piece of meat.
Snapping greedily to get this as well, he let go the meat that he already had, and
it fell to the bottom of the stream.
The Ass and His Master
A Diligent Ass, already loaded beyond his strength by a severe Master whom he
had long served, and who kept him on very short commons, happened one day in
his old age to be oppressed with a more than ordinary burden of earthenware.
His strength being much impaired, and the road steep and uneven, he
unfortunately made a misstep, and, unable to recover himself, fell down and
broke all the vessels to pieces. His Master, transported with rage, began to beat
him most unmercifully, against whom the poor Ass, lifting up his head as he lay
on the ground, thus strongly remonstrated:
"Unfeeling wretch! To thine own avaricious cruelty in first pinching me on food,
and then loading me beyond my strength, thou owest the misfortune which thou
so unjustly imputest to me."
The Wolf and the Crane
A Wolf once devoured his prey so ravenously that a bone stuck in his throat,
giving him great pain. He ran howling up and down in his suffering and offered
to reward handsomely any one who would pull the bone out.
A Crane, moved by pity as well as by the prospect of the money, undertook the
dangerous task, and having removed the bone, asked for the promised reward.
"Reward!" cried the Wolf; "pray, you greedy fellow, what greater reward can
you possibly require? You have had your head in my mouth, and instead of
biting it off I have let you pull it out unharmed. Get away with you, and don't
come again within reach of my paw."
The Hares and the Frogs