at Lizard, "that I am Chief Protector
of the Sword. I wore my sword because the Tortoise came wearing his coat
of mail."

So the Tortoise was sent for.

"Why did you wear your coat of mail?" said the king.

"I put it on, your Majesty," said the Tortoise, "because I saw the
King-crab trailing his three-edged pike."

Then the King-crab was sent for.

"Why were you trailing your three-edged pike?" said King Solomon.

"Because, your Majesty," said the King-crab, "I saw that the Crayfish
had shouldered his lance."

Immediately the Crayfish was sent for.

"Why did you shoulder your lance?" said the king.

"Because, your Majesty," said the Crayfish, "I saw the Otter coming down
to the river to kill my children."

"Oh," said King Solomon, "if that is the case, the Otter killed the
Otter's children. And the Mouse-deer cannot be blamed, by the law of the
land!"

FOOTNOTES:

[23] Adapted from the story as told in _Fables and Folk Tales from an
Eastern Forest_, by Walter Skeat.

EARLY[24]

I like to lie and wait to see
My mother braid her hair.
It is as long as it can be,
And yet she doesn't care.
I love my mother's hair.

And then the way her fingers go;
They look so quick and white,--
In and out, and to and fro,
And braiding in the light,
And it is always right.

So then she winds it, shiny brown,
Around her head into a crown,
Just like the day before.
And then she looks and pats it down,
And looks a minute more;
While I stay here all still and cool.
Oh, isn't morning beautiful?

FOOTNOTES:

[24] From _The Singing Leaves_, by Josephine Preston Peabody.

THE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER, AND THE JACKAL

Do you know what a Brahmin is? A Brahmin is a very good and gentle kind
of man who lives in India, and who treats all the beasts as if they were
his brothers. There is a great deal more to know about Brahmins, but
that is enough for the story.

One day a Brahmin was walking along a country road when he came upon a
Tiger, shut up in a strong iron cage. The villagers had caught him and
shut him up there for his wickedness.

"Oh, Brother Brahmin, Brother Brahmin," said the Tiger, "please let me
out, to get a little drink! I am so thirsty, and there is no water
here."

"But Brother Tiger," said the Brahmin, "you know if I should let you
out, you would spring on me and eat me up."

"Never, Bro