Had cheered the village with his song,
Nor yet at eve his note suspended,
Nor yet when eventide was ended,
Began to feel, as well he might,
The keen demands of appetite;
When, looking eagerly around,
He spied, far off, upon the ground,
A something shining in the dark,
And knew the Glow-worm by his spark;
So, stooping down from hawthorn top,
He thought to put him in his crop.
The Worm, aware of his intent,
Harangued him thus, right eloquent:--
"Did you admire my lamp," quoth he,
"As much as I your minstrelsy,
You would abhor to do me wrong,
As much as I to spoil your song;
For 'twas the self-same power divine
Taught you to sing and me to shine;
That you with music, I with light,
Might beautify and cheer the night."
The songster heard his short oration,
And, warbling out his approbation,
Released him, as my story tells,
And found a supper somewhere else.
MORAL.
From this short fable, youth may learn
Their real interest to discern,
That brother should not strive with brother,
And worry and oppress each other;
But, joined in unity and peace,
Their mutual happiness increase:
Pleased when each others' faults they hide,
And in their virtues feel a pride.
FABLE XCV.
THE FOX AND THE SICK LION.
It was reported that the Lion was sick, and the beasts were made
to believe that they could not make their court better than by
going to visit him. Upon this, they generally went, but it was
particularly remarked that the Fox was not one of the number. The
Lion, therefore, dispatched one of his Jackals to sound him about
it, and to ask him why he had so little charity and respect as
never to come near him at a time when he lay so dangerously ill,
and everybody else had been to see him. "Why," replied the Fox,
"pray present my duty to his majesty, and tell him that I have
the same respect for him as ever, and have been coming several
times to kiss his royal paw, but I am so terribly frightened at
the mouth of his cave, to see the print of my fellow-subjects'
feet all pointing forwards, and none backwards, that I had not
resolution enough to venture in."
Now, the truth of the matter was, that the sickness of the Lion
was only a sham to draw the beasts into his den, the more easily
to devour them.
MORAL.
It is well to weigh and consider the nature of any proposal
thoroughly before we accede to it; but, certainly, if we have
reason, from the injury done to others, to suspect that we may
suffer harm, it is decidedly better to decline.
FABLE XCVI.
THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE GEESE.
A LION, tired with state affairs,
Quite sick of pomp, and worn with cares,
Resolved (remote from noise and strife)
In peace to pass his latter life.
It was proclaimed: the day was set:
Behold the general council met:
The Fox was viceroy named. The crowd
To the new regent humbly bowed!
Wolves, bears, and mighty tigers bend,
And strive who most shall condescend.
The crowd admire his wit, his sense:
Each word hath weight and consequence.
The flatterer all his art displays;
He who hath power, is sure of praise.
A Fox stepped forth before the rest,
And thus the servile throng addressed:--
"How vast his talents, born to rule,
And train'd in virtue's honest school!
What clemency his temper sways!
How uncorrupt are all his ways!
Beneath his conduct and command
Rapine shall cease to waste the land;
What blessings must attend the nation
Under this good administration!"
He said. A Goose, who distant stood,
Harangu'd apart the cackling brood:
"Whene'er I hear a knave commend,
He bids me shun his worthy friend.
What praise! what mighty commendation!
But 'twas a Fox who spoke th' oration.
Foxes this government may prize,
As gentle, plentiful, and wise;
If they enjoy the sweets, 'tis plain
We Geese must feel a tyrant reign.
What havoc now shall thin our race!
When every petty clerk in place,
To prove his taste, and seem polite,
Will feed on Geese both noon and night."
MORAL.
Those flatter the plunderer who share in the spoil.
FABLE XCVII.
THE ONE-EYED DOE.
A DOE, that had but one eye, used to graze near the sea, and that
she might be the more secure from harm, she kept her blind side
toward the water, from whence she had no apprehension of danger,
and with the other surveyed the country as she fed.
By this vigilance and precaution she thought herself in the
utmost security; when a sly fellow, with two or three of his
companions, who had been poaching after her several days to no
purpose, at last took a boat, and, fetching a compass upon the
sea, came gently down upon her, and shot her. The Doe, in the
agonies of death, breathed out this doleful complaint:--"Oh, hard
fate! that I should receive my death wound from that side whence
I expected no ill; and be safe in that part where I looked for
the most danger."
