One dark night a thief came to a man’s house to rob it, and when the dog heard him he gave a loud bark. At this the man sprang from his bed to look out, but saw no one, nor did he hear the least sound, so he bade the dog be still, and then went back to sleep. The thief in the mean time had hid in the shed in a state of great fear; but when he found that the dog was bound by a chain, and did not now bark, he crept to the door of the house, and took out his bunch of false keys to try the lock. The dog saw him, and set up his loud bark, so the man of the house put his head out once more to look round him, but as he saw no one, and found that all was now quite still, in a great rage he cries out, “Down, you brute! Down, I tell you! You will not let me have a wink of sleep!” So the dog left off, and in the mean time the thief made his way to the house, and took all that he could find. The next day when the man saw what had been done, he said, “This will teach me to give ear to the voice of a warm and true friend when he warns me.” THE FLY AND THE ANT. A fly and an ant came to words as to which stood first in rank. The fly said, “How can you place your mean state by the side of mine? Look how I soar up in the air, skip round the head of a king, and kiss the lips of a queen! I toil not, nor stoop to work, but live a life of ease. What is there you can have to say to this?” “Why,” quoth the ant, in a sharp tone, “to be made much of by kings and queens is a great thing, I grant, if they send for you, but not if they deem you a pest. In good sooth, I think it is but your small size that screens you from their wrath; and as to work, you will learn the use of it when the frost and snow pinch, and the cold winds blow, while I shall reap the fruits of my toil. To be free with you, I think you will find no pains, no gains.” One tale is good, till the next is told. [Illustration: THE FLY AND THE ANT.] THE WOLF, AND THE FOX IN THE WELL. A fox fell down a deep well, in the sides of which he stuck his claws, and so, for a while, kept his head up. A wolf came to take a peep down the well, and when the fox saw him, he said, “Oh, I beg of you to run for a rope, or some such thing, to pull me out, for I am at the point of death!” “Poor friend! you are in a sad strait,” said the wolf; “I grieve for you, with all my heart! How long have you been here?” “Nay,” said the fox, “if you wish me well, don’t stand there to say soft words to me, but get me some help, and that soon, or I must die.” The wolf then gave one more sigh, and went home, and the poor fox sank, to rise no more. A long tongue hath a short hand. [Illustration: The Wolf, and the Fox in the Well.--Page 52. _Æsop._] THE CAT AND THE MICE.