"Pray, mother," said the young one, "if you will set the example, I will
follow it."

Perhaps children will think the little crab was not very respectful, but
the lesson is plain that it is always easier to give good advice than it
is to follow it.

There is another, which teaches us to be self-reliant and resourceful. A
crow, whose throat was parched and dry with thirst, saw a pitcher in the
distance. In great joy he flew to it, but found that it held only a
little water, and even that was too near the bottom to be reached, for
all his stooping and straining.

Next he tried to overturn the pitcher, thinking that he would at least
be able to catch some of the water as it trickled out. But this he was
not strong enough to do. In the end he found some pebbles lying near,
and by dropping them one by one into the pitcher, he managed at last to
raise the water up to the very brim, and thus was able to quench his
thirst.




THE FALCON AND THE PARTRIDGE

From The Arabian Nights


Once upon a time a Falcon stooped from its flight and seized a