208.The Lion and the Bull
A LION who greatly desired to capture a bull, and yet was afraid to attack him because of his great size, resorted to a trick to kill him. He approached the bull and said,
“I have slain a fine sheep, my friend; and if you will come home and partake of him with me, I shall be delighted to have your company.”
The lion said this in the hope that the bull would recline to eat when he came home to his den, and then he might attack him successfully and make his meal on him.
On approaching the lion’s den, the bull saw the huge spits and giant cauldrons, but no sign of the sheep. Then, without saying a word, he quietly left. The lion asked why he went off so abruptly without a word to salute his host, who had not given him any cause for offense.
“I have reasons enough,” said the bull. “I see no indication at all of your having slaughtered a sheep, while I see very plainly every preparation for dining on a bull.”
❖ Fools die young.
❖ The best time to prepare for old age is when you are young, by not being taken in a lot.
207.The Lion and the Boar
ON A SUMMER DAY, when the great heat made the beasts thirsty, a lion and a boar came at the same moment to a small well to drink. They argued fiercely which of them should drink first, and were soon engaged in the agonies of a mortal combat. When they suddenly stopped to catch their breath for a fiercer renewal of the fight, they saw some vultures waiting in the distance to feast on the one that should fall first. At once they made up their quarrel, saying,
“It is better for us to make friends than to become the food of crows or vultures.”
❖ You can catch more vultures and flies with carcasses than with vinegar.
206.The Lark Burying Her Father
THE LARK, according to an ancient legend, was created before the earth itself, and when her father died, as there was no earth, she could find no place of burial for him. She let him lie uninterred for five days, and on the sixth day, not knowing what else to do, she buried him in her own head. Hence she obtained her crest, which is popularly said to be her father’s grave-hillock.
❖ In pursuit of better things, drop impossible fables such as this one. Do not deny yourself such happiness.
205.The Lark and Her Young Ones
A LARK had made her nest in the early spring on the young green wheat. The brood had almost grown to their full strength and attained the use of their wings and the full plumage of their feathers, when the owner of the field, looking over his ripe crop, said,
“The time has come when I must ask all my neighbours to help me with my harvest.”
One of the young Larks heard his speech and related it to his mother, inquiring of her to what place they should move for safety.
“There is no occasion to move yet, my son,” she replied; “the man who only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest is not really in earnest.”
The owner of the field came again a few days later and saw the wheat shedding the grain from excess of ripeness. He said,
“I will come myself tomorrow with my labourers, and with as many reapers as I can hire, and will get in the harvest.”
The lark on hearing these words said to her brood, “It is time now to be off, my little ones, for the man is in earnest this time; he no longer trusts his friends, but will reap the field himself.”
❖ Self-help is the best help.
❖ Much depends on who owns the soil.
❖ One is to plumb the depths by being in earnest so as to get a good enough harvest somewhere.
