Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/76



38 be fatal not to him but to you, for your life shall go with your sting."

He that prays harm for his neighbour, begs a curse upon himself.

(Fable 287 b. Halm; Thomas James' translation.)

THE GOATHERD AND THE GOATS

T was a stormy day, and the snow was falling fast, when a Goatherd drove his Goats, all white with snow, into a desert cave for shelter. There he found that a herd of Wild-goats, more numerous and larger than his own, had already taken possession. So, thinking to secure them all, he left his own Goats to take care of themselves, and threw the branches which he had brought for them to the Wild-goats to browse on. But when the weather cleared up, he found his own Goats had perished from hunger, while the Wild-goats were off and away to the hills and woods. So the Goatherd returned a laughingstock to his neighbours, having failed to gain the Wild-goats, and having lost his own.

They who neglect their old friends for the sake of new, are rightly served if they lose both.

(Fable 12 b. Halm; Thomas James' translation.)

THE MARRIAGE OF THE SUN

NCE upon a time, in a very warm summer, it was currently reported that the Sun was going to be married. All the birds and beasts were delighted at the thought; and the Frogs, above all others, were determined to have a good holiday. But an old Toad put a stop to their festivities by observing that it was an occasion for