108.The Eagle and His Captor
AN EAGLE was once captured by a man, who at once clipped his wings and put him into his poultry-yard with the other birds, at which treatment the eagle was weighed down with grief.
Later, another neighbor bought him and allowed his feathers to grow again. The eagle took flight, and pouncing on a hare, brought it at once as an offering to his benefactor.
A fox, seeing this, exclaimed, “Do not cultivate the favor of this man, but of your former owner, lest he should again hunt for you and deprive you a second time of your wings.”
107.The Dove and the Crow
A DOVE shut up in a cage was boasting of the large number of young ones which she had hatched. A crow hearing her, said:
“My good friend, cease from this unseasonable boasting. The larger the number of your family, the greater your cause of sorrow, in seeing them shut up in this prison-house.”
To enjoy our blessings we must have freedom.
106.The Donkey, the Fox, and the Lion
THE DONKEY and the fox agreed to hunt together for mutual benefit, and went out into the forest. There they met a lion. Hoping to save himself from the danger, the fox drew near the lion and promised to catch the donkey for him if the lion would promise not to harm himself. Then, while assuring the donkey that he would not be injured, the fox led him to a deep pit and saw to it that he fell into it. But as soon as the lion saw that the donkey was secured, he clutched and ate the fox, and saved the donkey for later.
âť– Some who betray, may not be able to get on with their living after that.
âť– The superior man (and donkey?) forgives misdeeds at his own wise decision.
âť– The struggle for living must not be carried on with the wrong means and weapons.
âť– The companion worth having, has freedom to act through proper means, and values his integrity above life when it comes to some major issues.
105.The Donkey, the Cock, and the Lion
A DONKEY and a cockerel were in a straw-yard together when a lion drew near. He was about to spring on the donkey when the cock crowed so loudly that the lion fled – it is said that lions fear the sound of crowing cocks.
The donkey imagined that the lion fled because of him, and galloped after him, intending to attack him. But when the lion had run a little off and could not hear the cock, he turned round, seized the donkey and tore him to pieces.
 As he was dying, the donkey brayed,”How stupid of me to set out to fight when I was not born to warlike parents!”
âť– Overconfidence, no matter how sweet and brisk at first glance, may lead into trouble.
âť– In a good life, as good as everything needs to be treated with care, especially at the beginning, so that the return may lead to a flowering.
