The Eagle promoted a Cuckoo to the rank of a Nightingale. The Cuckoo, proud of its new position, seated itself proudly on an aspen, and began to exhibit its musical talents. After a time, it looks round. All the birds are flying away, some laughing at it, others abusing it. Our Cuckoo grows angry, and hastens to the Eagle with a complaint against the birds.
"Have pity on me!" it says. "According to your command, I have been appointed Nightingale to these woods, and yet the birds dare to laugh at my singing."
"My friend," answers the Eagle, "I am a king, but I am not God. It isimpossible for me to remedy the cause of your complaint. I can order aCuckoo to be styled a Nightingale; but to make a Nightingale out of aCuckoo—that I cannot do."
The Peasant and the Sheep
A Peasant summoned a Sheep into courts charging the poor thing with a criminal offence. The judge was—the Fox.
The case was immediately in full swing. Plaintiff and defendant were equally adjured to state, point by point, and without both speaking at once, how the affair took place, and in what their proof consisted.
Says the Peasant: "On such and such a day, I missed two of my fowls early in the morning. Nothing was left of them but bones and leathers; and no one had been in the yard but the Sheep."
Then the Sheep depones that it was fast asleep all the night in question, and it calls all its neighbours to testify that they had never known it guilty either of theft or any roguery; and besides this, it states that it never touches flesh-meat.
Here is the Fox's decision, word for word:
"The explanation of the Sheep cannot, under any circumstances, be accepted, for all rogues are notoriously clever at concealing their real designs; and it appears manifest, on due inquiry, that, on the aforesaid night, the Sheep was not separated from the fowls. Fowls are exceedingly savoury, and opportunity favoured. Therefore I decide, according to my conscience, that it is impossible that the Sheep should have forborne to eat the fowls. The Sheep shall accordingly be put to death. Its carcass shall be given to the court, and its fleece be taken by the Plaintiff."
The Elephant in Favour
Once upon a time the Elephant stood high in the good graces of the Lion. The forest immediately began to talk of the matter, and, as usual, many guesses were made as to the means by which the Elephant had gained such favour.
"It is no beauty," say the beasts to each other, "and it is not amusing; and what habits it has! what manners!"
Says the Fox, whisking about his brush, "If it had possessed such a bushy tail as mine, I should not have wondered."
"Or, sister," says the Bear, "if it had gotten into favour on account of its claws, no one would have found the matter at all extraordinary; but it has no claws at all, as we all know well."
"Isn't it its tusks that have gotten it into favour?" thus the Ox broke in upon their conversation. "Haven't they, perhaps, been mistaken for horns."
"Is it possible," said the Ass, shaking its ears, "that you don't know how it has succeeded in making itself liked, and in becoming distinguished? Why, I have guessed the reason! If it hadn't been remarkable for its long ears, it would never in the world have gotten into favour."
The Sword-blade
The keen blade of a Sword, made of Damascus steel, which had been thrown aside on a heap of old iron, was sent to market with the other pieces of metal, and sold for a trifle to a Moujik. Now, a Moujik's ideas move in a narrow circle. He immediately set to work to turn the blade to account. Our Moujik fitted a handle to the blade, and began to strip lime-trees in the forest with it, of the bark he wanted for shoes, while at home he unceremoniously splintered fir chips with it. Sometimes, also, he would lop off twigs with it, or small branches for mending his wattled fences, or would shape stakes with it for his garden paling. And the result was that, before the year was out, our blade was notched and rusted from one end to the other, and the children used to ride astride of it. So one day a Hedgehog, which was lying under a bench in the cottage, close by the spot where the blade had been flung, said to it:
"Tell me, what do you think of this life of yours? If there is any truth in all the fine things that are said about Damascus steel, you surely must be ashamed of having to splinter fir chips, and square stakes, and of being turned, at last, into a plaything for children."
