But the Lion said to the foolish Mule, "See how rude the Dog is to us. We came to visit him and he makes a loud noise and tries to call the hunter so that he will drive us away. I have never been so insulted. Come here, Lii-Tsze, at once and help me!" The Mule went to the Lion and the net fell and caught them both. At sunrise the Hunter came and found the Mule and the Lion in his net. The Mule begged earnestly and said, "Hunter, you know me and you know my mother. We are your friends and we do no wrong. Set me free, oh, hunter, set me free!" The Hunter said, "No, I will not set you free. You may be good, but you are in bad company and must take what it brings. I will take you and the Lion both to the market place and sell you for silver. That is my right. I am a hunter. If you get in my net, that is your business. If I catch you, that is my business." EE-SZE (Meaning): Bad company is a dangerous thing for man or beast. The Lion and the Mosquitoes One day Ah-Fou's father said to him, "Come here, my boy, and I will tell you a story. Do you remember the great lion we saw one day, which Ah-Kay caught? You know a strong rope held him, and he roared and tried to free himself until he died. Then when Ah-Kay took him from the net, he looked at the rope and the bamboo carefully, and found five of the great ropes broken. "How strong is the lion? Twenty children like you could not break one strand of that great rope. But the lion broke five complete ropes. He is the strongest of all animals. He catches many creatures for his food, but once he lost a battle with one of the least of the wilderness creatures. Do you know what it was?" "A bird could fight and then fly away. Was it a bird?" "No, my son." "A man is stronger than a lion." "No; do you not remember the woodcutter who could put down five strong men? One night a wilderness lion caught and killed him." "Then what was the smallest of all creatures of the wilderness that battled with a lion?" The father said, "I will tell you the story: Once in the summer time the Lion was very thirsty. But the sun had taken all the water near the Lion's home and he went to many places seeking for it. In time he found an old well, but the water was not fresh. As the Lion was very thirsty, he said, 'I must drink, even though the water is stale.' "But when he reached down into the old well, he found that it was the home of all the Mosquitoes of the wilderness. "The Mosquitoes said to the Lion, 'Go away, we do not want you. This is our home and we are happy. We do not wish the lion, the fox, or the bear to come here. You are not our friend. Why do you come?"