 Rockabye Library Rockabye Library A Book of Fables Amusement for Good Little Children by an anonymous author Read by Dennis Sayers The Fox and the Cock A fox one day saw a cock on the roof of a barn. Come to me, my dear master cock, said he. I have always heard you are such a clever fellow, and I want to ask you a riddle. Glad to hear himself praised, the foolish cock came down, and the fox caught him and ate him in a moment. The praise of the wicked is always dangerous. The Giant and the Dwarf A dwarf one day met a giant. Let me come with you, said he. Very well, said the giant. When they met robbers, the giant beat them with his club. But the dwarf got beaten. At last he began to cry, but the giant said, My little man, if you are not strong, you must not go out to battle with a giant. We must not set ourselves up as equal to people who are greater and wiser than we. The Partridge and Her Young A Partridge lived in a cornfield. Mother, said one of her chicks, We must run away from this field, for I heard the owner say, I will ask my neighbors to mow that field tomorrow. The Partridge said, Never mind. But, said another chick, I since heard him say, I will mow the field myself. Then, said the Partridge, We must indeed run away, for this man is going to do his own work. The Cock and the Jewel As a cock was scratching up the straw in a farmyard in search of food for the hens, he hid upon a jewel that, by some chance, had found its way there. Ho! said he. You are a very fine thing, no doubt, to those who prize you, but give me a barley-corn before all the pearls in the world. The cock in this was sensible, but there are many silly people who despise what is precious only because they cannot understand it. The Dog and the Shadow A dog was crossing a river with a piece of meat in his mouth. When he saw his own shadow reflected in the stream below, thinking that it was another dog with a piece of meat, he resolved to make himself a master of that also. But in snapping at the supposed treasure he dropped the bit he was carrying, and so lost all. Grasp at the shadow and lose the substance, the common fate of those who hazard a real blessing for a visionary good. The Dog and the Rat A great dog caught a small but heavish rat. Oh, sir, said the Rat, pray, let me go. Next year I shall have grown bigger, and then you can kill me. No, no, said the Dog, I have got you now, but next year I am not sure of getting you again. Check a small fault at once. The Beaver and the Fly A busy little beaver had been working for months, arranging his house by the riverside. Why do you take all that trouble? said a lazy blue-bottle fly. I never work. That is the reason, answered the beaver, why so many of you die of cold and hunger in winter. Idleness comes to ruin at last. The Peaches A farmer went to town on a market day and bought five peaches. He gave one to his wife and one to each of his four sons. The next day he said to his sons, well, what have you done with your peaches? I ate mine, said the eldest, and kept the stone. I will plant it in the ground, that I may have a peach tree in time. I sold mine, said the second son, and got so much money for it that I can buy six peaches when I go to town. I ate mine up, directly I got it, said the youngest, and threw the stone away, and the mother gave me half of hers. I took mine to poor George, our neighbor who is ill, said the third son. He cannot eat much, and I thought he would like it. He would not take it at first, so I laid it upon his bed and came away. Which of all these children made the best use of his peach? The canary bird and the wasp. Why do people not use me as they use you, said a wasp, to a canary? They make you a cage to live in and give you seed and water every day, and often I see them bring you sugar and fresh pieces of green ground soil and chickweed. But when I come, they all try to drive me away, and very often they even try to kill me. Yet I am handsome and graceful to look at. The yellow color on my body is as bright as yours, and my shape is very fine. That is quite true, answered the canary, but when men come to see me, I treat them to a merry song, while you attack them with your sting as you treat others. Others will treat you. Why does no one play with me while everyone plays with you? Asked a cross-boy one day of his brother, because I give up to my play-fellows and you beat and abuse them. The quarrel among the beasts. One day the lion and tiger fell out. The other beasts stood at a distance in a fright to see the quarrel between the king of beasts and the mighty tiger. As for the fox, he got as far out of the way as ever he could. But a poor, foolish little fawn that was always running away from its mother's side said, I will make them friends again and wanted to run up to them. You had better stay where you are, my young friend, said Reynard. But the little fawn would not listen to this good advice. He trotted up to the lion and wanted to whisper in his ear. But a blow aimed by the angry king of beasts at the tiger struck the poor fawn and in a moment he lay dead at the lion's feet. I thought so, said the fox, as he walked off to a still safer distance. Those who meddle in the quarrels of the unruly are sure to come badly off. This fable teaches us that we should keep away from the company of those who love strife and fighting. The dog with his master's dinner. A dog had been taught to carry his master's dinner in a basket every day to the place where he worked. He was an honest dog and never stole a single bit of it. But one day, as he came along, a great number of thievish dogs were waiting for him. They fell upon him altogether, snatched the basket from him and began to eat up the dinner as fast as ever they could. The poor dog tried to defend his basket as long as he could, but he had no chance at all among such a number of foes. At last he said to himself, well, if the dinner must be stolen, I may just as well have my share, too. And he began to eat just as fast as the rest. In a minute or two all the dinner was eaten and the dog's hungry master, who was working in the field, waited for it in vain. Did this dog do right in eating of the dinner? No, for if others do wrong, that is no reason why we should do wrong, too. The pigs. We must be very clever fellows, said a young pig. We are taken out to feed every day and a boy is kept to look after us. Do not deceive yourself, said a shrewd old hog. When winter comes, most of us will be killed for the food of man. They do not care about us, but they like to eat our flesh. End of Rockabye Library Read by Dennis Sayers in Modesto, California, for LibriVox. Spring 2008