Story Time

 281.THE HUNTER AND THE HORSEMAN  A hunter went out after game, and succeeded in catching a hare, which he was carrying home with him when he met a man on horseback, who said to him, “You have had some sport I see, sir,” and offered to buy it. The hunter readily agreed; but the horseman had no sooner got the hare in his hands than he set spurs to his horse and went off at full gallop. The hunter ran after him for some little distance. But it soon dawned upon him that he had been tricked, and he gave up trying to overtake the horseman, and, to save his face, called after him as loud as he could, “All right, sir, all right. Take your hare. It was meant all along as a present.” 282. THE GOATHERD AND THE WILD GOATS A goatherd was tending his goats out at pasture when he saw a number of wild goats approach and mingle with his flock. At the end of the day he drove them home and put them all into the pen together. Next day the weather was so bad that he could not take them out as usual, so he

  276. GRIEF AND HIS DUE When Jupiter was assigning the various gods their privileges, it so happened that Grief was not present with the rest; but when all had received their share, he too entered and claimed his due. Jupiter was at a loss to know what to do, for there was nothing left for him. However, at last he decided that to him should belong the tears that are shed for the dead. Thus it is the same with Grief as it is with the other gods. The more devoutly men render to him his due, the more lavish is he of that which he has to bestow. It is not well, therefore, to mourn long for the departed, else Grief, whose sole pleasure is in such mourning, will be quick to send fresh cause for tears. 277. THE HAWK, THE KITE, AND THE PIGEONS The pigeons in a certain dovecote were persecuted by a kite, 12 who every now and then swooped down and carried off one of their number. So they invited a hawk into the dovecote to defend them against their enemy. But they soon repented of their folly;

271. THE HUNTER AND THE WOODMAN A hunter was searching in the forest for the tracks of a lion, and, catching sight presently of a woodman engaged in felling a tree, he went up to him and asked him if he had noticed a lion’s footprints anywhere about, or if he knew where his den was. The woodman answered, “If you will come with me, I will show you the lion himself.” The hunter turned pale with fear, and his teeth chattered as he replied, “Oh, I’m not looking for the lion, thanks, but only for his tracks.” 272. THE SERPENT AND THE EAGLE An eagle swooped down upon a serpent and seized it in his talons with the intention of carrying it off and devouring it. But the serpent was too quick for him and had its coils round him in a moment; and then there ensued a life-anddeath struggle between the two. A countryman, who was a witness of the encounter, came to the assistance of the eagle, and succeeded in freeing him from the serpent and enabling him to escape. In revenge the serpent spat some o

  266. THE FOX AND THE SNAKE A snake, in crossing a river, was carried away by the current, but managed to wriggle onto a bundle of thorns which was floating by, and was thus carried at a great rate downstream. A fox caught sight of it from the bank as it went whirling along, and called out, “Gad! The passenger fits the ship!” 267. THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE STAG A lion lay sick in his den, unable to provide himself with food. So he said to his friend the fox, who came to ask how he did, “My good friend, I wish you would go to yonder wood and beguile the big stag who lives there to come to my den. I have a fancy to make my dinner off a stag’s heart and brains.” The fox went to the wood and found the stag and said to him, “My dear sir, you’re in luck. You know the lion, our king. Well, he’s at the point of death, and has appointed you his successor to rule over the beasts. I hope you won’t forget that I was the first to bring you the good news. And now I must be going back to him, and,

  261. THE OLD MAN AND DEATH  An old man cut himself a bundle of sticks in a wood and started to carry them home. He had a long way to go, and was tired out before he had got much more than halfway. Casting his burden on the ground, he called upon Death to come and release him from his life of toil. The words were scarcely out of his mouth when, much to his dismay, Death stood before him and professed his readiness to serve him. He was almost frightened out of his wits, but he had enough presence of mind to stammer out, “Good sir, if you’d be so kind, pray help me up with my burden again.” 262. THE MISER A miser sold everything he had, and melted down his hoard of gold into a single lump, which he buried secretly in a . field. Every day he went to look at it, and would sometimes spend long hours gloating over his treasure. One of his men noticed his frequent visits to the spot, and one day watched him and discovered his secret. Waiting his opportunity, he went one night and dug up the

  256. HERCULES AND PLUTUS When Hercules was received among the gods and was entertained at a banquet by Jupiter, he responded courteously to the greetings of all with the exception of Plutus, the god of wealth. When Plutus approached him, he cast his eyes upon the ground, and turned away and pretended not to see him. Jupiter was surprised at this conduct on his part, and asked why, after having been so cordial with all the other gods, he had behaved like that to Plutus. “Sire,” said Hercules, “I do not like Plutus, and I will tell you why. When we were on earth together I always noticed that he was to be found in the company of scoundrels.” 257. THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD  A fox and a leopard were disputing about their looks, and each claimed to be the more handsome of the two. The leopard said, “Look at my smart coat. You have nothing to match that.” But the fox replied, “Your coat may be smart, but my wits are smarter still.” 258. THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG A fox, in swimming across a ra

