A KID, coming alone from its pasture, was pursued by a Wolf. With great presence of mind the kid turned and said: “I know, Friend Wolf, that you mean to kill me; but as my life is to be short, let it be a merry one. Do you pipe and let me have one more dance before I die.” While the Wolf was piping and the Kid was dancing, some Dogs, hearing the music, ran to the place to see what was going on; and the Wolf was glad to take himself off as fast as his legs would carry him. THE HAWK AND THE NIGHTINGALE THE Nightingale, sitting aloft upon an oak, was seen by a Hawk, who swooped down and seized her. The Nightingale earnestly prayed the Hawk to let her go, saying that she was not big enough to satisfy the hunger of a Hawk, who ought to find plenty of larger birds. “Do you happen to see many large birds flying about?” the Hawk asked. “I should be foolish, indeed, to let you go for the sake of larger birds that are not in sight. A morsel is better than nothing.” THE CROW AND THE PITCHER A CROW who was nearly perishing with thirst spied a pitcher with a little water in it. Reaching down, he found the water so low that, stooping and straining as he might, he was unable to reach it with his beak. Thereupon he tried to overturn and break the Pitcher. This he was not strong enough to do. At last, seeing some small pebbles, he brought a great many and dropped them one by one, and so raised the water to the brim and quenched his thirst. THE ANT AND THE DOVE GOING to a fountain to quench his thirst, an Ant tumbled in and was ready to drown. But a Dove happened to be perching on a neighboring tree and saw the Ant’s danger. Plucking a leaf, the Dove dropped it down into the water, so that the Ant mounting upon it was blown safely to the shore. A Fowler, shortly after, spread his net to entrap the unwary Dove. This the Ant perceived, and bit the Fowler’s heel. Distracted by the pain, the Fowler dropped his net with a quick start, and the Dove, aroused to a sense of danger, flew away. One good turn deserves another. THE OX AND THE FROG AN Ox, grazing in a swampy meadow, chanced to set his foot among a number of young Frogs and trampled nearly all of them to death. One that escaped ran off to his mother with the dreadful news. “It was a beast—such a big four-footed beast—that did it.” “Big?” asked the old Frog, and she puffed herself out, “as big as this?” “A great deal bigger,” said the little one. “Well, was it so big?” and she swelled herself out yet more. “Indeed, Mother, but it was; and if you were to burst yourself you would never reach half its size.” Vexed that her child should disparage her powers, the Mother Frog made one more trial and burst herself indeed. THE BAT AND THE WEASELS