But the Sword-blade replied:
"In the hands of a warrior, I should have been a terror to the foe; but here my special faculties are of no avail. So in this house I am turned to base uses only. But am I free to choose my employment? No, not I, but he, ought to be ashamed who could not see for what I was fit to be employed."
The Cuckoo and the Turtle-dove
A Cuckoo sat on a bough, bitterly complaining.
"Why art thou so sad, dear friend?" sympathizingly cooed the Turtle-dove to her, from a neighbouring twig. "Is it because spring has passed away from us, and love with it; that the sun has sunk lower, and that we are nearer to the winter?"
"How can I help grieving, unhappy one that I am?" replied the Cuckoo: "thou shalt thyself be the judge. This spring my love was a happy one, and, after a while, I became a mother. But my offspring utterly refused even to recognize me. Was it such a return that I expected from them? And how can I help being envious when I see how ducklings crowd around their mother—how chickens hasten to the hen when she calls to them. Just like an orphan I sit here, utterly alone, and know not what filial affection means."
"Poor thing!" says the Dove, "I pity you from my heart. As for me, though I know such things often occur, I should die outright it my dovelets did not love me. But tell me, have you already brought up your little ones? When did you find time to build a nest? I never saw you doing anything of the kind: you were always flying and fluttering about."
"No, indeed!" says the Cuckoo. "Pretty nonsense it would have been if I had spent such fine days in sitting on a nest! That would, indeed, have been the highest pitch of stupidity! I always laid my eggs in the nests of other birds."
"Then how can you expect your little ones to care for you?" says theTurtle-dove.
The Peasant and the Horse
A Peasant was sowing oats one day. Seeing the work go on, a youngHorse began to reason about it, grumbling to himself:
"A pretty piece of work, this, for which he brings such a quantity of oats here! And yet they are all the time saying that men are wiser than we are. Can anything possibly be more foolish or ridiculous than to plough up a whole field like this in order to scatter one's oats over it afterward to no purpose. Had he given them to me, or to the bay there, or had he even thought fit to fling them to the fowls, it would have been more like business. Or even if he had hoarded them up, I should have recognized avarice in that. But to fling them uselessly away—why, that is sheer stupidity!"
Meanwhile time passed; and in the autumn the oats were garnered, and the Peasant fed this very Horse upon them all the winter.
There can be no doubt, Reader, that you do not approve of the opinions of the Horse. But from the oldest times to our own days has not man been equally audacious in criticising the designs of a Providence of whose means or ends he sees and knows nothing?
The Wolf and the Cat
A Wolf ran out of the forest into a village—not to pay a visit, but to save its life; for it trembled for its skin.
The huntsmen and a pack of hounds were after it. It would fain have rushed in through the first gateway; but there was this unfortunate circumstance against the scheme that all the gateways were closed.
The Wolf sees a Cat on a partition fence, and says pleadingly, "Vaska, my friend, tell me quickly, which of the moujiks here is the kindest, so that I may hide myself from my evil foes? Listen to the cry of the dogs and the terrible sound of the horns? All that noise is actually made in chase of me!"
"Go quickly, and ask Stefan," says Vaska, the Cat; "he is a very kind man."
"Quite true; only I have torn the skin off one of his sheep."
"Well, then, you can try Demian."
"I'm afraid he's angry with me, too; I carried off one of his kids."
"Run over there, then; Trofim lives there."
"Trofim! I should be afraid of even meeting him. Ever since the spring he has been threatening me about a lamb."
"Dear me, that's bad! But perhaps Klim will protect you."
"Oh, Vaska, I have killed one of his calves."
"What do I hear, friend? You've quarrelled with all the village," cried Vaska to the Wolf. "What sort of protection can you hope for here? No, no; our moujiks are not so destitute of sense as to be willing to save you to their own hurt. And, really, you have only yourself to blame. What you have sown, that you must now reap."
The Eagle and the Mole
An Eagle and his mate flew into a deep forest and determined to make it their permanent abode. So they chose an oak, lofty and wide-spreading, and began to build themselves a nest on the top of it, hoping there to rear their young in the summer.
