, but in his case airlessness. He
Speaker 1: flew directly into a spider's web, and the spider instantly
Speaker 1: seized and killed him. The lion, the ass, and the
Speaker 1: fox hunting. The lion, the ass, and the fox formed
Speaker 1: a party to go out hunting. They took a large booty,
Speaker 1: and when the sport was ended, bethought themselves of having
Speaker 1: a hearty meal. The lion bade the ass allot to spoil,
Speaker 1: so dividing it into three equal parts. The ass begged
Speaker 1: his friends to make their choice, at which the lion,
Speaker 1: in great indignation, fell upon the ass and tore him
Speaker 1: to pieces. He then bade the fox make a division, who,
Speaker 1: gathering the hole into one great heap, reserved but the
Speaker 1: smallest mite for himself. Ah, friend, says the lion, who
Speaker 1: taught you to make so equitable a division? I wanted
Speaker 1: no other lesson, replied the fox, than the Ass's fate
Speaker 1: better be wise by misfortunes of others than by your own.
Speaker 1: The dog whose ears were cropped a dog complained of
Speaker 1: the cruelty of her master in cutting off her ears,
Speaker 1: and was so ashamed of her appearance that she resolved
Speaker 1: to stay in her kennel with her family. A friendly
Speaker 1: hunting dog said to her, if you had been peaceful
Speaker 1: and not always fighting, you would have saved your ears
Speaker 1: and your good looks. If you will fight, it is
Speaker 1: a kindness to crop your ears that they may not
Speaker 1: give your enemy the advantage. The wind and the sun
Speaker 1: a dispute once arose between the wind and the sun,
Speaker 1: which was the stronger of the two, and they agreed
Speaker 1: to settle the point upon this issue that whichever of
Speaker 1: the two soonest made a traveler take off his cloak
Speaker 1: should be au did the more powerful. The wind began
Speaker 1: and blew with all his might and main a blast,
Speaker 1: cold and fierce as a Thracian storm. But the stronger
Speaker 1: he blew, the closer the traveler wrapped his cloak around him,
Speaker 1: and the tighter he grasped it with his hands, then
Speaker 1: broke out the sun with his welcome beams. He dispersed
Speaker 1: the vapor and the cold. The traveler felt the genial warmth,
Speaker 1: and as the sun shone brighter and brighter, he sat down,
Speaker 1: quite overcome with the heat, and taking off his cloak,
Speaker 1: cast it on the ground. Thus the sun was declared
Speaker 1: the conquerer. And it has ever been deemed that persuasion
Speaker 1: is better than force, and that the sunshine of a
Speaker 1: kind and gentle manner will sooner lay open a poor
Speaker 1: man's heart than all the threatenings and force of blustering authority.
Speaker 1: The wild Boar and the Fox. A wild boar was
Speaker 1: wetting his tusks against a tree, when a fox coming
Speaker 1: by asked why he did so, For said he, I
Speaker 1: see no reason for it. There is neither hunter nor
Speaker 1: hound in sight, nor any other danger that I can
Speaker 1: see at hand. True, replied the boar. But when that
Speaker 1: danger does arise, I shall have something else to do
Speaker 1: than to sharpen my weapons. It is too late to
Speaker 1: wet the sword when the trumpet sounds, to dry it.
Speaker 1: End of Section eleven. The Hunter and the Wolf. A
Speaker 1: greedy hunter one day shot a fine deer, and ere
Speaker 1: he could dress it. A pretty fawn came that way,
Speaker 1: and an arrow brought it to the ground. A boar
Speaker 1: now chanced to be passing, and the hunter wounded it
Speaker 1: so that it lay upon the ground as if dead.
Speaker 1: Not satisfied with this game, he must needs pursue a
Speaker 1: partridge that came flowing near, and while he was doing so,
Speaker 1: the wounded boar regained enough strength to spring upon him
Speaker 1: and kill him. A wolf came that way, in seeing
Speaker 1: the four dead bodies, said, here is food for a month.
Speaker 1: But I will save the best and be content to
Speaker 1: day with the bowstring. But when he sees the string,
Speaker 1: it loosened the fixed arrow, which shot him through the heart.
Speaker 1: The greedy man and the miser cannot enjoy their gains.
