Amuse the ear of royalty With pleasant dreams, and flattery,-- No matter what you may have done, Nor yet how high its wrath may run,-- The bait is swallow'd--object won. [22] Abstemius. XV.--THE RAT AND THE ELEPHANT. One's own importance to enhance, Inspirited by self-esteem, Is quite a common thing in France; A French disease it well might seem. The strutting cavaliers of Spain Are in another manner vain. Their pride has more insanity; More silliness our vanity. Let's shadow forth our own disease-- Well worth a hundred tales like these. A rat, of quite the smallest size, Fix'd on an elephant his eyes, And jeer'd the beast of high descent Because his feet so slowly went. Upon his back, three stories high, There sat, beneath a canopy, A certain sultan of renown, His dog, and cat, and concubine, His parrot, servant, and his wine, All pilgrims to a distant town. The rat profess'd to be amazed That all the people stood and gazed With wonder, as he pass'd the road, Both at the creature and his load. 'As if,' said he, 'to occupy A little more of land or sky Made one, in view of common sense, Of greater worth and consequence! What see ye, men, in this parade, That food for wonder need be made? The bulk which makes a child afraid? In truth, I take myself to be, In all aspects, as good as he.' And further might have gone his vaunt; But, darting down, the cat Convinced him that a rat Is smaller than an elephant. XVI.--THE HOROSCOPE. On death we mortals often run, Just by the roads we take to shun.