ren, whose deaths have been caused by you."

The Oak and the Woodcutters

THE WOODCUTTER cut down a Mountain Oak and split it in pieces, making
wedges of its own branches for dividing the trunk. The Oak said with a
sigh, "I do not care about the blows of the axe aimed at my roots, but
I do grieve at being torn in pieces by these wedges made from my own
branches."

Misfortunes springing from ourselves are the hardest to bear.

The Hen and the Golden Eggs

A COTTAGER and his wife had a Hen that laid a golden egg every day. They
supposed that the Hen must contain a great lump of gold in its inside,
and in order to get the gold they killed it. Having done so, they found
to their surprise that the Hen differed in no respect from their other
hens. The foolish pair, thus hoping to become rich all at once, deprived
themselves of the gain of which they were assured day by day.

The Ass and the Frogs

AN ASS, carrying a load of wood, passed through a pond. As he was
crossing through the water he lost his footing, stumbled and fell, and
not being able to rise on account of his load, groaned heavily. Some
Frogs frequenting the pool heard his lamentation, and said, "What would
you do if you had to live here always as we do, when you make such a
fuss about a mere fall into the water?"

Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large
misfortunes.

The Crow and the Raven

A CROW was jealous of the Raven, because he was considered a bird of
good omen and always attracted the attention of men, who noted by his
flight the good or evil course of future events. Seeing some travelers
approaching, the Crow flew up into a tree, and perching herself on one
of the branches, cawed as loudly as she could. The travelers turned
towards the sound and wondered what it foreboded, when one of them said
to his companion, "Let us proceed on our journey, my friend, for it is
only the caw of a crow, and her cry, you know, is no omen."

Those who assume a character which does not belong to them, only make
themselves ridiculous.

The Trees and the Axe

A MAN came into a forest and asked the Trees to provide him a handle
for his axe. The Trees consented to his request and gave him a young
ash-tree. No sooner had the man fitted a new handle to his axe from it,
than he began to use it and quickly felled with his strokes the
noblest giants of the forest. An old oak, lamenting when too late