The Poor Man then asked the cook to let him have a pan, so that he could make some stone broth. “Stone broth!” said the cook. “I should like to see how you can make broth out of a stone”; so she gave him a pan. The Man filled it with water from the pump, and then put into it a stone from the road. “But you must have some salt,” said the cook. “Do you think so?” courteously replied the stranger. She gave him the salt, and before long she added some peas, some mint, and thyme. At last she brought him all the scraps of meat she could find, so that the Poor Man’s broth made him a good dinner. “You see,” said the Man, “that if you only try long enough, and are cheerful, making the best of what you have, you may at last get what you want.” THE MULE AND THE GRASSHOPPERS A MULE, hearing some Grasshoppers chirping, was much pleased with the sound, and wished that he could make such sweet music. “What sort of food do you eat,” said he to the Grasshoppers, “that your voices are so charming?” The Grasshoppers replied, “We live upon dew.” The Mule then decided that he too would live upon dew. And in a short time he died of hunger, just from trying to do what he saw others doing, without first learning their reason for it. THE GNAT AND THE BULL A GNAT, who had flown about until he was tired, sat down to rest on the horn of a Bull. After sitting there a long time, he thought he would go home. So he made a loud buzzing noise and said to the Bull, “Would you like to have me stay longer, or shall I go now?” “Just as you please,” said the Bull. “I did not know when you came, and I am sure I shall not miss you when you go away.” “What an amount of self-importance for such a tiny creature,” thought the sleepy Bull. A FOX AND A CRAB A HUNGRY Fox surprised a Crab, who had left the sea and was lying upon the beach. “What good luck, to find a breakfast so easily,” said the Fox, as he pounced upon him. “Well,” said the Crab, when he found that he was to be eaten, “this comes of going where I have no business; I should have stayed in the water, where I belonged.” THE DONKEY AND THE FROGS A DONKEY was one day walking through a pond, with a load of wood on his back, when his foot slipped and he fell. “Help, help!” cried the poor Donkey, as he struggled and kicked in the water. But his load was so heavy that he could not rise, and he groaned aloud. The Frogs heard his groans but showed no pity. “What a foolish fellow,” said they, “to make such a fuss about a little fall into the water. What would you say if you had to live here always, as we do?” THE NURSE AND THE WOLF A WOLF, prowling about to find something for supper, heard a Child crying in a house. Listening, he heard the Nurse say, “Stop crying this minute, or I will throw you out of doors to the Wolf.” The Wolf sat down near the door, thinking within himself, “I shall soon have a good supper.”