down so much at the disappointment which had befallen them,
but because they had formed such very different expectations. One of
their company, an old man, said, "Let us cease lamenting, my mates, for,
as it seems to me, sorrow is always the twin sister of joy; and it was
only to be looked for that we, who just now were over-rejoiced, should
next have something to make us sad."

The Lion and the Three Bulls

THREE BULLS for a long time pastured together. A Lion lay in ambush in
the hope of making them his prey, but was afraid to attack them while
they kept together. Having at last by guileful speeches succeeded in
separating them, he attacked them without fear as they fed alone, and
feasted on them one by one at his own leisure.

Union is strength.

The Fowler and the Viper

A FOWLER, taking his bird-lime and his twigs, went out to catch birds.
Seeing a thrush sitting upon a tree, he wished to take it, and fitting
his twigs to a proper length, watched intently, having his whole
thoughts directed towards the sky. While thus looking upwards, he
unknowingly trod upon a Viper asleep just before his feet. The Viper,
turning about, stung him, and falling into a swoon, the man said to
himself, "Woe is me! that while I purposed to hunt another, I am myself
fallen unawares into the snares of death."

The Horse and the Ass

A HORSE, proud of his fine trappings, met an Ass on the highway. The
Ass, being heavily laden, moved slowly out of the way. "Hardly," said
the Horse, "can I resist kicking you with my heels." The Ass held his
peace, and made only a silent appeal to the justice of the gods. Not
long afterwards the Horse, having become broken-winded, was sent by his
owner to the farm. The Ass, seeing him drawing a dungcart, thus derided
him: "Where, O boaster, are now all thy gay trappings, thou who are
thyself reduced to the condition you so lately treated with contempt?"

The Fox and the Mask

A FOX entered the house of an actor and, rummaging through all his
properties, came upon a Mask, an admirable imitation of a human head. He
placed his paws on it and said, "What a beautiful head! Yet it is of no
value, as it entirely lacks brains."

The Geese and the Cranes

THE GEESE and the Cranes were feeding in the same meadow, when a
birdcatcher came to ensnare them in his nets. The Cranes, being light of
wing, fled away at his approach; while the Geese, being slower of flight
and heavier