inding that he had heavier loads to carry and
harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for another change of
master. Jupiter, telling him that it would be the last time that he
could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to a tanner. The
Ass found that he had fallen into worse hands, and noting his master's
occupation, said, groaning: "It would have been better for me to have
been either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the other
of my former masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who
will even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him."

The Oak and the Reeds

A VERY LARGE OAK was uprooted by the wind and thrown across a stream. It
fell among some Reeds, which it thus addressed: "I wonder how you, who
are so light and weak, are not entirely crushed by these strong winds."
They replied, "You fight and contend with the wind, and consequently you
are destroyed; while we on the contrary bend before the least breath of
air, and therefore remain unbroken, and escape."

Stoop to conquer.

The Fisherman and the Little Fish

A FISHERMAN who lived on the produce of his nets, one day caught a
single small Fish as the result of his day's labor. The Fish, panting
convulsively, thus entreated for his life: "O Sir, what good can I be to
you, and how little am I worth? I am not yet come to my full size. Pray
spare my life, and put me back into the sea. I shall soon become a large
fish fit for the tables of the rich, and then you can catch me again,
and make a handsome profit of me." The Fisherman replied, "I should
indeed be a very simple fellow if, for the chance of a greater uncertain
profit, I were to forego my present certain gain."

The Hunter and the Woodman

A HUNTER, not very bold, was searching for the tracks of a Lion. He
asked a man felling oaks in the forest if he had seen any marks of his
footsteps or knew where his lair was. "I will," said the man, "at once
show you the Lion himself." The Hunter, turning very pale and chattering
with his teeth from fear, replied, "No, thank you. I did not ask that;
it is his track only I am in search of, not the Lion himself."

The hero is brave in deeds as well as words.

The Wild Boar and the Fox

A WILD BOAR stood under a tree and rubbed his tusks against the trunk. A
Fox passing by asked him why he thus sharpened his teeth when there was
no danger threatening from either huntsman or hound. He