“COME, my dears,” said a Cock to his hens one morning; “I am hungry, and so are you. Let us go out. I will scratch up some nice worms and beetles for our breakfast.”
The hens stood waiting while he scratched.
But the first thing that he found was neither a beetle nor a worm but a precious stone. It may have been a ruby or an emerald.
“Dear me!” said the Cock; “what is this? a Jewel! How glad anybody else might be to have found such a prize; but I have no need of it. I would rather have a few kernels of good corn than all the Jewels in the world.”
“And so would we,” said the hens. “Nothing can do us good if it is not a thing that we ourselves want.”
ONCE there was a beautiful Hound. He had long, silky ears and a smooth, bright skin; and he was not only beautiful but strong and swift, and a faithful servant. Whenever his master went hunting, the Hound went with him and chased the deer. After many years the Hound grew old and feeble, but still he followed his master, with the other dogs.
One day a stag had been chased till it was almost tired out, and the old Hound came up with it and seized it; but his teeth were old and broken and could not hold fast, so that the stag gave a sudden bound and got away. Just then the master rode up, and seeing what had happened, was very angry. He took his whip to strike his faithful old Hound.
“Hold! hold! O dear Master,” said he, “do not strike me. I meant to do well. It is not my fault that I am old. Remember what I have been, if you do not like me as I am now.”
JUPITER having determined, it is said, to appoint a sovereign over the birds, proclamation was made that on a certain day the candidates should present themselves before him, and he would choose the most beautiful to be king.
The Jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, yet wishing to rule over the birds, searched through woods and fields for feathers which had fallen from the wings of his companions, and stuck them all over his body.
When the appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembled, the Jackdaw made his appearance in his many-feathered finery, and Jupiter proposed to make him king.
Upon seeing this, the other birds were indignant, and each plucking from the Jackdaw his own kind of feathers, they left the proposed king a plain Jackdaw with no claim to superior beauty.
THERE was once a man who had a Donkey and a little pet Dog. The Donkey worked all day in the fields and slept in the barn at night.
But the Lap Dog frisked about and played, jumping in his master’s lap whenever he pleased, feeding from his hand, and sleeping by his bed at night.
The Donkey grumbled a great deal at this. “How hard I work!” said he, “and I never get any pay but blows and hard words. Why should I not be petted like that wretched little Dog? It may be partly my own fault. Perhaps if I played with my master as he does, I too might be treated like him.”
So the Donkey pushed his way into the house, and jumped up on his master’s knee, putting his forefeet on his shoulders and giving a loud bray.
The master, almost deafened by the noise and in danger from the great clumsy creature, called out, “Help! help!” and the servants, running in, drove the Donkey out of doors with sticks and stones.
A DOE, blind in one eye, used to graze as near as she could to the edge of a cliff, so that she might keep her blind eye to the water, while with the other she kept watch against the approach of hunters or hounds on the shore.
Some boatmen sailing by saw her standing thus on the edge of a cliff, and finding that she did not perceive their approach, they came very close, and taking aim, shot her.
Finding herself wounded, she said, “O unhappy creature that I am, to take such care as I did against the dangers of the land, and then, after all, to find this seashore, to which I had come for safety, so much more perilous!”
WHEN man first beheld the Camel, he was so awed by his vast size that he fled away from him in terror.
But after a time, perceiving the meekness and gentleness of the animal’s temper, he summoned courage to approach him. The Camel so readily obeyed the commands that were given him, and seemed so wanting in spirit, that at last the man put a bridle in his mouth and set a child to guide him.
Since then Camels are valued for the service they render.
A WOLF met a Dog, and seeing that he looked fat and sleek, said to him, “How does it happen, my friend, that you are so plump, while I, although I run after game day and night, am half starved?”
“Why,” said the Dog, “I do not have to run after my food. I only guard the house at night, and all the family pet me and feed me with scraps from their own plates. Come and live with me, and you shall be as well off as I am.”
“That I should like,” said the Wolf. “I will at least go with you and try the life.”
As they trotted along the road together, the Wolf saw a mark on the Dog’s neck, and asked him what it was.
“Oh, that is nothing,” said the Dog; “only a little mark made by the fretting of my chain.”
“Do you wear a chain?” asked the Wolf; “and do you mean to say that you are tied up?”
“Why, yes,” said the Dog; “they tie me in the daytime, but at night I can go where I please. It is a bit annoying at first, but one soon gets used to it.”
