Men of evil reputation, when they perform a good deed, fail to

get credit for it.
The Brother and the Sister

A FATHER had one son and one daughter, the former remarkable for
his good looks, the latter for her extraordinary ugliness. While

they were playing one day as children, they happened by chance to
look together into a mirror that was placed on their mother's

chair. The boy congratulated himself on his good looks; the girl
grew angry, and could not bear the self-praises of her Brother,

interpreting all he said (and how could she do otherwise?) into
reflection on herself. She ran off to her father. to be avenged

on her Brother, and spitefully accused him of having, as a boy,
made use of that which belonged only to girls. The father

embraced them both, and bestowing his kisses and affection
impartially on each, said, "I wish you both would look into the

mirror every day: you, my son, that you may not spoil your beauty
by evil conduct; and you, my daughter, that you may make up for

your lack of beauty by your virtues."
The Wasps, the Partridges, and the Farmer

THE WASPS and the Partridges, overcome with thirst, came to a
Farmer and besought him to give them some water to drink. They

promised amply to repay him the favor which they asked. The
Partridges declared that they would dig around his vines and make

them produce finer grapes. The Wasps said that they would keep
guard and drive off thieves with their stings. But the Farmer

interrupted them, saying: "I have already two oxen, who, without
making any promises, do all these things. It is surely better

for me to give the water to them than to you."
The Crow and Mercury

A CROW caught in a snare prayed to Apollo to release him, making
a vow to offer some frankincense at his shrine. But when rescued

from his danger, he forgot his promise. Shortly afterwards,
again caught in a snare, he passed by Apollo and made the same

promise to offer frankincense to Mercury. Mercury soon appeared
and said to him, "O thou most base fellow? how can I believe

thee, who hast disowned and wronged thy former patron?'
The North Wind and the Sun

THE NORTH WIND and the Sun disputed as to which was the most
powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who

could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. The North Wind
first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener

his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him,
until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called

upon the Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out
with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays

than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly
overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in

his path.
Persuasion is better than Force.

The Two Men Who Were Enemies
TWO MEN, deadly enemies to each other, were sailing in the same

vessel. Determined to keep as far apart as possible, the one
seated himself in the stem, and the other in the prow of the

ship. A violent storm arose, and with the vessel in great danger
of sinking, the one in the stern inquired of the pilot which of

the two ends of the ship would go down first. On his replying
that he supposed it would be the prow, the Man said, "Death would

not be grievous to me, if I could only see my Enemy die before
me."

The Gamecocks and the Partridge
A MAN had two Gamecocks in his poultry-yard. One day by chance

he found a tame Partridge for sale. He purchased it and brought
it home to be reared with his Gamecocks. When the Partridge was

put into the poultry-yard, they struck at it and followed it
about, so that the Partridge became grievously troubled and

supposed that he was thus evilly treated because he was a
stranger. Not long afterwards he saw the Cocks fighting together

and not separating before one had well beaten the other. He then
said to himself, "I shall no longer distress myself at being

struck at by these Gamecocks, when I see that they cannot even
refrain from quarreling with each other."

The Quack Frog
A FROG once upon a time came forth from his home in the marsh and

proclaimed to all the beasts that he was a learned physician,
skilled in the use of drugs and able to heal all diseases. A Fox

asked him, "How can you pretend to prescribe for others, when you
are unable to heal your own lame gait and wrinkled skin?'

The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox
A LION, growing old, lay sick in his cave. All the beasts came

to visit their king, except the Fox. The Wolf therefore,
thinking that he had a capital opportunity, accused the Fox to

the Lion of not paying any respect to him who had the rule over
them all and of not coming to visit him. At that very moment the

Fox came in and heard these last words of the Wolf. The Lion
roaring out in a rage against him, the Fox sought an opportunity

to defend himself and said, "And who of all those who have come
to you have benefited you so much as I, who have traveled from

place to place in every direction, and have sought and learnt
from the physicians the means of healing you?' The Lion commanded

him immediately to tell him the cure, when he replied, "You must
flay a wolf alive and wrap his skin yet warm around you." The

Wolf was at once taken and flayed; whereon the Fox, turning to
him, said with a smile, "You should have moved your master not to

ill, but to good, will."
The Dog's House

IN THE WINTERTIME, a Dog curled up in as small a space as
possible on account of the cold, determined to make himself a

house. However when the summer returned again, he lay asleep
stretched at his full length and appeared to himself to be of a

great size. Now he considered that it would be neither an easy
nor a necessary work to make himself such a house as would

accommodate him.
The Wolf and the Lion

ROAMING BY the mountainside at sundown, a Wolf saw his own shadow
become greatly extended and magnified, and he said to himself,

"Why should I, being of such an immense size and extending nearly
an acre in length, be afraid of the Lion? Ought I not to be

acknowledged as King of all the collected beasts?' While he was
indulging in these proud thoughts, a Lion fell upon him and

killed him. He exclaimed with a too late repentance, "Wretched
me! this overestimation of myself is the cause of my

destruction."
The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat

THE BIRDS waged war with the Beasts, and each were by turns the
conquerors. A Bat, fearing the uncertain issues of the fight,

always fought on the side which he felt was the strongest. When
peace was proclaimed, his deceitful conduct was apparent to both

combatants. Therefore being condemned by each for his treachery,
he was driven forth from the light of day, and henceforth

concealed himself in dark hiding-places, flying always alone and
at night.

The Spendthrift and the Swallow
A YOUNG MAN, a great spendthrift, had run through all his

patrimony and had but one good cloak left. One day he happened
to see a Swallow, which had appeared before its season, skimming

along a pool and twittering gaily. He supposed that summer had
come, and went and sold his cloak. Not many days later, winter