and told her what had happened, begging her to take them away as fast as she
could. The mother bade them to be easy; "for," said she, "if he depends on his
friends and his neighbours, I am sure the grain will not be reaped tomorrow."
Next day, she went out again, and left the same orders as before. The owner
came, and waited. The sun grew hot, but nothing was done, for not a soul came.
"You see," said the owner to his son, "these friends of ours are not to be
depended upon; so run off at once to your uncles and cousins, and say I wish
them to come early to-morrow morning and help us reap."
This the Young Ones, in a great fright, told also to their mother. "Do not fear,
children," said she; "kindred and relations are not always very forward in helping
one another; but keep your ears open, and let me know what you hear to-
morrow."
The owner came the next day, and, finding his relations as backward as his
neighbours, said to his son: "Now listen to me. Get two good sickles ready for
to-morrow morning, for it seems we must reap the grain by ourselves." The
Young Ones told this to their mother.
"Then, my dears," said she, "it is time for us to go; for when a man undertakes to
do his work himself, it is not so likely that he will be disappointed." She took
them away at once, and the grain was reaped the next day by the old man and his
son.
The Fox and the Stork
A Fox one day invited a Stork to dine with him, and, wishing to be amused at his
guest's expense, put the soup which he had for dinner in a large flat dish, so that,
while he himself could lap it up quite well, the Stork could only dip in the tip of
his long bill.
Some time after, the Stork, bearing his treatment in mind, invited the Fox to take
dinner with him. He, in his turn, put some minced meat in a long and narrow-
necked vessel, into which he could easily put his bill, while Master Fox was
forced to be content with licking what ran down the sides of the vessel.
The Fox then remembered his old trick, and could not but admit that the Stork