Page:Æsop's fables- (IA aesopfables00aesoiala).pdf/270

 “I’m not big enough,” she pleaded, “to make you a good meal: you ought to seek your prey among the bigger birds.” The Hawk eyed her with some contempt. “You must think me very simple,” said he, “if you suppose I am going to give up a certain prize on the chance of a better of which I see at present no signs.”   THE ROSE AND THE AMARANTH

ROSE and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden, and the Amaranth said to her neighbour, “How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal favourite.” But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice, “Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time: my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die. But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut; for they are everlasting.”   THE MAN, THE HORSE, THE OX, AND THE DOG

NE winter’s day, during a severe storm, a Horse, an Ox, and a Dog came and begged for shelter in the house of a Man. He readily admitted them, and, as they were cold and wet, he lit a fire for their 188