Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/525



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THE CLEVER APE AND THE FOOLISH WOLF

NCE upon a time the Lion was roaming through the jungle like a mighty chief on his own land. He looked to the right; he looked to the left; he took two steps forward, then stopped, then went forward again. All at once an Ape saw the Lion and began imitating him and making fun of him. The Lion was angry and said:

"Get back to your place, Ape, and scratch yourself, and stop making fun of me or I will make a meal of you."

But the Ape, who is a tricky animal, swung safely onto a high branch, and there continued to make the same movements and take the same steps that the Lion was taking on the ground. And at this the Lion became very angry indeed.

Unluckily for the Ape at the very height of his grimaces and gambols he lost his balance and fell straight between the paws of the Lion, who seized him and was about to make an end of him with one powerful bite, when the idea came to him that it would be pleasanter to eat the Ape in company with a friend. Accordingly he flung his captive into a small cave, the mouth of which he closed with a large stone. After which he set out in search of a fellow-diner.

Once more alone and somewhat recovered from his fright, the Ape's first thought was, "How am I to get away?" So he set to work at the mouth of the cave; but the stone was too heavy to push aside, and too tight a fit for the Ape to squeeze past it. All his efforts were wasted and he was in despair.

All of a sudden, a Wolf chanced to pass that way and heard the