on concealed himself on seeing her approach, but when she
was safe within the cave, sprang upon her and tore her to pieces. "Woe
is me," exclaimed the Doe, "who have escaped from man, only to throw
myself into the mouth of a wild beast?"

In avoiding one evil, care must be taken not to fall into another.

The Farmer and the Fox

A FARMER, who bore a grudge against a Fox for robbing his poultry yard,
caught him at last, and being determined to take an ample revenge, tied
some rope well soaked in oil to his tail, and set it on fire. The Fox by
a strange fatality rushed to the fields of the Farmer who had captured
him. It was the time of the wheat harvest; but the Farmer reaped nothing
that year and returned home grieving sorely.

The Seagull and the Kite

A SEAGULL having bolted down too large a fish, burst its deep gullet-bag
and lay down on the shore to die. A Kite saw him and exclaimed: "You
richly deserve your fate; for a bird of the air has no business to seek
its food from the sea."

Every man should be content to mind his own business.

The Philosopher, the Ants, and Mercury

A PHILOSOPHER witnessed from the shore the shipwreck of a vessel, of
which the crew and passengers were all drowned. He inveighed against
the injustice of Providence, which would for the sake of one criminal
perchance sailing in the ship allow so many innocent persons to perish.
As he was indulging in these reflections, he found himself surrounded
by a whole army of Ants, near whose nest he was standing. One of them
climbed up and stung him, and he immediately trampled them all to death
with his foot. Mercury presented himself, and striking the Philosopher
with his wand, said, "And are you indeed to make yourself a judge of
the dealings of Providence, who hast thyself in a similar manner treated
these poor Ants?"

The Mouse and the Bull

A BULL was bitten by a Mouse and, angered by the wound, tried to capture
him. But the Mouse reached his hole in safety. Though the Bull dug into
the walls with his horns, he tired before he could rout out the Mouse,
and crouching down, went to sleep outside the hole. The Mouse peeped
out, crept furtively up his flank, and again biting him, retreated to
his hole. The Bull rising up, and not knowing what to do, was sadly
perplexed. At which the Mouse said, "The great do not always prevail.
There are times when the small and lowly are the strongest to do
mischief."

The