A great Dog caught a small but thievish Rat. "O, sir!" said the Rat, "pray let me go. Next year I shall have grown bigger, and then you can kill me."--"No, no," said the Dog; "I have got you now, but next year I am not sure of getting you again."
A busy little Beaver had been working for months, arranging his house, by the river side. "Why do you take all that trouble?" said a lazy bluebottle Fly; "I never work."--"That is the reason," answered the Beaver, "why so many of you die of cold and hunger, in winter."
A Farmer went to town, on a market day, and bought five peaches. He gave one to his wife, and one to each of his four sons.
The next day he said to his sons, "Well, what have you done with your peaches?"
"I ate mine," said the eldest, "and kept the stone. I will plant it in the ground, that I may have a peach-tree, in time."
"I sold mine," said the second son, "and got so much money for it that I can buy six peaches when I go to town."
"I ate mine up directly I got it," said the youngest, "and threw the stone away; and mother gave me half of hers."
"I took mine to poor George, our neighbor, who is ill," said the third son. "He cannot eat much, and I thought he would like it. He would not take it at first, so I laid it upon his bed, and came away."
Which of all these children made the best use of his peach?
"Why do people not use me as they use you?" said a Wasp to a Canary. "They make you a cage to live in, and give you seed and water every day; and often I see them bring you sugar, and fresh pieces of green groundsel and chickweed. But when I come, they all try to drive me away, and very often they even try to kill me; and yet I am handsome and graceful to look at. The yellow color on my body is as bright as yours, and my shape is very fine."
"That is quite true," answered the Canary; "but when men come to see me I treat them to a merry song, while you attack them with your sting."
As you treat others, others will treat you.
"Why does no one play with me, while every one plays with you?" asked a cross boy, one day, of his brother.
"Because I give up to my playfellows, and you beat and abuse them."
One day the Lion and Tiger fell out. The other beasts stood at a distance, in affright, to see the quarrel between the king of beasts and the mighty Tiger. As for the Fox he got as far out of the way as ever he could. But a poor foolish little Fawn, that was always running away from its mother's side, said, "I will make them friends again;" and wanted to run up to them.