the vain jackdaw
a jackdaw chanced to fly over the garden of the king's palace. there he saw with much wonder and envy a flock of royal peacocks in all the glory of their splendid plumage.
now the black jackdaw was not a very handsome bird, nor very refined in manner. yet he imagined that all he needed to make himself fit for the society of the peacocks was a dress like theirs. so he picked up some castoff feathers of the peacocks and stuck them among his own black plumes.
dressed in his borrowed finery he strutted loftily among the birds of his own kind. then he flew down into the garden among the peacocks. but they soon saw who he was. angry at the cheat, they flew at him, plucking away the borrowed feathers and also some of his own.
the vain jackdaw
the poor jackdaw returned sadly to his former companions. there another unpleasant surprise awaited him. they had not forgotten his superior airs toward them, and, to punish him, they drove him away with a rain of pecks and jeers.
borrowed feathers do not make fine birds.
it happened once upon a time that a certain greek ship bound for athens was wrecked off the coast close to piraeus, the port of athens. had it not been for the dolphins, who at that time were very friendly toward mankind and especially toward athenians, all would have perished. but the dolphins took the shipwrecked people on their backs and swam with them to shore.
now it was the custom among the greeks to take their pet monkeys and dogs with them whenever they went on a voyage. so when one of the dolphins saw a monkey struggling in the water, he thought it was a man, and made the monkey climb up on his back. then off he swam with him toward the shore.
the monkey sat up, grave and dignified, on the dolphin's back.
"you are a citizen of illustrious athens, are you not?" asked the dolphin politely.
"yes," answered the monkey, proudly. "my family is one of the noblest in the city."
"indeed," said the dolphin. "then of course you often visit piraeus."
"yes, yes," replied the monkey. "indeed, i do. i am with him constantly. piraeus is my very best friend."
this answer took the dolphin by surprise, and, turning his head, he now saw what it was he was carrying. without more ado, he dived and left the foolish monkey to take care of himself, while he swam off in search of some human being to save.
one falsehood leads to another.
an ass was feeding in a pasture near a wood when he saw a wolf lurking in the shadows along the hedge. he easily guessed what the wolf had in mind, and thought of a plan to save himself. so he pretended he was lame, and began to hobble painfully.
when the wolf came up, he asked the ass what had made him lame, and the ass replied that he had stepped on a sharp thorn.
"please pull it out," he pleaded, groaning as if in pain. "if you do not, it might stick in your throat when you eat me."
the wolf saw the wisdom of the advice, for he wanted to enjoy his meal without any danger of choking. so the ass lifted up his foot and the wolf began to search very closely and carefully for the thorn.
just then the ass kicked out with all his might, tumbling the wolf a dozen paces away. and while the wolf was getting very slowly and painfully to his feet, the ass galloped away in safety.
"serves me right," growled the wolf as he crept into the bushes. "i'm a butcher by trade, not a doctor."
stick to your trade.
once upon a time a cat and a monkey lived as pets in the same house. they were great friends and were constantly in all sorts of mischief together. what they seemed to think of more than anything else was to get something to eat, and it did not matter much to them how they got it.
one day they were sitting by the fire, watching some chestnuts roasting on the hearth. how to get them was the question.
"i would gladly get them," said the cunning monkey, "but you are much more skillful at such things than i am. pull them out and i'll divide them between us."
pussy stretched out her paw very carefully, pushed aside some of the cinders, and drew back her paw very quickly. then she tried it again, this time pulling a chestnut half out of the fire. a third time and she drew out the chestnut. this performance she went through several times, each time singeing her paw severely. as fast as she pulled the chestnuts out of the fire, the monkey ate them up.
now the master came in, and away scampered the rascals, mistress cat with a burnt paw and no chestnuts. from that time on, they say, she contented herself with mice and rats and had little to do with sir monkey.
the flatterer seeks some benefit at your expense.