MORAL.
Our troubles and dangers frequently arise from the direction we
least expect them.
[Illustration: THE ONE-EYED DOE.]
FABLE XCVIII.
THE FOX, THE RAVEN, AND THE DOVE.
A FOX, who was half-starved with hunger, stretched himself all
along upon the ground, and lay as if he were dead, that he might
entice the harmless birds to come within his reach, and then leap
of a sudden upon them, and make them his prey; but it happened
that a Raven, who was hovering near him, observed that he fetched
his breath; and, by consequence, found it to be only a trick in
him to catch the birds. She, therefore, instantly gave them
notice of it; and forewarned them, as they valued their own
lives, not to come within reach of the Fox, who only feigned
himself to be dead.
The Fox, finding his plot to be discovered, was obliged to go
away hungry; but soon bethought himself of another invention:
which was, to go and kennel himself in a hollow tree, upon which
a Dove had her nest, and was breeding up her young ones. Having
done this, he called to her, that, unless she would throw down to
him sometimes one of her eggs, and sometimes one of her young
ones, he would climb up the tree, take away all her eggs, kill
both her and her young, and break her nest to pieces.
The harmless Dove, thinking of two ills to choose the least, did
as the Fox required her; and threw him down now one of her eggs,
and then one of her young ones. Having done so, for some time,
with a great deal of grief and sorrow, and the Fox continuing
still to demand it of her, she, at last, made her complaint to
the Raven, who chanced to come and perch herself on the same
tree; grievously bemoaning her fate, that she, like a good
mother, to provide for her children, was at last obliged to make
them a sacrifice to such a villain. But the Raven, who was not so
timorous as she, advised her, whenever the Fox threatened her
again, that he would kill both her and her young, if she would
not throw one of them down to him, to answer him roundly,--"If
you could have flown or climbed up the tree, you would not have
been so often contented with one of my eggs, or of my young; but
would, long since, according to your ravenous and blood-thirsty
nature, have devoured both me and them." In short, the next time
the Fox came, and threatened her as before, she replied as the
Raven had instructed her.
The Fox, hearing her answer, and knowing very well that she was
not so wise and cunning of herself, resolved to find out the
truth of the matter; and, at length, came to understand that it
was the Raven who had been her counsellor. He, therefore, vowed
to be revenged on her, who had now, the second time, hindered him
from getting his prey. Not long after, he espied her sitting on a
high thorn-tree; and, going to her, began to praise her at a
mighty rate,--magnifying her good fortune above that of all
beasts, who could neither fly like her, nor tread the ground with
so majestical a gait: adding, withal, that it would be a great
pleasure to him to see her lordly walk; that he might from
thence, be certain whether she were indeed so divine and
prophetic a bird as men had always held her to be.
The Raven, transported to hear herself thus praised to the skies,
flew down; and, pitching upon the ground, walked to and fro, in
mighty pomp and state. The Fox seemed highly delighted; and said,
that he extremely wondered how the Raven could keep upon the
ground, when the wind blew her feathers over her eyes, and
hindered her sight; but chiefly when it blew before, behind, and
on all sides of her. "I can very well provide against that," said
the Raven; "for then I hide my head under my left wing." "How!"
cried the Fox; "hide your head under your left wing! So wonderful
a thing I can never believe, till I see it." Immediately the
Raven put her head under her left wing, and held it there so long
that the Fox caught hold of her and killed her for his prey.
MORAL.
So must they fare who give good advice to others, but have not
discretion enough to follow it themselves.
FABLE XCIX.
THE TWO POTS.
Two Pots, of different size and matter made,
Were swiftly down a rolling stream convey'd.
The larger vessel, form'd of solid brass,
Did boldly o'er the rapid water pass;
While that whose substance was but brittle clay,
Would, for his safety, give the stronger way.
Him the Brass Pot invited to draw near,
And said, "His frailty need not cause his fear;
For he, with just precaution would prevent
The danger of their jostling as they went."
The Earthen Pot, that knew his weaker frame,
Excused himself, that he no nearer came;
And said, "My friend, if the impetuous tide
Should dash my clay against your brazen side,
By the hard fate of that unequal stroke,
While you are whole, I shall be surely broke."