Speaker 1: The astronomer. An astronomer used to walk out every night
Speaker 1: to gaze upon the stars. It happened one night that,
Speaker 1: with his whole thoughts wrapped up in the skies, he
Speaker 1: fell into a well. One who heard his cries ran
Speaker 1: up to him and said, while you were trying to
Speaker 1: pry into the mysteries of heaven, you overlook the common
Speaker 1: objects under your feet. We should never look so high
Speaker 1: is to miss seeing the things that are around us.
Speaker 1: The Bull and the frogs Two bulls lived in the
Speaker 1: same herd, and each aspiring to be the leader and master,
Speaker 1: they finally engaged in a fierce battle. An old frog,
Speaker 1: who sat on the bank of a stream nearby, began
Speaker 1: to groan and to quake with fear. A thoughtless young
Speaker 1: frog said to the old one, why need you be afraid?
Speaker 1: What is it to you that the bulls fight for supremacy?
Speaker 1: Do you not see, said the old frog, that one
Speaker 1: must defeat the other, and that the defeated bull, being
Speaker 1: driven from the field, will be forced to stay in
Speaker 1: the marshes, and will thus trample us to death. The
Speaker 1: poor and weak are often made to suffer for the
Speaker 1: follies of the great. The thief and his mother a schoolboy,
Speaker 1: he stole a horn book from one of his schoolfellows
Speaker 1: and brought it home to his mother. Instead of chastising him,
Speaker 1: she rather encouraged him in the deed. In course of time,
Speaker 1: the boy, now grown into a man, began to steal
Speaker 1: things of greater value, until at last, being caught in
Speaker 1: the very act, he was brought to the judge and
Speaker 1: sentenced to be hung. As he was being led to
Speaker 1: the scaffold, the mother bowed herself to the ground with grief.
Speaker 1: A neighbor seeing her, thus said to her, it is
Speaker 1: too late for you to moan and sob Now. If
Speaker 1: you had been as much grieved when he committed his
Speaker 1: first theft, you would have corrected him in time, and
Speaker 1: thus have saved yourself this sorrowful day, nip evil in
Speaker 1: the bud. The man and his two wives. In days
Speaker 1: when a man was allowed more wives than one, a
Speaker 1: middle aged bachelor who could be called neither young nor old,
Speaker 1: and whose hair was only just beginning to turn gray,
Speaker 1: must needs fall in love with two women at once
Speaker 1: and marry them both. The one was young and blooming,
Speaker 1: and wished her husband to appear as useful as herself.
Speaker 1: The other was somewhat more advanced in age, and as
Speaker 1: anxious that her husband should appear a suitable match for her. So,
Speaker 1: while the young one seized every opportunity of pulling out
Speaker 1: the good man's gray hairs, the old one was as
Speaker 1: industrious in plucking out every black hair she could find,
Speaker 1: till he found that between the one and the other,
Speaker 1: he had not a hair left. He that submits his
Speaker 1: principles to the influence and caprices of opposite parties will
Speaker 1: end in having no principles at all. The heifer, the goat,
Speaker 1: the sheep, and the lion. A heifer, a goat, a sheep,
Speaker 1: and a lion formed a partnership and agreed to divide
Speaker 1: their earnings. The goat, having snared a stag. They sent
Speaker 1: for the lion to divide it for them. The lion said,
Speaker 1: I will make four parts. The first shall be mine
Speaker 1: as judge, the second because I am strongest, the third
Speaker 1: because I am bravest, And the fourth I will kill
Speaker 1: anyone who dares touch it. He who steals a part
Speaker 1: will steal the hole. The camel and the travelers. Two
Speaker 1: travelers on a desert saw a camel in the distance
Speaker 1: and were greatly frightened at his huge appearance, thinking it
Speaker 1: to be some huge monster. While they hid behind some
Speaker 1: low shrubs, the animal came nearer, and they discovered it
Speaker 1: was only a harmless camel, which had excited their fears.
Speaker 1: Distance exaggerates dangers. The swan and the goose. A certain
Speaker 1: rich man bought in the market a goose and a swan.