A Mole, who heard about all this, plucked up courage enough to inform the Eagles that the oak was not a proper dwelling-place for them; that it was almost entirely rotten at the root, and was likely soon to fall, and that therefore the Eagles ought not to make their nest upon it.
But is it becoming that an Eagle should accept advice coming from a Mole in a hole? Where then would be the glory of an Eagle having such keen eyes? And how comes it that Moles dare to meddle in the affairs of the king of Birds?
So, saying very little to the Mole, whose counsel he despised, the Eagle set to work quickly—and the King soon got ready the new dwelling for the Queen.
All goes well, and now the Eagles have little ones. But what happens? One day, when at early dawn the Eagle is hastening back from the chase, bringing a rich breakfast to his family, as he drops down from the sky he sees—his oak has fallen, and has crushed beneath it his mate and his little ones!
"Wretched creature that I am!" he cries, anguish blotting out from him the light; "for my pride has fate so terribly punished me, and because I gave no heed to wise counsel. But could one expect that wise counsel could possibly come from a miserable Mole?"
Then from its hole the Mole replies: "Had not you despised me, you would have remembered that I burrow within the earth, and that, as I live among the roots, I can tell with certainty whether a tree be sound or not."
The Spider and the Bee
A Merchant brought some linen to a fair. That's a thing everybody wants to buy, so it would have been a sin in the Merchant if he had complained of his sale. There was no keeping the buyers back: the shop was at times crammed full.
Seeing how rapidly the goods went off, an envious Spider was tempted by the Merchant's gains. She took it into her head to weave goods for sale herself, and determined to open a little shop for them in a window corner, seeking thereby to undermine the Merchant's success.
She commenced her web, spun the whole night long, and then set out her wares on view. From her shop she did not stir, but remained sitting there, puffed up with pride, and thinking, "So soon as the day shall dawn will all buyers be enticed to me."
Well, the day did dawn. But what then? There came a broom, and the ingenious creatures and her little shop were swept clean away.
Our Spider went wild with vexation.
"There!" she cried, "what's the good of expecting a just reward? And yet I ask the whole world—Whose work is the finer, mine or that Merchant's?"
"Yours, to be sure," answered the Bee. "Who would venture to deny the fact? Every one knew that long ago. But what is the good of it if there's neither warmth nor wear in it?"
The Cuckoo and the Cock
"How proudly and sonorously you sing, my dear Cock!"
"But you, dear Cuckoo, my light, how smoothly flows your long drawn-out note! There is no such singer in all the rest of our forest."
"To you, dear friend, I could listen forever."
"And as for you, my beauty, I protest that when you are silent I scarcely know how to wait till you begin again. Where do you get such a voice?—so clear, so soft, so high! But no doubt you were always like that: not very large in stature, but in song—a nightingale."
"Thanks, friend. As for you, I declare on my conscience you sing better than the birds in the Garden of Eden. I appeal to public opinion for a proof of this."
At this moment a Sparrow, who had overheard their conversation, said to them:
"You may go on praising each other till you are hoarse, my friends; but your music is utterly worthless."
Why was it, that, not fearing to sin, the Cuckoo praised the Cock?Simply because the Cock praised the Cuckoo.
The Peasant and the Robber
A Peasant who was beginning to stock his little farm had bought a cow and a milk-pail at the fair, and was going quietly home by a lonely path through the forest, when he suddenly fell into the hands of a Robber. The Robber stripped him as bare as a lime-tree.
"Have mercy!" cried the Peasant. "I am utterly ruined. You have reduced me to beggary. For a whole year I have worked to buy this dear little cow. I could hardly bear to wait for this day to arrive."
"Very good," replied the Robber, touched with compassion; "Don't cry out so against me. After all, I shall not want to milk your cow; so I'll give you back your milk-pail."
