cruelty of her master in cutting off her ears,
and was so ashamed of her appearance that she resolved to stay in her
kennel with her family. A friendly hunting dog said to her: "If you had
been peaceful, and not always fighting, you would have saved your ears
and your good looks. If you will fight, it is a kindness to crop your
ears, that they may not give your enemy the advantage."

The Wind and the Sun.

[Illustration]

A dispute once arose between the Wind and the Sun, which was the
stronger of the two, and they agreed to settle the point upon this
issue--that whichever of the two soonest made a traveler take off his
cloak, should be accounted the more powerful. The Wind began, and blew
with all his might and main a blast, cold and fierce as a Thracian
storm; but the stronger he blew, the closer the traveler wrapped his
cloak around him, and the tighter he grasped it with his hands. Then
broke out the Sun. With his welcome beams he dispersed the vapor and the
cold; the traveler felt the genial warmth, and as the Sun shone brighter
and brighter, he sat down, quite overcome with the heat, and taking off
his cloak, cast it on the ground.

Thus the Sun was declared the conqueror; and it has ever been deemed
that persuasion is better than force; and that the sunshine of a kind
and gentle manner will sooner lay open a poor man's heart than all the
threatenings and force of blustering authority.

The Wild Boar and the Fox.

A Wild Boar was whetting his tusks against a tree, when a Fox coming by,
asked why he did so; "for," said he, "I see no reason for it; there is
neither hunter nor hound in sight, nor any other danger that I can see,
at hand." "True," replied the Boar; "but when that danger does arise, I
shall have something else to do than to sharpen my weapons."

It is too late to whet the sword when the trumpet sounds to draw it.

The Hunter and the Wolf.

[Illustration]

A greedy Hunter one day shot a fine Deer, and ere he could dress it, a
pretty Fawn came that way, and an arrow brought it to the ground. A Boar
now chanced to be passing, and the Hunter wounded it so that it lay upon
the ground as if dead. Not satisfied with this game, he must needs
pursue a Partridge that came fluttering near, and while he was doing so
the wounded Boar regained enough strength to spring upon him and kill
him. A Wolf came that way, and seeing the four dead bodies, said: "Here
is food for a month; bu