The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-01-10
FOUR FUNNY FABLES.
TranspIanted from the Persian zaMbTi,
the Parsee.

IL
A cat, waking out of sound sleep,
saw a mouse sitting just out of reach,
observing her. Perceiving that at the
slightest movement of hers the mouse
would recollect an engagement, she put
on a look of extreme amlablllty, and
said:
"Oh, it's you, is ii Do you know
thought, at first, you were friendly
great rat; and / am so afraid of rats L
feel so much relieved-you don't know.
OF course you have heard that / am a
great friend of the dear little mice"
EYES," was the answer, 81 have
heard that you love us indifferently we'll
and my mission here was to bless you
while you slept. But as you will
want to go and get your breakfast, l
won't bore you. Fine morning it ?
4du reUOfr.
This fable teaches that it is usually
safe to avoid one who pretends to be a
friend without having any reason to be.
1t wasn't safe in this instance however,
for the cat went after that rodent and
got away with him.
A hippopotamus, meeting an open
alligator, said to him:
"My forked friend, you may as well
collapse You are not sufficiently COM
prehensive to embrace me. l am my
self no trio at smiling when in the
humor."
"I really had no expectation of taking
you in," replied the other. 81 have a
habit of extending my hospitality i'm
partially to all, and about seven feet
wide"
"You remind me-" said the hippo
potamus, "of a certain zebra, who was
not vicious at all; he merely kicked the
breath out of everything that passed be-
hind him but did not induce things to
pass behind him."
sit is quite immaterial what Iremind
you Of, was the reply.
The lesson impaired by this fable is
a very beautiful one.
III.
A sheep making long journey found
the heat of his fleece very un-
comfortable, and, seeing a flock of
other sheep in fold, evidently waiting
for some one, leaped over and joined
them in the hope of being shOrn. Per-
eeiving the shepherd approaching, and
the other sheep huddling into remote
corner of the fold, he shouldered his
way forward, and, going up to the shep-
herd, said:
Ibid you ever see such lot of
fools? It's lucky / came along to set
them an example of dOcility. Seeing
me operated upon, they'll he glad to
offer themselves.
Perhaps So" replied the shepherd,
laying hold of the animals horns, "but
never kill more than one sheep at
time. Mutton won't keep in hot
weather"
The chops tasted excellently well with
tomato sauce.
The moral of this fable isn't what you
think it is 1t is this The chops of
another mans mutton are always nice
eating.
Two travellers between Teheran and
Bagdad met half way up the vertical
face of rock, only a cubit in width.
As both were in hurry and etiquette
would allow neither to set his foot upon
the other even if dignity had permitted
prostration, they maintained for some
time stationary condition. After some
reflection they both decided to jump
around the other; but, as etiquette did
not warrant conversation with a stranger,
neither made known his intention. The
consequence was they both met, with
considerable emphasis, about four feet
from the edge of the path, and went
through flight of soaring eagles,
mile out of their Way