be like us in outside appearances.
The Camel and the Arab
AN ARAB CAMEL-DRIVER, after completing the loading of his Camel,
asked him which he would like best, to go up hill or down. The
poor beast replied, not without a touch of reason: "Why do you
ask me? Is it that the level way through the desert is closed?"
The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass
A MILLER and his son were driving their Ass to a
neighboring fair
to sell him. They had not gone far when they met with a troop of
women collected round a well, talking and laughing. "Look
there," cried one of them, "did you ever see such fellows, to be
trudging along the road on foot when they might ride?' The old
man
hearing this, quickly made his son mount the Ass, and
continued to walk along
merrily by his side. Presently they came
up to a group of old men in
earnestdebate. "There," said one of
them, "it proves what I was a-
saying. What respect is shown to
old age in these days? Do you see that idle lad riding while his
old father has to walk? Get down, you young scapegrace, and let
the old man rest his weary limbs." Upon this the old man made his
son
dismount, and got up himself. In this manner they had not
proceeded far when they met a company of women and children:
"Why, you lazy old fellow," cried several tongues at once, "how
can you ride upon the beast, while that poor little lad there can
hardly keep pace by the side of you?' The
good-natured Miller
immediately took up his son behind him. They had now almost
reached the town. "Pray, honest friend," said a citizen, "is
that Ass your own?' "Yes," replied the old man. "O, one would
not have thought so," said the other, "by the way you load him.
Why, you two fellows are better able to carry the poor beast than
he you." "Anything to please you," said the old man; "we can but
try." So, alighting with his son, they tied the legs of the Ass
together and with the help of a pole endeavored to carry him on
their shoulders over a
bridge near the entrance to the town.
This entertaining sight brought the people in crowds to laugh at
it, till the Ass, not
liking the noise nor the strange handling
that he was subject to, broke the cords that bound him and,
tumbling off the pole, fell into the river. Upon this, the old
man, vexed and
ashamed, made the best of his way home again,
convinced that by endeavoring to please everybody he had pleased
nobody, and lost his Ass in the bargain.
The Crow and the Sheep
A TROUBLESOME CROW seated herself on the back of a Sheep. The
Sheep, much against his will, carried her
backward and forward
for a long time, and at last said, "If you had treated a dog in
this way, you would have had your deserts from his sharp teeth."
To this the Crow replied, "I
despise the weak and yield to the
strong. I know whom I may bully and whom I must
flatter; and I
thus
prolong my life to a good old age."
The Fox and the Bramble
A FOX was mounting a hedge when he lost his
footing and caught
hold of a Bramble to save himself. Having pricked and grievously
tom the soles of his feet, he accused the Bramble because, when
he had fled to her for
assistance, she had used him worse than
the hedge itself. The Bramble, interrupting him, said, "But you
really must have been out of your senses to
fasten yourself on
me, who am myself always accustomed to
fasten upon others."
The Wolf and the Lion
A WOLF, having
stolen a lamb from a fold, was carrying him off to
his lair. A Lion met him in the path, and seizing the lamb, took
it from him. Standing at a safe distance, the Wolf exclaimed,
"You have unrighteously taken that which was mine from me!" To
which the Lion jeeringly replied, "It was righteously yours, eh?
The gift of a friend?'
The Dog and the Oyster
A DOG, used to eating eggs, saw an Oyster and,
opening his mouth
to its widest
extent, swallowed it down with the
utmost relish,
supposing it to be an egg. Soon afterwards
suffering great pain
in his
stomach, he said, "I
deserve all this
torment, for my
folly in thinking that everything round must be an egg."
They who act without sufficient thought, will often fall into
unsuspected danger.
The Ant and the Dove
AN ANT went to the bank of a river to
quench its
thirst, and
being carried away by the rush of the
stream, was on the point of
drowning. A Dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked
a leaf and let it fall into the
stream close to her. The Ant
climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortly
afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, and laid
his lime-twigs for the Dove, which sat in the branches. The Ant,
perceiving his design, stung him in the foot. In pain the
birdcatcher threw down the twigs, and the noise made the Dove
take wing.
The Partridge and the Fowler
A FOWLER caught a Partridge and was about to kill it. The
Partridge
earnestly begged him to spare his life,
saying, "Pray,
master, permit me to live and I will
entice many Partridges to
you in
recompense for your mercy to me." The Fowler replied, "I
shall now with less
scruple take your life, because you are
willing to save it at the cost of betraying your friends and
relations."
The Flea and the Man
A MAN, very much annoyed with a Flea, caught him at last, and
said, "Who are you who dare to feed on my limbs, and to cost me
so much trouble in catching you?' The Flea replied, "O my dear
sir, pray spare my life, and destroy me not, for I cannot
possibly do you much harm." The Man, laughing, replied, "Now you
shall certainly die by mine own hands, for no evil, whether it be
small or large, ought to be tolerated."
