But the Wolf said: "The trouble is, Doggy, that my eyes have been aching for quite awhile, and I have been told that the dust from a flock of sheep will cure the eyes." THE MOUSE UNDER THE GRANARY A Mouse was living under the granary. In the floor of the granary there was a little hole, and the grain fell down through it. The Mouse had an easy life of it, but she wanted to brag of her ease: she gnawed a larger hole in the floor, and invited other mice. "Come to a feast with me," said she; "there will be plenty to eat for everybody." When she brought the mice, she saw there was no hole. The peasant had noticed the big hole in the floor, and had stopped it up. THE BEST PEARS A master sent his Servant to buy the best-tasting pears. The Servant came to the shop and asked for pears. The dealer gave him some; but the Servant said: "No, give me the best!" The dealer said: "Try one; you will see that they taste good." "How shall I know," said the Servant, "that they all taste good, if I try one only?" He bit off a piece from each pear, and brought them to his master. Then his master sent him away. THE FALCON AND THE COCK The Falcon was used to the master, and came to his hand when he was called; the Cock ran away from his master and cried when people went up to him. So the Falcon said to the Cock: "In you Cocks there is no gratitude; one can see that you are of a common breed. You go to your masters only when you are hungry. It is different with us wild birds. We have much strength, and we can fly faster than anybody; still we do not fly away from people, but of our own accord go to their hands when we are called. We remember that they feed us." Then the Cock said: "You do not run away from people because you have never seen a roast Falcon, but we, you know, see roast Cocks." THE JACKALS AND THE ELEPHANT The Jackals had eaten up all the carrion in the woods, and had nothing to eat. So an old Jackal was thinking how to find something to feed on. He went to an Elephant, and said: "We had a king, but he became overweening: he told us to do things that nobody could do; we want to choose another king, and my people have sent me to ask you to be our king. You will have an easy life with us. Whatever you will order us to do, we will do, and we will honour you in everything. Come to our kingdom!" The Elephant consented, and followed the Jackal. The Jackal brought him to a swamp. When the Elephant stuck fast in it, the Jackal said: "Now command! Whatever you command, we will do." The Elephant said: "I command you to pull me out from here." The Jackal began to laugh, and said: "Take hold of my tail with your trunk, and I will pull you out at once." The Elephant said: "Can I be pulled out by a tail?" But the Jackal said to him: "Why, then, do you command us to do what is impossible? Did we not drive away our first king for telling us to do what could not be done?"