A cock was once strutting (walk stiffly and pompously) up and down the farmyard
among the hens when suddenly he espied something shinning
amid the straw. ‘Ho! ho!’ quoth (said) he, ‘that’s for me,’ and
soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What did it turn
out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had been lost in
the yard? ‘You may be a treasure,’ quoth Master Cock, ‘to
men that prize you, but for me I would rather have a single
barley-corn than a peck of pearls.’
Precious things are for those that can prize them.

The Wolf and the Lamb

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside,
when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just
beginning to drink a little lower down. ‘There’s my supper,’
thought he, ‘if only I can find some excuse to seize it.’ Then
he called out to the Lamb, ‘How dare you muddle the water
from which I am drinking?’
‘Nay, master, nay,’ said Lambikin; ‘if the water be muddy
up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from
you to me.’
‘Well, then,’ said the Wolf, ‘why did you call me bad
names this time last year?’
‘That cannot be,’ said the Lamb; ‘I am only six months
old.’
‘I don’t care,’ snarled the Wolf; ‘if it was not you it was
your father;’ and with that he rushed upon the poor little
Lamb and ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out
.’Any excuse will serve a tyrant.’

The Dog and the Shadow

It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying
it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on his way
home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook.
As he crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected
in the water beneath. Thinking it was another dog
with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have
that also. So he made a snap at the shadow in the water, but
as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped
into the water and was never seen more.
Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the
shadow.

The Lion’s Share

The Lion went once a-hunting along with the Fox, the Jackal,
and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till at last they
surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then came the question
how the spoil should be divided. ‘Quarter me this Stag,’
roared the Lion; so the other animals skinned it and cut it
into four parts. Then the Lion took his stand in front of the
carcass and pronounced judgment: The first quarter is for
me in my capacity as King of Beasts; the second is mine as
arbiter; another share comes to me for my part in the chase;
and as for the fourth quarter, well, as for that, I should like
to see which of you will dare to lay a paw upon it.’
‘Humph,’ grumbled the Fox as he walked away with his
tail between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl .’You may
share the labours of the great, but you will not share the
spoil.’

The Town Mouse and

the Country Mouse

Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a time
went on a visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough
and ready, this cousin, but he loved his town friend and
made him heartily welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and
bread, were all he had to offer, but he offered them freely.
The Town Mouse rather turned up his long nose at this
country fare, and said: ‘I cannot understand, Cousin, how
you can put up with such poor food as this, but of course
you cannot expect anything better in the country; come
you with me and I will show you how to live. When you
have been in town a week you will wonder how you could
ever have stood a country life.’ No sooner said than done:
the two mice set off for the town and arrived at the Town
Mouse’s residence late at night. ‘You will want some refreshment
after our long journey,’ said the polite Town Mouse,
and took his friend into the grand dining-room. There they
found the remains of a fine feast, and soon the two mice
were eating up jellies and cakes and all that was nice. Suddenly
they heard growling and barking. ‘What is that?’ said
the Country Mouse. ‘It is only the dogs of the house,’ answered

the other. ‘Only!’ said the Country Mouse. ‘I do notlike that music at my dinner.’ Just at that moment the door
fear.’ flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had
to scamper down and run off. ‘Good-bye, Cousin,’ said the
Country Mouse, ‘What! going so soon?’ said the other. ‘Yes,’
he replied;
‘Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in
fear.’

The Fox and the Crow

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its
beak and settle on a branch of a tree. ‘That’s for me, as I
am a Fox,’ said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the
foot of the tree. ‘Good-day, Mistress Crow,’ he cried. ‘How
well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how
bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of
other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one
song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds.’
The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but
the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell
to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox. ‘That
will do,’ said he. ‘That was all I wanted. In exchange for your
cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future .’Do
not trust flatterers.’