“Good-by,” said the Wolf; “that is enough for me. Though I may not be fat, I will at least be free.”
ON THE bank of a river grew a tall Oak Tree. It stood with its roots firm in the ground, and its head high in the air, and said to itself: “How strong I am! Nothing shall make me bow. I look down upon all the other trees.”
But one day there was a storm. The terrible unseen wind came and struck the proud Oak. Crash! went the trunk, down came all the beautiful branches, and the Tree fell into the river. As the water carried it away, it passed a Reed that grew on the bank. The little Reed stood up tall and slender, and looked at the poor broken Tree.
“O Reed,” said the Tree, “how did it happen that you were not broken down and spoiled when the wind came? You are so little and weak, and I was so strong and proud.”
“Ah, poor Tree!” said the Reed, “that is just the reason that the wind did not hurt me. I bent low until it had gone by, but you stood stiff and tried to stop it on its way. No one can stop the wind. It must go where it is sent, but it will not hurt those who are not proud and stubborn.”
A DOG once gave chase to a Hare. Having not long since made a good meal, the Dog was not hungry, and so was not in haste to end the sport by killing the Hare.
At times he would snap at his prey, and at times play with him and lick him with his tongue, till at last the bewildered Hare cried:
“Pray tell me, are you an enemy or a friend? If a friend, why do you bite me so? and if an enemy, why do you caress me?”
No one can trust a person who is neither the one thing nor the other.
THE Pigeons, terrified by the frequent appearance of a Kite, asked the Hawk to help them.
“You are the only bird of our acquaintance,” they said, “that can protect us from our enemy. If you will take care of us, we shall feel safe.”
The Hawk at once consented, and took up his abode in the dovecote. But when the Pigeons had let him come in, they found that he slew more of them in a single day than the Kite could possibly pounce upon in a whole year.
The oldest, wisest pigeon among them said: “When we are in trouble, we must not forget that there are other dangers than the ones we are suffering from. There is a proverb among men that tells them to avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease.”
A WAR Horse, ready for battle, with his splendid saddle and jingling bridle, came galloping swiftly along the highroad, his hoofs sounding like thunder on the hard ground.
A poor old Mule, with a heavy load on his back, was going slowly down the same road.
“Out of my way,” said the War Horse, “or I will trample you in the dust!”
The poor Mule made room for him as fast as he could, and the Horse went proudly on his way.
Not long after this the Horse was shot in the eye; and, as he was no longer fit for the army, his fine saddle and bridle were taken off, and he was sold to a farmer, who made him drag heavy loads.
Since he had not been trained to the work, it came hard to him, and he complained bitterly.
The Mule, meeting him soon after, knew him and called out: “Aha! is it you? I thought pride would have a fall some day.”
THE North Wind and the Sun once fell into a dispute as to which was the stronger of the two. They related their most famous exploits, and each ended as he began, by thinking he had the greater power.
Just then a traveler came in sight, and they agreed to test the matter by trying to see which of them could soonest make the traveler remove his cloak.
The boastful North Wind was the first to try, the Sun meanwhile watching behind a gray cloud. He blew a furious blast and nearly tore the cloak from its fastenings; but the Man only held his cloak more closely, and old Boreas spent his strength in vain.
Mortified by his failure to do so simple a thing, the Wind withdrew at last in despair. “I don’t believe you can do it, either,” he said.
Then out came the kindly Sun in all his splendor, dispelling the clouds that had gathered and sending his warmest rays down upon the traveler’s head.
The Man looked up gratefully, but, growing faint with sudden heat, he quickly flung aside his cloak, and hastened for comfort to the nearest shade.
Persuasion is often better than force.
TWO men were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly crossed their path.
One of the men climbed quickly into a tree, and tried to conceal himself in its branches.
Seeing that he must be attacked, the other one fell flat upon the ground; and when the Bear came up, felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, the man held his breath, feigning death.
The Bear soon left him, for it is said a Bear will not touch a dead body.
When the Bear had gone, the man in the tree came down to join his companion, and, as a pleasant joke, inquired, “What was it that the Bear whispered in your ear when he bent over you for so long?”
His friend replied very gravely: “He gave me this bit of advice, ‘Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.’”
TWO Goats started at the same moment, from opposite ends, to cross a rude bridge that was only wide enough for one to cross at a time.
Meeting at the middle of the bridge, neither would yield to the other. They locked horns and fought for the right of way, until both fell into the torrent below and were drowned.
