low, and not at all philosophical. He
ate his dinner without moralizing over it, and felt thankful when he had
enough. He had not a particle of aristocratic blood in his veins, and,
in consequence, rather ridiculed the possession of that indescribable
material by the Stork. Ridicule as he would, however, he was really
secretly proud of his acquaintance with the other, and used to say to
his friends and relatives sometimes:

"There is no one in the world that more despises pretentiousness than
myself. One only too frequently hears an animal boast of its
aristocratic acquaintances. _I_ never do that. Now, there is John Stork,
of one of our highest families, and although I am not only on friendly
but intimate terms with him, and even have been invited to call upon his
estimable family, and make the acquaintance of Miss Stork (I have never
had an opportunity to do so yet), one never hears _me_ boast of his
friendship and intimacy."

To tell the truth, the conversations he held with the philosophical
Stork were frequently so deep, that he found himself floundering beyond
his depth. For instance, "Do you always stand upon one leg?" said he,
one day.

The Stork reflected so long over this question that the Crane thought
he had gone to sleep. Finally, however, the philosopher said:

"No; I do not. I always stand upon the other."

The Crane meditated for a space over this, but as it was completely
beyond his comprehension, he gave the matter up and changed the subject.
His respect for the Stork's wisdom was vastly increased by such
conversations, for one often takes for wisdom what one cannot
understand.

These two friends, however, did not always dwell together in perfect
amity. The Stork was so proud that he frequently galled his humbler
companion, and bitter disputes often arose. It was under the influence
of such a feeling that the Crane burst forth one day:

"And what are you that you should boast? You have blue blood in your
veins, indeed! Perhaps it is that blue blood that makes you so sluggish
and stupid."

The Stork meditated a long while over this speech; finally, he said:

"When you accuse me of sluggishness and stupidity you judge by external
appearances, and, consequently, by deductive logic. Beside, you do not
take collateral matter into the case from which you draw your inference.
You have never seen me when my physical energies have been aroused,
consequently, your conclusion is both hollow and baseles