THE CAT METAMORPHOSED INTO A WOMAN. A MAN was once distractedly fond of his cat; he thought her mild, beautiful and delicate, and that she cried with the softest of tones; indeed he doated worse than the maddest fool. This man, by his tears and entreaties, by sorcery and charms, managed to persuade destiny to transform his cat into a woman: and the same morning he hastened to make her his better half. Behold him, upon these events, as crazed with the wildest love as he was formerly mad with friendship. Never did the loveliest woman charm her most favoured lover so highly as did this novel wife her raving husband. He adores her; she flatters him; he can discover no remains of feline qualities about her, and his disordered imagination induces him to believe her a very woman in everything. On the nuptial night, however, some mice which were gnawing the floor, disturbed the pleasure of the newly wedded pair. The wife crept immediately from bed; but her so recently acquired posture accorded ill with her old occupation. However, she did not run in vain; for, having changed her form, the mice feared her no longer, and neglected the precautions they had formerly taken to secure their safety. The display of such propensities was a source of sore annoyance to the husband; but Nature will take her course: indeed, should you shut the door in her face, she would come in again by the window. THE WOLF, A HERO. "My father, of glorious memory," said a young wolf to a fox, was a true hero! He made himself dreaded by the whole neighbourhood! At various periods he triumphed over more than two hundred enemies, and sent their polluted souls to the Kingdom of Death. How can it be wondered at that he was at length compelled to yield to one." "Thus would the writer of epitaphs express himself," said the fox: "the impartial historian, however, would add: the two hundred enemies he triumphed over at various periods, were sheep and asses; and the one enemy to whom he succumbed, was the first ox he ever dared to attack."" THE MOUSE AND THE WEASEL. A LITTLE, starveling, thin-gutted rogue of a mouse, with much pushing and application, had made his way through a small hole into a corn-basket, where he stuffed and crammed so plentifully, that when he would have retired by the way he came, he found himself too plump, with all his endeavours, to accomplish it, A weasel, who stood at some distance, and had been diverting himself with beholding the vain efforts of the little fat thing, called to him and said: Hark ye! honest friend! if you have a mind to make your escape, there is but one way for it; contrive to grow as poor and lean as you were when you entered, and then, perhaps, you may get off." D " THE OLD HOUND. An old hound, who had been an excellent one in his time, and had given his master great sport and satisfaction in many a chase, at last, by the effect of years, became feeble and unserviceable. However, being in the field one day when the stag was almost run down, he happened to be the first that came in with him, and seized him by one of his haunches: but his decayed and broken teeth not being able to keep their hold, the deer escaped, and threw him quite out. Upon which, his master being in a great passion and going to strike him, the honest old creature is said to have barked out this apology: "Ah! do not strike your poor old servant; it is not my heart and inclination, but my strength and speed that fail me. If what I am now displeases, pray do not forget what I have been." This Fable may serve to give us a general view of the ingratitude of the greatest part of mankind. Notwithstanding all the civility and complaisance that is used among people where there is a common intercourse of business, yet, let the main-spring, the probability of their being serviceable to each other, either in point of pleasure or profit, be but once broken, and farewell courtesy: so far from continuing any regard for past favours, it is very well if they forbear doing anything that is injurious. If the master had only ceased to caress and make much of the old hound when he was past doing any service, it would not have been very strange; but to treat a poor creature ill, not for a failure of inclination, but merely a defect of nature, must, notwithstanding the crowd of examples there are to countenance it, be pronounced inhuman and unreasonable. There are two accounts upon which people that have been useful are frequently neglected. One, when they are so decayed, either through age or some accident, that they are no longer able to do the services they had formerly done; the other, when the occasion or emergency which required such talents no longer exists. Phædrus, who more than once complains of the evil consequences of age, makes no other application to this Fable, than by telling his friend Philetus, with some regret, that he wrote it with such a view; having, it seems, been repaid with neglect, or worse usage, for services done in his youth to those who were then able to afford him a better recompense. THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE. THE tortoise weary of his condition, by which he was constrained to keep upon the