Part 2

Two men set off to walk from Bath to York, and said they would each share the same fate, come what might. All went well till they got half way, when one of them saw a bag of gold in the path, which he took up. “Ha!” said he, “I am in luck’s way. See, I have found a bag of gold! I will buy a horse and ride the rest of my way.” “My friend,” said the man who went with him, “when we set out you told me we were to share the same luck, be it good or bad; so you ought to say ‘we’ have found a bag of gold, not ‘I.’” “You may think just as you please,” said the man, “but as it was I who found the gold, I shall keep it, and do with it as I said, and wish you good day.” Just then they heard a hue and cry of “Stop thief!” “Come, I pray you,” said the man (who held the bag), in a great fright; “come, let us hide in this wood, for if the men find us with the gold, they will take us for thieves, and we shall get hung for it.” “How now?” said his friend; “you swore it should be ‘I’ when you found the bag, so pray let it be ‘I’ as long as there is fear of theft.”

A just man’s word is as good as a bond.

One gets the prize, and both bear the blame.

THE FOX WHO HAD LOST HIS TAIL.

A fox who went to steal some young chicks was caught in a trap, from which he got free, but with the loss of his tail; and when he came to mix with the world, he saw how high a price he had paid for it, for none of the beasts who stole a look at him could hide a laugh, and the fox thought it would have been well for him if his life had gone with the “brush.” But, to make the best of things, he sent to all the rest of his race to beg of them to meet him on a heath, and there the fox held forth and said, “I would have you all cut off your tails. You know not the ease with which I can now move. Of what use is the tail to us? If we creep through a hole in the hedge, as we fly from the hounds, it stops us in the way. It is the ‘brush,’ you know, that man strives for in the hunt; and then, too, in spite of all we can do, it is apt to be caught in a trap.” A sly old fox who heard him, said, with a leer, “It strikes me that you would not so much care to see us part with our tails, if you had a chance to get your own back!”

Bought wit is the best.

[Illustration: The Fox who had lost His Tail.--Page 22. _Æsop._]

THE MAN AND THE APE.

A man in the East kept a tame ape, who was of great use to him, for he could scare the birds from the fruit and peas. One day the man took his sleep at noon, and the ape sat by his side to brush the flies from his face. One fly came and stood on the tip of his nose, so the ape, with a grin, sent it off; then it flew to his chin, and this put the ape in such a rage that he flung a stone at it, which smote the fly; but, sad to tell, the force with which the stone was thrown broke the man’s jaw.

A rash friend is worse than a foe.

THE MAN AND HIS LIVE STOCK.

A man who had a farm in a cold part of the world, was shut up in it by a deep fall of snow, and could not get out to buy food, so he ate all his sheep, one by one, and, as the frost did not break up, he then ate his pigs, then his goats, and, at last, the ox that was kept for the plough. When the dogs on the farm found this out, they said, “Let us be off! for since the man thinks it no harm to kill his sheep, his pigs, his goats, and his ox, how can we hope that he will spare us?”

When the house next door is on fire, it is high time to look to our own.

THE FROGS AND THE BULLS.

Some frogs that were in a damp marsh saw two bulls which fought in a field some way off. “Look!” said one of them, “there’s a sight! Dear sirs, what must we do?” “I pray thee,” said a young frog, “do not take fright at that. How can the feuds of two bulls hurt us? They are not of the same tribe as we are, far less in the same rank of life; and as to size, why we are too small for such large beasts as those to take note of us. They do but fight to see which shall be head of the herd.” “That is true,” said an old frog, “but as one will win the day, one must, of course, yield, and the bull that is sent out of the field will come to the marsh for rush and reed, and will crush us to death at each step. Know you not that when great folk fall out, small folk smart for it?”

THE BLUE WOLF.

