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THE LION, THE BEAR, AND THE FOX
Just as a great Bear rushed to seize a stray kid, a Lion leaped from another direction upon the same prey. The two fought furiously for the prize until they had received so many wounds that both sank down unable to continue the battle.
Just then a Fox dashed up, and seizing the kid, made off with it as fast as he could go, while the Lion and the Bear looked on in helpless rage.
"How much better it would have been," they said, "to have shared in a friendly spirit."
_Those who have all the toil do not always get the profit._
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THE WOLF AND THE LAMB
A stray Lamb stood drinking early one morning on the bank of a woodland stream. That very same morning a hungry Wolf came by farther up the stream, hunting for something to eat. He soon got his eyes on the Lamb. As a rule Mr. Wolf snapped up such delicious morsels without making any bones about it, but this Lamb looked so very helpless and innocent that the Wolf felt he ought to have some kind of an excuse for taking its life.
"How dare you paddle around in my stream and stir up all the mud!" he shouted fiercely. "You deserve to be punished severely for your rashness!"
"But, your highness," replied the trembling Lamb, "do not be angry! I cannot possibly muddy the water you are drinking up there. Remember, you are upstream and I am downstream."
"You _do_ muddy it!" retorted the Wolf savagely. "And besides, I have heard that you told lies about me last year!"
"How could I have done so?" pleaded the Lamb. "I wasn"t born until this year."
"If it wasn"t you, it was your brother!"
"I have no brothers."
"Well, then," snarled the Wolf, "It was someone in your family anyway. But no matter who it was, I do not intend to be talked out of my breakfast."
And without more words the Wolf seized the poor Lamb and carried her off to the forest.
_The tyrant can always find an excuse for his tyranny._
_The unjust will not listen to the reasoning of the innocent._
THE WOLF AND THE SHEEP
A Wolf had been hurt in a fight with a Bear. He was unable to move and could not satisfy his hunger and thirst. A Sheep pa.s.sed by near his hiding place, and the Wolf called to him.
"Please fetch me a drink of water," he begged, "that might give me strength enough so I can get me some solid food."
"Solid food!" said the Sheep. "That means me, I suppose. If I should bring you a drink, it would only serve to wash me down your throat. Don"t talk to me about a drink!"
_A knave"s hypocrisy is easily seen through._
THE HARES AND THE FROGS
Hares, as you know, are very timid. The least shadow, sends them scurrying in fright to a hiding place. Once they decided to die rather than live in such misery. But while they were debating how best to meet death, they thought they heard a noise and in a flash were scampering off to the warren. On the way they pa.s.sed a pond where a family of Frogs was sitting among the reeds on the bank. In an instant the startled Frogs were seeking safety in the mud.
"Look," cried a Hare, "things are not so bad after all, for here are creatures who are even afraid of us!"
_However unfortunate we may think we are there is always someone worse off than ourselves._
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THE FOX AND THE STORK
The Fox one day thought of a plan to amuse himself at the expense of the Stork, at whose odd appearance he was always laughing.
"You must come and dine with me today," he said to the Stork, smiling to himself at the trick he was going to play. The Stork gladly accepted the invitation and arrived in good time and with a very good appet.i.te.
For dinner the Fox served soup. But it was set out in a very shallow dish, and all the Stork could do was to wet the very tip of his bill. Not a drop of soup could he get. But the Fox lapped it up easily, and, to increase the disappointment of the Stork, made a great show of enjoyment.
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The hungry Stork was much displeased at the trick, but he was a calm, even-tempered fellow and saw no good in flying into a rage.
Instead, not long afterward, he invited the Fox to dine with him in turn. The Fox arrived promptly at the time that had been set, and the Stork served a fish dinner that had a very appetizing smell. But it was served in a tall jar with a very narrow neck.
The Stork could easily get at the food with his long bill, but all the Fox could do was to lick the outside of the jar, and sniff at the delicious odor. And when the Fox lost his temper, the Stork said calmly:
_Do not play tricks on your neighbors unless you can stand the same treatment yourself._
THE TRAVELERS AND THE SEA