Speaker 1: He fed the one for his table and kept the
Speaker 1: other for the sake of its song. When the time
Speaker 1: came for killing the goose, the cook went to take
Speaker 1: him at night when it was dark, and he was
Speaker 1: not able to distinguish one bird from the other, and
Speaker 1: he caught the swan instead of the goose. The swan,
Speaker 1: threatened with death, burst forth into song, and thus made
Speaker 1: himself known by his voice, and preserved his life by
Speaker 1: his melody. Sweet words may deliver us from peril when
Speaker 1: harsh words would fail. The dolphins and the sprat. The
Speaker 1: dolphins and the whales were at war with one another,
Speaker 1: and the sprat stepped in and endeavored to separate them.
Speaker 1: But one of the dolphins cried out, we would rather
Speaker 1: perish in the contest than be reconciled by you. The
Speaker 1: shepherd and the sea. A shepherd moved down his flock
Speaker 1: to feed near the shore, and beholding the sea lying
Speaker 1: in a smooth calm, he was seized with a strong
Speaker 1: desire to sail over it. So he sold all his
Speaker 1: sheep and bought a cargo of dates, and loaded a
Speaker 1: vessel and set sail. He had not gone far when
Speaker 1: a storm arose. His ship was wrecked, and his dates
Speaker 1: and everything lost, and he himself, with difficulty, escaped to land.
Speaker 1: Not long after, when the sea was again calm, and
Speaker 1: one of his friends came up to him and was
Speaker 1: admiring its repose. He said, have a care, my good fellow,
Speaker 1: of that smooth surface. It is only looking out for
Speaker 1: your dates. The bees, the drones, and the wasp. Some
Speaker 1: bees had built their comb in the hollow trunk of
Speaker 1: an oak. The drones asserted that it was their doing
Speaker 1: and belonged to them. The cause was brought into court
Speaker 1: before Judge Wasp. Knowing something of the parties, he thus
Speaker 1: addressed them, the plaintiffs and defendants are so much alike
Speaker 1: in shape and color as to render the ownership a
Speaker 1: doubtful matter. Let each party take a hive to itself
Speaker 1: and build up a new comb that, from the shape
Speaker 1: of the cells and the taste of the honey, the
Speaker 1: lawful proprietors of the property in dispute may appear. The
Speaker 1: bees readily assented to the Wasp's plan. The drones declined it,
Speaker 1: whereupon the Wasp gave judgment. It is clear now who
Speaker 1: made the comb and who cannot make it. The court
Speaker 1: adjudges the honey to the bees. Professions are best tested
Speaker 1: by deeds. The wolf, the goat, and the kid. As
Speaker 1: an old goat was going forth to pasture, she carefully
Speaker 1: latched her to her and bid her kid not to
Speaker 1: open it to anyone who could not give this password.
Speaker 1: Beware of the wolf and all his race. A wolf
Speaker 1: happened to be passing and overheard what the old goat said.
Speaker 1: When she was gone, he went to the door, and, knocking, said,
Speaker 1: beware of the wolf and all his race. But the kid,
Speaker 1: peering through a crack, said, show me a white paw,
Speaker 1: and I will open the door. As the wolf could
Speaker 1: not do this, he had to depart no better than
Speaker 1: he came. Two sureties are better than one, the fox
Speaker 1: and the hedgehog. A fox, while crossing over a river,
Speaker 1: was driven by the stream into a narrow gorge, and
Speaker 1: lay there for a long time, unable to get out,
Speaker 1: covered with myriads of horse flies that had fastened themselves
Speaker 1: upon him. A hedgehog, who was wandering in that direction,
Speaker 1: saw him, and, taking compassion on him, asked him if
Speaker 1: he should drive away the flies that were so tormenting him.
Speaker 1: But the fox begged him to do nothing of the sort.
Speaker 1: Why not, asked the hedgehog, Because, replied the fox, these
Speaker 1: flies that are upon me now are already full and
Speaker 1: draw but little blood. But should you remove them, a
Speaker 1: swarm of fresh and hungry ones will come, who will
Speaker 1: not leave a drop of blood in my body. When
Speaker 1: we throw off rulers are dependents who have already made
Speaker 1: the most of us. We do but for the most
Speaker 1: part lay ourselves open to others who will make us
Speaker 1: bleed yet more freely. The brazier and his dog. A
Speaker 1: brazier had a little dog, which was a great favorite
Speaker 1: of his master and his constant companion. While he hammered
Speaker 1: away at his metals, the dog slept. But when, on
Speaker 1: the other hand, he went to dinner and began to eat,
Speaker 1: the dog woke up and wagged his tail, as if
Speaker 1: he would ask for a share of his meal. His
Speaker 1: master one day pretended to be angry, and, shaking his
Speaker 1: stick at him, said, you wretch, a little sluggard. What
Speaker 1: shall I do to you? While I am hammering on
Speaker 1: the anvil, you sleep on the mat, And when I
Speaker 1: begin to eat after my toil, you wake up and
Speaker 1: wag your tail for food. Do you not know that
Speaker 1: labor is the source of every blessing, and that none
Speaker 1: but those who work are entitled to eat. The wild
Speaker 1: ass and the Lion. A wild ass and a lion
Speaker 1: entered into an alliance that they might capture the beasts
Speaker 1: of the forest with the greater ease. The lion agreed
Speaker 1: to assist the wild ass with strength, while the wild
Speaker 1: ass gave the lion the benefit of his greater speed.
