Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/388

 322

Our gallant, for the whole repast,

Produced a slender soup which—sad to state—

Was served upon an ordinary plate.

The Stork's long beak could hardly get a taste.

To be revenged upon this sinner.

The Stork in time invited him to dinner.

On such occasions it was not his way

To deal in vain excuses or delay;

The hour appointed came;

He scampered to the lodging of the dame

Who greeted him benignly.

The meal was cooked divinely;

His appetite was all a Fox's should be

Or could be.

The meat, cut up capriciously,

In little morsels, smelt deliciously.

But now—what puzzled much his wits—

Behold these dainty bits

Served in a long-necked Jar with outlet narrow.

Judge how it must his feeling harrow

To see the Stork's beak dodging in and out—

A thing impossible to Vulpine snout!

His hungry, homeward way he steers,

With tail between his legs, and drooping ears,

Feeling as much a victim

As if some common barn-door Fowl had tricked him!

(La Fontaine, Fables, Vol. I, No. 18. Translated by Paul Hookham.)