arch, he made a vow that, if he could only
discover the thief who had stolen the Calf he would offer a lamb in
sacrifice to the Guardian Deities of the forest. Not long afterwards, as
he ascended a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the
Calf. Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and his hands to
heaven, and said: "Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to the Guardian
Deities of the forest if I could only find out who had robbed me; but
now that I have discovered the thief, I would willingly add a full-grown
Bull to the Calf I have lost, and give them both to the guardians of the
forest, if I may only secure my own escape from this terrible Lion in
safety."

[Illustration]

That which we are anxious to find, we are sometimes even more anxious to
escape from, when we have succeeded in finding it.

The Shepherd's Boy and Wolf.

A Shepherd-boy, who watched a flock of sheep near a village, brought out
the villagers three or four times by crying out, "Wolf! Wolf!" and when
his neighbors came to help him, laughed at them for their pains. The
Wolf, however, did truly come at last. The Shepherd-boy, now really
alarmed, shouted in an agony of terror: "Pray, do come and help me; the
Wolf is killing the sheep;" but no one paid any heed to his cries.

There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.

The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons.

[Illustration]

The Pigeons, terrified by the appearance of a Kite, called upon the Hawk
to defend them. He at once consented. When they had admitted him into
the cote, they found that he made more havoc and slew a larger number of
them in a single day, than the Kite could possibly pounce upon in a
whole year.

Avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease.

The Farmer and the Cranes.

Some Cranes made their feeding grounds on some plough-lands newly sown
with wheat. For a long time the Farmer, brandishing an empty sling,
chased them away by the terror he inspired; but when the birds found
that the sling was only swung in the air, they ceased to take any notice
of it, and would not move. The farmer, on seeing this, charged his sling
with stones, and killed a great number. They at once forsook his
plough-lands, and cried to each other: "It is time for us to be off, for
this man is no longer content to scare us, but begins to show us in
earnest what he can do."

If words suffice not, blows must follow.

The Cat and the Mice.