in his den. A Mouse ran over his mane and ears and woke him from
his slumbers. He rose up and shook himself in great wrath, and
searched every corner of his den to find the Mouse. A Fox seeing
him said: "A fine Lion you are, to be frightened of a Mouse."
"'Tis not the Mouse I fear," said the Lion; "I resent his
familiarity and ill-breeding."

Little liberties are great offenses.


The Vain Jackdaw

JUPITER DETERMINED, it is said, to create a sovereign over the
birds, and made proclamation that on a certain day they should
all present themselves before him, when he would himself choose
the most beautiful among them to be king. The Jackdaw, knowing
his own ugliness, searched through the woods and fields, and
collected the feathers which had fallen from the wings of his
companions, and stuck them in all parts of his body, hoping
thereby to make himself the most beautiful of all. When the
appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembled before
Jupiter, the Jackdaw also made his appearance in his many
feathered finery. But when Jupiter proposed to make him king
because of the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly
protested, and each plucked from him his own feathers, leaving
the Jackdaw nothing but a Jackdaw.


The Goatherd and the Wild Goats