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Friday, September 03, 2010 - 8:04 PM
The Ants and the Grasshopper
The ants were spending a fine winter's day drying grain collected
in the summertime. A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and
earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants inquired of him, "Why did
you not treasure up food during the summer?' He replied, "I had not leisure
enough. I passed the days in singing." They then said in derision: "If
you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless
to bed in the winter."
The Traveler and His Dog
A traveler about to set out on a journey saw his Dog stand at the
door stretching himself. He asked him sharply: "Why do you stand there
gaping? Everything is ready but you, so come with me instantly." The Dog,
wagging his tail, replied: "O, master! I am quite ready; it is you for
whom I am waiting."
The loiterer often blames delay on his more active
friend.
The Dog and the Shadow
A Dog, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in
his mouth, saw his own shadow in the water and took it for that of another
Dog, with a piece of meat double his own in size. He immediately let go
of his own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog to get his larger piece
from him. He thus lost both: that which he grasped at in the water, because
it was a shadow; and his own, because the stream swept it
away.
The Mole and His Mother
A Mole, a creature blind from birth, once said to his Mother:
"I am sure than I can see, Mother!" In the desire to prove to him his
mistake, his Mother placed before him a few grains of frankincense, and
asked, "What is it?' The young Mole said, "It is a pebble." His Mother
exclaimed: "My son, I am afraid that you are not only blind, but that
you have lost your sense of smell.
The Herdsman and the Lost Bull
A herdsman tending his flock in a forest lost a Bull-calf from
the fold. After a long and fruitless search, he made a vow that, if he
could only discover the thief who had stolen the Calf, he would offer a
lamb in sacrifice to Hermes, Pan, and the Guardian Deities of the forest.
Not long afterwards, as he ascended a small hillock, he saw at its foot
a Lion feeding on the Calf. Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes
and his hands to heaven, and said: "Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to
the Guardian Deities of the forest if I could only find out who had robbed
me; but now that I have discovered the thief, I would willingly add a full-grown
Bull to the Calf I have lost, if I may only secure my own escape from him
in safety."
The Hare and the Tortoise
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise,
who replied, laughing: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you
in a race." The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible,
assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the
course and fix the goal. On the day appointed for the race the two started
together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a
slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying
down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as
fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably
dozing after her fatigue.
Slow but steady wins the race.
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