nt up to their racks and cried out: "Why is
there such a scarcity of fodder? There is not half enough straw for them
to lie on. Those lazy fellows have not even swept the cobwebs away."
While he thus examined everything in turn, he spied the tips of the
antlers of the Stag peeping out of the straw. Then summoning his
laborers, he ordered that the Stag should be seized and killed.

The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons

THE PIGEONS, terrified by the appearance of a Kite, called upon the Hawk
to defend them. He at once consented. When they had admitted him into
the cote, they found that he made more havoc and slew a larger number of
them in one day than the Kite could pounce upon in a whole year.

Avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease.

The Widow and the Sheep

A CERTAIN poor widow had one solitary Sheep. At shearing time, wishing
to take his fleece and to avoid expense, she sheared him herself, but
used the shears so unskillfully that with the fleece she sheared the
flesh. The Sheep, writhing with pain, said, "Why do you hurt me so,
Mistress? What weight can my blood add to the wool? If you want my
flesh, there is the butcher, who will kill me in an instant; but if you
want my fleece and wool, there is the shearer, who will shear and not
hurt me."

The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.

The Wild Ass and the Lion

A WILD ASS and a Lion entered into an alliance so that they might
capture the beasts of the forest with greater ease. The Lion agreed to
assist the Wild Ass with his strength, while the Wild Ass gave the Lion
the benefit of his greater speed. When they had taken as many beasts as
their necessities required, the Lion undertook to distribute the prey,
and for this purpose divided it into three shares. "I will take the
first share," he said, "because I am King: and the second share, as a
partner with you in the chase: and the third share (believe me) will be
a source of great evil to you, unless you willingly resign it to me, and
set off as fast as you can."

Might makes right.

The Eagle and the Arrow

AN EAGLE sat on a lofty rock, watching the movements of a Hare whom he
sought to make his prey. An archer, who saw the Eagle from a place of
concealment, took an accurate aim and wounded him mortally. The Eagle
gave one look at the arrow that had entered his heart and saw in that
single glance that its feathers had been furnished by himself. "It is
a double gri