must die in their company."
Birds of a feather flock together.

The Farmer and the Snake
ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He

had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom.
The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its

natural instincts, bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal
wound. "Oh," cried the Farmer with his last breath, "I am

rightly served for pitying a scoundrel."
The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.

The Fawn and His Mother
A YOUNG FAWN once said to his Mother, "You are larger than a dog,

and swifter, and more used to running, and you have your horns as
a defense; why, then, O Mother! do the hounds frighten you so?"

She smiled, and said: "I know full well, my son, that all you say
is true. I have the advantages you mention, but when I hear even

the bark of a single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly away as
fast as I can."

No arguments will give courage to the coward.
The Bear and the Fox

A BEAR boasted very much of his philanthropy, saying that of all
animals he was the most tender in his regard for man, for he had

such respect for him that he would not even touch his dead body.
A Fox hearing these words said with a smile to the Bear, "Oh!

that you would eat the dead and not the living."
The Swallow and the Crow

THE SWALLOW and the Crow had a contention about their plumage.
The Crow put an end to the dispute by saying, "Your feathers are

all very well in the spring, but mine protect me against the
winter."

Fair weather friends are not worth much.
The Mountain in Labor

A MOUNTAIN was once greatly agitated. Loud groans and noises
were heard, and crowds of people came from all parts to see what

was the matter. While they were assembled in anxious expectation
of some terrible calamity, out came a Mouse.

Don't make much ado about nothing.
The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

THE ASS and the Fox, having entered into partnership together for
their mutualprotection, went out into the forest to hunt. They

had not proceeded far when they met a Lion. The Fox, seeing
imminent danger, approached the Lion and promised to contrive for

him the capture of the Ass if the Lion would pledge his word not
to harm the Fox. Then, upon assuring the Ass that he would not

be injured, the Fox led him to a deep pit and arranged that he
should fall into it. The Lion, seeing that the Ass was secured,

immediately clutched the Fox, and attacked the Ass at his
leisure.

The Tortoise and the Eagle
A TORTOISE, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the

sea-birds of her hard fate, that no one would teach her to fly.
An Eagle, hovering near, heard her lamentation and demanded what

reward she would give him if he would take her aloft and float
her in the air. "I will give you," she said, "all the riches of

the Red Sea." "I will teach you to fly then," said the Eagle; and
taking her up in his talons he carried her almost to the clouds

suddenly he let her go, and she fell on a lofty mountain, dashing
her shell to pieces. The Tortoise exclaimed in the moment of

death: "I have deserved my present fate; for what had I to do
with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the

earth?'
If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.

The Flies and the Honey-Pot
A NUMBER of Flies were attracted to a jar of honey which had been

overturned in a housekeeper's room, and placing their feet in it,
ate greedily. Their feet, however, became so smeared with the

honey that they could not use their wings, nor release
themselves, and were suffocated. Just as they were expiring,

they exclaimed, "O foolish creatures that we are, for the sake of
a little pleasure we have destroyed ourselves."

Pleasure bought with pains, hurts.
The Man and the Lion

A MAN and a Lion traveled together through the forest. They soon
began to boast of their respectivesuperiority to each other in

strength and prowess. As they were disputing, they passed a
statue carved in stone, which represented "a Lion strangled by a

Man." The traveler pointed to it and said: "See there! How strong
we are, and how we prevail over even the king of beasts." The

Lion replied: "This statue was made by one of you men. If we
Lions knew how to erect statues, you would see the Man placed

under the paw of the Lion."
One story is good, till another is told.

The Farmer and the Cranes
SOME CRANES made their feeding grounds on some plowlands newly

sown with wheat. For a long time the Farmer, brandishing an
empty sling, chased them away by the terror he inspired; but when

the birds found that the sling was only swung in the air, they
ceased to take any notice of it and would not move. The Farmer,

on seeing this, charged his sling with stones, and killed a great
number. The remaining birds at once forsook his fields, crying

to each other, "It is time for us to be off to Liliput: for this
man is no longer content to scare us, but begins to show us in

earnest what he can do."
If words suffice not, blows must follow.

The Dog in the Manger
A DOG lay in a manger, and by his growling and snapping prevented

the oxen from eating the hay which had been placed for them.
"What a selfish Dog!" said one of them to his companions; "he

cannot eat the hay himself, and yet refuses to allow those to eat
who can."

The Fox and the Goat
A FOX one day fell into a deep well and could find no means of

escape. A Goat, overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and
seeing the Fox, inquired if the water was good. Concealing his

sad plight under a merry guise, the Fox indulged in a lavish
praise of the water, saying it was excellent beyond measure, and

encouraging him to descend. The Goat, mindful only of his
thirst, thoughtlessly jumped down, but just as he drank, the Fox

informed him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested a
scheme for their common escape. "If," said he, "you will place

your forefeet upon the wall and bend your head, I will run up
your back and escape, and will help you out afterwards." The Goat

readily assented and the Fox leaped upon his back. Steadying
himself with the Goat's horns, he safely reached the mouth of the

well and made off as fast as he could. When the Goat upbraided
him for breaking his promise, he turned around and cried out,

"You foolish old fellow! If you had as many brains in your head
as you have hairs in your beard, you would never have gone down

before you had inspected the way up, nor have exposed yourself to
dangers from which you had no means of escape."

Look before you leap.
The Bear and the Two Travelers

TWO MEN were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly met them on
their path. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and