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.But perceiving that the creature was unhappy, the Magician transformed him to a man.Straightway the man abandoned his cards, his timepiece, his musical instruments and the other devices of his profession, and betook himself to a pool of mud, wherein he inhumed himself to the tip of his nose, grunting with sodden satisfaction.»The Millennium is come,« said a Lion to a Lamb inside the fold.»Come out and let us lie down together, as it has been foretold that we shall.«»Have you brought along the little child that is to lead us?« the Lamb asked.»No; I thought that perhaps a child of the shepherd would serve.«»I distrust a Millennium that requires the shepherd to supply both the feast and the leader of the revel.My notion of that happy time is that it is to be a period in which mutton is unfit to eat and a lion the product of the sculptor's art.«Finding no profit in dissimulation, the Lion walked thoughtfully away and candidly dined on the village priest.»I say, you,« bawled a fat Ox in a stall to a lusty young Ass who was braying outside; »the like of that is not in good taste.«»In whose good taste, my adipose censor?« inquired the Ass, not too respectfully.»Why – ah – h'm.I mean that it does not suit me.You should bellow.«»May I ask how it concerns you whether I bellow or bray, or do both, or neither?«»I cannot tell you,« said the Ox, shaking his head despondingly – »I do not at all understand the matter.I can only say that I have been used to censure all discourse that differs from my own.«»Exactly,« said the Ass; »you have tried to make an art of impudence by calling preferences principles.In ›taste‹ you have invented a word incapable of definition to denote an idea impossible of expression, and by employing the word ›good‹ or ›bad‹ in connection with it you indicate a merely subjective process, in terms of an objective quality.Such presumption transcends the limits of mere effrontery and passes into the boundless empyrean of pure gall!«The bovine critic having no words to express his disapproval of this remarkable harangue, said it was in bad taste.An Author who had wrought a book of fables (the merit whereof transcended expression) was peacefully sleeping atop of his modest literary eminence, when he was rudely roused by a throng of Critics uttering adverse judgment on the incomparable tales.»Apparently,« said he, »I have been guilty of some small degree of unconsidered wisdom, and it is a bitterness to these good folk, the which they will not abide.Ah, well, those who produce the Strasburg pâté and the feather pillow regard us as rival creators.Doubtless it is in course of nature for those who grow the pen to censure the manner of its use.«So speaking, he executed a smile a hand's-breadth in extent and resumed his airy dream of dropping ducats.A Tortoise and an Armadillo, having quarreled, repaired to a secluded spot to vindicate their honor by an appeal to arms.»Now, then,« shouted the Tortoise shrinking into the innermost recesses of his shell, »come on!«»Very well,« assented the Armadillo, coiling up tightly in his coat of mail, »I am ready for you!«An historian of the period obscurely alludes to the incident as foreshadowing the naval engagement of the future.A Jackal in pursuit of a Deer was about to seize it, when an earthquake opened a broad and deep chasm between him and his prey.»This,« he said, »is a pernicious interference with the laws of Nature.I refuse to recognize any such irregularity.«So he resumed the chase, endeavoring to cross the abyss by two leaps.Æsopus EmendatusJupiter and the Baby ShowJupiter held a baby show, open to all animals, and a Monkey entered her hideous cub for a prize, but Jupiter only laughed at her.»It is all very well,« said the Monkey, »to laugh at my offspring, but you go into any gallery of antique sculpture and look at the statues and busts of the fellows that you begot yourself.«»'Sh! don't expose me,« said Jupiter, and awarded her the first prize.Mercury and the WoodchopperA Woodchopper who had dropped his ax into a deep pool besought Mercury to recover it for him.That thoughtless deity immediately plunged into the pool, which became so salivated that the trees about its margin all came loose and dropped out.The Penitent ThiefA Boy who had been taught by his Mother to steal grew to be a man and was a professional public official.One day he was taken in the act and condemned to die.While going to the place of execution he passed his Mother and said to her:»Behold your work! If you had not taught me to steal I should not have come to this.«»Indeed!« said the Mother.»And who, pray, taught you to be detected?«Fox and GrapesA Fox, seeing some sour grapes hanging within an inch of his nose, and being unwilling to admit that there was anything he would not eat, solemnly declared that they were out of his reach.Farmer and FoxA Farmer who had a deadly hatred against a certain Fox caught him and tied some tow to his tail; then carrying him to the center of his own grain-field, he set the tow on fire and let the animal go.»Alas!« said the Farmer, seeing the result; »if that grain had not been heavily insured I might have had to dissemble my hatred of the Fox.«Archer and EagleAn Eagle mortally wounded by an Archer was greatly comforted to observe that the arrow was feathered with one of his own quills.»I should have felt bad, indeed,« he said, »to think that any other eagle had a hand in this.«Truth and the TravelerA Man traveling in a desert met a Woman [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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