t made a great stir, and the theater was crowded in every
part. The Buffoon appeared alone upon the platform, without any
apparatus or confederates, and the very sense of expectation caused
an intense silence. He suddenly bent his head towards his bosom and
imitated the squeaking of a little pig so admirably with his voice that
the audience declared he had a porker under his cloak, and demanded that
it should be shaken out. When that was done and nothing was found,
they cheered the actor, and loaded him with the loudest applause. A
Countryman in the crowd, observing all that has passed, said, "So
help me, Hercules, he shall not beat me at that trick!" and at once
proclaimed that he would do the same thing on the next day, though in a
much more natural way. On the morrow a still larger crowd assembled in
the theater, but now partiality for their favorite actor very generally
prevailed, and the audience came rather to ridicule the Countryman than
to see the spectacle. Both of the performers appeared on the stage.
The Buffoon grunted and squeaked away first, and obtained, as on the
preceding day, the applause and cheers of the spectators. Next the
Countryman commenced, and pretending that he concealed a little pig
beneath his clothes (which in truth he did, but not suspected by the
audience ) contrived to take hold of and to pull his ear causing the
pig to squeak. The Crowd, however, cried out with one consent that
the Buffoon had given a far more exact imitation, and clamored for the
Countryman to be kicked out of the theater. On this the rustic produced
the little pig from his cloak and showed by the most positive proof the
greatness of their mistake. "Look here," he said, "this shows what sort
of judges you are."

The Crow and the Serpent

A CROW in great want of food saw a Serpent asleep in a sunny nook, and
flying down, greedily seized him. The Serpent, turning about, bit the
Crow with a mortal wound. In the agony of death, the bird exclaimed: "O
unhappy me! who have found in that which I deemed a happy windfall the
source of my destruction."

The Hunter and the Horseman

A CERTAIN HUNTER, having snared a hare, placed it upon his shoulders and
set out homewards. On his way he met a man on horseback who begged the
hare of him, under the pretense of purchasing it. However, when the
Horseman got the hare, he rode off as fast as he could. The Hunter
ran after him, as if he was sure of overtaking him, but t