ay me!" said the physician. "The case is urgent. I am going to
So-and-So." And he named the friend from over seas.

"You distress me infinitely!" cried the hospitable man. "Is So-and-So
ill?"

"Some rascal poisoned him last night," said the physician. "A bad
business. I doubt if he recovers."

"Good God!" cried the hospitable man. "He dined with me last night."

"Oh! was it you?" said the physician.

THE POT

The great Pot boiled and bubbled over the crackling flames. Fat and
lean, sweet and bitter, had gone to fill it, and all seethed merrily
together. "Hubble bubble!" said the Pot.

Now it came to pass after a time that a certain part of what was within
rose to the top, and mantled there, frothing and eddying.

"I am the cream!" it said. "This is my proper place, the top of the Pot.
Under me the mass seethes darkling, and from it I rise to light and air.
My glory rejoices; this is as it should be!"

Now came the Cook, and lifted the lid of the Pot and looked in. "Ah!" he
said. "The scum has risen, and must be taken off, lest the meat be
spoiled." And he took it off.

"Hubble bubble!" said the Pot.

THE BODY

"But you don't understand!" said the Soul. "It is my body that makes all
the trouble. Its nerves are all atwist, its brain does not work
properly, its heart is too small. _I_ am all right: if I could have
another chance, in a decently furnished body, you would see what a
different creature I should be."

"Very well!" said the Angel-who-attends-to-things. "I know several other
souls who are wishing for a change; you may try their bodies, and see if
you can suit yourself."

The Soul thanked the Angel joyfully, and flew in the direction he
pointed out. Presently he came to the body of a fair woman, clad in
white, with roses in its hands.

"This is beautiful!" said the Soul. "This is exactly what I want." He
crept in, and flowed through the white body, and it moved and rose up
with him, and went to and fro.

But soon the Soul cried out: "Oh! this body pinches me; it is too tight.
Besides, it has the habit of fasting, and mortification, and I am used
to a body that smokes. This will never do!" And he crept out again, and
went further.

Presently he came to a stalwart body of a man, with bones and sinews
knit of iron.

"Ah!" said the Soul. "Beauty is after all a slight thing. Strength is
what one needs; this is the body for me." And he slipped in, and flowed
through the body, and