Speaker 1: When they had taken as many beasts as their necessities required,
Speaker 1: the lion undertook to distribute the prey, and for this
Speaker 1: purpose he divided it into three shares. I will take
Speaker 1: the first share, he said, because I am king, and
Speaker 1: the second share as a partner with you in the chase.
Speaker 1: And the third share, believe me, will be a source
Speaker 1: of great evil to you unless you willingly resign it
Speaker 1: to me and set off as fast as you can
Speaker 1: might makes right. The father and his two daughters. A
Speaker 1: man had two daughters, the one married to a gardener
Speaker 1: and the other to a tile maker. After a while,
Speaker 1: he went to the daughter who was married to the
Speaker 1: gardener and inquired how she was and how all things
Speaker 1: went with her. She said, all things are prospering with me,
Speaker 1: and I have only one wish that there may be
Speaker 1: a heavy fall of rain in order that the plants
Speaker 1: may be well watered. Not long after, he went to
Speaker 1: the daughter who had married the tile maker, and likewise
Speaker 1: inquired of her how she fared. She replied, I want
Speaker 1: for nothing, and only have one wish that the dry
Speaker 1: weather may continue, and the sun shine hot and bright,
Speaker 1: so that the bricks might be dried. He said to her,
Speaker 1: if your sister wishes for rain and you for dry weather,
Speaker 1: with which of the two am I to join my wishes?
Speaker 1: The fir tree and the bramble. A fir tree said
Speaker 1: boastingly to the bramble, you are useful for nothing at all,
Speaker 1: while I am everywhere used for roofs and houses. The
Speaker 1: bramble made answer, you, poor creature, if you would only
Speaker 1: call to mind the axes and saws which are about
Speaker 1: to hew you down, you would have reason to wish
Speaker 1: that you had grown up a bramble and not a
Speaker 1: fir tree. Better poverty without care than riches. With the
Speaker 1: farmer and his sons. A farmer, being on the point
Speaker 1: of death, wished to ensure from his sons the same
Speaker 1: attention to his form as he himself had given it.
Speaker 1: He called them to his bedside and said, my sons,
Speaker 1: there was a great treasure hid in one of my vineyards.
Speaker 1: The sons, after his death, took their spades and mattocks,
Speaker 1: and carefully dug over every portion of their land. They
Speaker 1: found no treasure, but the vines repaid their labor by
Speaker 1: an extraordinary and superabundant crop. The cat and the birds
Speaker 1: a cat, hearing that the birds in a certain aviary
Speaker 1: were ailing, dressed himself up as a physician, and taking
Speaker 1: with him his cane and the instruments becoming his profession,
Speaker 1: went to the aviary, knocked at the door, and inquired
Speaker 1: of the inmates how they all did, saying that if
Speaker 1: they were ill, he would be happy to prescribe for
Speaker 1: them and cure them. Replied, we are all very well
Speaker 1: and shall continue so if you will only be good
Speaker 1: enough to go away and leave us as we are.
Speaker 1: The stag, the Wolf and the sheep. A stag asked
Speaker 1: a sheep to lend him a measure of wheat, and
Speaker 1: said that the wolf would be his surety. The sheep,
Speaker 1: fearing some fraud was intended, excused herself, saying, the wolf
Speaker 1: is accustomed to seize what he wants and to run off,
Speaker 1: And you too can quickly outstrip me in your rapid flight.
Speaker 1: How then shall I be able to find you when
Speaker 1: the day of payment comes. Two blacks do not make
Speaker 1: one white. End of Section twelve