were the lamentations of poor Fido, a young house-dog, whilst those
who were busy cropping his ears remained quite untouched by his piercing
and dolorous howls.

Fido believed himself to be ruined for life; but he very shortly found
that he was a gainer by the maiming. For being by nature disposed to
pilfer from his companions, it would come within his experience to have
many misadventures wherein his ears would be torn in a hundred places.

Aggressive dogs always have ragged ears. The less they have for other
dogs' teeth to fasten upon the better.

When one has but a single weak place to defend, one protects it against
an onset. Witness Master Fido armed with a spiked collar, and having no
more ears to catch hold of than are on my hand. Even a wolf would not
have known where to take him.

XXXII

THE LIONESS AND THE SHE-BEAR

(BOOK X--No. 13)

Mamma lioness had lost one of her cubs. Some hunter had made away with
it, and the poor unfortunate mother roared out her wailings to such an
extent that all the inhabitants of the forest were seriously disturbed.
The spells of the night, its darkness and its silence, were powerless to
hush the tumult of the queen of the forest. Sleep was driven from every
animal within hearing.

At last the she-bear rose up and coming to the wailing lioness said,
"Good Gossip, just one word with you. All those little ones that have
passed between your teeth, had they neither fathers nor mothers?"

"To be sure they had."

"Then if that be so, and as none have come to mourn their dead in cries
which would split our heads: if so many mothers have borne their loss
silently, why cannot you be silent also?"

"I? I be silent? Unhappy I? Ah! I have lost my son! There is nought for
me but to drag out a miserable old age."

"But pray tell me what obliges you to do so."

"Alas! Destiny. It is Destiny that hates me."

[Illustration: Why cannot you be silent also?]

Those are the words that are for ever in the mouths of us all.

Unhappy human kind, let this address itself to you. I hear nothing but
the echoing murmur of trifling complaints. Whoever, in like case,
believes himself the hated of the gods, let him consider Hecuba,[13] and
he will render thanks for their clemency.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 13: Hecuba was the wife of Priam, King of Troy. When that city
fell Hecuba was chosen by Ulysses as part of his share in the spoils.
She was changed into a dog for avenging the death