Part 7 (2/2)

One day the Crow said to his friend the Swan, ”Come, old boy, let us go and have some fun.”

”I'm your Swan,” says the other, and away they flew.

They came to a tree, and under the tree was a very pious man, saying his prayers.

”Here's a joke,” said the Crow. ”Now we shall see sport.”

He picked up a lump of mud from the ground, and flew up into the tree, and then he dropped the mud, splash, on the pious man's head.

This interrupted his prayers, and he could not help feeling angry, although he was so pious. So up got he, and looked about to see who had done the mischief.

By this time the mischievous Crow had flown off, and he was caw-caw-cawing on another tree, out of reach. But the Swan sat still: he was not learned in mischief, and he did not know what to do. Then the pious man looked up into the tree, and saw the Swan sitting there, so of course he thought it was the Swan who had dropped a piece of mud on his head. He had a big catapult with him, so he put a stone in his catapult, and slick! he shot the Swan.

Down fell the Swan with a great thud. He felt that his end was near, and how sorry he was now that he had had anything to do with the bad Crow.

However, it was too late now to be sorry, so he began to sing. They say that Swans never sing in all their life, but when they are about to die they sing beautifully; and this is what the Swan sang to the pious man:--

”I am no Crow, as you must know, But a Swan that lived by a lovely lake; With bad companions I would go, And now I die for a bad friend's sake.”

Then the Swan died, and the pious man finished his prayers.

The Foolish Wolf

A WOLF and an a.s.s were great friends, and they spent most of their time playing at an original game of their own. The game was easy enough to learn; you could play it yourselves; and it was this. First the a.s.s used to run away from the Wolf as hard as he could, and the Wolf used to follow; and then the Wolf would run as hard as he could from the a.s.s, and the a.s.s would follow.

One day, as the Wolf was running away full tilt from the a.s.s, a Boy saw them.

”Ha, ha, ha,” said the Boy, ”what a coward that Wolf is, to run away from an a.s.s.” He thought, you see, that the Wolf was afraid of being eaten by the a.s.s.

The Wolf heard him, and was very angry. He stopped short, and said to the Boy--

”So you think I am a coward, little Boy? You shall rue the word. I'm brave enough to eat you, as you shall find out this very night; for I will come and carry you off from your home.”

If the Wolf was no coward, at least he was a foolish Wolf to tell the Boy if he meant to carry him off, as I think you will agree with me.

The Boy went home to tell his mother. ”Mother,” said he, ”a Wolf is coming to-night to carry me off.”

”Oh, never mind if he does,” said the Boy's mother, ”he won't hurt you.”

The Boy did not feel quite so sure about that, for he had seen sharp teeth in the mouth of the Wolf. So he chose out a big and sharp stone, and put it in his pocket. Why he did not hide, I can't tell you, for he never told me; but my private opinion is, he was almost as foolish as the Wolf.

Well, when night came, the Boy's mother went to bed, and she was soon snoring, but the Boy stayed up to wait for the Wolf. About ten o'clock came a knock at the door.

”Come in,” said the Boy.

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