"Why have some more power than others? Only one knows. Why have some longer life than others? Only one knows. Why do some try and not succeed; while others do not try and yet they do succeed? Only one knows."
The Animals' Peace Party
The ancient books say that the pig is a very unclean animal and of no great use to the world or man, and one of them contains this story:
Once upon a time the Horses and Cattle gave a party. Although the Pigs were very greedy, the Horses said: "Let us invite them, and it may be we can settle our quarrels in this way and become better friends. We will call this a Peace Party.
"Generations and generations of pigs have broken through our fences, taken our food, drunk our water, and rooted up our clean green grass; but it is also true that the cattle children have hurt many young pigs.
"All this trouble and fighting is not right, and we know the Master wishes we should live at peace with one another. Do you not think it a good plan to give a Peace Party and settle this trouble?"
The Cattle said: "Who will be the leader of our party and do the inviting? We should have a leader, both gentle and kind, to go to the Pig's home and invite them."
The next day a small and very gentle Cow was sent to invite the Pigs. As she went across to the pigs' yard, all the young ones jumped up and grunted, "What are you coming here for? Do you want to fight?"
"No, I do not want to fight," said the Cow. "I was sent here to invite you to our party. I should like to know if you will come, so that I may tell our leader."
The young Pigs and the old ones talked together and the old ones said: "The New Year feast will soon be here. Maybe they will have some good things for us to eat at the party. I think we should go."
Then the old Pigs found the best talker in all the family, and sent word by him that they would attend the party.
The day came, and the Pigs all went to the party. There were about three hundred all together.
When they arrived they saw that the leader of the cows was the most beautiful of all the herd and very kind and gentle to her guests.
After a while the leader spoke to them in a gentle voice and said to the oldest Pigs: "We think it would be a good and pleasant thing if there were no more quarrels in this pasture.
"Will you tell your people not to break down the fences and spoil the place and eat our food? We will then agree that the oxen and horses shall not hurt your children and all the old troubles shall be forgotten from this day."
Then one young Pig stood up to talk. "All this big pasture belongs to the Master, and not to you," he said. "We cannot go to other places for food.
"The Master sends a servant to feed us, and sometimes he sends us to your yard to eat the corn and potatoes.
"The servants clean our pen every day. When summer comes, they fill the ponds with fresh water for us to bathe in.
"Now, friends, can you not see that this place and this food all belong to the Master? We eat the food and go wherever we like. We take your food only after you have finished. It would spoil on the ground if we did not do this.
"Answer this question—Do our people ever hurt your people? No; even though every year some of our children are killed by bad oxen and cows.
"What is our food? It is nothing; but our lives are worth much to us.
"Our Master never sends our people to work as he does the horses and oxen. He sends us food and allows us to play a year and a year the same, because he likes us best.
"You see the Horses and Oxen are always at work. Some pull wagons, others plough land for rice; and they must work—sick or well.
"Our people never work. Every day at happy time we play; and do you see how fat we are?
"You never see our bones. Look at the old Horses and the old Oxen.Twenty years' work and no rest!
"I tell you the Master does not honour the Horses and Oxen as he does the Pigs.
"Friends, that is all I have to say. Have you any questions to ask?Is what I have said not the truth?"
The old Cow said, "Moo, Moo," and shook her head sadly. The tired oldHorses groaned, "Huh, Huh," and never spoke a word.
The leader said, "My friends, it is best not to worry about things we cannot know. We do not seem to understand our Master.
"It will soon be time for the New Year feast day; so, good night. And may the Pig people live in the world as long and happily as the Horses and the Oxen, although our Peace Party did not succeed."
On their way home the little Pigs made a big noise, and every one said,"We, we! We win, we win!"
Then the old Horses and Oxen talked among themselves. "We are stronger, wiser, and more useful than the Pigs," they said. "Why does the Master treat us so?"
EE-SZE (Meaning): Why have some more power than others? Only one knows. Why have some longer life than others? Only one knows. Why do some try and not succeed; while others do not try and yet they do succeed? Only one knows.
