Said Clapperclaw, 'My kits, approach,
And put your noses to my ears:
I'm deaf, almost, by weight of years.'
And so they did, not fearing aught.
The good apostle, Clapperclaw,
Then laid on each a well-arm'd paw,
And both to an agreement brought,
By virtue of his tusked jaw.

This brings to mind the fate
Of little kings before the great.

[22] Fables of Bidpaii, "The Rat and the Cat." In Knatchbull's English
edition it will be found at p. 275. Also in the Lokman Collection.
[23] _Raminagrobis._--This name occurs in Rabelais (Book III., ch.
21), where, however, it is not the name of a cat, but of a
poet--understood to be meant for Guillaume Cretin, who lived in the
times of Kings Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I. See note to
Bohn's edition of Rabelais.




XVII.--THE HEAD AND THE TAIL OF THE SERPENT.[24]

Two parts the serpent has--
Of men the enemies--
The head and tail: the same
Have won a mighty fame,
Next to the cruel Fates;--