on and devoured. When he was so surfeited that he
could scarcely move, the grateful Pigeons scratched out his eyes.

The Wolf and the Babe

A Famishing Wolf, passing the door of a cottage in the forest, heard a
Mother say to her babe:

"Be quiet, or I will throw you out of the window, and the wolves will get
you."

So he waited all day below the window, growing more hungry all the time.
But at night the Old Man, having returned from the village club, threw
out both Mother and Child.

The Wolf and the Ostrich

A Wolf, who in devouring a man had choked himself with a bunch of keys,
asked an ostrich to put her head down his throat and pull them out, which
she did.

"I suppose," said the Wolf, "you expect payment for that service."

"A kind act," replied the Ostrich, "is its own reward; I have eaten the
keys."

The Herdsman and the Lion

A Herdsman who had lost a bullock entreated the gods to bring him the
thief, and vowed he would sacrifice a goat to them. Just then a Lion,
his jaws dripping with bullock's blood, approached the Herdsman.

"I thank you, good deities," said the Herdsman, continuing his prayer,
"for showing me the thief. And now if you will take him away, I will
stand another goat."

The Man and the Viper

A Man finding a frozen Viper put it into his bosom.

"The coldness of the human heart," he said, with a grin, "will keep the
creature in his present condition until I can reach home and revive him
on the coals."

But the pleasures of hope so fired his heart that the Viper thawed, and
sliding to the ground thanked the Man civilly for his hospitality and
glided away.

The Man and the Eagle

An Eagle was once captured by a Man, who clipped his wings and put him in
the poultry yard, along with the chickens. The Eagle was much depressed
in spirits by the change.

"Why should you not rather rejoice?" said the Man. "You were only an
ordinary fellow as an eagle; but as an old rooster you are a fowl of
incomparable distinction."

The War-horse and the Miller

Having heard that the State was about to be invaded by a hostile army, a
War-horse belonging to a Colonel of the Militia offered his services to a
passing Miller.

"No," said the patriotic Miller, "I will employ no one who deserts his
position in the hour of danger. It is sweet to die for one's country."

Something in the sentiment sounded familiar, and, looking at the Miller
more closely