An ass, having put on the lion's skin, roamed about in the forest, and amused himself by frightening all the foolish animals he met with in his wanderings. At last, meeting a fox, he tried to frighten him also, but the fox no sooner heard the sound of his voice than he exclaimed: "I might possibly have been frightened myself, if I had not heard you bray." _Deceitfulness has too many ill-concealed marks to escape discovery by someone, sometime._ [Illustration: THE CAT AND THE MONKEY] [Illustration: A MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS] [Illustration: THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE] [Illustration: THE TOWN RAT AND THE COUNTRY RAT] FROM DRAWINGS BY BESS BRUCE CLEVELAND [Illustration: THE HEN AND THE GOLDEN EGGS] [Illustration: THE LION AND THE GNAT] [Illustration: THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN] [Illustration: THE OX AND THE FROG] FROM DRAWINGS BY BESS BRUCE CLEVELAND [Illustration] THE HARE and THE TORTOISE A hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the tortoise. The latter laughing, said: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." The hare, deeming 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 they 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, trusting to his native swiftness, cared little about the race, and 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 and steady wins the race._ THE FOX AND THE WOOD-CUTTER A Fox, running before the hounds, came across a Wood-cutter felling an oak, and besought him to show him a safe hiding-place. The Wood-cutter advised him to take shelter in his own hut. The Fox crept in and hid himself in a corner. The huntsman came up with his hounds, in a few minutes, and inquired of the Wood-cutter if he had not seen the Fox. He declared that he had not seen him, and yet pointed, all the time he was speaking, to the hut where the Fox lay hid. The huntsman took no notice of the signs, but, believing his word, hastened forward in the chase. As soon as they were well away, the Fox departed without taking any notice of the Wood-cutter: whereon he called to him, and reproached him, saying, "You ungrateful fellow, you owe your life to me, and yet you leave me without a word of thanks." The Fox replied, "Indeed, I should have thanked you fervently, _if your deeds had been as good as your words, and if your hands had not been traitors to your speech_." THE LION AND OTHER BEASTS ON A HUNT