id, slow brain that it will make no difference. Now, how do you
wish that I should hold my tail?"

Said the Crab: "If you will allow me to hang something on your tail to
hold it down, I am sure you cannot run faster than I."

"Do as you like," said the Fox.

"Allow me to come nearer," said the Crab, "and when I have it fastened
to your tail, I will say 'Ready!' Then you are to start."

So the Crab crawled behind and caught the Fox's tail with his pincers
and said, "Ready!" The Fox ran and ran until he was tired. And when he
stopped, there was the Crab beside him.

"Where are you now?" said the Crab. "I thought you were to run ten
times faster than I. You are not even ahead of me with all your
boasting."

The Fox, panting for breath, hung his head in shame and went away where
he might never see the crab again.

EE-SZE (Meaning): A big, proud, boastful mouth, is a worse thing for a
man than it is for a fox.

The Mule and the Lion

One night the Lion was very hungry, but as the creatures of the
wilderness knew and feared him even from afar, he could not find food.
So he went to visit the young Mule that lived near the farmer's house,
and when he saw him he smiled blandly and asked, "What do you eat, fair
Lii, to make you so sleek and fat? What makes your hair so smooth and
beautiful? I think your master gives you tender fresh grass and fat
young pig to eat."

The Mule answered, "No, I am fat because I am gentle. My hair is
beautiful because I do not fight with other creatures. But why do you
come here, Sii? Are you hungry? I believe you are seeking for food."

The Lion said, "Oh, no, I am not hungry. I only walk around to get the
cool, fresh air. And then the night is very beautiful. The moon hangs
up in the clear sky with the stars and makes a soft light, and so I
came to visit you. Would you not like to take a walk with me? I will
take you to visit my friend, the Pig. I never go to his house alone; I
always take a friend with me."

The Mule asked, "Shall we go to any other place?"

"Yes," answered the Lion, "I think we will go to visit another friend
of mine who lives not far away."

Then the Mule asked his mother, "Will you allow me to go with Sii to
see his friend?"

"Who is his friend?" asked the mother.

"The farmer's Pig." said the Mule.

"I think it is no harm if you go only there," said the mother Mule.
"But you must not go anywhere else with Sii. The hunter is looking f