When the Mice stopped coming down, the Cat decided that he must catch them by a trick. He grasped the ceiling with one leg, hung down from it, and made believe that he was dead. A Mouse looked out at him, but said: "No, my friend! Even if you should turn into a bag, I would not go up to you." THE WOLF AND THE GOAT A Wolf saw a Goat browsing on a rocky mountain, and he could not get at her; so he said to her: "Come down lower! The place is more even, and the grass is much sweeter to feed on." But the Goat answered: "You are not calling me down for that, Wolf: you are troubling yourself not about my food, but about yours." THE REEDS AND THE OLIVE-TREE The Olive-tree and the Reeds quarrelled about who was stronger and sounder. The Olive-tree laughed at the Reeds because they bent in every wind. The Reeds kept silence. A storm came: the Reeds swayed, tossed, bowed to the ground,--and remained unharmed. The Olive-tree strained her branches against the wind,--and broke. THE TWO COMPANIONS Two Companions were walking through the forest when a Bear jumped out on them. One started to run, climbed a tree, and hid himself, but the other remained in the road. He had nothing to do, so he fell down on the ground and pretended that he was dead. The Bear went up to him, and sniffed at him; but he had stopped breathing. The Bear sniffed at his face; he thought that he was dead, and so went away. When the Bear was gone, the Companion climbed down from the tree and laughing, said: "What did the Bear whisper in your ear?" "He told me that those who in danger run away from their companions are bad people." THE WOLF AND THE LAMB A Wolf saw a Lamb drinking at a river. The Wolf wanted to eat the Lamb, and so he began to annoy him. He said: "You are muddling my water and do not let me drink." The Lamb said: "How can I muddle your water? I am standing downstream from you; besides, I drink with the tips of my lips." And the Wolf said: "Well, why did you call my father names last summer?" The Lamb said: "But, Wolf, I was not yet born last summer." The Wolf got angry, and said: "It is hard to get the best of you. Besides, my stomach is empty, so I will devour you." THE LION, THE WOLF, AND THE FOX An old, sick Lion was lying in his den. All the animals came to see the king, but the Fox kept away. So the Wolf was glad of the chance, and began to slander the Fox before the Lion. "She does not esteem you in the least," he said, "she has not come once to see the king." The Fox happened to run by as he was saying these words. She heard what the Wolf had said, and thought: "Wait, Wolf, I will get my revenge on you." So the Lion began to roar at the Fox, but she said: "Do not have me killed, but let me say a word! I did not come to see you because I had no time. And I had no time because I ran over the whole world to ask the doctors for a remedy for you. I have just got it, and so I have come to see you." The Lion said: