she returned, and when he inquired how
she had got on and how the servants had treated her, she replied, "The
herdsmen and shepherds cast on me looks of aversion." He said, "O Wife,
if you were disliked by those who go out early in the morning with their
flocks and return late in the evening, what must have been felt towards
you by those with whom you passed the whole day!"

Straws show how the wind blows.

The Peacock and Juno

THE PEACOCK made complaint to Juno that, while the nightingale pleased
every ear with his song, he himself no sooner opened his mouth than he
became a laughingstock to all who heard him. The Goddess, to console
him, said, "But you far excel in beauty and in size. The splendor of the
emerald shines in your neck and you unfold a tail gorgeous with painted
plumage." "But for what purpose have I," said the bird, "this dumb
beauty so long as I am surpassed in song?" "The lot of each," replied
Juno, "has been assigned by the will of the Fates--to thee, beauty; to
the eagle, strength; to the nightingale, song; to the raven, favorable,
and to the crow, unfavorable auguries. These are all contented with the
endowments allotted to them."

The Hawk and the Nightingale

A NIGHTINGALE, sitting aloft upon an oak and singing according to his
wont, was seen by a Hawk who, being in need of food, swooped down and
seized him. The Nightingale, about to lose his life, earnestly begged
the Hawk to let him go, saying that he was not big enough to satisfy
the hunger of a Hawk who, if he wanted food, ought to pursue the larger
birds. The Hawk, interrupting him, said: "I should indeed have lost
my senses if I should let go food ready in my hand, for the sake of
pursuing birds which are not yet even within sight."

The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox

A DOG and a Cock being great friends, agreed to travel together. At
nightfall they took shelter in a thick wood. The Cock flying up, perched
himself on the branches of a tree, while the Dog found a bed beneath in
the hollow trunk. When the morning dawned, the Cock, as usual, crowed
very loudly several times. A Fox heard the sound, and wishing to make
a breakfast on him, came and stood under the branches, saying how
earnestly he desired to make the acquaintance of the owner of so
magnificent a voice. The Cock, suspecting his civilities, said: "Sir, I
wish you would do me the favor of going around to the hollow trunk below
me, and waking my porter, so that