A fox who went to steal some young chicks was caught in a trap, from which he got free, but with the loss of his tail; and when he came to mix with the world, he saw how high a price he had paid for it, for none of the beasts who stole a look at him could hide a laugh, and the fox thought it would have been well for him if his life had gone with the “brush.” But, to make the best of things, he sent to all the rest of his race to beg of them to meet him on a heath, and there the fox held forth and said, “I would have you all cut off your tails. You know not the ease with which I can now move. Of what use is the tail to us? If we creep through a hole in the hedge, as we fly from the hounds, it stops us in the way. It is the ‘brush,’ you know, that man strives for in the hunt; and then, too, in spite of all we can do, it is apt to be caught in a trap.” A sly old fox who heard him, said, with a leer, “It strikes me that you would not so much care to see us part with our tails, if you had a chance to get your own back!” Bought wit is the best. [Illustration: The Fox who had lost His Tail.--Page 22. _Æsop._] THE MAN AND THE APE. A man in the East kept a tame ape, who was of great use to him, for he could scare the birds from the fruit and peas. One day the man took his sleep at noon, and the ape sat by his side to brush the flies from his face. One fly came and stood on the tip of his nose, so the ape, with a grin, sent it off; then it flew to his chin, and this put the ape in such a rage that he flung a stone at it, which smote the fly; but, sad to tell, the force with which the stone was thrown broke the man’s jaw. A rash friend is worse than a foe. THE MAN AND HIS LIVE STOCK. A man who had a farm in a cold part of the world, was shut up in it by a deep fall of snow, and could not get out to buy food, so he ate all his sheep, one by one, and, as the frost did not break up, he then ate his pigs, then his goats, and, at last, the ox that was kept for the plough. When the dogs on the farm found this out, they said, “Let us be off! for since the man thinks it no harm to kill his sheep, his pigs, his goats, and his ox, how can we hope that he will spare us?” When the house next door is on fire, it is high time to look to our own. THE FROGS AND THE BULLS.