Monthly Archives: September 2013
227.The Man and His Wife
A MAN had a wife who made herself hated by all the members of his household. Wishing to find out if she had the same effect on the persons in her father’s house, he made some excuse to send her home on a visit to her father. After a short time she returned, and when he asked how she had got on and how the servants had treated her, she replied,
“The herdsmen and shepherds cast on me looks of aversion.”
He said,
“If you were disliked by those who go out early in the morning with their flocks and return late in the evening, what must have been felt towards you by those with whom you passed the whole day!”
❖ Straws show how the wind blows.
226.The Man and His Two Mistresses
A man of middle age, whose hair was turning grey, had two mistresses, an old woman and a young one. The elder of the two didn’t like having a lover who looked so much younger than herself; so, whenever he came to see her, she used to pull the dark hairs out of his head to make him look old. The younger, on the other hand, didn’t like him to look so much older than herself, and took every opportunity of pulling out the grey hairs, to make him look young. Between them, they left not a hair in his head, and he became perfectly bald.
❖ Be as you are; Don’t pretend.
❖ Those who seek to please everybody please nobody.
❖ Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.
225.The Lioness and the Vixen
A lioness and a vixen were talking together about their young, as mothers will, and saying how healthy and well-grown they were, and what beautiful coats they had, and how they were the image of their parents.
“My litter of cubs is a joy to see,” said the fox; and then she added, rather maliciously, “But I notice you never have more than one.”
“No,” said the lioness grimly, “but that one’s a lion.”
❖Quality, not quantity.
❖ The true value of a thing is neither of its wrapping, nor of the way of sending it, express or otherwise.
❖ The value is also in the worth, not in the number.
224.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.”
“Hump,” 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.”
