Favourite Fables in Prose and Verse Part 21

THE BOY AND THE b.u.t.tERFLY.

A boy, greatly smitten with the colours of a b.u.t.terfly, pursued it from flower to flower with indefatigable pains. First, he aimed to surprise it among the leaves of a rose; then to cover it with his hat, as it was feeding on a daisy; now hoped to secure it, as it rested on a sprig of myrtle; and now grew sure of his prize, perceiving it loiter on a bed of violets. But the fickle Fly, continually changing one blossom for another, still eluded his attempts. At length, observing it half buried in the cup of a tulip, he rushed forward, and s.n.a.t.c.hing it with violence, crushed it all to pieces.

MORAL.

Pleasure, like the b.u.t.terfly, Will still elude as we draw nigh; And when we think we hold it fast, Will, like the insect, breathe its last.

FABLE CVII.

THE CROW AND THE PITCHER.

A Crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a Pitcher, which he beheld at some distance. When he came he found water in it, indeed, but so near the bottom that, with all his stooping and straining, he was not able to reach it. Then he endeavoured to overturn the Pitcher, that so at least he might be able to get a little of it. But his strength was not sufficient for this. At last, seeing some pebbles lie near the place, he cast them one by one into the Pitcher; and thus, by degrees, raised the water up to the very brim, and satisfied his thirst.

MORAL.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that which cannot be accomplished by strength may be achieved by ingenuity.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY.]