A BULL was once striving with all his might to squeeze himself through a narrow passage which led to his stall.
“I will go through,” said a young Calf, “and show you the way. I have done it many a time.”
“Save yourself the trouble,” said the Bull; “I knew the way before you were born.”
A YOUNG Fawn once said to his Mother: “I do not see, Mother, how it is that you should be so afraid of the dogs. You are larger than a dog, and swifter; and you are much more used to running. Why is it that the mere mention of a hound puts you into such a terrible fright?”
The Mother smiled upon her brave young son. “I know very well,” she said, “that all you say is true. I look at my long legs, and remember all the advantages that you mention, yet when I hear the bark of but a single dog, I faint with terror.”
ONE very hot day a Traveler hired a Mule with his driver to carry some merchandise to a distant place.
The way lay across a sandy plain, and the day being intensely hot, the Traveler called upon the driver to stop for rest. To escape from the direct heat of the sun, which was shining in all its strength, the Traveler proceeded to sit down in the shadow of the Mule.
But a violent dispute arose, for the shadow was sufficient for but one, and the driver, a lusty fellow, rudely pushed the Traveler one side, claiming the spot for himself, saying: “When you hired this Mule of me, you said nothing about the shadow. If now you want that too, you must pay for it.”
The discussion grew so violent that they forgot the Mule, who took advantage of his freedom and ran away. And so, in disputing about the shadow they lost the substance.
A BLIND Man, being stopped in a bad piece of road, met a Lame Man, and entreated him to help him out of the difficulty into which he had fallen.
“How can I,” replied the Lame Man, “since I can scarcely drag myself along? I am lame, and you look very strong.”
“I am strong enough,” said the other. “I could go if I could but see the way.”
“Oh, then we may help each other,” said the Lame Man. “If you will take me on your shoulders, we will seek our fortunes together. I will be eyes for you, and you shall be feet for me.”
“With all my heart,” said the Blind Man. “Let us render each other our mutual services.” So he took his lame companion upon his back, and they traveled on with safety and pleasure.
A RIVER carried down, in its stream, two Pots, one made of Earthenware and the other of Brass.
The Brass Pot was disposed to be social. “Since we must be companions, let us be friendly,” he said. “In union is strength. Though we are carried away against our will, it is of no use to repine. We may yet see much good.”
But the Earthen Pot said: “I beg you not to come so near me. I am as much afraid of you as of the river; for if you do but touch me ever so slightly, I shall be sure to break. To be really social and friendly people must have ways and needs in common.”
THERE was once a Frog who made proclamation that he was a learned physician, able to heal all diseases.
He went so far as to tell the beasts that it was their own fault that they were ill, since if they would but submit to his treatment, he would restore them to perfect health.
A Fox, hearing it, asked: “How is it, since you can do such great things for others, you do not first try to mend your own ugly gait and your wrinkled skin? They who assume to help others should first improve themselves.”
A WOLF once clothed himself in the fleece of a sheep, and being mistaken for one of the flock, got into the fold. He had a chance to make way with as many sheep as he liked; but his time for doing so was short, for the Shepherd, coming into the fold during the night, discovered him.
Tying him to a tree, he left him hanging there, still in his sheep’s dress, as a warning to other wolves who might be prowling about.
Some shepherds who chanced to pass by saw him there, and stopped to inquire why sheep should be thus served. As they came nearer and saw that it was not a sheep but a Wolf, the Shepherd said, “This is the way I serve a Wolf, even though I find him wearing the habit of a sheep.”
A BOY once thrust his hand into a pitcher nearly filled with Filberts. He grasped as many as his hand could possibly hold; but when he tried to draw out his closed fist, the narrowness of the neck prevented him from doing so. Unwilling to lose his nuts, yet unable to get them by drawing out his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his hard fortune. A person standing by finally gave him this wise and reasonable advice:
“Be satisfied to take half as many, my boy, and you will get them easily.”
A MISER who had buried a lump of gold in the ground came to the spot every day to look at it.
Finding one day that it had been stolen, he began to tear his hair and lament loudly.
A neighbor, seeing him, said: “Pray do not grieve so. Bury a stone in the same hole and fancy it is the gold. It will serve you just as well, for when the gold was there you made no use of it.”
A WIDOW who had great reputation as a housekeeper, because she was so fond of cleaning, was waited upon by two little Maids.
She herself was wakened before dawn by the crowing of the cock, and would rise at once and call her Maids.
