Fables for the Frivolous | Page 6

a way that would win him a place?In the best and most polished society,?And he looked at the fisherman full in the face?With a visible air of anxiety:?He murmered "Alas!" from his place in the grass,?And then, when he'd twisted and wriggled, he?Remarked in a pet that his heart was upset?And digestion all higgledy-piggledy.
"I request," he observed, "to be instantly flung?Once again in the pool I've been living in."?The fisherman said, "You will tire out your tongue.?Do you see any signs of my giving in??Put you back in the pool? Why, you fatuous fool,?I have eaten much smaller and thinner fish.?You're not salmon or sole, but I think, on the whole,?You're a fairly respectable dinner-fish."
The fisherman's cook tried her hand on the trout?And with various herbs she embellished him;?He was lovely to see, and there isn't a doubt?That the fisherman's family relished him,?And, to prove that they did, both his wife and his kid?Devoured the trout with much eagerness,?Avowing no dish could compare with that fish,?Notwithstanding his singular meagreness.
And THE MORAL, you'll find, is although it is kind?To grant favors that people are wishing for,?Still a dinner you'll lack if you chance to throw back?In the pool little trout that you're fishing for;?If their pleading you spurn you will certainly learn?That herbs will deliciously vary 'em:?It is needless to state that a trout on a plate?Beats several in the aquarium.
THE CONFIDING PEASANT
AND
THE MALADROIT BEAR
A peasant had a docile bear,?A bear of manners pleasant,?And all the love she had to spare?She lavished on the peasant:?She proved her deep affection plainly?(The method was a bit ungainly).
The peasant had to dig and delve,?And, as his class are apt to,?When all the whistles blew at twelve?He ate his lunch, and napped, too,?The bear a careful outlook keeping?The while her master lay a-sleeping.
As thus the peasant slept one day,?The weather being torrid,?A gnat beheld him where he lay?And lit upon his forehead,?And thence, like all such winged creatures,?Proceeded over all his features.
The watchful bear, perceiving that?The gnat lit on her master,?Resolved to light upon the gnat?And plunge him in disaster;?She saw no sense in being lenient?When stones lay round her, most convenient.
And so a weighty rock she aimed?With much enthusiasm:?"Oh, lor'!" the startled gnat exclaimed,?And promptly had a spasm:?A natural proceeding this was,?Considering how close the miss was.
[Illustration: AND SO A WEIGHTY ROCK SHE AIMED]
Now by his dumb companion's pluck,?Which caused the gnat to squall so,?The sleeping man was greatly struck?(And by the bowlder, also).?In fact, his friends who idolized him?Remarked they hardly recognized him.
Of course the bear was greatly grieved,?But, being just a dumb thing,?She only thought: "I was deceived,?But still, I did hit something!"?Which showed this masculine achievement?Had somewhat soothed her deep bereavement.
THE MORAL: If you prize your bones?Beware of females throwing stones.
THE PRECIPITATE COCK
AND
THE UNAPPRECIATED PEARL
A rooster once pursued a worm?That lingered not to brave him,?To see his wretched victim squirm?A pleasant thrill it gave him;?He summoned all his kith and kin,?They hastened up by legions,?With quaint, expressive gurgles in?Their oesophageal regions.
Just then a kind of glimmering?Attracting his attention,?The worm became too small a thing?For more than passing mention:?The throng of hungry hens and rude?He skilfully evaded.?Said he, "I' faith, if this be food,?I saw the prize ere they did."
It was a large and costly pearl,?Belonging in a necklace,?And dropped by some neglectful girl:?Some people are so reckless!?The cock assumed an air forlorn,?And cried, "It's really cruel.?I thought it was a grain of corn:?It's nothing but a jewel."
He turned again to where his clan?In one astounding tangle?With eager haste together ran?To slay the helpless angle,?And sighed, "He was of massive size.?I should have used discretion.?Too late! Around the toothsome prize?A bargain-sale's in session."
The worm's remarks upon his plight?Have never been recorded,?But any one may know how slight?Diversion it afforded;?For worms and human beings are?Unanimous that, when pecked,?To be the prey of men they far?Prefer to being hen-pecked.
THE MORAL: When your dinner comes?Don't leave it for your neighbors,?Because you hear the sound of drums?And see the gleam of sabres;?Or, like the cock, you'll find too late?That ornaments external?Do not for certain indicate?A bona fide kernel.
THE ABBREVIATED FOX
AND
HIS SCEPTICAL COMRADES
A certain fox had a Grecian nose?And a beautiful tail. His friends?Were wont to say in a jesting way?A divinity shaped his ends.?The fact is sad, but his foxship had?A fault we should all eschew:?He was so deceived that he quite believed?What he heard from friends was true.
One day he found in a sheltered spot?A trap with stalwart springs?That was cunningly planned to supply the demand?For some of those tippet things.?The fox drew nigh, and resolved to try?The way that the trap was set:?(When the trap was through with this interview?There was one less tippet to get!)
The fox returned to his doting friends?And said, with an awkward smile,?"My tail I know was comme il faut,?And