ngry thereat, he designed to tear the Fox to pieces, under
the pretence that the forefathers of the Fox had once stolen his food,
wherein occurs the saying, "the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children's teeth are set on edge."[89] "Nay," said the Fox, "come with
me, my good friend; let us not quarrel. I will lead thee to another
place where we shall surely find food." The Fox then led the Bear to a
deep well, where two buckets were fastened together by a rope, like a
balance. It was night, and the Fox pointed to the moon reflected in the
water, saying: "Here is a fine cheese; let us descend and partake of
it." The Fox entered his bucket first, but being too light to balance
the weight of the Bear, he took with him a stone. As soon as the Bear
had got into the other bucket, however, the Fox threw the stone away,
and consequently the bear descended to the bottom and was drowned.

[89] Ezekiel, xviii, 2.

* * * * *

The reader will doubtless recognise in this fable the original of many
modern popular tales having a similar catastrophe. It will also be
observed that the vulgar saying of the moon being "a fine cheese" is of
very considerable antiquity.[90]

[90] This wide-spread fable is found in the _Disciplina
Clericalis_ (No. 21) and in the collection of Marie de
France, of the 13th century; and it is one of the many
spurious Esopic fables.

And here is another rabbinical fable of a Fox--a very common character
in the apologues of most countries; although the "moral" appended to
this one by the pious fabulist is much more striking than is sometimes
the case of those deduced from beast-fables:

_The Fox in the Garden._

A Fox once came near a very fine garden, where he beheld lofty trees
laden with fruit that charmed the eye. Such a beautiful sight, added to
his natural greediness, excited in him the desire of possession. He fain
would taste the forbidden fruit; but a high wall stood between him and
the object of his wishes. He went about in search of an entrance, and at
last found an opening in the wall, but it was too small to admit his
body. Unable to penetrate, he had recourse to his usual cunning. He
fasted three days, and became sufficiently reduced in bulk to crawl
through the small aperture. Having effected an entrance, he carelessly
roved about in this delightful region, making free with its exquisite
produce and feasting on its more