The Baa-Sheep and the Lion
The Dog and the Meat
The Fox and the Grapes
The Fox and the Crow
The Ass in the Lion's Skin
The Horse and the Oyster
The Monkey and the Ass
The Merchant and the Fool
The Wolf and the Sheep
The Ambitious Hippopotamus
The Man and the Serpent
The Appreciative Man
On the Not-Altogether-Credible Habits of the Ostrich
The Idol and the Ass
The Bee and Jupiter
The Lion and the Boar
The Tiger and the Deer
The Old Man, His Son and the Ass
The Shipwrecked Traveler
The Discontented Woman
The Baa-Sheep and the Lion.
A baa-sheep was lying under the paw of a black-maned lion. Whatever was
going to be done had to be done quickly. A thought flashed upon the sheep
and he said:
"Most dread lord and master, I have heard your voice extolled beyond that
of all others. Will you not sing me a little selection from Wagner before I
die?"
The lion, touched in his vanity, immediately started up and roared away
until the goose-flesh stood out on the rocks. When he had finished, the
sheep was in tears.
"What means this?" growled the lion in a rage. "Do you presume to criticise
my singing?"
"Oh, no!" sobbed the sheep. "That is not it. But I have heard that wool was
the worst thing in the world for the voice, and when I think of the ruin of
that beautiful organ of yours, consequent upon eating me, I weep to think
that I was not born hairless."
The lion regarded him out of the corner of his eye. Then, in his grandest
manner, said: "Run along home to your ma, little sheep; I was only playing
with you," and walked off through the forest with a great deal of dignity.
[Illustration: The Baa-Sheep and the Lion.]
The Dog and the Meat.
A dog with a piece of meat in his mouth was crossing a bridge over a placid
stream. On looking down he saw another dog with a precisely similar piece
of meat in the water below him. "That's a singular incident," he thought to
himself as he prepared to jump in. "But hold a minute! The angle of
incidence is always equal to the angle of reflection. Upon reflection, I
find that the other dog and the meat are only optical phenomena." And he
trotted on his way to Boston without further thought about the matter.
[Illustration: The Dog and the Meat.]
The Fox and the Grapes.
A fox stood under an apple-tree and gazed up earnestly at the globes of
yellow lusciousness. "How sad, for the sake of an old-time piece of
literature," he said, "that the fox is a carnivorous animal and doesn't
care particularly about fruit!"