FABLE III.

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.

ONE hot day a Wolf and a Lamb came just at the same time to quench their thirst in the stream of a clear brook; the Wolf stood where the ground was high, and the Lamb stood down the stream not far from him. But as the Wolf had a great mind to taste his flesh, he would fain fall out with the Lamb. 'Fool!' says he, 'what is it you mean, that you stir up the mud so, and spoil the stream where I drink?'-' You must be quite wrong, to be sure, sir,' said the poor Lamb; 'for the stream runs down from you to me, and not up from me to you.'

Be that as it will,' said the Wolf, 'you are a pert young rogue, and spoke a great deal of ill of me, more than half a year since. Sir,' says the Lamb, 'that could not be, for I was not born at the time you speak of.'—'No!' said the Wolf; ‘then I am sure it was that vile old knave your dad; and it is no more than just that his son should pay for it.' With that he flew on the poor Lamb, and tore him limb from limb in a trice.

MORAL.

The worst of men know so well that they ought to be good, that when they do wrong, they try by some art to make it seem right.

FABLE IV.

THE WOLF AND THE CRANE.

THIS vile rogue of a Wolf was in such haste to eat up the poor Lamb, that one of the small bones stuck fast in his throat. Oh, how this made him roar and howl! He said that he would not kill a Lamb once more for the whole world. He ran first to this beast, and then to that beast; but as not one of them had the least love for him, they would not give him the least help. So at last he went to the Crane, and told her he would give I know not what, if she would but take the bone from his throat. On this the Crane put her long neck down his throat, and drew out the bone at once. But when she told him of the pay which he said he would give her for the cure, 'Fool!' said he, 'you may think it well that I did not bite off your head; how then came you to think of pay?'

MORAL.

When we do good to bad men, we must not expect good

from them.

FABLE V.

THE WOLF AND THE KID.

ONCE on a time, when an old Goat went out to seek for some food, she shut up her young Kid at home, bade him be sure to keep the door fast, and not let any one in till she came back, and then to look out and see who was there: For, Bill,' said she, if you do not mind what I say, there are some fierce rogues in the fields, who will rush in and eat you up at once.'Well, well,' said Bill; and if you had not told me, I think I should have had the sense to take care what I did.' The good old Goat set out; but she had not been gone a great while, when the same rogue of a Wolf who ate up the poor Lamb, and had heard all that had been said, came and knocked at the door. 'Who is there?' cries Bill. My dear,' says the Wolf, who strove to talk like the old Goat, 'it is I, your poor old Dam.' On this the fool of a Kid did not look out as he had been told to do, but drew up the latch; and so in flew the Wolf, and made an end of him in a short time.

MORAL.

We should not fail to pay as much heed as we can to what is said to us by those who gave us birth, and know more than we do what is for our good; for if we do not mind them, but make light of what they say, we shall be sure to smart for it.

FABLE VI.

THE FOX WHO HAD LOST HIS TAIL.

OUR FOX was such a great thief that no hen-roost could be at peace for him. But once on a time he had the ill-luck to be caught in a steel-trap, and was glad to get out of it with the loss of his tail; and yet, in a short time, the shame which this loss brought on him was so great, that he would have been glad if he had lost his life. Poor wretch! what could he do? Why, he spoke first to this Fox, and then to that, and told them that, as he found his tail had so much weight in it, and was so long that he could not run with it at his ease; and as he thought, too, that he had not a clean smart look, he had been at the pains to cut it quite off: ‘And if I,' said he, ' was in your place, I would do so too, by all means. Do but see, my dear, how nice and spruce I look! Now I have left my brush, they tell me that I am quite a beau!' But an old sly Fox, who knew how the case stood, took him up as short as could be: 'I think,' said he, 'good Sir Crop, that it will then be the time for me to part with my tail, when I have the same cause to do it as you had.'

MORAL.

There are some sly folks, who, to hide their own shame, will strive to make all the world do as they have done.