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THE ANTS AND THE GRa.s.sHOPPER
One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Gra.s.shopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven"t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn"t have time to store up any food," whined the Gra.s.shopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Gra.s.shopper and went on with their work.
_There"s a time for work and a time for play._
THE a.s.s CARRYING THE IMAGE
A sacred Image was being carried to the temple. It was mounted on an a.s.s adorned with garlands and gorgeous trappings, and a grand procession of priests and pages followed it through the streets.
As the a.s.s walked along, the people bowed their heads reverently or fell on their knees, and the a.s.s thought the honor was being paid to himself.
With his head full of this foolish idea, he became so puffed up with pride and vanity that he halted and started to bray loudly.
But in the midst of his song, his driver guessed what the a.s.s had got into his head, and began to beat him unmercifully with a stick.
"Go along with you, you stupid a.s.s," he cried. "The honor is not meant for you but for the image you are carrying."
_Do not try to take the credit to yourself that is due to others._
A RAVEN AND A SWAN
A Raven, which you know is black as coal, was envious of the Swan, because her feathers were as white as the purest snow. The foolish bird got the idea that if he lived like the Swan, swimming and diving all day long and eating the weeds and plants that grow in the water, his feathers would turn white like the Swan"s.
So he left his home in the woods and fields and flew down to live on the lakes and in the marshes. But though he washed and washed all day long, almost drowning himself at it, his feathers remained as black as ever. And as the water weeds he ate did not agree with him, he got thinner and thinner, and at last he died.
_A change of habits will not alter nature._
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THE TWO GOATS
Two Goats, frisking gayly on the rocky steeps of a mountain valley, chanced to meet, one on each side of a deep chasm through which poured a mighty mountain torrent. The trunk of a fallen tree formed the only means of crossing the chasm, and on this not even two squirrels could have pa.s.sed each other in safety. The narrow path would have made the bravest tremble. Not so our Goats. Their pride would not permit either to stand aside for the other.
One set her foot on the log. The other did likewise. In the middle they met horn to horn. Neither would give way, and so they both fell, to be swept away by the roaring torrent below.
_It is better to yield than to come to misfortune through stubbornness._
THE a.s.s AND THE LOAD OF SALT
A Merchant, driving his a.s.s homeward from the seash.o.r.e with a heavy load of salt, came to a river crossed by a shallow ford.
They had crossed this river many times before without accident, but this time the a.s.s slipped and fell when halfway over. And when the Merchant at last got him to his feet, much of the salt had melted away. Delighted to find how much lighter his burden had become, the a.s.s finished the journey very gayly.
Next day the Merchant went for another load of salt. On the way home the a.s.s, remembering what had happened at the ford, purposely let himself fall into the water, and again got rid of most of his burden.
The angry Merchant immediately turned about and drove the a.s.s back to the seash.o.r.e, where he loaded him with two great baskets of sponges. At the ford the a.s.s again tumbled over; but when he had scrambled to his feet, it was a very disconsolate a.s.s that dragged himself homeward under a load ten times heavier than before.
_The same measures will not suit all circ.u.mstances._
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THE LION AND THE GNAT
"Away with you, vile insect!" said a Lion angrily to a Gnat that was buzzing around his head. But the Gnat was not in the least disturbed.
"Do you think," he said spitefully to the Lion, "that I am afraid of you because they call you king?"
The next instant he flew at the Lion and stung him sharply on the nose. Mad with rage, the Lion struck fiercely at the Gnat, but only succeeded in tearing himself with his claws. Again and again the Gnat stung the Lion, who now was roaring terribly. At last, worn out with rage and covered with wounds that his own teeth and claws had made, the Lion gave up the fight.
The Gnat buzzed away to tell the whole world about his victory, but instead he flew straight into a spider"s web. And there, he who had defeated the King of beasts came to a miserable end, the prey of a little spider.
_The least of our enemies is often the most to be feared._