rself off quite alone.

Just then a hawk began to fly round in a circle above her, and all of a
sudden he swooped down upon her. The Cock, as he stood on top of the
dust-heap, stretching his neck and peering first with one eye and then
with the other, had long noticed him, and cried with all his might:

"Come, come, come and help! Come, come, come and help!" till the people
came running to see what was the matter. They frightened the hawk so
that he let go the Hen, and had to be satisfied with her tuft and her
finest feathers, which he had plucked from her. And then, you may be
sure, she lost no time in running-home; she stretched her neck, and
tripped along, crying:

"See, see, see, see how I look! See, see, see, see how I look!"

The Cock came up to her in his dignified way, drooped one of his wings,
and said:

"Didn't I tell you?"

From that time the Hen did not consider herself too good to be in the
company of the old hens on the dust-heap.

[Illustration: "DIDN'T I TELL YOU?" SAID THE COCK]

THE OLD WOMAN AND THE TRAMP

There was once a tramp who went plodding his way through a forest. The
distance between the houses was so great that he had little hope of
finding a shelter before the night set in. But all of a sudden he saw
some lights between the trees. He then discovered a cottage, where there
was a fire burning on the hearth. How nice it would be to roast one's
self before that fire, and to get a bite of something, he thought; and
so he dragged himself toward the cottage.

Just then an old woman came toward him.

"Good evening, and well met!" said the tramp.

"Good evening," said the woman. "Where do you come from?"

"South of the sun, and east of the moon," said the tramp; "and now I am
on the way home again, for I have been all over the world with the
exception of this parish," he said.

"You must be a great traveler, then," said the woman. "What may be your
business here?"

"Oh, I want a shelter for the night," he said.

"I thought as much," said the woman; "but you may as well get away from
here at once, for my husband is not at home, and my place is not an
inn," she said.

"My good woman," said the tramp, "you must not be so cross and
hard-hearted, for we are both human beings, and should help one another,
as it is written."

"Help one another?" said the woman, "help? Did you ever hear such a
thing? Who'll help me, do you think? I haven't got a morsel in the
house! No, you'