inated. Dr. Landsberger, in his erudite introduction to
_Die Fabeln des Sophos_ (1859), contends that the Jews were the first to
employ fables for purposes of moral instruction, and that the oldest
fable extant is Jotham's apologue of the trees desiring a king (Book of
Judges, ix. 8-15).[87] According to Dr. Landsberger, the sages of India
were indebted to the Hebrews for the idea of teaching by means of
fables, probably during the reign of Solomon, who is believed to have
had commerce with the western shores of India.[88] We are told by
Josephus that Solomon "composed of parables and similitudes three
thousand; for he spoke a parable upon every sort of tree, from the
hyssop to the cedar; and, in like manner, also about beasts, about all
sorts of living creatures, whether upon earth, or in the seas, or in the
air; for he was not unacquainted with any of their natures, nor omitted
inquiring about them, but described them all like a philosopher, and
demonstrated his exquisite knowledge of their several properties." These
fables of Solomon, if they were ever committed to writing, had perished
long before the time of the great Jewish historian; but there seems no
reason to doubt the fact that the wise king of Israel composed many
works besides those ascribed to him in the Old Testament. The general
opinion among European orientalists is that Fable had its origin in
India; and the Hindus themselves claim the honour of inventing our
present system of numerals (which came into Europe through the Arabians,
who derived it from the Hindus), the game of chess, and the Fables of
Vishnusarman (the _Panchatantra_ and its abridgment, the _Hitopadesa_).

[87] But the Book of Judges was probably edited after the
time of Hesiod, whose fable of the Hawk and the
Nightingale (_Works and Days_, B. i, v. 260) must be
considered as the oldest extant fable.

[88] This theory, though perhaps somewhat ingenious, is
generally considered as utterly untenable.

It is said that Rabbi Meir knew upwards of three hundred fables relating
to the fox alone; but of these only three fragments have been preserved,
and this is one of them, according to Mr. Polano's translation:

_The Fox and the Bear._

A Fox said to a Bear: "Come, let us go into this kitchen; they are
making preparations for the Sabbath, and we shall be able to find food."
The Bear followed the Fox, but, being bulky, he was captured and
punished. A