The Talking Beasts Part 31

"Oh, shame!" said the Fox, "that is no distance to run. How many feet and legs have you? I have only four. Why, if I had as many feet as you have, I would run at least six times as fast as you do. Did you know that you are really a very slow, stupid creature? Though I have only four feet I run ten times as far as you do. I never heard of any one with so many feet as you have, running so slowly."

The Crab said: "Would you like to run a race with a stupid creature like me? I will try to run as fast as you. I know I am small, so suppose we go to the scales and see how much heavier you are. As you are ten times larger than I, of course you will have to run ten times faster.

"Another reason why you can run so fast is because you have such a fine tail and hold it so high. If you would allow me to put it down, I do not think you would run any faster than I."

"Oh, very well," said the Fox, contemptuously, "do as you like, and still the race will be so easy for me that I will not even need to try.

Your many legs and your stupid head do not go very well together. Now, if I had my sense and all of your legs, no creature in the forest could outrun me. As it is, there are none that can outwit me. I am known as the sharp-witted. Even man says, 'Qui-kwat-wui-lai' (sly as a fox).

So do what you will, stupid one."

"If you will let me tie your beautiful tail down so it will stay," said the Crab, "I am sure I can win the race."

"Oh, no, you cannot," said the Fox. "But I will prove to even your stupid, slow brain that it will make no difference. Now, how do you wish that I should hold my tail?"

Said the Crab: "If you will allow me to hang something on your tail to hold it down, I am sure you cannot run faster than I."

"Do as you like," said the Fox.

"Allow me to come nearer," said the Crab, "and when I have it fastened to your tail, I will say 'Ready!' Then you are to start."

So the Crab crawled behind and caught the Fox's tail with his pincers and said, "Ready!" The Fox ran and ran until he was tired. And when he stopped, there was the Crab beside him.

"Where are you now?" said the Crab. "I thought you were to run ten times faster than I. You are not even ahead of me with all your boasting."

The Fox, panting for breath, hung his head in shame and went away where he might never see the crab again.

EE-SZE (Meaning): A big, proud, boastful mouth, is a worse thing for a man than it is for a fox.

The Mule and the Lion

One night the Lion was very hungry, but as the creatures of the wilderness knew and feared him even from afar, he could not find food.

So he went to visit the young Mule that lived near the farmer's house, and when he saw him he smiled blandly and asked, "What do you eat, fair Lii, to make you so sleek and fat? What makes your hair so smooth and beautiful? I think your master gives you tender fresh gra.s.s and fat young pig to eat."

The Mule answered, "No, I am fat because I am gentle. My hair is beautiful because I do not fight with other creatures. But why do you come here, Sii? Are you hungry? I believe you are seeking for food."

The Lion said, "Oh, no, I am not hungry. I only walk around to get the cool, fresh air. And then the night is very beautiful. The moon hangs up in the clear sky with the stars and makes a soft light, and so I came to visit you. Would you not like to take a walk with me? I will take you to visit my friend, the Pig. I never go to his house alone; I always take a friend with me."

The Mule asked, "Shall we go to any other place?"

"Yes," answered the Lion, "I think we will go to visit another friend of mine who lives not far away."

Then the Mule asked his mother, "Will you allow me to go with Sii to see his friend?"

"Who is his friend?" asked the mother.

"The farmer's Pig." said the Mule.

"I think it is no harm if you go only there," said the mother Mule.

"But you must not go anywhere else with Sii. The hunter is looking for him, I hear, and you must be careful. Do not trust him fully, for I fear he will tempt you to go to some other place or into some wrong thing. If I allow you to go, you must come home before midnight. The moon will not be gone then and you can see to find your way."

So the Lion and the Mule went to visit the Pig, who lived in a house in the farmer's yard. But as soon as the Pig saw the Lion, he called out in a loud voice to his mother.

The Lion said, "He is afraid of me. I will hide and you may go in first."

When the Pig saw that the Mule was alone, he thought the Lion had gone.

He opened his door wide and was very friendly to the Mule, saying, "Come in."

But the Lion jumped from his hiding place and caught the Pig as he came to the door. The Pig called to his mother in great fear, and the Mule begged the Lion, saying, "Let the poor little creature go free."

But the Lion said, "No, indeed; I have many Pigs at my house. It is better for him to go with me."

Then the Lion carried the Pig, while the Mule followed. Soon they came to where a fine looking dog lay on some hay behind a net. The Lion did not seem to see the net, for he dropped the Pig and tried to catch the Dog, who cried loudly for mercy.

But the Lion said to the foolish Mule, "See how rude the Dog is to us.

We came to visit him and he makes a loud noise and tries to call the hunter so that he will drive us away. I have never been so insulted.

Come here, Lii-Tsze, at once and help me!"

The Mule went to the Lion and the net fell and caught them both. At sunrise the Hunter came and found the Mule and the Lion in his net.

The Mule begged earnestly and said, "Hunter, you know me and you know my mother. We are your friends and we do no wrong. Set me free, oh, hunter, set me free!"

The Hunter said, "No, I will not set you free. You may be good, but you are in bad company and must take what it brings. I will take you and the Lion both to the market place and sell you for silver. That is my right. I am a hunter. If you get in my net, that is your business.

If I catch you, that is my business."

EE-SZE (Meaning): Bad company is a dangerous thing for man or beast.

The Lion and the Mosquitoes

One day Ah-Fou's father said to him, "Come here, my boy, and I will tell you a story. Do you remember the great lion we saw one day, which Ah-Kay caught? You know a strong rope held him, and he roared and tried to free himself until he died. Then when Ah-Kay took him from the net, he looked at the rope and the bamboo carefully, and found five of the great ropes broken.

"How strong is the lion? Twenty children like you could not break one strand of that great rope. But the lion broke five complete ropes. He is the strongest of all animals. He catches many creatures for his food, but once he lost a battle with one of the least of the wilderness creatures. Do you know what it was?"

"A bird could fight and then fly away. Was it a bird?"

"No, my son."

"A man is stronger than a lion."

"No; do you not remember the woodcutter who could put down five strong men? One night a wilderness lion caught and killed him."

"Then what was the smallest of all creatures of the wilderness that battled with a lion?"

The father said, "I will tell you the story: Once in the summer time the Lion was very thirsty. But the sun had taken all the water near the Lion's home and he went to many places seeking for it. In time he found an old well, but the water was not fresh. As the Lion was very thirsty, he said, 'I must drink, even though the water is stale.'

"But when he reached down into the old well, he found that it was the home of all the Mosquitoes of the wilderness.

"The Mosquitoes said to the Lion, 'Go away, we do not want you. This is our home and we are happy. We do not wish the lion, the fox, or the bear to come here. You are not our friend. Why do you come?"