IT ONCE happened that a hungry Lion woke to find a Mouse just under his paw. He caught the tiny creature, and was about to make a mouthful of him, when the little fellow looked up, and began to beg for his life. In most piteous tones the Mouse said: “Do not eat me. I meant no harm coming so near you. If you would only spare my life now, O Lion, I would be sure to repay you!” The Lion laughed scornfully at this, but it amused him so much that he lifted his paw and let his brave little prisoner go free. It befell the great Lion, not long afterward, to be in as evil a case as had been the helpless Mouse. And it came about that his life was to be saved by the keeping of the promise he had ridiculed. He was caught by some hunters, who bound him with a strong rope, while they went away to find means for killing him. Hearing his loud groans, the Mouse came promptly to his rescue, and gnawed the great rope till the royal captive could set himself free. “You laughed,” the little Mouse said, “at the idea of my being able to be of service to you. You little thought I should repay you. But you see it has come to pass that you are as grateful to me as I was once to you. The weak have their place in the world as truly as the strong.” THE MOUSE, THE CAT, AND THE COCK A YOUNG Mouse, that had not seen much of the world, came home one day and said: “O mother! I have had such a fright! I saw a great creature strutting about on two legs. I wonder what it was! On his head was a red cap. His eyes were fierce and stared at me, and he had a sharp mouth. “All at once he stretched his long neck, and opened his mouth so wide, and roared so loud, that I thought he was going to eat me up, and I ran home as fast as I could. I was sorry that I met him, for I had just seen a lovely animal, greater even than he, and would have made friends with her. She had soft fur like ours, only it was gray and white. Her eyes were mild and sleepy, and she looked at me very gently and waved her long tail from side to side. I thought she wished to speak to me, and I would have gone near her, but that dreadful thing began to roar, and I ran away.” “My dear child,” said the mother, “you did well to run away. The fierce thing you speak of would have done you no harm. It was a harmless Cock. But that soft, pretty thing was the Cat, and she would have eaten you up in a minute, for she is the worst enemy you have in the whole world. Appearances are not always to be trusted.” THE AX AND THE TREES ONCE upon a time a man came to a forest to ask the Trees if they would give him some wood to make a handle for his Ax. The Trees thought this was very little to ask of them, and they gave him a good piece of hard wood. But as soon as the man had fitted the handle to his Ax, he went to work to chop down all the best Trees in the forest.