The Thieves and the Cock
SOME THIEVES broke into a house and found nothing but a Cock,
whom they stole, and got off as fast as they could. Upon
arriving at home they prepared to kill the Cock, who thus pleaded
for his life: "Pray spare me; I am very serviceable to men. I
wake them up in the night to their work." "That is the very
reason why we must the more kill you," they replied; "for when
you wake your neighbors, you entirely put an end to our
business."
The safeguards of
virtue are
hateful to those with evil
intentions.
The Dog and the Cook
A RICH MAN gave a great feast, to which he invited many friends
and acquaintances. His Dog availed himself of the occasion to
invite a stranger Dog, a friend of his,
saying, "My master gives
a feast, and there is always much food remaining; come and sup
with me tonight." The Dog thus invited went at the hour
appointed, and
seeing the preparations for so grand an
entertainment, said in the joy of his heart, "How glad I am that
I came! I do not often get such a chance as this. I will take
care and eat enough to last me both today and tomorrow." While he
was congratulating himself and wagging his tail to
convey his
pleasure to his friend, the Cook saw him moving about among his
dishes and, seizing him by his fore and hind paws, bundled him
without
ceremony out of the window. He fell with force upon the
ground and limped away, howling
dreadfully. His yelling soon
attracted other street dogs, who came up to him and inquired how
he had enjoyed his supper. He replied, "Why, to tell you the
truth, I drank so much wine that I remember nothing. I do not
know how I got out of the house."
The Travelers and the Plane-Tree
TWO TRAVELERS, worn out by the heat of the summer's sun, laid
themselves down at noon under the widespreading branches of a
Plane-Tree. As they rested under its shade, one of the Travelers
said to the other, "What a singularly
useless tree is the Plane!
It bears no fruit, and is not of the least service to man." The
Plane-Tree, interrupting him, said, "You ungrateful fellows! Do
you, while receiving benefits from me and resting under my shade,
dare to describe me as
useless, and unprofitable?'
Some men underrate their best blessings.
The Hares and the Frogs
THE HARES, oppressed by their own
exceeding timidity and weary of
the
perpetual alarm to which they were exposed, with one accord
determined to put an end to themselves and their troubles by
jumping from a lofty
precipice into a deep lake below. As they
scampered off in large numbers to carry out their
resolve, the
Frogs lying on the banks of the lake heard the noise of their
feet and rushed helter-skelter to the deep water for safety. On
seeing the rapid
disappearance of the Frogs, one of the Hares
cried out to his companions: "Stay, my friends, do not do as you
intended; for you now see that there are creatures who are still
more timid than ourselves."
The Lion, Jupiter, and the Elephant
THE LION wearied Jupiter with his
frequentcomplaints. "It is
true, O Jupiter!" he said, "that I am
gigantic in strength,
handsome in shape, and powerful in attack. I have jaws well
provided with teeth, and feet furnished with claws, and I lord it
over all the beasts of the forest, and what a
disgrace it is,
that being such as I am, I should be frightened by the crowing of
a cock." Jupiter replied, "Why do you blame me without a cause? I
have given you all the attributes which I possess myself, and
your courage never fails you except in this one instance." On
hearing this the Lion groaned and lamented very much and,
reproaching himself with his
cowardice, wished that he might die.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, he met an Elephant and
came close to hold a conversation with him. After a time he
observed that the Elephant shook his ears very often, and he
inquired what was the matter and why his ears moved with such a
tremor every now and then. Just at that moment a Gnat settled on
the head of the Elephant, and he replied, "Do you see that little
buzzing
insect? If it enters my ear, my fate is sealed. I should
die
presently." The Lion said, "Well, since so huge a beast is
afraid of a tiny gnat, I will no more
complain, nor wish myself
dead. I find myself, even as I am, better off than the
Elephant."
The Lamb and the Wolf
A WOLF pursued a Lamb, which fled for
refuge to a certain Temple.
The Wolf called out to him and said, "The Priest will slay you in
sacrifice, if he should catch you." On which the Lamb replied,
"It would be better for me to be sacrificed in the Temple than to
be eaten by you."
The Rich Man and the Tanner
A RICH MAN lived near a Tanner, and not being able to bear the
unpleasant smell of the tan-yard, he pressed his neighbor to go
away. The Tanner put off his
departure from time to time,
sayingthat he would leave soon. But as he still continued to stay, as
time went on, the rich man became accustomed to the smell, and
feeling no manner of
inconvenience, made no further
complaints.
The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea
A SHIPWRECKED MAN, having been cast upon a certain shore, slept
after his buffetings with the deep. After a while he awoke, and
looking upon the Sea, loaded it with reproaches. He argued that
it
enticed men with the
calmness of its looks, but when it had
induced them to plow its waters, it grew rough and destroyed
them. The Sea, assuming the form of a woman, replied to him:
"Blame not me, my good sir, but the winds, for I am by my own
nature as calm and firm even as this earth; but the winds
suddenly falling on me create these waves, and lash me into
fury."
The Mules and the Robbers
TWO MULES well-laden with packs were trudging along. One carried
panniers filled with money, the other sacks weighted with grain.
The Mule carrying the treasure walked with head erect, as if