, wore out their strength.
Bewilder'd by the rigs he run,
They lost their balance one by one.
As Renard slew, he laid aside,
Till nearly half of them had died;
Then proudly to his larder bore,
And laid them up, an ample store.

_A foe, by being over-heeded,_
_Has often in his plan succeeded._

[Illustration: THE FOX AND THE TURKEYS.]

The Wallet.

From heaven, one day, did Jupiter proclaim,
"Let all that live before my throne appear,
And there if any one hath aught to blame,
In matter, form, or texture of his frame,
He may bring forth his grievance without fear.
Redress shall instantly be given to each.
Come, monkey, now, first let us have your speech.
You see these quadrupeds, your brothers;
Comparing, then, yourself with others,
Are you well satisfied?" "And wherefore not?"
Says Jock. "Haven't I four trotters with the rest?
Is not my visage comely as the best?
But this my brother Bruin, is a blot
On thy creation fair;
And sooner than be painted I'd be shot,
Were I, great sire, a bear."
The bear approaching, doth he make complaint?
Not he;--himself he lauds without restraint.
The elephant he needs must criticise;
To crop his ears and stretch his tail were wise;
A creature he of huge, misshapen size.
The elephant, though famed as beast judicious,
While on his own account he had no wishes,
Pronounced dame whale too big to suit his taste;
Of flesh and fat she was a perfect waste.
The little ant, again, pronounced the gnat too wee;
To such a speck, a vast colossus she.
Each censured by the rest, himself content,
Back to their homes all living things were sent.

_Such folly liveth yet with human fools._
_For others lynxes, for ourselves but moles._
_Great blemishes in other men we spy,_
_Which in ourselves we pass most kindly by._
_As in this world we're but way-farers,_
_Kind Heaven has made us wallet-bearers._
_The pouch behind our own defects must store,_
_The faults of others lodge in that before._

[Illustration: THE WALLET.]

The Woodman and Mercury.

A man that labour'd in the wood
Had lost his honest livelihood;
That is to say,
His axe was gone astray.
He had no tools to spar