The Maids, who had no taste for such excessive tidiness, and who were kept weary by such constant labor, held a spite against the poor cock for rousing their mistress so early.
“If it were not for him,” they said, “the mistress would sleep till the sun is well up. Let us kill the cock, since there is no other way to stop his loud crowing.”
But the mistress, no longer hearing the cock, was unable to tell the time, and so often woke her Maids in the middle of the night and set them to work.
A CHARCOAL Burner carried on his trade at his own house. One day he met a friend who was a Fuller, and begged him to come and live with him.
“We shall be far better friends if we live together,” he said, “and then our housekeeping expenses will be greatly lessened.”
The Fuller replied: “The arrangement would not suit me in the least, for whatever I should take pains to whiten, your charcoal would immediately blacken. I am afraid we should not grow better friends under such circumstances.”
A PRICKLY Porcupine came wandering along one day, looking for a place to live.
He found a family of Snakes in a warm cave, and asked them to let him share their shelter.
The Snakes consented, though much against their will, and the Porcupine crept into their home. But it was not long before they found that his sharp quills stuck into them and hurt them, and they wished they had never let him in.
“Dear Porcupine, please go away,” they said; “you are so large and so prickly.”
But the Porcupine was very rude, and said: “Oh, no. If you do not like it here, you can go away. I find it very comfortable.”
It was too late that the Snakes learned that it is easier to keep an intruder out than to compel him to go when you have once let him in.
AN Old Man had many Sons, who were often quarreling. He tried to make them good friends, but could not. As the end of his life drew near, the old Man called them all to him and showed them a bundle of sticks tied tightly together.
“Now,” said the Father, “see if you can break this bundle of sticks.”
Each of the Sons in turn took the bundle and tried with all his might to break it, but could not. When all had tried and given it up, the Father said, “Untie the bundle, and each of you take a stick and see if you can break that.” This they could do very easily. Then said the Father:
“You saw when the sticks were bound together how strong they were; but as soon as they were untied, you broke them easily. Now, if you will stop quarreling and stand by each other, you will be like the bundle of sticks—no one can do you any harm; but if you do not keep together, you will be as weak as is one of the little sticks by itself, which any one can break.”
THERE was once a Dog who used to run at every one whom he met, but so quietly that no one suspected harm from him till he began to bite his heels.
In order to give notice to strangers that the Dog could not be trusted, and at the same time to punish the Dog himself, the master would sometimes hang a bell about his neck and compel him to drag a heavy clog, which he firmly attached to his collar by a chain.
For a time the Dog hung his head; but seeing that his bell and clog brought him into notice, he grew proud of them, and ran about the market place to display them and attract attention to himself. He even went so far as to give himself airs with the other dogs, who had no such mark of distinction.
An old Hound, seeing it, said: “Why do you make such an exhibition of yourself, as if your bell and clog were marks of merit? They do indeed bring you into notice; but when their meaning is understood, they are marks of disgrace—a reminder that you are an ill-mannered cur. It is one thing to be renowned when our virtues give occasion for it; it is quite another to become notorious for our faults.”
A DOG, seeing an Oyster, took it to be an egg and swallowed it. Soon after, suffering great pain, he said, “It was my greedy haste that brought me this torment.”
THE Fox and the Leopard once disputed who was the more beautiful. The Leopard exhibited, one by one, the various spots which covered his skin. The Fox, who was even more proud of his wits than of his person, interrupted him at last by saying: “Yet when all is said, how much more beautiful am I, who am decorated not simply in body but in mind. The person should be of more value than his coat.”
SOME Dogs, famished with hunger, saw cowhides steeping in a river, close by a tannery, and thought they might be eaten. Not being able to reach them, they set to work first to drink up the river, but burst themselves with drinking long before they reached the hides.
A WOODMAN came into a forest, and made a petition to the Trees to provide him a handle for his ax.
The Trees, honored by his civility, acceded to his request, and held a consultation to decide which of them should be given him.
Without a dissenting voice, they chose the Ash, who, it seems, is not a favorite among the Trees. Some of them were bold enough to say that bad luck went with the Ash, and that at heart they were not bound to be in sympathy with woodcutters.
The Woodman cut down the Tree, and fitted the handle to his ax; then to the dismay of the Trees, set to work and, with strong strokes, quickly felled all the noblest giants of the forest.
Lamenting too late the fate of his companions, an old Oak remarked to a neighboring Cedar:
“The first step has lost us all. If we had not so willingly given up the rights of the Ash, we might have stood for ages.”
