A Dove saw an Ant fall into a brook. The Ant struggled in vain to
reach the bank, and in pity, the Dove dropped a blade of straw
close beside it. Clinging to the straw like a shipwrecked sailor
to a broken spar, the Ant floated safely to shore.
Soon after, the Ant saw a man getting ready to kill the Dove with
a stone. But just as he cast the stone, the Ant stung him in the
heel, so that the pain made him miss his aim, and the startled
Dove flew to safety in a distant wood.
_A kindness is never wasted._