MORAL.
Men safest still in equal friendship live,
Where they can do no harm, and none receive;
The strong, by power led to insult the weak,
With every touch the brittle vessels break;
While they, abused and injured by the strong,
Must, without remedy, sustain the wrong.
FABLE C.
THE TWO FROGS.
One hot, sultry summer, the lakes and ponds being almost
everywhere dried up, a couple of Frogs agreed to travel together
in search of water. At last they came to a deep well, and,
sitting on the brink of it, began to consult whether they should
leap in or no. One of them was so inclined, urging that there was
plenty of clear, spring water, and no danger of being disturbed.
"Well," says the other, "all this may be true, and yet I cannot
come into your opinion for my life; for if the water should
happen to dry up here too, how should we get out again."
MORAL.
Skilful generals always secure a way for retreat. "Look before
you leap" is an old and trite proverb. We should not undertake
any action of importance without considering what may be the
result, in all its aspects.
FABLE CI.
THE FOX AND THE MASK.
A FOX, being in a shop where Masks were sold, laid his foot upon
one of them, and considering it awhile attentively, at last broke
out into this exclamation:--"Bless me!" says he, "what a handsome
face this is! What a pity it is that it should want brains!"
MORAL.
Beauty without sense is of little value. A fair outside is but a
poor substitute for inward worth.
FABLE CII.
THE CAT, THE COCK, AND THE YOUNG MOUSE.
[Illustration: THE FOX AND THE MASK.]
A YOUNG Mouse, that had seen very little of the world, came running,
one day, to his mother in great haste:--"Oh, mother!" said he, "I am
frightened almost to death! I have seen the most extraordinary
creature that ever was. He has a fierce, angry look, and struts
about on two legs; a strange piece of flesh grows on his head, and
another under his throat, as red as blood: he flapped his arms
against his sides, as if he intended to rise into the air; and
stretching out his head, he opened a sharp-pointed mouth so wide,
that I thought he was preparing to swallow me up: then he roared at
me so horribly, that I trembled in every joint, and was glad to run
home as fast as I could. If I had not been frightened away by this
terrible monster, I was just going to commence an acquaintance with
the prettiest creature you ever saw. She had a soft fur skin,
thicker than ours, and all beautifully streaked with black and grey;
with a modest look, and a demeanour so humble and courteous, that
methought I could have fallen in love with her. Then she had a fine,
long tail, which she waved about so prettily, and looked so
earnestly at me, that I do believe she was just going to speak to
me, when the horrid monster frightened me away."
"Ah, my dear child!" said the mother, "you have escaped being
devoured, but not by that monster you were so much afraid of;
which, in truth, was only a bird, and would have done you no
manner of harm. Whereas, the sweet creature, of whom you seem so
fond, was no other than a Cat; who, under that hypocritical
countenance, conceals the most inveterate hatred to all our race,
and subsists entirely by devouring Mice. Learn from this
incident, my dear, never, while you live, to rely on outward
appearances."
MORAL.
Beneath a fair, alluring guise,
A hidden danger often lies.
FABLE CIII.
THE MICE AND THE TRAP.
Once upon a time, the Mice saw a broiled rasher of bacon hanging
up in a very little room, the door of which being open, enticed
them to fall on with greedy appetites. But some of them took
particular notice that there was but one way into the room, and,
by consequence, but one way to get out of it; so that, if that
door, by misfortune or art, should chance to be shut, they would
all be inevitably taken: they could not, therefore, find in their
hearts to venture in; but said, that they had rather content
themselves with homely fare, in safety, than, for the sake of a
dainty bit, to run the danger of being taken, and lost for ever.
The other Mice, who were looked upon to be great epicures,
declared that they saw no danger; and, therefore, ran into the
room, and fell to eating the bacon with great delight: but they
soon heard the door fall down, and saw that they were all taken.
Then the fear of approaching death so seized them, that they
found no relish in their exquisite food; and immediately came the
Cook who had set the Trap, and killed them: but the others, who
had contented themselves with their usual food, fled into their
holes, and, by that means, preserved their lives.
FABLE CIV.
THE CHAMELEON.
Oft has it been my lot to mark
A proud, conceited, talking spark,
With eyes that hardly served at most
To guard their master 'gainst a post;
Yet round the world the blade has been,
To see whatever could be seen.