DOLLY the Milkmaid having been a good girl and careful in her work, her mistress gave her a pail of new milk for herself.
With the pail upon her head, Dolly tripped gayly along on her way to the town, whither she was going to sell her milk.
“For this milk,” said Dolly, “I shall get a shilling, and with it I will buy twenty of the eggs laid by our neighbor’s fine fowls. The mistress will surely lend me a hen, and, allowing for all mishaps, I shall raise a good dozen of chicks. They will be well grown before the next fair-time comes around, and it is then that chickens bring the highest price. I shall be able to sell mine for a guinea.
“Then I shall buy that jacket that I saw in the village the other day, and a hat and ribbons too. And when I go to the fair, how smart I shall be!
“Robin will be there, and will come up and offer to be friends again. But I won’t make up too easily; and when he wants me for a partner in the dance, I shall just toss up my head and—”
Here Dolly gave her head the least bit of a toss, when down came the pail, and all the milk was spilled upon the ground.
Poor Dolly! it was her good-by to eggs, chickens, jacket, hat, ribbons, and all.
THE Cat and the Fox were once talking together in the middle of the forest.
“I do not care what happens,” said the Fox, “for I have a thousand tricks, any one of which would get me out of difficulty. But pray, Mrs. Puss,” he added, “what would you do if there should be an invasion?”
“I have but one course,” Puss replied. “If that would not serve me, I should be undone.”
“I am sorry for you,” said the Fox. “I would gladly teach you one or two of my tricks, but it is not wise to trust another. We must each take care for himself.”
These words were hardly spoken, when a pack of hounds came upon them in full cry.
The Cat, by means of her one well-proved safeguard, ran up a tree and sat serenely among the branches. “This is my way,” she said to the Fox. “What is yours to be?”
The Fox, with all his thousand tricks, was not able to get out of sight, and fell a prey to the dogs.
A MONKEY and a Cat lived in the same family, and it was hard to tell which was the greater thief.
One day, as they were roaming together, they spied some chestnuts roasting in the ashes of a fire.
“Come,” said the cunning Monkey, “we shall not go dinnerless to-day. Your claws are better than mine for the purpose; pull the chestnuts out of the ashes and you shall have half.”
Puss pulled them out, burning her paws very much in doing so. When she had stolen every one, she turned to the Monkey for her share of the booty; but, to her chagrin, she could find no chestnuts, for he had eaten them all.
FOR a long time the Wolf had followed the Sheep without attempting to injure one of them.
The Shepherd stood on his guard against him for a while, and kept strict watch that he did not come too near. But as day after day passed and the Wolf showed no disposition to injure any of the flock, he allowed him to approach nearer, till at last he came among the Sheep, and seemed to watch over them like a dog.
“He is really quite a help to me,” said the Shepherd to himself; “and I have never seen him make the slightest effort to seize a sheep or a lamb.”
So, having occasion to go to town one day, he left his flock in the care of the Wolf, whom he regarded as a guardian over them.
But no sooner was the man gone, than the Wolf, seeing his opportunity, fell upon the Sheep and destroyed the greater part of them.
“I have been rightly served,” said the Shepherd, on his return. “Why did I not know better than to trust my Sheep to their worst enemy? Soon or late, nature will show itself.”
A WOLF accused of theft a Fox, who utterly denied the charge, whereupon an Ape undertook to adjudge the matter in question.
When each had fully stated his case, the Ape pronounced this sentence:
“I am fully satisfied that you, Wolf, never lost what you claim.” Then turning to the Fox, he said, “And I believe you to have done that which you so stoutly deny.”
A BLIND Man was accustomed to distinguish different animals by touching them with his hands.
The whelp of a wolf was brought him, with the request that he should feel it and tell what it was.
Being in doubt, he said, “I do not quite know whether it is the cub of a fox or the whelp of a wolf; but this I know full well, that it would not be safe to admit it to the sheepfold.”
A YOUNG man who had been a great spendthrift, and had run through all the money he had inherited, and even sold all his outer clothing except his cloak, saw a Swallow skimming over the meadows in the early springtime and twittering gayly. Believing that summer was really come, he sold his cloak also.
The next day there happened to be a severe frost, and, shivering himself, he found the Swallow lying frozen and stiff upon the ground.
“Unhappy bird,” he said, “had you not come before your time, I should not now be so wretched, and you might have escaped your fate. A single swallow does not make a summer.”