161.The Goat and the Donkey

A MAN once kept a goat and a donkey. The goat, envying the donkey on account of his greater abundance of food, said,

“How shamefully you are treated: at one time grinding in the mill, and at another time carrying heavy burdens”; and he further advised him to pretend to be epileptic and fall into a ditch and so get rest.

The donkey listened to his words, and falling into a ditch, was very much bruised. His master, sending for a leech, asked his advice. He bade him pour on the wounds the lungs of a goat. They at once killed the goat, and so healed the donkey.

Living takes up a great deal of our time.

Goats and men hardly think their fortune too great nor their wit too little.

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