55. The Oxen and the Butchers
THE OXEN once upon a time sought to destroy the Butchers, who practiced a trade destructive to their race.
They assembled on a certain day to carry out their purpose, and sharpened their horns for the contest.
But one of them who was exceedingly old (for many a field had he plowed) thus spoke: "These Butchers, it is true, slaughter us, but they do so with skillful hands, and with no unnecessary pain. If we get rid of them, we shall fall into the hands of unskillful operators, and thus suffer a double death: for you may be assured, that though all the Butchers should perish, yet will men never want beef."
Do not be in a hurry to change one evil for another.
56. The Lion, the Mouse, and the Fox
A LION, fatigued by the heat of a summer's day, fell fast asleep in his den.
A Mouse ran over his mane and ears and woke him from his slumbers.
He rose up and shook himself in great wrath, and searched every corner of his den to find the Mouse.
A Fox seeing him said: "A fine Lion you are, to be frightened of a Mouse."
"'It is not the Mouse I fear," said the Lion; "I resent his familiarity and ill-breeding."
Little liberties are great offenses.
57. The Vain Jackdaw
JUPITER DETERMINED, it is said, to create a sovereign over the birds, and made proclamation that on a certain day they should all present themselves before him, when he would himself choose the most beautiful among them to be king.
The Jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, searched through the woods and fields, and collected the feathers which had fallen from the wings of his companions, and stuck them in all parts of his body, hoping thereby to make himself the most beautiful of all.
When the appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembled before Jupiter, the Jackdaw also made his appearance in his many feathered finery.
But when Jupiter proposed to make him king because of the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly protested, and each plucked from him his own feathers, leaving the Jackdaw nothing but a Jackdaw. |
