answer to his
summons, and asked for what reason he had called him. The old man
replied: "That, lifting up the load, you may place it again upon my
shoulders."

We do not always like to be taken at our word.

The Fox and the Leopard.

[Illustration]

The Fox and the Leopard disputed which was the more beautiful of the
two. The Leopard exhibited one by one the various spots which decorated
his skin. The Fox, interrupting him, said: "And how much more beautiful
than you am I, who am decorated, not in body, but in mind."

People are not to be judged by their coats.

The Mountain in Labor.

A Mountain was once greatly agitated. Loud groans and noises were heard;
and crowds of people came from all parts to see what was the matter.
While they were assembled in anxious expectation of some terrible
calamity, out came a Mouse.

Don't make much ado about nothing.

The Bear and the Two Travelers.

[Illustration]

Two men were traveling together, when a bear suddenly met them on their
path. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree, and concealed himself
in the branches. The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat
on the ground, and when the Bear came up and felt him with his snout,
and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and feigned the appearance
of death as much as he could. The Bear soon left him, for it is said he
will not touch a dead body. When he was quite gone, the other traveler
descended from the tree, and, accosting his friend, jocularly inquired
"what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear?" His friend replied: "He
gave me this advice: Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the
approach of danger."

Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

The Sick Kite.

A Kite, sick unto death, said to his mother: "O Mother! do not mourn,
but at once invoke the gods that my life may be prolonged." She replied:
"Alas! my son, which of the gods do you think will pity you? Is there
one whom you have not outraged by filching from their very altars a part
of the sacrifice which had been offered up to them?"

We must make friends in prosperity, if we would have their help in
adversity.

The Wolf and the Crane.

[Illustration]

A Wolf, having a bone stuck in his throat, hired a Crane, for a large
sum, to put her head into his throat and draw out the bone. When the
Crane had extracted the bone, and demanded the promised payment, the
Wolf, grinning an