A LITTLE fox was out playing one day, when a Lion came roaring along. “Dear me,” said the Fox, as he hid behind a tree, “I never saw a Lion before. What a terrible creature! His voice makes me tremble.” The next time the Fox met the Lion he was not so much afraid, but he kept a safe distance and said to himself, “I wish he would not make such a noise!” The third time they met, the Fox was not frightened at all. He ran up to the Lion, and said, “What are you roaring about?” And the Lion was so taken by surprise that, without saying a word, he let the Fox walk away. It would not be safe for little foxes always to follow the example of this one; but it is often true that what our fear makes seem a lion in the way has no danger in it if we meet it bravely. THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW A DOG once had a nice piece of meat for his dinner. Some say that it was stolen, but others, that it had been given him by a butcher, which we hope was the case. Dogs like best to eat at home, and he went trotting along with the meat in his mouth, as happy as a king. On the dog’s way there was a stream with a plank across it. As the water was still and clear, he stopped to take a look at it. What should he see, as he gazed into its bright depths, but a dog as big as himself, looking up at him, and lo! the dog had meat in his mouth. “I’ll try to get that,” said he; “then with both mine and his what a feast I shall have!” As quick as thought he snapped at the meat, but in doing so he had to open his mouth, and his own piece fell to the bottom of the stream. Then he saw that the other dog had lost his piece, too. He went sadly home. In trying to grasp a shadow he lost his substance. THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER “MY child,” said a Crab to her son, “why do you walk so awkwardly? If you wish to make a good appearance, you should go straight forward, and not to one side as you do so constantly.” “I do wish to make a good appearance, mamma,” said the young Crab; “and if you will show me how, I will try to walk straight forward.” “Why, this is the way, of course,” said the mother, as she started off to the right. “No, this is the way,” said she, as she made another attempt, to the left. The little Crab smiled. “When you learn to do it yourself, you can teach me,” he said, and went back to his play. THE FOX AND THE GRAPES IT WAS a sultry day, and a Fox was almost famishing with hunger and thirst. He was just saying to himself that anything would be acceptable to him, when, looking up, he spied some great clusters of ripe, black grapes hanging from a trellised vine. “What luck!” he said; “if only they weren’t quite so high, I should be sure of a fine feast. I wonder if I can get them. I can think of nothing that would so refresh me.” Jumping into the air is not the easiest thing in the world for a Fox to do; but he gave a great spring and nearly reached the lowest clusters. “I’ll do better next time,” he said. [Illustration]