A wolf once fell in a vat of blue dye which is made in the East. A man came by and thought he was dead, so he took him out and laid him on the bank and went his way; and then the wolf, glad to be safe, ran off to the woods. One by one, all the beasts came to gaze on him, and knew not what to make of him. So then the sly wolf said, “My fur is of a fine blue! You see in me a new kind of beast, and so I must, of course, be king of all the rest!” Then the bears, the boars, the apes, the wolves, as well as the ounce, the lynx, the bull, the fox, and all the rest of them, drew near to bow their heads to him as the lord of the wood. But soon the wolves thought they saw in the king some trace of kin, and one of them said, “Be it for me to find out, and let it be done as I say. At night you must all set up a loud yell near him, and if he be one of us--as I think he is--he will send forth a loud howl too.” So all at once the wolves put up their heads to howl, and they soon heard the new king join in the cry, for he could not help it. At this, a loud laugh rang through the wood from all the beasts of the plain. What is bred in the bone will not out of the flesh.

THE MAN, HIS SON, AND HIS ASS.

A man and his son drove their ass to a fair to sell him. They had not gone far, when one of a group of girls, who stood round a well, said, with a laugh, “Look at those two fools--they let their ass walk at his ease, while they trudge on foot by his side.” The man heard this, and set his son on the beast. They had not gone more than half a mile, when they came up to some old men who sat in grave talk. “There,” said one of them, “that just proves what I say; now a days the young take no care of the old; see, that young rogue rides, while the old man has to walk by his side. Get down, and let your sire rest his limbs.” At this the man made his son jump off the ass, that he might ride him. Thus they went on for a space, when they met three kind dames, each with a child on her arm. “Why, you old sloth,” said one of them, “what a shame to sit at ease while that poor slight lad can scarce keep pace by the side of you!” The man then took his son on the croup of the ass by his side, and so they rode till they got near the town. “Pray, good friend,” said a young man who met them, “is that ass your own?” “Yes,” said he. “One would not have thought so by the way you load him. Why, it seems to me more fit that you two should take him to the fair, than that he should take you.” “Well, be it so,” said the old man; “we can but try.” So they got off, and made fast the legs of the ass to a pole, which each took hold of at one end, and so went on their way, till they came to a bridge. This was a rare sight, and so the boys and girls thought, for they ran in crowds to laugh at the farce, till the ass--which took fright at the noise--gave a kick which broke the cords that bound him; so he fell in the stream, and sank. The old man then made the best of his way home, and said, “If we try to please all, we please none.”

[Illustration: THE MAN, HIS SON, AND HIS ASS.]

THE FOX AND THE CRANE.

A fox that had been out to poach, had got hurt in a trap, and lay at the point of death. For a long time he sought in vain for aid, but at last he saw a crane, and said to her, “I beg of you to bring me some drink to quench my thirst, for I might then gain strength to go in search of food.” “Not far in search, I think,” said the crane, “for were I to bring you drink, I make no doubt that the food would come with me.”

Play not with edge tools.

THE OLD HEN AND HER YOUNG ONES.

[Illustration]

A hen led her train of young chicks through a yard, to rake the chaff and to show the grain, when one of them flew on the edge of a well to try her wings, and by chance dropt down it, to the great grief of the old bird. The next day, when the hen met one of her chicks from an old brood, she said, “My dear son, I know you are strong and bold, but, for your life, do not go near that well; if you do, some great harm will come to you.” “Why should she give me this charge?” said he. “Does she think I am not brave, or does she store some good thing down the well, which she keeps for her last brood? I will go and see.” So he stood at the brink of the well, and, far down in the dark, he saw a spruce young cock, whose plumes rose, and whose wings spread, as if he had a wish to fight. Down flew the young bird--to rise no more.

If a fool is bid not to do a thing, he is sure to do it.

The best shield is to keep out of the reach of shot.

THE BOY AND THE HORN BOOK.

