A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard
among the hens when suddenly he espied something
shinning amid the straw. ?Ho! ho!? quoth he, ?that?s for
me,? and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What
did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had
been lost in the yard? ?You may be a treasure,? quoth
Master Cock, ?to men that prize you, but for me I would
rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls.?
Precious things are for those that can prize them.
The Dog and the shadow
It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was
carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on
his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a
running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw
his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking
it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made
up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the
shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the
piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was
never seen more.
Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the
shadow.
The Wolf and the Crane
A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed,
when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat
and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in
his throat, and ran up and down groaning and groaning
and seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to
induce every one he met to remove the bone. ?I would
give anything,? said he, ?if you would take it out.? At last
the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie on his
side and open his jaws as wide as he could. Then the
Crane put its long neck down the Wolf?s throat, and with
its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.
?Will you kindly give me the reward you promised??
said the Crane.
The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: ?Be
content. You have put your head inside a Wolf?s mouth
and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward
enough for you.?
Gratitude and greed go not together.
The Fox and the Crow
A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese
in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. ?That?s for me,
as I am a Fox,? said Master Reynard, and he walked up to
the foot of the tree. ?Good-day, Mistress Crow,? he cried.
?How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your
feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must
surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me
hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the
Queen of Birds.? The Crow lifted up her head and began
to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth
the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped
up by Master Fox. ?That will do,? said he. ?That was all I
wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a
piece of advice for the future .?Do not trust flatterers.?
among the hens when suddenly he espied something
shinning amid the straw. ?Ho! ho!? quoth he, ?that?s for
me,? and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What
did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had
been lost in the yard? ?You may be a treasure,? quoth
Master Cock, ?to men that prize you, but for me I would
rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls.?
Precious things are for those that can prize them.
The Dog and the shadow
It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was
carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on
his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a
running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw
his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking
it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made
up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the
shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the
piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was
never seen more.
Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the
shadow.
The Wolf and the Crane
A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed,
when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat
and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in
his throat, and ran up and down groaning and groaning
and seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to
induce every one he met to remove the bone. ?I would
give anything,? said he, ?if you would take it out.? At last
the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie on his
side and open his jaws as wide as he could. Then the
Crane put its long neck down the Wolf?s throat, and with
its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.
?Will you kindly give me the reward you promised??
said the Crane.
The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: ?Be
content. You have put your head inside a Wolf?s mouth
and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward
enough for you.?
Gratitude and greed go not together.
The Fox and the Crow
A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese
in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. ?That?s for me,
as I am a Fox,? said Master Reynard, and he walked up to
the foot of the tree. ?Good-day, Mistress Crow,? he cried.
?How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your
feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must
surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me
hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the
Queen of Birds.? The Crow lifted up her head and began
to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth
the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped
up by Master Fox. ?That will do,? said he. ?That was all I
wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a
piece of advice for the future .?Do not trust flatterers.?