not on any account, for these flies have
sucked their fill and are taking very little from me now; but, if you
drive them off, another swarm of hungry ones will come and suck all
the blood I have left, and leave me without a drop in my veins."

THE CROW AND THE RAVEN

A Crow became very jealous of a Raven, because the latter was
regarded by men as a bird of omen which foretold the future, and was
accordingly held in great respect by them. She was very anxious to
get the same sort of reputation herself; and, one day, seeing some
travellers approaching, she flew on to a branch of a tree at the
roadside and cawed as loud as she could. The travellers were in some
dismay at the sound, for they feared it might be a bad omen; till one
of them, spying the Crow, said to his companions, "It's all right,
my friends, we can go on without fear, for it's only a crow and that
means nothing."

Those who pretend to be something they are not only make
themselves ridiculous.

THE WITCH

A Witch professed to be able to avert the anger of the gods by means
of charms, of which she alone possessed the secret; and she drove a
brisk trade, and made a fat livelihood out of it. But certain persons
accused her of black magic and carried her before the judges, and
demanded that she should be put to death for dealings with the Devil.
She was found guilty and condemned to death: and one of the judges
said to her as she was leaving the dock, "You say you can avert the
anger of the gods. How comes it, then, that you have failed to disarm
the enmity of men?"

THE OLD MAN AND DEATH

An Old Man cut himself a bundle of faggots in a wood and started to
carry them home. He had a long way to go, and was tired out before he
had got much more than half-way. Casting his burden on the ground, he
called upon Death to come and release him from his life of toil. The
words were scarcely out of his mouth when, much to his dismay, Death
stood before him and professed his readiness to serve him. He was
almost frightened out of his wits, but he had enough presence of mind
to stammer out, "Good sir, if you'd be so kind, pray help me up with
my burden again."

THE MISER

A Miser sold everything he had, and melted down his hoard of gold into
a single lump, which he buried secretly in a field. Every day he went
to look at it, and would sometimes spend long hours gloating over his
treasure. One of his men noticed his frequ