ground, and being ambitious to have a prospect and look about him, gave out that if any bird would take him up into the air and shew him the world, he would reward him with a discovery of many precious stones, which he knew were hidden in a certain place of the earth. The eagle undertook to do as he desired; and when he had performed his commission, demanded the reward: but finding the tortoise could not make good his words, he struck his talons into the softer parts of his body, and made him a sacrifice to his revenge. As men of honour ought to consider calmly how far the things which they promise may be in their power, before they venture to make promises upon this account, because the non-performance of them will be apt to excite an uneasiness within themselves, and tarnish their reputation in the eyes of other people; so fools and cowards should be as little rash in this respect as possible, lest their impudent forgeries draw upon them the resentment of those whom they may disappoint, and that resentment makes them undergo smart, but deserved chastisement. The man who is so stupid a knave as to make a lying promise where he is sure to be detected, receives the punishment of his folly, unpitied by all who know him. THE COURT AND COUNTRY MICE. A CONTENTED Country-mouse had once the honour to receive a visit from an oid acquaintance belonging to the court. The country mouse, extremely glad to see her guest, very hospitably set before her the best cheese and bacon which her cottage afforded; and as to their beverage, it was the purest water from the spring. The repast was homely indeed, but the welcome hearty: they sate and chatted away the evening together very agreeably, and then retired in peace and quietnes each to her little cell. The next morning, when the guest was to take her leave, she kindly pressed her country friend to accompany her; setting forth, in very pompous terms, the great elegance and plenty in which she lived at court. The country-mouse was easily prevailed upon, and they set out together. It was late in the evening when they arrived at the palace; however, in one of the rooms they found the remains of a sumptuous entertainment. There were creams and jellies and sweetmeats, and everything, in short, of the most delicate kind : the cheese was Parmesan, and they wetted their whiskers in exquisite Champagne. But before they had half finished their repast, they were alarmed with the barking and scratching of a lap-dog; then the mewing of a cat frightened them almost to death; by-and-by, a whole train of servants burst into the room, and everything was swept away in an instant. "Ah! my dear friend," said the country-mouse, as soon as she had recovered courage enough to speak, "if your fine living is thus interrupted with fears and dangers, let me return to my plain food and my peaceful cottage; for what is elegance without ease; or plenty, with an aching heart?" This Fable has ever been a favourite with all classes and in all ages. The poets especially have made a bantling of it. The exemplification given by King James the first, and which was adopted by Sir Roger L'Estrange, was to exhibit the superiority of the quiet, independent life of the country, over the servility and insecurity of city existence. Pope makes it subservient to a general love of liberty, which he seems to consider, as indeed it would be held in the present day, a compensation in itself for most of the minor evils humanity is heir to. It may not be out of place here to notice that Pope's "Town and Country Mice" is little more than a paraphrase of the "City Mouse and Country Mouse" of Sir Roger L'Estrange. the language of which, as well as the local allusions, he has not been scrupulous in appropriating. We give an extract from Sir Roger's concluding "Reflections" as a specimen of his happiest style : "Free from the noise and bustle of the great, An old Scottish version of the Fable is subjoined, for the length of which, the poetry, the graphic descriptions, witty dialogue and exquisite humour, must be our apology. The language of the original, which belongs to the fifteenth century, (Anno 1440) is in a great measure obsolete; and the liberty has, therefore, been taken to modernize the phraseology, as well as the orthography, where it was considered necessary. THE BORROWSTOUNE MOUSE AND THE LANDWARD MOUSE. Æsop relates a tale well worth renown, Of two wee mice, and they were sisters dear, The rural mouse, when came the winter tide, And once, when summer days were bright and clear And longed to ken her welfare and her cheer, Through many a weary way then did she walk; Through moor and moss and wood, o'er bank and briar, Calling, from hill to glen, from brae to balk: "Come forth to me my own sweet sister dear, And bless mine eyes." With that the mouse could hear, And knew her voice, as kindly kinsfolk should; She heard with joy and straight beside her stood. Their kindly cheer was pleasant to be seen, Their hearts with blitheness towards each other leapt, A band of love was knit their breasts between ; And whiles they laughed, and whiles for joy they wept And fondled long, till, sobered in their mood. *Defence. shift. + Chest. |