<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Farmer and the Snake </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p>The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Fawn and His Mother </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p>No arguments will give courage to the coward.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Bear and the Fox </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Swallow and the Crow </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p>Fair weather friends are not worth much.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Mountain in Labor </h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Don't make much ado about nothing.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion </h2>
<p>THE ASS and the Fox, having entered into partnership together for their
mutual protection, 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.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Tortoise and the Eagle </h2>
<p>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?"</p>
<p>If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Flies and the Honey-Pot </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p>Pleasure bought with pains, hurts.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Man and the Lion </h2>
<p>A MAN and a Lion traveled together through the forest. They soon began to
boast of their respective superiority 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."</p>
<p>One story is good, till another is told.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Farmer and the Cranes </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p>If words suffice not, blows must follow.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Dog in the Manger </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Fox and the Goat </h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p>Look before you leap.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0033" id="link2H_4_0033"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Bear and the Two Travelers </h2>
<p>TWO MEN were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly met them on their
path. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in
the branches. The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the
ground, and when the Bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt
him all over, he held his breath, and feigned the appearance of death as
much as he could. The Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch
a dead body. When he was quite gone, the other Traveler descended from the
tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the Bear had
whispered in his ear. "He gave me this advice," his companion replied.
"Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger."</p>
<p>Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0034" id="link2H_4_0034"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Oxen and the Axle-Trees </h2>
<p>A HEAVY WAGON was being dragged along a country lane by a team of Oxen.
The Axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the Oxen, turning
round, thus addressed the wheels: "Hullo there! why do you make so much
noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not you, ought to cry out."</p>
<p>Those who suffer most cry out the least.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0035" id="link2H_4_0035"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Thirsty Pigeon </h2>
<p>A PIGEON, oppressed by excessive thirst, saw a goblet of water painted on
a signboard. Not supposing it to be only a picture, she flew towards it
with a loud whir and unwittingly dashed against the signboard, jarring
herself terribly. Having broken her wings by the blow, she fell to the
ground, and was caught by one of the bystanders.</p>
<p>Zeal should not outrun discretion.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0036" id="link2H_4_0036"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Raven and the Swan </h2>
<p>A RAVEN saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful
plumage. Supposing that the Swan's splendid white color arose from his
washing in the water in which he swam, the Raven left the altars in the
neighborhood where he picked up his living, and took up residence in the
lakes and pools. But cleansing his feathers as often as he would, he could
not change their color, while through want of food he perished.</p>
<p>Change of habit cannot alter Nature.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0037" id="link2H_4_0037"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Goat and the Goatherd </h2>
<p>A GOATHERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to his flock. He whistled
and sounded his horn in vain; the straggler paid no attention to the
summons. At last the Goatherd threw a stone, and breaking its horn, begged
the Goat not to tell his master. The Goat replied, "Why, you silly fellow,
the horn will speak though I be silent."</p>
<p>Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0038" id="link2H_4_0038"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Miser </h2>
<p>A MISER sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in
a hole in the ground by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily.
One of his workmen observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to
watch his movements. He soon discovered the secret of the hidden treasure,
and digging down, came to the lump of gold, and stole it. The Miser, on
his next visit, found the hole empty and began to tear his hair and to
make loud lamentations. A neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief and
learning the cause, said, "Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone,
and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It
will do you quite the same service; for when the gold was there, you had
it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it."</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0039" id="link2H_4_0039"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Sick Lion </h2>
<p>A LION, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself with food
by force, resolved to do so by artifice. He returned to his den, and lying
down there, pretended to be sick, taking care that his sickness should be
publicly known. The beasts expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to
his den, where the Lion devoured them. After many of the beasts had thus
disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick and presenting himself to the
Lion, stood on the outside of the cave, at a respectful distance, and
asked him how he was. "I am very middling," replied the Lion, "but why do
you stand without? Pray enter within to talk with me." "No, thank you,"
said the Fox. "I notice that there are many prints of feet entering your
cave, but I see no trace of any returning."</p>
<p>He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0040" id="link2H_4_0040"></SPAN></p>
<h2> The Horse and Groom </h2>
<p>A GROOM used to spend whole days in currycombing and rubbing down his
Horse, but at the same time stole his oats and sold them for his own
profit. "Alas!" said the Horse, "if you really wish me to be in good
condition, you should groom me less, and feed me more."</p>
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