young pig fo naturally, that the audience insisted upon it, he had one under his cloak, and ordered him to be fearched. Which being done, and nothing appearing, they loaded the man with encomiums, and honoured him with the most extravagant applause.

A country fellow obferving what paffed-" Faith," fays he, "I can do this better than he:" and immediately gave out, that he would perform the fame much better the next day. Accordingly, greater crowds affembled: prepoffeffed, however, in favour of the first artist, they fit prepared to laugh at the Clown, rather than judge fairly of his performance.

They both came out upon the ftage. The Mimic grunts away firft, is received with vast applause, and the loudeft acclamations. Then the Countryman, pretending that he concealed a little pig under his clothes (which, in fact, he did) pinched the ear of the animal, till he made him fqueak. The people exclaimed aloud that the first performer had imitated the pig much more naturally; and would have hiffed the Countryman off the ftage, but he produced the real pig from his bofom, and convincing them by a vifible proof of their ridiculous error; See, gentlemen, fays he, What pretty fort of judges you are!

FABLE XLII.

The Dog and the Crocodile.

WE can never be too carefully guarded against a connection with perfons of an ill character.

As a Dog was courfing the banks of the Nile, he grew thirty; but fearing to be feized by the monsters of that river, he would not ftop to fatiate his draught, but lapped as he ran. A Crocodile, raifing his head above the furface of the water, afked him, why he was in fuch a hurry? he had often, he faid, wifhed for his acquaintance, and fhould be glad to embrace the prefent opportunity. You do me great honour, returned the Dog, but it is to avoid fuch companions as you that I am in fo much hafte.

DESIGNING Hypocrites frequently lay themfelves open to difcovery, by overacting their parts.

A Wolf, who by frequent vifits to a flock of fheep in his neighbourhood, began to be extremely well known to them, thought it expedient, for the more fuccessfully carrying on his depredations, to appear in a new character. To this end he difguifed himself in a fhepherd's habit; and refting his forefeet upon a ftick, which ferved him by way of crook, he foftly made his approaches toward the fold. It happened that the fhepherd and his dog were both of them extended on the grafs, faft afleep; fo that he would certainly have fuccceded in his project, if he had not imprudently attempted to imitate the fhepherd's voice. The horrid noice awakened them both: When the Wolf, encumbered with his difguife, and finding it impoffible either to refift or to flee, yielded up his life an easy prey to the fhepherd's dog.

FABL E XLIV.
The Bee and the Spider.

THE BEE and the SPIDER once entered into a warm debate which was the better artift. The Spider urged her skill in the mathematics, and afferted, that no one was half fo well acquainted as herself with the conftruction of lines, angles, fquares, and circles; that the web fhe daily wove was a fpecimen of art inimitable by any other creature in the univerfe; and befides, that her works were derived from herself alone, the product of her own bowels: whereas the boafted honey of the Bee was ftolen from every herb and flower of the field; nay, that fhe had obligations even to the meanest weeds. To this the Bee replied, That fhe was in hopes the art of extracting honey from the meaneft weeds would at leaft have been allowed her as an excellence; and that as to her ftealing fweets from the herbs and flowers of the field, her fkill was there fo confpicuous, that no flower ever fuffered the leaft diminution of its fragrance from fo delicate an operation. Then, as to the Spider's vaunted knowledge in the conftruction of lines and angles, fhe believed the might fafely reft the merits of her caufe on the reD

gularity alone of her combs; but fince fhe could add to this, the fweetnefs and excellence of her honey, and the various purpofes to which her wax was employed, fhe had nothing to fear from the comparifon of her fkill with that of the weaver of a flimfy cobweb: for the value of every art, the obferved, is chiefly to be eftimated by its use.

A diligent ASS, daily loaded beyond his ftrength by a fevere Mafter whom he had long ferved, and who kept him at very fhort commons, happened one day in his old age to be oppreffed with a more than ordinary burden of earthen ware. His ftrength being much impaired, and the road deep and uneven, he unfortunately made a trip, and, unable to recover himfelf, fell down and broke all the veffels to pieces. His Mafter, tranfported with rage, began to beat him most unmercifully. Against whom the poor Afs, lifting up his head as he lay on the ground, thus ftrongly remonftrated: Unfeeling wretch! to thy own avaricious cruelty, in firft pinching me of food, and then loading me beyond my ftrength, thou oweft the miffortune which thou fo unjustly imputes to me.