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so low that with all his stooping and straining he was unable to reach it. Thereupon he tried to break the Pitcher; then to overturn it; but his strength was not sufficient to do either. At last, seeing some small pebbles at hand, he dropt a great many of them, one by one, into the Pitcher, and so raised the wâter to the brim, and quencht his thirst.

Skill and Patience will succeed where Fōrċe fails. Necessity is the Mother of Invention.James's Æsop.

THE BUNDLE OF STICKS.

A Husbandman who had a quarrelsome family, after having tried in vain to reconcile them by words, thought he might mōre readily prevail by an example. Sō hē câlled his sons and bade them lay a bundle of sticks befōre him. Then having tied them into a faggot, he tōld the lads, one after the other, to take it and break it. They âll tried, but tried in vain. Then untying the faggot, he gave them the sticks to break one by one. This they did with the greatest ease. Then said the father, Thus you, my sons, as long as you remain ūnīted, are a match for all your enemies; but differ and separate, and you are undone.”

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Union is strength.-James's Esop.

THE LION AND HIS THREE

COUNCILLORS.

The Lion called the Sheep to ask her if his breath smelt she said Ay; hē bit off her head for a fool. He câlled the Wolf, and askt him he said Nō; hē tōre him in pieces for a flatterer. At last he câlled the Fox, and askt him. Truly he had got a cold, and could not smell.

Wişe men say nothing in dangerous times.James's Æsop.

THE BOY AND THE FILBERTS.

A certain Boy put his hand into a pitcher where great plenty of Figs and Filberts were deposited; he graspt as many as his fist could possibly hōld, but when he endeavoured to püll it out, the narrowness of the neck prevented him. Unwilling to lose any of them, but unable to draw out his hand, hē burst into tears, and bitterly bemoaned his härd fortune. An honest fellow who stood bỹ, gave him this wiṣe and reasonable advice:-"Grasp only hälf the quantity, my boy, and you will easily succeed."-James's Esop.

THE WIND AND THE SUN.

A dispute once arose between the Wind and the Sun, which was the stronger of the two, and they agreed to put the point upon this issue, that whichever soonest made a traveller take off his cloak, should be accounted the mōre powerful. The Wind began, and blew with all his might and main a blast, cold and fierce as a Thracian storm; but the stronger hē blew the closer the traveller wrapt his cloak around him, and the tighter he graspt it with hiş hands. Then broke out the Sun: with his welcome beams he disperst the vapor and the cōld; the traveller felt the gēnial wârmth, and as the Sun shone brighter and brighter, he sat down, overcome with the heat, and cast his cloak on the ground.

Thus the Sun was declared the conqueror; (pr. conkeror) and it has ever been deemed that persuasion is better than fōrce; and that the sunshine of a kind and gentle manner will sooner lay open a poor man's heart than âll the threatenings and force of blustering authority. -James's Esop.

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.

As a Wolf was lapping at the head of a running brook, hē spied a stray Lamb paddling, at some distance, down the stream. Having made up his mind to seize her, he bethought himself how he might justify his violence. "Villain!" said he, running up to her, "how dāre you muddle the wâter that I am drinking?" "Indeed," said the Lamb humbly, "I do not see how I can disturb the wâter, since it runs from you to mē, not from me to you.” "Be that as it may,” replied the Wolf, “It was but a year agō that you câlled mē many ill nāmeṣ." "Oh, Sir !" said the Lamb, trembling, "a year ago I was not born." "Well,” replied the Wolf, "if it was not you, it was ÿoür father, and that is âll the same; but it is nō use trying to argue mē out of mỹ supper;”—and without another word he fell upon the poor helpless Lamb and tōre her to pieces.

A tyrant never wants a plea. And they have little chance of resisting the injustice of the powerful whose only weapons are innocence and reason.-James's Esop.

THE COUNTRY MAID AND HER

MILK-CAN.

A Country Maid was walking along with a can of Milk upon her head, when she fell into the following train of reflections. "The money for which I shall sell this milk will enable mē to increase my stock of eggs to three hundred. Theṣe eggs, allowing for what may prove addle, and what may be destroyed by vermin, will produce at least two hundred and fifty chickens. The chickens will be fit to carry to märket just at the time when poultry is âlwayṣ dear; sō that by the new-year I cannot fail of having money enough (pr. enuf) to purchase a new Green-let me consider-yes, green gown. becomes mỹ complexion best, and green it shall be. In this dress I will go to the fair, where all the young fellows will strive to have mē for a pärtner; but nō-I shall refuṣe every one of them, and with a disdainful toss turn from them." Transported with this idea, shē īdēa, could not forbear acting with her head the thought that thus past in her mind; when, down came the can of milk! and âll her imaginary happiness vanisht in a moment.-James's Æsop.

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