The Proud Chicken
A Widow named Hong-Mo lived in a little house near the market place. Every year she raised many hundreds of chickens, which she sold to support herself and her two children.
Each day the Chickens went to the fields near by and hunted bugs, rice, and green things to eat.
The largest one was called the King of the Chickens, because of all the hundreds in the flock he was the strongest. And for this reason he was the leader of them all.
He led the flock to new places for food. He could crow the loudest, and as he was the strongest, none dared oppose him in any way.
One day he said to the flock, "Let us go to the other side of the mountain near the wilderness to-day, and hunt rice, wheat, corn, and wild silkworms. There is not enough food here."
But the other Chickens said, "We are afraid to go so far. There are foxes and eagles in the wilderness, and they will catch us."
The King of the Chickens said, "It is better that all the old hens and cowards stay at home."
The King's secretary said, "I do not know fear. I will go with you."Then they started away together.
When they had gone a little distance, the Secretary found a beetle, and just as he was going to swallow it, the King flew at him in great anger, saying, "Beetles are for kings, not for common chickens. Why did you not give it to me?" So they fought together, and while they were fighting, the beetle ran away and hid under the grass where he could not be found.
And the Secretary said, "I will not fight for you, neither will I go to the wilderness with you." And he went home again.
At sunset the King came home. The other Chickens had saved the best roosting place for him; but he was angry because none of them had been willing to go to the wilderness with him, and he fought first with one and then with another.
He was a mighty warrior, and therefore none of them could stand up against him. And he pulled the feathers out of many of the flock.
At last the Chickens said, "We will not serve this king any longer. We will leave this place. If Hong-Mo will not give us another home, we will stay in the vegetable garden. We will do that two or three nights, and see if she will give us another place to live."
So the next day, when Hong-Mo waited at sunset for the Chickens to come home, the King was the only one who came.
And she asked the King, "Where are all my Chickens?"
But he was proud and angry, and said, "They are of no use in the world.I would not care if they always stayed away."
Hong-Mo answered, "You are not the only Chicken in the world. I want the others to come back. If you drive them all away, you will surely see trouble."
But the King laughed and jumped up on the fence and crowed. "Nga-Un-Gan-Yu-Na" (cock-a-doodle-doo-oo) in a loud voice. "I don't care for you! I don't care for you!"
Hong-Mo went out and called the Chickens, and she hunted long through the twilight until the dark night came, but she could not find them. The next morning early she went to the vegetable garden, and there she found her Chickens. They were glad to see her, and bowed their heads and flew to her.
Hong-Mo said, "What are you doing? Why do you children stay out here, when I have given you a good house to live in?"
The Secretary told her all about the trouble with the King.
Hong-Mo said, "Now you must be friendly to each other. Come with me, and I will bring you and your King together. We must have peace here."
When the Chickens came to where the King was he walked about, and scraped his wings on the ground, and sharpened his spurs. His people had come to make peace, and they bowed their heads and looked happy when they saw their King. But he still walked about alone and would not bow.
He said, "I am a King—always a King. Do you know that? You bow your heads and think that pleases me. But what do I care? I should not care if there was never another Chicken in the world but myself. I am King."
And he hopped up on a tree and sang some war songs. But suddenly an eagle who heard him, flew down and caught him in his talons and carried him away. And the Chickens never saw their proud, quarrelsome King again.
EE-SZE (Meaning): No position in life is so high that it gives the right to be proud and quarrelsome.
The Hen and the Chinese Mountain Turtle
Four hundred and fifty years ago in Lze-Cheung Province, Western China, there lived an old farmer named Ah-Po.
The young farmers all said Ah-Po knew everything. If they wanted to know when it would rain, they asked Ah-Po, and when he said: "It will not rain to-morrow," or, "You will need your bamboo-hat this time to-morrow," it was as he said. He knew all about the things of nature and how to make the earth yield best her fruits and seeds, and some said he was a prophet.