A boy stole a horn book from school, and brought it home to his aunt, who did not take him to task for what he had done, but gave him some plums for his pains. In course of time the child grew up to be a man, and--need we say?--a thief. He stole more and more, and at last was caught in a great theft, and was hung. A crowd came to look on at the sad scene, and with them the aunt of the thief, who, with sobs and tears, tore her hair and beat her breast. The thief saw her, and said to those who were in charge of him, “Give me leave to say a word to my aunt.” When she came up, he put his face to hers, as if he would speak, and bit off her ear! At this the aunt gave a loud cry, and all who stood near were struck with awe at so base a deed. “Good sirs,” said the young man, “it is she who is the cause of my guilt; for if, when I stole the horn book from school, she had had the sense to point out to me that I had done wrong, I should not have come to this sad end.”

Spare the rod, and spoil the child.

He that will steal an ounce, will steal a pound.

THE ASS WITH A LOAD OF SALT.

A man drove his ass down to the coast to buy a load of salt, and on his way home the ass fell in the midst of a stream. The salt, of course, did not take long to melt, and so the ass lost his load, and came home fresh and gay. The next day the man set off to the coast for some more salt, and put the load on his ass once more. As they went through the stream, the ass took care to fall down just at the same spot, and thus got rid of his load this time too. But the man, who now saw the trick, made a plan to cure the ass of it. He bought a large load of sponge, and put it on the back of the beast, and drove him, for the third time, to the coast. By and by they came to the stream, when the ass thought to play his old pranks. But the sponge got wet through, and the ass found to his cost that so far from a light load, he had now on his back one which was ten times the weight of the first.

If a man cheats me once, shame on him. If he cheats me twice, shame on me.

THE WOLF AND THE HOUSE DOG.

A poor lean wolf, that was but skin and bone, fell in with a plump house dog, and said, “How comes it, my friend, that you look so fat and sleek, while I, who am in the woods night and day in search of food, do but starve at the best?” “Well,” said the dog, “you may be as well off as I am, if you will do the same for it. I have but to guard the house from thieves; so come home with me, and see how you like the life.” “With all my heart!” cries the wolf.

As they went down the road side by side, the wolf saw a mark on the dog’s neck, and would know what it was. So they had a talk.

_Dog._--Well, it may be a slight mark from the chain.

_Wolf._--Chain! Do you mean to say that you may not roam when and where you please?

_Dog._--Why, not quite. For, you see, they do look on me as the least in the world fierce, so they tie me up by day, but I am let loose at night. And all in the house pet me, and feed me with scraps from their own plates, and--Come on. What ails you?

_Wolf._--Oh, good night to you. I wish you joy of your fine life; but, for my part, though I may not be fat, I will at least be free.

No one loves chains, though they be made of gold.

[Illustration: The Wolf and the House Dog.--Page 31. _Æsop._]

THE STAG IN THE LAKE.

One hot day, a stag came to quench his thirst at a lake, and stood there to scan his shape from head to foot, as it shone in the clear pool. “What strength is there,” said he, “in this fine pair of horns which branch out with so much grace from each side of my head! If the rest of my form were but of a piece with my horns, I would give place to none. But, ah, me! how slight are these poor legs of mine. I would as lief have none at all.” Just then some men, and a pack of hounds that had been on the scent, made to the spot where the stag stood. Off he went, at full speed; and those legs, with which he found so much fault, soon took him out of the reach of hounds and men. But the horns which he was so vain of, by ill luck, caught in the boughs of a tree, and held him there till the hounds came to pull him down.

[Illustration: The Stag in the Lake.--Page 32. _Æsop._]

THE MAN, THE FOX, AND THE BEAR.

A man once saw a fox which had so sleek a coat that he felt a wish to kill him for the sake of it, and he thought of a plan by which he might save the skin whole. He dug a deep trench just in front of his hole, on which he spread leaves, sticks, and straw, and then hid in the thick trees out of sight, to wait till the fox came home. But he went to sleep; and while he slept, the fox came up, saw the piece of meat, and had a great wish to taste it; yet when he stole a look round him, he had his doubts that all was right, so he did not touch it. Soon a bear came up, and sprang on the bait. The sticks gave way as he lit on them, and down he fell in the pit. The noise woke up the man, who, as he thought of course it was his friend the fox, went down the pit, where the bear gave him a hug which took all the breath out of his lungs, and then ate him up. So the man was caught in his own trap.

