After many had
failed and been dispatched, another fox arrived on the ground, and
learning the condition of affairs, scampered slyly up the steps, and
whispered something in the ear of the cat, who was about entering the
tower. So the latter stuck her head in at the door, and shrieked:
"Pullets with a southern exposure ripen earliest, and have yellow
legs."
At this the magician was so delighted that he dissolved the spell and
let them all go free.
XLIII.
One evening a jackass, passing between a village and a hill, looked
over the latter and saw the faint light of the rising moon.
"Ho-ho, Master Redface!" said he, "so you are climbing up the other
side to point out my long ears to the villagers, are you? I'll just
meet you at the top, and set my heels into your insolent old lantern."
So he scrambled painfully up to the crest, and stood outlined against
the broad disc of the unconscious luminary, more conspicuously a
jackass than ever before.
XLIV.
A bear wishing to rob a beehive, laid himself down in front of it, and
overturned it with his paw.
"Now," said he, "I will lie perfectly still and let the bees sting me
until they are exhausted and powerless; their honey may then be
obtained without opposition."
And it was so obtained, but by a fresh bear, the other being dead.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40