[Illustration: THE APE AND THE FOX.]
The Ape meeting the Fox one day, humbly requested him to give him a
piece of his fine, long, brush tail, to cover his poor naked backside,
which was exposed to all the violence and inclemency of the weather;
'For,' says he, 'Reynard, you have already more than you have occasion
for, and a great part of it even drags along in the dirt.' The Fox
answered, 'That as to his having too much, that was more than he knew;
but be it as it would, he had rather sweep the ground with his tail, as
long as he lived, than deprive himself of the least bit to cover the
Ape's nasty stinking posteriors.'