Returning from his finish'd tour,
Grown ten times perter than before,
Whatever word you chance to drop,
The travelled fool your mouth will stop;
"Sir, if my judgment you'll allow,--
I've seen,--and, sure, I ought to know;"--
So begs you'd pay a due submission,
And acquiesce in his decision.
Two travellers, of such a cast,
As o'er Arabia's wilds they pass'd,
And on their way, in friendly chat,
Now talked of this, and then of that;
Discoursed awhile, 'mongst other matter,
Of the Chameleon's form and nature.
"A stranger animal," cries one,
"Sure never lived beneath the sun:
A lizard's body, lean and long,
A fish's head, a serpent's tongue.
In truth, with triple jaw disjoin'd;
And what a length of tail behind!
How slow its pace! and then its hue!
Who ever saw so fine a blue?"
"Hold there!" the other quick replies,
"'Tis green:--I saw it with these eyes,
As late with open mouth it lay,
And warm'd it in the sunny ray:
Stretch'd at its ease the beast I view'd,
And saw it eat the air for food."
"I've seen it, sir, as well as you,
And must again affirm it blue;
At leisure I the beast survey'd,
Extended in the cooling shade."
"'Tis green! 'tis green! sir, I assure ye."--
"Green!" cries the other, in a fury,--
"Why, sir, d'ye think I've lost my eyes?"
"'Twere no great loss!" the friend replies;
"For if they always serve you thus,
You find 'em but of little use."
So high at last the contest rose,
From words they almost came to blows;
When, luckily, came by a third;
To him the question they referr'd;
And begged he'd tell 'em, if he knew,
Whether the thing was green or blue.
"Sirs," cries the umpire, "cease your pother--
The creature's neither one nor t'other.
I caught the animal last night,
And viewed it o'er by candle-light;
I marked it well--'twas black as jet;--
You stare--but, sirs, I've got it yet,
And can produce it."--"Pray, sir, do;
I'll lay my life the thing is blue."
"And I'll be sworn that when you've seen
The reptile, you'll pronounce him green."
"Well, then, at once to ease the doubt,"
Replies the man, "I'll turn him out;
And when before your eyes I've set him,
If you don't find him black I'll eat him;"
He said. Then full before their sight,
Produced the beast, and lo! 'twas white.
Both stared, the man looked wondrous wise.
"My children," the Chameleon cries,
(Then first the creature found a tongue),
"You all are right and all are wrong;
When next you talk of what you view,
Think others see as well as you;
Nor wonder, if you find that none
Prefers your eye-sight to his own."
FABLE CV.
THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE ASS.
The Lion, as king of the beasts, made a law that no beast should,
without lawful cause, do any hurt to another; and should come
once a year to court, to confess, and be absolved or punished,
according to his deserts. Now it happened that the Wolf and the
Fox were going thither together, and overtaking the Ass on the
road, said to him:--"Brother, it is a long way to court, and it
certainly must be much more tedious to you than to ourselves,
because of your slow pace; but we can avoid the trouble of going
thither, if you think fit. Let us three confess ourselves to one
another, and send our absolutions to court, attested by two of us
as witnesses."
The Ass liked the proposal; into a clover field they went, and
the Fox thus confessed himself first:--"It happened, as I was
going one night through a village, a Cock, by his loud crowing,
disturbed all the people that were asleep; at which I grew very
angry, and bit off his head; then, fearing that the stench of his
dead body might be offensive to the Hens, I ate him up.
Nevertheless, it happened, three days after, as I was going by
the same village, those very Hens spied me; and, instead of
thanking me for the great kindness I had done them, cried out,
'Murderer, murderer!' Then I, in defence of my honour, killed
three of them; and, lest they should have stunk and offended the
neighbourhood, ate them up too. This is all I have done; for
which I now await your sentence."
