Fables For The Times

Fables For The Times

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Fables For The Times, by H. W.
Phillips This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and
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Title: Fables For The Times
Author: H. W. Phillips
Release Date: September 18, 2004 [EBook #13494]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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FOR THE TIMES ***

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Fables for the Times.
By H.W. Phillips.
Illustrated by T.R. Sullivant.

Contents
The Baa-Sheep and the Lion The Dog and the Meat The Fox and the
Grapes The Fox and the Crow The Ass in the Lion's Skin The Horse
and the Oyster The Monkey and the Ass The Merchant and the Fool
The Wolf and the Sheep The Ambitious Hippopotamus The Man and
the Serpent The Appreciative Man On the Not-Altogether-Credible
Habits of the Ostrich The Idol and the Ass The Bee and Jupiter The
Lion and the Boar The Tiger and the Deer The Old Man, His Son and
the Ass The Shipwrecked Traveler The Discontented Woman

The Baa-Sheep and the Lion.
A baa-sheep was lying under the paw of a black-maned lion. Whatever
was going to be done had to be done quickly. A thought flashed upon
the sheep and he said:
"Most dread lord and master, I have heard your voice extolled beyond
that of all others. Will you not sing me a little selection from Wagner
before I die?"
The lion, touched in his vanity, immediately started up and roared away
until the goose-flesh stood out on the rocks. When he had finished, the
sheep was in tears.
"What means this?" growled the lion in a rage. "Do you presume to
criticise my singing?"
"Oh, no!" sobbed the sheep. "That is not it. But I have heard that wool
was the worst thing in the world for the voice, and when I think of the
ruin of that beautiful organ of yours, consequent upon eating me, I
weep to think that I was not born hairless."
The lion regarded him out of the corner of his eye. Then, in his
grandest manner, said: "Run along home to your ma, little sheep; I was

only playing with you," and walked off through the forest with a great
deal of dignity.
[Illustration: The Baa-Sheep and the Lion.]

The Dog and the Meat.
A dog with a piece of meat in his mouth was crossing a bridge over a
placid stream. On looking down he saw another dog with a precisely
similar piece of meat in the water below him. "That's a singular
incident," he thought to himself as he prepared to jump in. "But hold a
minute! The angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of
reflection. Upon reflection, I find that the other dog and the meat are
only optical phenomena." And he trotted on his way to Boston without
further thought about the matter.
[Illustration: The Dog and the Meat.]

The Fox and the Grapes.
A fox stood under an apple-tree and gazed up earnestly at the globes of
yellow lusciousness. "How sad, for the sake of an old-time piece of
literature," he said, "that the fox is a carnivorous animal and doesn't
care particularly about fruit!"
IMMORAL:
We all have plenty of faults without the Truly Good taking the trouble
to invent them for us.
[Illustration: The Fox and the Grapes.]

The Fox and the Crow.

A crow, having stolen a piece of flesh, perched in a tree to enjoy it at
leisure. A fox saw her, and, being hungry, thought he would employ a
little diplomacy to get the meat away from her.
"What a prima-donna the crow would be," he said, looking at her with
mock admiration, "if she only had a voice proportional to her other
attractions!"
The crow promptly dropped the piece of flesh on his head, completely
blinding him, and before he could recover from his surprise, lit on his
back and began to peck him viciously. "I'll have you to know," she
cawed, "that I'm a proper lady, and the man that compares me to them
shameless French singing hussies is going to get hurt."
IMMORAL:
Don't praise the soft whiteness of a labor delegate's hands.
[Illustration: The Fox and the Crow.]

The Ass in the Lion's Skin.
An ass, by some means unknown to the writer, having managed to get
into a lion's skin, ran around the neighborhood frightening the beasts
into fits. When he brayed, they said: "Jupiter! what a magnificent bass