A Wolf prowling near a village one evening met a Dog. It happened
to be a very lean and bony Dog, and Master Wolf would have turned
up his nose at such meager fare had he not been more hungry than
usual. So he began to edge toward the Dog, while the Dog backed
away.
"Let me remind your lordship," said the Dog, his words
interrupted now and then as he dodged a snap of the Wolf's teeth,
"how unpleasant it would be to eat me now. Look at my ribs. I am
nothing but skin and bone. But let me tell you something in
private. In a few days my master will give a wedding feast for
his only daughter. You can guess how fine and fat I will grow on
the scraps from the table. _Then_ is the time to eat me."
The Wolf could not help thinking how nice it would be to have a
fine fat Dog to eat instead of the scrawny object before him. So
he went away pulling in his belt and promising to return.
Some days later the Wolf came back for the promised feast. He
found the Dog in his master's yard, and asked him to come out and
be eaten.
"Sir," said the Dog, with a grin, "I shall be delighted to have
you eat me. I'll be out as soon as the porter opens the door."
But the "porter" was a huge Dog whom the Wolf knew by painful
experience to be very unkind toward wolves. So he decided not to
wait and made off as fast as his legs could carry him.
_Do not depend on the promises of those whose interest it is to
deceive you._
_Take what you can get when you can get it._
[Illustration]