try to live by
idleness?"

The Tortoise and the Eagle.

[Illustration]

A Tortoise, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the sea-birds of
her hard fate, that no one would teach her to fly. An Eagle, hovering
near, heard her lamentation, and demanded what reward she would give
him, if he would take her aloft, and float her in the air. "I will give
you," she said, "all the riches of the Red Sea." "I will teach you to
fly then," said the Eagle; and taking her up in his talons, he carried
her almost to the clouds,--when suddenly letting her go, she fell on a
lofty mountain, and dashed her shell to pieces. The Tortoise exclaimed
in the moment of death: "I have deserved my present fate; for what had I
to do with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the
earth?"

If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.

The Porcupine and the Snakes.

A Porcupine, wanting to shelter himself, desired a nest of Snakes to
give him admittance into their cave. They were prevailed upon, and let
him in accordingly; but were so annoyed with his sharp prickly quills
that they soon repented of their easy compliance, and entreated the
Porcupine to withdraw, and leave them their hole to themselves. "No,"
says he, "let them quit the place that don't like it; for my part, I am
well enough satisfied as I am."

Hospitality is a virtue, but should be wisely exercised; we may by
thoughtlessness entertain foes instead of friends.

The Fox who had Lost his Tail.

[Illustration]

A Fox, caught in a trap, escaped with the loss of his "brush."
Henceforth, feeling his life a burden from the shame and ridicule to
which he was exposed, he schemed to bring all the other Foxes into a
like condition with himself. He publicly advised them to cut off their
tails, saying "that they would not only look much better without them,
but that they would get rid of the weight of the brush." One of them
said: "If you had not yourself lost your tail, my friend, you would not
thus counsel us."

Advice prompted by selfishness should not be heeded.

[Illustration]

The Old Lion.

A Lion, worn out with years, lay on the ground at the point of death. A
Boar rushed upon him, and avenged with a stroke of his tusks a long
remembered injury. Shortly afterwards the Bull with his horns gored him
as if he were an enemy. When the Ass saw that the huge beast could be
assailed with impunity, he let drive at his