UN

chien ayant un bon morceau de chair entre les dents, paffa fur le bord d'un fleuve, où il vit fon ombre, et celle du morceau de chair.

Il crut que c'étoit un autre chien, qui portoit une autre proie; et, comme les chiens font fort gourmands, il voulut la lui ôter.

Mais il fut bien trompé, & en même tems bien puni; car il lacha le morceau qu'il avoit à la gueule, & ne put fe faifir de celui qu'il vouloit

avoir.

A Dog having a good piece of flesh between his teeth, went on the banks of a river, where he efpied his own fhadow, and likewife that of the piece of flesh.

He thought it was another dog, that was carrying another piece of flesh; and, as dogs are "great gluttons, he wanted to Jnatch it from him.

But he was much deceived, and at the fame time defervedly punished; for he let go the piece he bad in his mouth, and tould not lay hold of that which he wished to have.

Being quite aftonished at the lofs he had at that moment fuftained, he faid; what a fool art thou! hadst thou not been fo gluttonous, thou wouldst fill have had fomething to eat, whereas thou art reduced to faft at this time.

A L.

UN cerf alla boire à une Source, dont l'eau étoit fort claire; après qu'il eut bu, il Je mit à s'y mirer, et prit un grand plaifir à voir la beauté de fon bois.

Mais la joie qu'il en avoit fe changea bientôt en un chagrin qui lui rongeoit le cœur, en voyant que fes jambes étoient fi longues et fi laides.

Pendant qu'il penfoit à ces chofes, il furvint un chaffeur avec une meute de chiens:

Auffi-tot le cerf s'enfuit, et coure de toutes fes forces vers ave grande forêt, pour s'y cacher; mais comme elle étoit fort pleine, d'arbres, fon bois, par malheur, pour lui, Je mêla parmi les branches, ce qui lui ota le pouvoir d'aller plus loin, et le mit, dans cet état, en prife aux chiens.

A Stag went to drink at a fountain, whofe water was very clear; after he had drank, he viewed himself in it, and admired with pleasure the beauty of his horns.

But the joy he had of it was very foon changed into an uneafinefs, which preyed on his heart, when he spy'd his long and ugly legs.

Whilft he was thinking on thefe things, a huntfman came up with his hounds:

Immediately the flag went away, and ran towards a great foreft to hide himself in it; but, it being very thick of trees, his horns, unluckily for him, were foon entangled in the branches, and prevented his running away, and the dogs laid then hold of

him.

Il ne faut ni lauer ni blâmer une chofe, fans avoir connu à quoi elle peut être propre.

We must neither praise nor blame any thing, until we have known its proper ufe.

CHAP.

Bfervations néceffaires à faire faire à un écolier, pour prévenir qu'il ne proonce mal quelques mots qui fe trouvent dans les chapitres fuivans:

1°. Les diphthongues ia, ie, ié, io, forment deux fyllabes dans la poëfie; mais dans la profe, on ne les y prononce que comme une fyllabe, pourvu que ni la lettre / our les précède, et que l'e de la fyllabe ie ne foit point accentué; car, en ces cas-là, il en faut toujours faire deux fyllabes. Lorfque le t fe rencontre devant la combinaison des voy. elles ia ou in, on en fait ordinairement deux fyllabes, et l'on donne à ti, dans la plûpart de nos mots, l'articulation de fi;

Bfervations neceffary to be taken notice of by the learner, to prevent his mispronouncing fome words which are contained in the following chapters; viz.

e

ift. The dipththongs ia, ie, ié, io, form two fyllables in poetry; but in profe, they are ufually confidered as one fyllable only, provided they be not preceded by either the liquid letter lor r, and that the c of ie be not accented; for in thofe cafes, they always conftitute two fyllables, and must be pronounced accordingly. When the letter t occurs before the combination of the vowels ia or ion, we alfo generally make two fyllables of them, and pronounce the fyllable ti, in most French words, like si ;