The Ant and the Grasshopper
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and
singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an
ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling
and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend
you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "We have got plenty of food
at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of
hunger - while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the
stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to
prepare for days of need.
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have never yet
been beaten," said he, "when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to
race with me."
The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."
"That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you all the way."
"Keep your boasting till you've won," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we race?"
So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out of
sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay
down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare
awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not
run up in time to save the race.
Then the Tortoise said: "Slow but steady progress wins the race
The Miser
A miser sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in a hole
in the ground by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily. One of his
workmen observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch his
movements. He soon discovered the secret of the hidden treasure, and digging
down, came to the lump of gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit, found
the hole empty and began to tear his hair and to make loud lamentations. A
neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief and learning the cause, said, "Pray do
not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the
gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same service; for when the gold was
there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it."
The Crimson Candle
A man lying at the point of death called his wife to his bedside and said:
"I am about to leave you forever; give me, therefore, one last proof of your
affection and fidelity, for, according to our holy religion, a married man seeking
admittance at the gate of Heaven is required to swear that he has never defiled
himself with an unworthy woman. In my desk you will find a crimson candle,
which has been blessed by the High Priest and has a peculiar mystical significance.
Swear to me that while it is in existence you will not remarry."
The Woman swore and the Man died. At the funeral the Woman stood at the
head of the bier, holding a lighted crimson candle till it was wasted entirely away.
The Flying Machine
An Ingenious Man who had built a flying-machine invited a great concourse of
people to see it go up. At the appointed moment, everything being ready, he
boarded the car and turned on the power. The machine immediately broke
through the massive substructure upon which it was build, and sank out of sight
into the earth, the aeronaut springing out barely in time to save himself.
"Well," said he, "I have done enough to demonstrate the correctness of my
details. The defects," he added, with a look at the ruined brick-work, "are merely
basic and fundamental."
Upon this assurance the people came forward with subscriptions to build a
second machine.
