Page:Chinese Fables and Folk Stories.djvu/106

102 "The father answered, ’I will call a doctor.'

"And the doctor came and said, 'The bird has fever. Give him some Da-Wong-Sai and Tseng-Chu-Mi and he will be well soon.' The boy paid the doctor for this; so you see how well he loves us.

"When we do not like to stay in the house he hangs us out in the trees so that we can talk with other birds.

"Now, Mrs. Cat, do you see how well we are cared for? Go back and tell the old hen not to talk about us. Do not notice what she says against us, for if you kill us, as the hen wishes you to do, you will surely have no life left in the world.

"You see how cunning the hen is. She will not do the thing herself, but wants you to do it. That proves that she is your enemy as well as ours.

"Oh, Mrs. Cat, do not be foolish. You have three little ones to care for. If you lose your life by taking ours, who will care for your children? Will the hen do it? I think not."

When the cat heard such wisdom from a little bird she said, "Well! Well! Well! I think you are right," and went away.

(Meaning): True friends will not ask you to do things they would not do themselves.