saying that if they were ill, he would be happy to prescribe for

them and cure them. They replied, "We are all very well, and
shall continue so, if you will only be good enough to go away,

and leave us as we are."
The Kid and the Wolf

A KID standing on the roof of a house, out of harm's way, saw a
Wolf passing by and immediately began to taunt and revile him.

The Wolf, looking up, said, "Sirrah! I hear thee: yet it is not
thou who mockest me, but the roof on which thou art standing."

Time and place often give the advantage to the weak over the
strong.

The Ox and the Frog
AN OX drinking at a pool trod on a brood of young frogs and

crushed one of them to death. The Mother coming up, and missing
one of her sons, inquired of his brothers what had become of him.

"He is dead, dear Mother; for just now a very huge beast with
four great feet came to the pool and crushed him to death with

his cloven heel." The Frog, puffing herself out, inquired, "if
the beast was as big as that in size." "Cease, Mother, to puff

yourself out," said her son, "and do not be angry; for you would,
I assure you, sooner burst than successfullyimitate the hugeness

of that monster."
The Shepherd and the Wolf

A SHEPHERD once found the whelp of a Wolf and brought it up, and
after a while taught it to steal lambs from the neighboring

flocks. The Wolf, having shown himself an apt pupil, said to the
Shepherd, "Since you have taught me to steal, you must keep a

sharp lookout, or you will lose some of your own flock."
The Father and His Two Daughters

A MAN had two daughters, the one married to a gardener, and the
other to a tile-maker. After a time he went to the daughter who

had married the gardener, and inquired how she was and how all
things went with her. She said, "All things are prospering with

me, and I have only one wish, that there may be a heavy fall of
rain, in order that the plants may be well watered." Not long

after, he went to the daughter who had married the tilemaker, and
likewise inquired of her how she fared; she replied, "I want for

nothing, and have only one wish, that the dry weather may
continue, and the sun shine hot and bright, so that the bricks

might be dried." He said to her, "If your sister wishes for rain,
and you for dry weather, with which of the two am I to join my

wishes?'
The Farmer and His Sons

A FATHER, being on the point of death, wished to be sure that his
sons would give the same attention to his farm as he himself had

given it. He called them to his bedside and said, "My sons,
there is a great treasure hid in one of my vineyards." The sons,

after his death, took their spades and mattocks and carefully dug
over every portion of their land. They found no treasure, but

the vines repaid their labor by an extraordinary and
superabundant crop.

The Crab and Its Mother
A CRAB said to her son, "Why do you walk so one-sided, my child?

It is far more becoming to go straight forward." The young Crab
replied: "Quite true, dear Mother; and if you will show me the

straight way, I will promise to walk in it." The Mother tried in
vain, and submitted without remonstrance to the reproof of her

child.
Example is more powerful than precept.

The Heifer and the Ox
A HEIFER saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plow, and

tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate in being
compelled to labor. Shortly afterwards, at the harvest festival,

the owner released the Ox from his yoke, but bound the Heifer
with cords and led him away to the altar to be slain in honor of

the occasion. The Ox saw what was being done, and said with a
smile to the Heifer: "For this you were allowed to live in

idleness, because you were presently to be sacrificed."
The Swallow, the Serpent, and the Court of Justice

A SWALLOW, returning from abroad and especially fond of dwelling
with men, built herself a nest in the wall of a Court of Justice

and there hatched seven young birds. A Serpent gliding past the
nest from its hole in the wall ate up the young unfledged

nestlings. The Swallow, finding her nest empty, lamented greatly
and exclaimed: "Woe to me a stranger! that in this place where

all others' rights are protected, I alone should suffer wrong."
The Thief and His Mother

A BOY stole a lesson-book from one of his schoolfellows and took
it home to his Mother. She not only abstained from beating him,

but encouraged him. He next time stole a cloak and brought it to
her, and she again commended him. The Youth, advanced to

adulthood, proceeded to steal things of still greater value. At
last he was caught in the very act, and having his hands bound

behind him, was led away to the place of public execution. His
Mother followed in the crowd and violently beat her breast in

sorrow, whereupon the young man said, "I wish to say something to
my Mother in her ear." She came close to him, and he quickly

seized her ear with his teeth and bit it off. The Mother
upbraided him as an unnatural child, whereon he replied, "Ah! if

you had beaten me when I first stole and brought to you that
lesson-book, I should not have come to this, nor have been thus

led to a disgraceful death."
The Old Man and Death

AN OLD MAN was employed in cutting wood in the forest, and, in
carrying the faggots to the city for sale one day, became very

wearied with his long journey. He sat down by the wayside, and
throwing down his load, besought "Death" to come. "Death"

immediately appeared in answer to his summons and asked for what
reason he had called him. The Old Man hurriedly replied, "That,

lifting up the load, you may place it again upon my shoulders."
The Fir-Tree and the Bramble

A FIR-TREE said boastingly to the Bramble, "You are useful for
nothing at all; while I am everywhere used for roofs and houses."

The Bramble answered: 'You poor creature, if you would only call
to mind the axes and saws which are about to hew you down, you

would have reason to wish that you had grown up a Bramble, not a
Fir-Tree."

Better poverty without care, than riches with.
The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk

A MOUSE who always lived on the land, by an unlucky chance formed
an intimateacquaintance with a Frog, who lived for the most part

in the water. The Frog, one day intent on mischief, bound the
foot of the Mouse tightly to his own. Thus joined together, the

Frog first of all led his friend the Mouse to the meadow where
they were accustomed to find their food. After this, he

gradually led him towards the pool in which he lived, until
reaching the very brink, he suddenly jumped in, dragging the

Mouse with him. The Frog enjoyed the water amazingly, and swam
croaking about, as if he had done a good deed. The unhappy Mouse

was soon suffocated by the water, and his dead body floated about
on the surface, tied to the foot of the Frog. A Hawk observed

it, and, pouncing upon it with his talons, carried it aloft. The
Frog, being still fastened to the leg of the Mouse, was also

carried off a prisoner, and was eaten by the Hawk.
Harm hatch, harm catch.

The Man Bitten by a Dog
A MAN who had been bitten by a Dog went about in quest of someone