u,"
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?"

If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.

The Flies and the Honey-Pot

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."

Pleasure bought with pains, hurts.

The Man and the Lion

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."

One story is good, till another is told.

The Farmer and the Cranes

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."

If words suffice not, blows must follow.

The Dog in the Manger

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