with the little fish." The
male said, "Please narrate the occurrence," and the female continued:

IV.

'"A heron had taken up his abode, and had lived for a long time near a
brook on the little fishes there. At last, however, he became so old
and weak that he was scarcely able to provide his daily food. He was
once standing in a melancholy attitude on the bank of the streamlet,
waiting for a chance to satisfy his hunger, when he happened to catch
sight of a beautiful little fish disporting itself in the water, and
mourned over his inability to get hold of it. The little fish
perceived the heron standing immovable, and apparently taking not the
least notice of it; therefore it gradually ventured to approach him,
and asked the cause of his melancholy. The heron replied, 'I am
reflecting upon the time of my youth which has passed away, the life I
enjoyed, the pleasures I felt, all of which are irretrievably lost,
and have left behind nothing but repentance for my sins, a weak body,
and tottering limbs. I can now only regret the depredations I have
committed, and wash away with my tears the stains of my
transgressions. How often have I given occasion, both to little fishes
and to eels, to deplore the loss of members of their families, which I
had greedily devoured; but I have now repented, and shall henceforth
do so no more.' When the little fish had heard this wonderful
confession it asked: 'What can I do for you?' The heron replied: 'I
want you only to convey this declaration of mine, with my salutations,
to all your acquaintances, with the information that they may
henceforth live in perfect safety, and need not apprehend any
depredations on my part. There must, however, be covenants and pledges
of security between us.' The little fish asked: 'How can I trust you,
since I am the food on which you subsist, and you cannot be inclined
to dispense with that.' He said: 'Take this grass and tie it round my
neck for a sign that I shall not injure you.' Accordingly, the little
fish took hold of a blade of grass, which was to serve for the heron's
collar, who then placed his beak near the surface of the water to
receive it, but as soon as the little fish had come within reach, the
heron gobbled it up, and this was the end of the promised pledge. My
dear husband, I have narrated this occurrence only to show that we
would, by trusting to any promises of magnanimity that the eagle might
make to us, only court our own perditio