dispatched.--And that,' concluded the Tortoise, 'is why I wish to devise
some plan of escape.'

'It might be compassed if you could go elsewhere,' said the Geese, 'but
how can you get across the ground?'

'Can't you take me through the air?' asked the Tortoise.

'Impossible!' said the Geese.

'Not at all!' replied the Tortoise; 'you shall hold a stick across in
your bills, and I will hang on to it by my mouth--and thus you can
readily convey me,'

'It is feasible,' observed the Geese, 'but remember,

'Wise men their plans revolve, lest ill befall;
The Herons gained a friend, and so, lost all.'

'How came that about?' asked the Tortoise. The Geese related:--


THE STORY OF THE HERONS AND THE MONGOOSE

"Among the mountains of the north there is one named Eagle-cliff, and
near it, upon a fig-tree, a flock of Herons had their residence. At the
foot of the tree, in a hollow, there lived a serpent; and he was
constantly devouring the nestlings of the Herons. Loud were the
complaints of the parent birds, until an old Heron thus advised
them:--'You should bring some fishes from the pool, and lay them one by