22. The Fawn and His Mother
A YOUNG FAWN once said to his Mother, "You are larger than a dog, and swifter, and more used to running, and you have your horns as a defense; why, then, O Mother! do the hounds frighten you so?"
She smiled, and said:
"I know full well, my son, that all you say is true.
I have the advantages you mention, but when I hear even the bark of a single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly away as fast as I can."
No arguments will give courage to the coward.
23. The Bear and the Fox
A BEAR boasted very much of his philanthropy, saying that of all animals he was the most tender in his regard for man, for he had such respect for him that he would not even touch his dead body.
A Fox hearing these words said with a smile to the Bear, "Oh! that you would eat the dead and not the living."
24. The Swallow and the Crow
THE SWALLOW and the Crow had a contention about their plumage.
The Crow put an end to the dispute by saying, "Your feathers are all very well in the spring, but mine protect me against the winter."
Fair weather friends are not worth much. |
