It was the practice of Giabal to fasten his mare at night by the foot with an iron ring, the chain of which passed into his tent, being held by a peg fixed in the ground, under the very felt which served him and his wife for a bed. At midnight, therefore, Giafar crept into the tent on all-fours, and insinuating himself between Giabal and his wife, pushed gently first the one and then the other. The husband thought his wife was pushing, she thought the same of her husband, so each made more room. Giafar then, with a knife, made a slit in the felt, took out the peg, untied the mare, mounted her, and grasping Giabal's lance, pricked him lightly with it, crying out, "It is I, Giafar, who have taken the noble mare; awake Giabal!" and off he went. Giabal darted from his tent, called his friends, mounted his brother's mare, and pursued the thief. Giabal's brother's mare was of the same breed as his own horse, but not so good. Outstripping all the other horsemen, he was on the point of overtaking Giafar, when he cried out, "Pinch her right ear, and give her the stirrup!" Giafar did so, and flying like lightning, was soon out of reach. The Bedouin reproached Giabal as having thus caused the loss of the mare. "I would rather," he said, "lose her, that injure her reputation. Would you have it said, in my tribe, that any other mare outran mine? I have the satisfaction of knowing that no other horse could overtake her—no, none !"-CASSELL'S NATURAL HISTORY.

THE OLD MAN AND HIS ASS.

An old man and a little boy were driving an ass to the next market to sell. "What a fool is this fellow," says a man upon the road, "to be walking on foot with his son, that the ass may travel at ease." The old man hearing

this set his boy upon the ass, and went whistling by the side of him. “Why, ho!" cried a second man to the boy, "is it fit for you to be riding, while your poor old father is walking on foot?" The father, upon this rebuke, took down his boy from the ass, and mounted himself. “Do you see," says a third, "how the lazy old knave rides along upon his beast, while this poor little boy is almost crippled with walking?" The old man no sooner heard this, than he took up his son behind him. "Pray, honest friend," says a fourth, "is that ass your own?" "Yes," says the man. "One would not have thought so,” replied the other, "by your loading him so unmercifully. You and your son are better able to carry the poor beast than he you." Anything to please," says the owner; and alighting with his son, they tied the legs of the ass together, and by the help of a pole endeavoured to carry him upon their shoulders over the bridge that led to the town. was so entertaining a sight, that the people ran in crowds to laugh at it, till the ass, conceiving a dislike to the proceeding of his master, burst asunder the cords that tied him, slipped from the pole, and tumbled into the river. The poor old man made the best of his way home, ashamed and vexed that, by endeavouring to please everybody, he had pleased nobody, and lost his ass into the bargain.— ANON.

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FABLE-THE KITE AND THE PIGEONS.

A kite, who had kept sailing in the air for many days near a dove-house, and made a stoop at several pigeons, but all to no purpose (for they were too nimble for him) at last had recourse to stratagem, and took his opportunity one day to make a declaration to them, in which he set forth his own just and good intentions, who had nothing

more at heart than the defence and protection of the pigeons in their ancient rights and liberties; and how concerned he was at their fears and jealousies of a foreign invasion, especially their unjust and unreasonable suspicions of himself, as if he intended, by force of arms, to break in upon their constitution, and erect a tyrannical government over them. To prevent all which, and thoroughly to quiet their minds, he thought proper to propose to them such terms of alliance and articles of peace, as might for ever cement a good understanding betwixt them; the principal of which was, that they should accept of him as their king, and invest him with all kingly privilege and prerogative over them. The poor simple pigeons consented: the kite took the coronation oath after a very solemn manner on his part, and the doves the oaths of allegiance and fidelity on theirs. But much time had not passed over their heads, before the good kite pretended that it was part of the prerogative to devour a pigeon whenever he pleased. And this he was not content to do himself only, but instructed the rest of the royal family in the same kingly arts of government. The pigeons, reduced to this miserable condition, said, ne to the other, "Ah! we deserve no better ! Why did we let him come ?"-ESOP'S FABLES.

THE MERCHANT AND HIS BAD TEMPERED HORSE.

In former time there was a very intelligent merchant, who possessel a bad-tempered horse. One day this man was sitting eating his dinner at the threshold of his house. Meanwhile, stranger came up riding on a mare, and, dismounting, was about to tie his mare beside the merchant's horse, and prepare to partake of some victuals he had with him. The merchant said to him, "Do not tie your mare near my horse, else you will meet

with a loss; and do not eat beside me, or you will repent it." Hearing this, the man, nevertheless, tied his mare at that very spot, and sitting down beside the merchant, proceeded to eat his dinner. The latter said to him, "Who are you that without my invitation are eating along with me?" The stranger pretending to be deaf, made no reply. So the merchant thought he must be either deaf or dumb, and said no more. Meanwhile, his horse inflicted such a kick on the said mare, that she died. Then her owner began to quarrel with the merchant, saying, "Inlisputably I shall exact the price of her from you; your horse has killed my mare. Thereupon the man went to the Kází (judge), and made a complaint. The Kází sunmoned the merchant before him. Accordingly he presented himself in Court, but feigned himself dumb. Whatever the judge asked him, he made no reply. The Kází said, “The man is dumb; it is no fault of his." The plaintiff said, “Your worship, how do you know that he is dumb? He told me at first that his horse was vicious, and that I must not tie my mare near him. Now he is pretending to be dumb!" The Kází said, "Tush! you are a rascally fol! you yourself attest that he warned you, and yet you make a claim for damages on account of your mare! What blame was there on his part in this case? Be off with you, out of my presence!" Accordingly, the judge had the man turned out of court, and dismissed the merchant.—TALES OF A PARROT.

ANECDOTE OF SULTAN MAHMOUD.

We are told that the Sultan Mahmoud, by his perpetual wars abroad, and his tyranny at home, hid filled his dominions with ruin and desolation, and half unpeopled the Persian empire. The vizier to this great Sultan pre

tended to have learnt of a certain dervis to understand the language of birds, so that there was not a bird that could open his mouth, but the vizier knew what it was he said. As he was one evening with the Sultan, on their return from hunting, they saw a couple of owls upon a tree that grew near an old wall out of a heap of rubbish. "I would fain know," says the Sultan, "what those two owls are saying to one another: listen to their discourse, and give me an account of it." The vizier approached the tree, pretending to be very attentive to the two owls. Upon his return to the Sultan, "Sir," says he, "I have heard part of their conversation, but dare not tell you what it is." The Sultan would not be satisfied with such an answer, but forced him to repeat, word for word, everything the owls had said. "You must know then," said the vizier, "that one of these owls has a son and the other a daughter, between whom they are now upon a treaty of marriage. The father of the son said to the father of the daughter, in my hearing, Brother, I consent to this marriage, provided you will settle upon your daughter fifty ruined villages for her portion.' To which the father of the daughter replied, Instead of fifty, I will give her five hundred, if you please. God grant a long life to Sultan Mahmoud; whilst he reigns over us we shall never want ruined villages.'"

The story says, the Sultan was so touched with the fable that he rebuilt the towns and villages which had been destroyed, and from that time forward consulted the good of his people.-SPECTATOR.

THE DEAF MAN, THE BLIND MAN, AND THE WHIP.

Once upon a time, a deaf and a blind man alighted at a stage in one of the deserts. When early dawn appeared,