it as agreeably as you can; you know not what may happen
to-morrow."

In short, these and such like arguments prevailed, and his country
friend was resolved to go to town that night. So they both set out
upon their journey, proposing to sneak in after the close of the
evening. They did so, and about midnight made their entry into a
certain great house, where there had been an extraordinary
entertainment the day before, and several tit-bits, which some of
the servants had purloined, were hid under a seat of a window. The
country guest was immediately placed in the midst of a rich Persian
carpet; and now it was the courtier's turn to entertain, who,
indeed, acquitted himself in that capacity with the utmost readiness
and address, changing the courses as elegantly, and tasting
everything first as judiciously, as any clerk of the kitchen. The
other sat and enjoyed himself like a delighted epicure, tickled to
the last degree with this new turn of his affairs; when, on a
sudden, a noise of somebody opening the door made them start from
their seats and scuttle in confusion about the dining-room. Our
country friend, in particular, was ready to die with fear at the
barking of a huge Mastiff or two, which opened their throats just
about the same time, and made the whole house echo.

At last, recovering himself, "Well," says he, "if this be your
town life, much good may you do with it; give me my poor, quiet
hole again, with my homely but comfortable grey pease."

MORAL.

Poverty and safety are preferable to luxury and danger.

FABLE XLVIII.

THE CAT AND THE MICE.

A CERTAIN house was much infested with Mice; but at last they got
a Cat, who caught and ate every day some of them. The Mice,
finding their numbers grow thin, consulted what was best to be
done for the preservation of the public from the jaws of the
devouring Cat. They debated and came to this resolution, that no
one should go down below the upper shelf.

The Cat, observing the Mice no longer came down as usual, hungry and
disappointed of her prey, had recourse to this stratagem:--She hung
by her hind legs on a peg which stuck in the wall, and made as if
she had been dead, hoping by this lure to entice the Mice to come
down. She had not been in this posture long before a cunning old
Mouse peeped over the edge of the shelf, and spoke thus:--"Ha! ha!
my good friend, are you there? There you may be! I would not trust
myself with you, though your skin