The Wolf and the Crane

A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in his throat, and ran up and down groaning and groaning and seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to induce every one he met to remove the bone.
‘I would give anything,’ said he, ‘if you would take it out.’
At last the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could. Then the Crane put its long neck down the Wolf’s throat, and with its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.
‘Will you kindly give me the reward you promised?’ said the Crane.
The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: ‘Be content. You have put your head inside a Wolf’s mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you.’

Gratitude and greed go not together.

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 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 .WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA .ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out .’

Any excuse will serve a tyrant.’

The Cock and the Pearl

A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something
shinning amid the straw. ‘Ho! ho!’ quoth 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 Animal School

Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world” so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing,
swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming. In fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he
was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school so nobody worried about that, except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much makeup work in swimming.The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying
class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a “charlie horse” from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and D in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there.

At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceeding well and also run, climb and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.
The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.

THE WIND AND THE SUN

THE Wind and the Sun had a dispute as to which of the two was the stronger. They agreed that the one should be called stronger who should first make a man in the road take off his cloak. The Wind began to blow great guns, but the man only drew his cloak closer about him to keep out the cold. At last the gust was over.
Then the Sun took his turn. He shone and it was warm and bright. The man opened his cloak, threw it back, and at last took it off, and lay down in the shade where it was cool. So the Sun carried his point against the Wind. This fable teaches that gentleness often succeeds better than force

THE GOOSE THAT LAID GOLDEN EGGS

THERE was a man who had a Goose that always laid golden eggs, one every day in the year. Now, he thought there must be gold inside of her. So he wrung her neck and laid her open. He found that she was exactly like all other geese. He thought to find riches, and lost the little he had. This fable teaches that one should be content with what one has, and not be greedy.

LITTLE RED-RIDING-HOOD

ONCE upon a time there lived in a certain village a little girl. Her mother was very fond of her, and her grandmother loved her even more. This good old woman made for her a red cloak, which suited the
child so well that ever after she was called Little Red Riding-Hood. One day her mother made some cakes, and said to Little Red-Riding-Hood:—
“Go, my dear, and see how grandmother does, for I hear that she has been very ill. Carry her a cake and a little pot of butter.”
Little Red-Riding-Hood set out at once to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village. As she was going through the wood she met a large Wolf. He had a very great mind to eat her up; but he dared not, for there were some wood-choppers near by. So he asked her:—
“Where are you going, little girl?” The poor child did not know that it was dangerous to stop and talk with the Wolf, and she said:—
“I am going to see my grandmother, and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother.”
“Does she live far off?” asked the Wolf.
“Oh, yes. It is beyond that mill, at the first house in the village.”
“Well,” said the Wolf, “I will go and see her, too. I will go this way; do you go that, and we will
see who will be there soonest.”
At this the Wolf began to run as fast as he could, taking the nearest way, and Little Red-RidingHood went by the farthest. She stopped often to chase a butterfly, or pluck a flower, and so she was a good while on the way. The Wolf was soon at the old woman’s house, and knocked at the door—tap, tap!
“Who is there?”
“Your grandchild, Little Red-Riding-Hood,”
replied the Wolf, changing his voice. “I have brought you a cake and a pot of butter from mother.” The
good grandmother, who was ill in bed, called out:—
“Pull the string, and the latch will go up.”
The Wolf pulled the string, and the latch went up. The door opened, and he jumped in, and fell upon the old woman, and ate her up in less than no time, for he had not tasted food for three days. He then shut the door, and got into the grandmother’s bed. By and by, Little Red-Riding-Hood came and knocked at the door—tap, tap!
“Who is there?”
Little Red-Riding-Hood heard the big voice of the Wolf, and at first she was afraid. Then she thought her grandmother must have a bad cold, so she answered:—
“Little Red-Riding-Hood. I have brought you a cake and a pot of butter from mother.” The Wolf softened his voice as much as he could, and called out:—
“Pull the string, and the latch will go up.”
Little Red-Riding-Hood pulled the string, and the latch went up, and the door opened. The Wolf was hiding under the bedclothes and called out in a muffled voice:—
“Put the cake and the pot of butter on the shelf, and come to bed.”
Little Red-Riding-Hood made ready for bed. Then she looked with wonder at her grandmother,
who had changed so much, and she said:—
“Grandmother, what great arms you have!”
“The better to hug you, my dear.”
“Grandmother, what great ears you have!”
“The better to hear you, my dear.”
 “Grandmother, what great eyes you have!”
“The better to see you, my dear.”
“Grandmother, what great teeth you have!”
“The better to eat you.”
And at this the wicked Wolf sprang up and fell upon poor Little Red-Riding-Hood and ate her all up.