  251. THE BUTCHER AND HIS CUSTOMERS Two men were buying meat at a butcher’s stall in the marketplace, and, while the butcher’s back was turned for a moment, one of them snatched up a joint and hastily thrust it under the other’s cloak, where it could not be seen. When the butcher turned round, he missed the meat at once, and charged them with having stolen it; but the one who had taken it said he didn’t have it, and the one who had it said he hadn’t taken it. The butcher felt sure they were deceiving him, but he only said, “You may cheat me with your lying, but you can’t cheat the gods, and they won’t let you off so lightly.” Prevarication often amounts to perjury. 252 HERCULES AND MINERVA Hercules was once traveling along a narrow road when he saw lying on the ground in front of him what appeared to be an apple, and as he passed he stamped upon it with his heel. To his astonishment, instead of being crushed it doubled in size; and, on his attacking it again and smiting it with his cl

  246. THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE ASS  A lion, a fox, and an ass went out hunting together. They had soon taken a large booty, which the lion requested the ass .to divide between them. The ass divided it all into three equal parts, and modestly begged the others to take their choice; at which the lion, bursting with fury, sprang upon the ass and tore him to pieces. Then, glaring at the fox, he bade him make a fresh division. The fox gathered almost the whole in one great heap for the lion’s share, leaving only the smallest possible morsel for himself. “My dear friend,” said the lion, “how did you get the knack of it so well?” The fox replied, “Me? Oh, I took a lesson from the ass.” Happy is he who learns from the misfortunes of others. 247. THE FOWLER, THE PARTRIDGE, AND THE COCK One day, as a fowler was sitting down to a scanty supper of herbs and bread, a friend dropped in unexpectedly. The larder was empty, so he went out and caught a tame partridge, which he kept as a decoy, and wa

  241. THE WILY LION  A lion watched a fat bull feeding in a meadow, and his mouth watered when he thought of the royal feast he would make, but he did not dare to attack him, for he was afraid of his sharp horns. Hunger, however, presently compelled him to do something; and as the use of force did not promise success, he determined to resort to artifice. Going up to the bull in friendly fashion, he said to him, “I cannot help saying how much I admire your magnificent figure. What a fine head! What powerful shoulders and thighs! But, my dear friend, what in the world makes you wear those ugly horns? You must find them as awkward as they are unsightly. Believe me, you would do much better without them.” The bull was foolish enough to be persuaded by this flattery to have his horns cut off; and, having now lost his only means of defense, fell an easy prey to the lion. 242. THE PARROT AND THE CAT  A man once bought a parrot and gave it the run of his house. It reveled in its liberty, and

  236. THE SWAN  The swan is said to sing but once in its life—when it knows that it is about to die. 8 A certain man who had heard of the song of the swan one day saw one of these birds for sale in the market, and bought it and took it home with him. A few days later he had some friends to dinner, and produced the swan, and bade it sing for their entertainment; but the swan remained silent. In course of time, when it was growing old, it became aware of its approaching end and broke into a sweet, sad song. When its owner heard it, he said angrily, “If the creature only sings when it is about to die, what a fool I was that day I wanted to hear its song! I ought to have wrung its neck instead of merely inviting it to sing.” 237. THE SNAKE AND JUPITER  A snake suffered a good deal from being constantly trodden upon by man and beast, owing partly to the length of his body and partly to his being unable to raise himself above the surface of the ground; so he went and complained to Jupiter a

  231. THE DOGS AND THE FOX  Some dogs once found a lion’s skin, and were worrying it with their teeth. Just then a fox came by and said, “You think yourselves very brave, no doubt; but if that were a live lion, you’d find his claws a good deal sharper than your teeth.” 232. THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE HAWK  Anightingale was sitting on a bough of an oak and singing, as her custom was. A hungry hawk presently spied her, and darting to the spot seized her in his talons. He was just about to tear her in pieces when she begged him to spare her life. “I’m not big enough,” she pleaded, “to make you a good meal. You ought to seek your prey among the bigger birds.” The hawk eyed her with some contempt. “You must think me very simple,” said he, “if you suppose I am going to give up a certain prize on the chance of a better, of which I see at present no signs.” 233. THE ROSE AND THE AMARANTH  A rose and an amaranth 7 blossomed side by side in a garden, and the amaranth said to her neighbor, “How I e