much displeased at the slim and ungainly appearance of his legs.

"What a glorious pair of branching horns!" said he. "How gracefully they hang over my forehead! What a fine air they give my face! But as for my spindle-shanks of legs, I am heartily ashamed of them."

The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when he saw some huntsmen and a pack of hounds making towards him. His despised legs soon placed him at a distance from his followers, but, on entering the forest, his horns got entangled at every turn, so that the dogs soon reached him and made an end of him.

"Fool that I was!" he gasped at his last breath; "had it not been for these wretched horns, my legs would have saved my life." Beauty may have fair leaves and bitter fruit.

JUPITER AND THE CAMEL.

The Camel once upon a time complained to Jupiter that he was not as well served as he ought to be in the means of defence and offence.

"The Bull," said he, "has horns; the Boar, tusks; and the Lion and Tiger, formidable claws aud fangs that make them feared and respected.

on all sides. I, on the other hand, have to put up with the abuse of all who choose to insult me."

Jupiter angrily told him that if he would take the trouble to think, he would see that he was given qualities shared by no other Beast; and that, as a punishment for his foolish complaint, his ears should be shortened.

Man does not always know what is best for him.

THE COCK AND THE JEWEL.

A Hungry Cock, scratching for food among the straw in the barnyard, happened to turn up a jewel. Feeling quite sure that it was something precious, but not knowing well what to do with it, he addressed it with an air of affected wisdom as follows:

"You are a very fine thing, no doubt, but you are not at all to my taste. For my part, I would rather have one grain of good barley than all the jewels in the world."

A thing is of value only so far as it is of use.

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.

A Hungry Wolf one day saw a Lamb drinking at a stream below him and wished to find some excuse for eating her.

"What do you mean by muddling the water I am going to drink?" fiercely said he to the Lamb. "Pray forgive me," meekly answered the Lamb; "I should be sorry in any way to displease you, but as the stream runs from you towards me, you will see that I am not to blame."

"That's all very well," said the Wolf; "but you know you spoke ill of me behind my back a year ago."

66 Nay, believe me," replied the Lamb, "I was not then born."

"It must have been your brother, then," growled the Wolf.

"It cannot have been, for I never had any," answered the Lamb.

"I know it was one of your lot," rejoined the Wolf, 66 so make no more such idle excuses."

He then seized the poor Lamb, carried her off to the woods, and ate her.

The wicked always finds an excuse for his
wrong-doing.

THE TWO FROGS.

Two Frogs lived in the same pool. The hot summer came and dried it up, so that they were forced to set forth in search of other water. As

they went along they chanced to find a deep well full of cool water.

"Let us jump in here!" cried one of the Frogs. "Wait a bit," said the other; "if that should dry up, how could we get out again?"

Look before you leap.

THE PEACOCK'S COMPLAINT.

The Peacock complained to Juno that while every one laughed at his voice, an insignificant creature like the Nightingale had a note that delighted all listeners. Juno, angry at the unreasonableness of her favorite bird, scolded him in the following terms:

"Envious bird that you are, I am sure you have

no cause to complain. On your neck shine all the colors of the rainbow, and your extended tail gleams like a mass of gems. No living being has every good thing to its own share. The Falcon is endowed with swiftness; the Eagle, strength; the Parrot, speech; the Raven, the gift of augury; and the Nightingale with a melodious note; while you have both size and beauty. Cease then to complain, or the gifts you have shall be taken away."

Contentment is the source of every joy.

THE CAT AND THE MICE.

A Certain house was much infested by Mice. The owner brought home a Cat, a famous mouser, who soon made such havoc among the little folk, that those who were left stayed closely in the upper shelves. Then the Cat grew hungry and thin, and, driven to her wit's end, hung by her hind legs to a peg in the wall, and pretended to be dead, in order that the Mice would no longer be afraid to come near her.

An old Mouse came to the edge of the shelf, and, seeing through the trick, cried out, "Ah, ha, Mrs. Pussy! We should not come near you, even

if

your skin were stuffed with straw."

Old birds are not to be caught with chaff.

THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW.

A Dog, bearing in his mouth a piece of meat that he had stolen, was crossing a smooth stream by means of a plank. Looking in, he saw what he took to be another dog carrying another piece of meat. Snapping greedily to get this as well, he let go the meat that he had, and lost it in the stream.

Catch at the shadow and you lose the substance.