172. A Toast by the Poet Campbell 173. The Superiority of our Forefathers 6268 THE An old crab said to a young one, 'Why do you walk so crooked, child? walk straight!' 'Mother,' said the young crab, 'show me the way, will you? and when I see you walk straight, I will try to follow you.' The Mole and her Mother. A young mole said to her mother, 'Mother, I can see.' In order to try her, her mother put a lump of frankincense before her, and asked her what it was. 'A stone,' said the young one. 'Oh, my child!' said the mother, 'not only do you not see, but you cannot even smell.' The Widow and the Hen. A widow kept a hen that laid an egg every morning. The woman said to herself, 'If I double my hen's allowance of barley, she will lay twice a-day.' She tried her plan, and the hen became so fat that she left off laying. B The Fox and the Lion. A fox who had never seen a lion, when by chance he met one for the first time, was so terrified that he almost died of fright. When he met him the second time, he was still afraid, but disguised his fear. When he saw him the third time, he was so much emboldened that he went up to him and asked him how he did. The Wheels. Some oxen were dragging a waggon along a road; the wheels began to creak. 'Brute!' cried the driver to the waggon, 'why do you groan, when they who are drawing all the weight are silent?' The Bear and the Fox. A bear boasted of his great love for man, saying that he never worried him when dead. The fox observed, with a smile, 'I should have thought more of your love, if you never ate him alive.' The Cocks and the Eagle. Two young cocks were fighting as fiercely as if they had been men. At last the one that was beaten crept into a corner of the hen-house, covered with wounds. But the conqueror, flying up to the top of the house, began clapping his wings and crowing, to announce his victory. At this moment an eagle seized him in his talons and bore him away; while the defeated rival came out from his hiding-place, and took possession of the dunghill for which they had contended. The Goose with the Golden Eggs. A certain man had the good fortune to possess a goose tha laid him a golden egg every day. But dissatisfied with sc slow an income, and thinking to seize the whole treasure at once, he killed the goose; and cutting her open, found her just what any other goose would be! 2. AN IDLE BOY. My father said to my brother, 'If you play the whole day, you will be an ignorant boy, and nobody will like you; but if you learn all your lessons, I will give you a pretty book, and next week you shall have a holiday.' My brother answered to my father, 'I prefer a ball to a book, and I wish to have a holiday this week.' 3. GENUINE PHILOSOPHY. Two philosophers stood under a tree during a storm. After some time one of them complained that he began to feel the rain. 'Never mind,' replied his friend, 'there are plenty of trees in the wood; when this one is wet through, we will go to another.' 4. GIBRALTAR. An English fleet, under Sir George Rook, having on board several regiments commanded by the Prince of HesseDarmstadt, appeared before the Rock of Gibraltar. The soldiers of the garrison went to say their prayers instead of standing on their guard. A few English sailors climbed the rock. The Spaniards capitulated; and the British flag was placed on the ramparts.-Macaulay. 5. THE MASTER OF THE PARISH. As a country schoolmaster was one day entering his schoolroom he was met by a certain nobleman, who asked him his name and vocation. Having declared his name, he added, 'And I am master of this parish.' 'Master of this parish!' observed the peer; 'how can that be?' 'I am master of the children of the parish,' said the man; 'the children are masters of their mothers; the mothers are the rulers of the fathers, and consequently I am master of the whole parish.' 6. JUSTICE. In a court of justice where a great noise was made, the judge ordered silence, and urged, in support of his request, that he had already judged a number of cases without hearing them. -The Laughing Philosopher. 7. MELANCHTHON AND LUTHER. Melanchthon on some occasion arose to preach a sermon on the text, 'I am the good shepherd.' on looking around |