Hence, while we wait for other's aid,
Our business needs must be delay'd;
Which might be done with half the labor
'Twould take to go and call a neighbor.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE
ACORN.
A philosopher, proud of his wit and his reason,
Sat him under an oak in a hot summer season.
On the oak grew an acorn or two, it is said:
On the ground grew a pumpkin as big as his head.
Thought the sage, "What's the reason this oak is so strong
A few acorns to bear that are scarce an inch long;
While this poor feeble plant has a weight to sustain,
Which had much better hang on the tree, it is plain?"
But just at the time the philosopher spoke
An acorn dropp'd down on his head from the oak;
Then, said he, who just now thought _his_ plan was so clever,
"I am glad that _this_ was not a pumpkin, however."