He must rise in good time who would cheat the fox.

THE FOX AND THE CROW.

A crow sat on the bough of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak. A sly old fox which saw her, said, “What a fine bird thou art! How bright is thine eye, how sleek are thy wings, what grace is there in the turn of thy whole form! Oh, that such a bird should lack a voice!” The poor crow was much struck with this speech, saw not its guile, and would fain prove how sweet her note was; so she gave a loud caw, and down fell the cheese to the ground. The fox ran off with it, and said, as he went, “I spoke loud of her charms; but fair words do not cost much, nor does the heart feel all that the false tongue speaks. Yet I said not a word of her brains; for a wise head makes a close mouth, and a close mouth will catch no flies.”

[Illustration: The Fox and the Crow.--Page 34. _Æsop._]

THE BOOR AND THE STAG.

A stag that had left the hounds a long way off, came up to a man who was at work on a farm, to ask if he would show him some safe place to hide in. So the man bade him hide in his own hut, which was close by. The stag lay quite still in the hut, and in a short time up came the squire and his train with the hounds. The squire caught sight of the boor, and drew back to ask him if he had seen the stag pass that way. “No,” said the boor, in a loud tone, “I have not.” At the same time--as he had a wish to keep on good terms with the squire--he held out his hand, with a sly look, to point to the hut where the stag lay hid; but as luck would have it, the squire took no heed of this sign, nor did he so much as see it. So on he went to join the rest; but though they rode through the field where the hut was, they did not see the stag. As soon as they were well out of sight, the stag stole from the hut, but said not a word to the boor, who now gave a loud call to him. “You wretch!” said he, “you owe your life to me, yet when you leave my hut, where I sent you to screen you from your foes, you say not one word of thanks.” “Nay,” quoth the stag, “you may make sure I should fill your ears as full of praise and thanks as my heart is of joy, if your deeds had been true to your words; in short, if I had not, through the door of the hut, seen your hand play false to your tongue.”

THE CAT, THE MOUSE, AND THE COCK.

A young mouse, which had not seen much of the world, came home one day and said, “Oh, I have had such a fright! I have seen a thing with such a fierce look, that struts now here, now there, on two legs; on his head he wears a small red flag, and one round his throat, his arms flap up and down on his sides as if he meant to rise in the air. But you should have seen him stretch out his head, and roar at me with his sharp mouth, till I thought he would eat me up. It made me shake from head to foot with fear, and I was glad to run home as fast as my feet would take me. But for this I should have made friends with as sweet a soul as could be. She had soft fur like ours, which was black and gray in streaks. Her look was so bland and meek that I fell quite in love with her. Then she had a fine long tail, which you might see wave to and fro, first on this side, then on that; and when I saw her fix her bright eyes on me I thought she had a wish to speak; when that fierce wretch set up his scream, which drove me in this haste, quite out of breath with fear.” “Ah! my dear child,” said the old mouse, “in good truth you have run for your life; but the fierce thing you speak of was not your foe, for it was but a bird, that would not have done you the least harm in the world; while that sweet thing, of which you seem so fond, was a cat, and cats eat all us mice when they have a chance--in short, they live on mice.”

Judge not by looks.

THE PLANE TREE.

One hot day in June, two men lay down in the shade of a plane tree, to get out of the rays of the sun, and as they lay there, they cast their eyes up to the boughs. “A plane tree bears no fruit,” said one of them. “In good sooth,” quoth his friend, “that seems but a poor tree that is of no use to man!” The plane chid them, and said, “Sirs, you must be as blind as you are base, to come here and lie in the shade I give, and yet rail at me as a thing that is of no use to man.”

THE DOG WHO WAS HUNG.