more dead than alive.

"All right," said the King, "off with his head." The executioner ran to
get his sword.

But our friend the Rabbit, for all he was frightened, had his wits about
him; and sitting up on his hind-legs, and putting his two fore-paws
together, he said respectfully, "O great King, strike, but hear. If thou
wilt send a score of men with me, I will give thee a dead Rhinoceros."

The King laughed, the courtiers laughed loud and long. However, just to
see what would come of it, the King gave him a score of men.

The Rabbit led them to the place where the Rhinoceros fell on his stupid
old nose, and there he lay dead. With great difficulty the men dragged
the Rhinoceros home. They were very pleased to get a Rhinoceros, because
his horn is good for curing many diseases, and the court physician
ground his horn into powder, and made out of it a most wonderful
medicine. And the King was so pleased, that he gave the Rabbit a fine
new coat, and a horse to ride on.

So the Rabbit put on his fine coat, and got on the back of his horse,
and rode off.

On the way, who should meet him but his friend the Monkey.

"Hullo!" says the Monkey, "where did you get all that finery?"

"The King gave it to me," says the Rabbit.

Says the Monkey, "And why should the King give all this to a fool like
you?"

The Rabbit replied, "I, whom you call a fool, got it by sneezing under
the King's golden throne; such a lucky sneeze, that the soothsayers
prophesied to the King long life and many sons!" Then he rode away.

The Monkey fell a-thinking how nice it would be if he could get a fine
coat and horse as the Rabbit had done. "I can sneeze," thought he; "what
if I try my luck?"

So he scampered away, and away he scampered, till he came to the King's
palace, and hid himself under the King's golden throne. When the King
came in, and all his courtiers, in gorgeous array as before, our Monkey
underneath the throne sneezed in the most auspicious manner he could
contrive.

"Who is that?" thundered the King, glaring about him. "Who has the bad
manners to sneeze in the King's presence?"

They searched about until they found the Monkey hidden under the throne,
and hauled him out.

"What hast thou, wily tree-climber," asked the King, "that I should not
bid the executioner cut off thy head?"

The monkey had no answer ready. At last he
said, "O King, I have some plantain-peel
and pellets of paper." Bu