ud of his glossy, spotted coat and made
disdainful remarks about the Fox, whose appearance he declared
was quite ordinary.

The Fox prided himself on his fine bushy tail with its tip of
white, but he was wise enough to see that he could not rival the
Leopard in looks. Still he kept up a flow of sarcastic talk, just
to exercise his wits and to have the fun of disputing. The
Leopard was about to lose his temper when the Fox got up, yawning
lazily.

"You may have a very smart coat," he said, "but you would be a
great deal better off if you had a little more smartness inside
your head and less on your ribs, the way I am. That's what I call
real beauty."

_A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind._

[Illustration: THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD]

[Illustration]

THE HERON

A Heron was walking sedately along the bank of a stream, his eyes
on the clear water, and his long neck and pointed bill ready to
snap up a likely morsel for his breakfast. The clear water
swarmed with fish, but Master Heron was hard to please that
morning.

"No small fry for me," he said. "Such scanty fare is not fit for
a Heron."

Now a fine young Perch swam near.

"No indeed," said the Heron. "I wouldn't even trouble to open my
beak for anything like that!"

As the sun rose, the fish left the shallow water near the shore
and swam below into the cool depths toward the middle. The Heron
saw no more fish, and very glad was he at last to breakfast on a
tiny Snail.

_Do not be too hard to suit or you may have to be content with
the worst or with nothing at all._

THE COCK AND THE FOX

One bright evening as the sun was sinking on a glorious world a
wise old Cock flew into a tree to roost. Before he composed
himself to rest, he flapped his wings three times and crowed
loudly. But just as he was about to put his head under his wing,
his beady eyes caught a flash of red and a glimpse of a long
pointed nose, and there just below him stood Master Fox.

"Have you heard the wonderful news?" cried the Fox in a very
joyful and excited manner.

"What news?" asked the Cock very calmly. But he had a queer,
fluttery feeling inside him, for, you know, he was very much
afraid of the Fox.

"Your family and mine and all other animals have agreed to
forget their differences and live in peace and friendship from
now on forever. Just think of it! I simply cannot wait to embrace
you! Do come down, dear friend, and let us c