The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-01-24
The Fables of Zambri the Parsee.
Translated from the Persian.l

The Fables OF Zambri the ParSee.
Translated from the Persian.l
An author who had wrought a bool
of Fables (the merit whereof transcend
ed expression was peacefully sleeping
atop of the modest eminence to which
he had attained, when he was rudely
awakened by q throng of critics, emit
ting adverse judgment upon the tales he
had builded.
Apparently" said he, "I have beer
guilty of some small grains of uncon
sidered wisdom, and the same have
proven a bitterness to these excellent
folk, the which they will not abide. All
we'll, those who produce the brasburg
pate and the feather-pillow are prone
to regard us as rival creators. I presume
it is in course of nature for him who
grows the pen to censure the manner OF
its use.
SO speaking he executed O smile a
hands breadth in extent, and resumed
his airy dream of dropping ducats.
Moral: AS above.
II.
"What have you there on your back?''
said a zebra, ieeringly, to q "ship of
the desert, in the ballast.
"Only bale of gridirons, was the
meek reply.
"And what, pray, may you design do
ing with them p was the incredulOus re-
ioinder.
''What am to do with the gridirons?"
repeated the camel, contemptuously.
&C Nice question for yoat-who have evi-
IDENTIFY come off oner'
People who wish to throw stones
should not live in glass houses; but
there ought to be few in their vicinity.
A man pursued by a lion was about
stepping into place of safety, when he
bethought him of the power of the hu-
man eye; and turning about, he. fixed
upon his pursuer steady look of stern
reproof. The raging beast Immediately
moderated his rate per hour, and finally
came to a dead halt within yard of the
mans nose. After making leisurely
survey of him, he extended his neck and
bit off small section of the victims
thigh.
"Beard of Arimanes ?" roared the
man; have you no respect for the HUI
man Eye ?"
81 hold the eye in profound esteem, "
replied the lion, "and I confess it's pow
er. 1t assists digestion if taken just be-
fore a meal But / don't understand
why you should have two and l none"
With that he raised his foot, I'M
sheathed his claws, and transferred one
of the gentleman's visual organs to his
own mouth.
"Now," continued he, " during the
brief remainder of a squandered exis-
tencc, your ion-quelling power being
more highly concentrated, will be more
easily managed.
He then devoured the remnant of his
victim, including the other eye.
This tale seems to imply the falsity
of certain accepted beliefs. 1t is,
therefore, insulting.-Translator.
An ant laden with a grain of corn,
which he had acquired with infinite toll,
was breasting a current of his fellows,
each of whom, as is the etiquette, insist
ed upon stopping him, feeling him all
over, and shaking hands. It occurred
to him that an excess of ceremony is an
abuse of courtesy. So he laid down his
burden, sat upon it, folded all his legs
tight to his body, and smiled a smile of
great grimness.
"Hullo What's the matter with
you?" exclaimed the first insect whose
overtures were declined.
"Sick of hollow conventiOnalities of
a rotten civilization, " was the rasping
reply. Relapsed into the honest sim
plicity of primitive observances. Go to
grass!"
"Ah! then we must trouble you or
that corn. In a condition of primitive
there are no rights of proper
ty, you know. These are "hollOw con-
A light dawned upon the intellect of
that pismire He shook the reefs out
of his legs; he scratched the reverse of
his ear; he grappled that cereal, and
trotted away like a giant refreshed. 1t
was observed that he submitted with a
wealth of patience to manipulation by
his friends and neighbors, and went
some distance out of his way to shake
hands with strangers on competing lines
of traffic
Nevertheless, this fable does not
teach that social observances are always
or even grounded in good
sense. If it did, that would make it
true.
V.
A snake who had lain torpid all winter
in his hole took advantage of the first
warm day to timber up for the coming
Having tied himself into an
intricate knot, he was so overcome by
the warmth of his own body that he fell
asleep, and did not wake until night
fall. In the darkness he was unable to
find his head or his tail, and so could
not disentangle and slide into his hole.
Per consequence, he freze to death.
Many a suitable philosopher has fail
ed to solve that knotty problem, him
self, owing to his inability to discern his
and his end.
A Good Loan.