The Wolf thereupon expressed himself thus:--"You have, indeed,
offended against the letter of our monarch's law, but not against
the meaning of it; since your intentions were honourable, to take
care of the quiet of men, and to vindicate your injured
reputation. If, therefore, you will promise never to be so hasty
again in killing any beast, I vote for your absolution." This the
Fox readily did; and the Ass joined in opinion with the Wolf, who
then thus began his confession:--
"As I was one day walking along, I saw a Sow trampling down the
corn of a poor peasant, and tearing it up by the roots, while her
hungry Pigs were strayed far from her, and could not get
themselves out of the mire; so that I, growing very angry at the
great mischief she did the peasant, and at her neglect of
motherly duty, killed and ate her up. Three days after, chancing
to go again the same way, I observed that those Pigs were grown
very lean; and reflecting that, through want of their mother's
milk, they would certainly die a languishing death, I put an end
to their miseries, and ate them up too. This I have to confess."
The Fox instantly argued in this manner:--"Though you confess to
having killed both mother and children; and though it seems, at
first sight, that you have heinously offended against the law of
our king; yet I see, nevertheless, that your intentions were
good: to prevent mischief from falling upon men, to stir up a
mother to her duty, and to show compassion to her miserable
children, are virtues that no law can forbid or punish. I,
therefore, declare you absolved." To which the Ass agreed.
The Ass then made his confession:--"You both know," said he,
"that it is not in my nature to do hurt to other beasts, nor to
shed blood; and, therefore, you cannot expect to hear any such
thing from me; but, to content you, I will relate to you what
happened innocently to me, while I was in the service of a
master. He was an old man, and apt to take cold in his feet; so
that, when he travelled, to keep them dry and warm, he was wont
to stick a little hay in his shoes. Now I carried him, one
winter, to an inn, where he was to lie all night; and when we
came to the door, the innkeeper brought him a pair of dry
slippers, that his dirty shoes might not soil the house; so that
he pulled them off, and left them without, and me by them. In
short, my master and his host found themselves so well in the
chimney-corner, that they never thought of poor me; but left me
all night in the bitter cold, without giving me a handful of
food: so that I ate up all the hay that stuck in his shoes. This
is all I have to say;--if you will call it a confession, you may:
however, I think nothing can be said against it."
"Oh!" said the Fox, immediately, "this is not, indeed, an offence
against the letter of the law, which mentions only the doing hurt
to beasts, and takes no notice of eating of hay; but, if we
reflect on the dangerous consequences of this action, and that so
reverend a creature as a chill, aged man, by being thus robbed of
his hay in the winter, and the next day continuing his road
without it, might have caught a cold, a cough, and a cholic, that
would have brought his grey hairs to the grave:--whoever, I say,
reflects on this, cannot but be of my opinion,--which is, that
the Ass largely deserves to die. Cousin Wolf, what say you to
this matter?" "I," said the Wolf, "am of opinion that by reason
of the ill consequences that might have attended this action, the
Ass deserves a double death, and to be made an example to
others." With that he leaped upon him, and tore out his throat,
and the Fox and he immediately ate him up.
MORAL.
Knaves can always find reasons for justifying their own conduct,
and condemning that of others.
FABLE CVI.
THE BOY AND THE BUTTERFLY.
A boy, greatly smitten with the colours of a Butterfly, pursued
it from flower to flower with indefatigable pains. First, he
aimed to surprise it among the leaves of a rose; then to cover it
with his hat, as it was feeding on a daisy; now hoped to secure
it, as it rested on a sprig of myrtle; and now grew sure of his
prize, perceiving it loiter on a bed of violets. But the fickle
Fly, continually changing one blossom for another, still eluded
his attempts. At length, observing it half buried in the cup of a
tulip, he rushed forward, and snatching it with violence, crushed
it all to pieces.
MORAL.
Pleasure, like the Butterfly,
Will still elude as we draw nigh;
And when we think we hold it fast,
Will, like the insect, breathe its last.
FABLE CVII.
THE CROW AND THE PITCHER.
A Crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a Pitcher,
which he beheld at some distance. When he came he found water in
it, indeed, but so near the bottom that, with all his stooping
and straining, he was not able to reach it. Then he endeavoured
to overturn the Pitcher, that so at least he might be able to get
a little of it. But his strength was not sufficient for this. At
last, seeing some pebbles lie near the place, he cast them one by
one into the Pitcher; and thus, by degrees, raised the water up
to the very brim, and satisfied his thirst.
MORAL.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and that which cannot be
accomplished by strength may be achieved by ingenuity.
[Illustration: WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY.]
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