And the Gnat sounded his horn, and began to bite the Lion on his bare cheeks and his nose. The Lion struck his face with his paws and scratched it with his claws. He tore his face until the blood came, and gave up.
The Gnat trumpeted for joy, and flew away. Then he became entangled in a spider"s web, and the spider began to suck him up. The Gnat said:
"I have vanquished the strong beast, the Lion, and now I perish from this nasty spider."
THE HORSE AND HIS MASTERS
A gardener had a Horse. She had much to do, but little to eat; so she began to pray to G.o.d to get another master. And so it happened. The gardener sold the Horse to a potter. The Horse was glad, but the potter had even more work for her to do. And again the Horse complained of her lot, and began to pray that she might get a better master. And this prayer, too, was fulfilled. The potter sold the Horse to a tanner. When the Horse saw the skins of horses in the tanner"s yard, she began to cry:
"Woe to me, wretched one! It would be better if I could stay with my old masters. It is evident they have sold me now not for work, but for my skin"s sake."
THE OLD MAN AND DEATH
An Old Man cut some wood, which he carried away. He had to carry it far.
He grew tired, so he put down his bundle, and said:
"Oh, if Death would only come!"
Death came, and said:
"Here I am, what do you want?"
The Old Man was frightened, and said:
"Lift up my bundle!"
THE LION AND THE FOX
A Lion, growing old, was unable to catch the animals, and so intended to live by cunning. He went into a den, lay down there, and pretended that he was sick. The animals came to see him, and he ate up those that went into his den. The Fox guessed the trick. She stood at the entrance of the den, and said:
"Well, Lion, how are you feeling?"
The Lion answered:
"Poorly. Why don"t you come in?"
The Fox replied:
"I do not come in because I see by the tracks that many have entered, but none have come out."
THE STAG AND THE VINEYARD
A Stag hid himself from the hunters in a vineyard. When the hunters missed him, the Stag began to nibble at the grape-vine leaves.
The hunters noticed that the leaves were moving, and so they thought, "There must be an animal under those leaves," and fired their guns, and wounded the Stag.
The Stag said, dying:
"It serves me right for wanting to eat the leaves that saved me."
THE CAT AND THE MICE
A house was overrun with Mice. A Cat found his way into the house, and began to catch them. The Mice saw that matters were bad, and said:
"Mice, let us not come down from the ceiling! The Cat cannot get up there."
When the Mice stopped coming down, the Cat decided that he must catch them by a trick. He grasped the ceiling with one leg, hung down from it, and made believe that he was dead.
A Mouse looked out at him, but said:
"No, my friend! Even if you should turn into a bag, I would not go up to you."
THE WOLF AND THE GOAT
A Wolf saw a Goat browsing on a rocky mountain, and he could not get at her; so he said to her:
"Come down lower! The place is more even, and the gra.s.s is much sweeter to feed on."
But the Goat answered:
"You are not calling me down for that, Wolf: you are troubling yourself not about my food, but about yours."
THE REEDS AND THE OLIVE-TREE
The Olive-tree and the Reeds quarrelled about who was stronger and sounder. The Olive-tree laughed at the Reeds because they bent in every wind. The Reeds kept silence. A storm came: the Reeds swayed, tossed, bowed to the ground,--and remained unharmed. The Olive-tree strained her branches against the wind,--and broke.
THE TWO COMPANIONS
Two Companions were walking through the forest when a Bear jumped out on them. One started to run, climbed a tree, and hid himself, but the other remained in the road. He had nothing to do, so he fell down on the ground and pretended that he was dead.
The Bear went up to him, and sniffed at him; but he had stopped breathing.
The Bear sniffed at his face; he thought that he was dead, and so went away.
When the Bear was gone, the Companion climbed down from the tree and laughing, said: "What did the Bear whisper in your ear?"
"He told me that those who in danger run away from their companions are bad people."
THE WOLF AND THE LAMB