Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-08-06

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then opened conversation with him.
"There are, / suppose, many croc-
odiles in the sea, he began.
MANY, many! the crocodile an
swered.
"'Not so many, however, as there
are hares on the island of Oki,' re-
turned the little harA.sa
"'The crocodiles hi the sea out
number the hares Of Oki as the drops
in the sea outnumber the trees OF the
island declared the crocodile, In his
deepest voice.
"Tt does not seem right for little
bit Of creature like myself to differ
with your lordship,' said the hare,
politely, but l should like to see
proof Of your statement
= How can we prove it?' the croco-
die questioned.
"'You can call all your friends and
place them from here to. the main
land, each with his nose on the tall
Of the neighbor before him; then I
can easily jump from one to the
other, counting as ! CO.
"The crocodile agreed to this plan,
thinking it good one. But how can
we count the hares?' he asked.
"'That we will decide after, have
numbered the crocodiles,' the hare
suggested.
"The crocodile was satisfied, and
babe the hare come to the same place
next morning to do the counting. OF
course the little animal was on hand
bright and early.
There stretched an unbroken line
OF, crocodiles, floating bridge to the
mainland
"The little hare lost. no time hop
ping across it, you may be sure. AS
he reached the last crocodile and
prepared to Jump to shore, his heart
was so full Of pride at the success
of his ruse that he could not resist
crying aloud.
"'How 1 have fooled you big crea-
lures! wished for bridge to the
mainland, and you have served my
need! Then he jumped.
"The last crocodile opened his wide
jaws and closed them again with q
snap. The hare was too quick to be
caught, but the monsters teeth
touched him and tore off most Of his
fur! AS the poor thing limped away,
a crocodile called after him:
"'You see what happens when you
trife with creatures stronger than
YOURSELF -
1.-THE little hare did not know much,
but he felt that he was learning. He
had no heart to explore the beauties
Of the mainland now, but crawled
under a bush by the roadside and
wished that some one would tell him
how to cure his wounds 1855
after some time he heard the
noise of many people on the road. He
crept out to see what was coming, and
beheld crowd Of young men, carry
ing burdens as If they were. on 9
journey. They were all tall and hand
scme, and wore beautiful clothes fit
for princes.
zone of them spied the little hare
and cried: We'll, friend, why do you
look so sad?'
"The hare, proud of being called
friend by this fine gentleman, told
how he had deceived the crocodiles.
The men laughed loudly, and one of
them said Since you are so clever,
it is strange that you do not know
the best way to cure your wounds.
You should battle in the salt sea, and
then climb hill so that the Wind
Goddess can blow upon you with her
cool breath
"The little hare thanked the
strangers for their advice and then
asked them where they were journey
ing. They replied that they were
eighty-one princes, all wishing to
marry the princess of that country.
She was very rich, and the respon-
sibility Of managing her wealth and
kingdom was too much for her; so
she had given notice that she desired
to marry wise and noble prince
whom she could trust to rule for her.
$50 wealth and power do not al
ways bring content?' the hare ques-
toned.
"'They would content us!' the
eighty princes answered. (The eighty
first was not present. He was OF a
kindly and gentle disposition. which
caused his brothers to laugh at and
impose upon him. Today they had
given him most Of the luggage to
carry SO he could not walk as fast
as they. AS they started on, the way,
one of the princes called to the hare:
'Goodby! And don't forget to battle
your wounds in the salt seal And
with loud laughter they continued
their Journey
"The little hare did not give him
self time to forget. He hurried to
the shore and let the waves roll over
him. but instead Of making him feel
better, the biting salt water only In
creased his pain.
"I must hurry to the Wind God
dess,' the poor hare thought.
"He climbed the high hill with dit
f1culty and lay down on the top,
hoping for relief from his suffering.
But the stiff grass pricked his
wounds, and the biting wind caused
them to throb more painfully At
last he realized that the cruel princes
had deceived him, and he crawled
back to his bush by the roadside,
where he lay with closed eyes.
"A gentle voice reused him. Who
has wounded you, little hare?' it
asked.
"The little hare looked up and saw
beautiful youth standing beside
him. His experience with men made