44.Dead men tell no tales
A fox and a monkey, as they journeyed together, disputed at great length about the nobility of their lineage. When they reached a certain place on the road, the monkey fixed his gaze on it and uttered a groan. The fox asked what was wrong with him. The monkey pointed to some tombs that stood there.
“Don’t you expect me to mourn,” he said, “when I behold the sepulchres of the slaves and freedmen of my ancestors?”
“Lie away to your heart’s content,” answered the fox. “They won’t any of them rise up to contradict you.”
❖ Certain impostors never boast more loudly than when there is no one to expose them.
43.A Lesson for Fools
A crow sat in a tree holding in his beak a piece of meat that he had stolen. A fox which saw him determined to get the meat. It stood under the tree and began to tell the crow what a beautiful big bird he was. He ought to be king of all the birds, the fox said; and he would undoubtedly have been made king, if only he had a voice as well. The crow was so anxious to prove that he had a voice, that he dropped the meat and croaked for all he was worth. Up ran the fox, snapped up the meat, and said to him:
“If you added brains to all your other qualifications, you would make an ideal king.”
42.The Boy and the Hazelnuts
A BOY put his hand into a pitcher full of hazelnuts. He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the pitcher. Unwilling to lose his hazelnuts, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his disappointment. A bystander said to him,
“Be satisfied with half the amount and you will readily draw out your hand.”
❖ Do not attempt too much at once.
❖ Life is a long lesson in humility.
41.The Boy and the Filberts
A boy put his hand into a jar of filberts, and grasped as many as his fist could possibly hold. But when he tried to pull it out again, he found he couldn’t do so, for the neck of the jar was too small to allow of the passage of so large a handful. Unwilling to lose his nuts but unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears.
A bystander, who saw where the trouble lay, said to him, “Come, my boy, don’t be so greedy. Be content with half the amount, and you’ll be able to get your hand out without difficulty.”
Do not attempt too much at once.