One day Ah-Po caught a fine Mountain Turtle. It was so large that it took both of Ah-Po's sons to carry it home. They tied its legs together and hung it on a strong stick, and each son put an end of the stick on his shoulder.
Ah-Po said, "We will not kill the Turtle. He is too old to eat, and I think we will keep him and watch the rings grow around his legs each year." So they gave him a corner in the barnyard and fed him rice and water.
Ah-Po had many Chickens, and for three months the Turtle and Chickens lived in peace with each other. But one day all the young Chickens came together and laughed at the Turtle. Then they said to him, "Why do you live here so long? Why do you not go back to your own place? This small barnyard corner is not so good as your cave in the wilderness. You have only a little sand and grass to live on here. The servant feeds you, but she never gives you any wilderness fruits. You are very large, and you take up too much room. We need all the room there is here. You foolish old thing, do you think our fathers and mothers want you? No. There is not one of our people who likes you. Besides, you are not clean. You make too much dirt. The servant girl gave you this water to drink, and your water bowl is even now upside down. You scatter rice on our floor. Too many flies come here to see you, and we do not like flies."
The Turtle waited until they had all finished scolding. Then he said, "Do you think I came here myself? Who put me here, do you know? Do you suppose I like to be in jail? You need not be jealous. I never ate any rice that belonged to you or your family. I am not living in your house. What are you complaining about? If our master should take your whole family and sell it, he would only get one piece of silver. Who and what are you to talk so much? Wait and see; some day I may have the honoured place."
Some of the Chickens went home and told their mother, "We had an argument with the Turtle to-day and he had the last word. To-morrow we want you to go with us and show him that a Chicken can argue as well as a Turtle."
The next day all the Chickens of the barnyard went to see the Turtle. And the old Hen said, "My children came here to play yesterday, and you scolded them and drove them away. You said all my family was not worth one piece of silver. You think you are worth many pieces of gold, I suppose. No one likes you. Your own master would not eat you. And the market people would never buy a thing so old and tough as you are. But I suppose you will have to stay here in our yard a thousand years or so, until you die. Then they will carry you to the wilderness and throw you into the Nobody-Knows Lake."
Then the Turtle answered and said, "I am a Mountain Turtle. I come from a wise family, and it is not easy for even man to catch me. Educated men, doctors, know that I am useful for sickness, but if all the people knew the many ways they could use me, I think there would soon be no more turtles in the world. Many Chinese know that my skin is good for skin disease, and my forefeet are good for the devil-sickness in children, as they drive the devil away; and then my shells are good for sore throat, and my stomach is good for stomach-ache, and my bones are good for tooth-ache. Do you remember that not long ago our master brought three turtle eggs to feed your children? I heard him say: 'Those little Chickens caught cold in that damp place, and so I must give them some turtle eggs.' I saw your children eat those three eggs, and in two or three days they were well.
"So you see the Turtle is a useful creature in the world, even to Chickens. Why do you not leave me in peace? As I must stay here against my will, it is not right that your children should trouble me. Sometimes they take all my rice and I go hungry, for our master will not allow me to go outside of this fence to hunt food for myself. I never come to your house and bother you, but your children will not even let me live in peace in the little corner our master gave me. If I had a few of my own people here with me, as you have, I think you would not trouble me. But I have only myself, while you are many.
"Yesterday your children scolded me and disturbed my peace. To-day you come again; and to-morrow and many to-morrows will see generations and still more unhatched generations of Chickens coming here to scold me, I fear; for the length of life of a cackling hen is as a day to me—a Mountain Turtle. I know the heaven is large, I know the earth is large and made for all creatures alike. But you think the heavens and the earth were both made for you and your Chickens only. If you could drive me away to-day you would try to-morrow to drive the dog away, and in time you would think the master himself ought not to have enough of your earth and air to live in. This barnyard is large enough for birds, chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. It makes our master happy to have us all here."
The Chickens went away ashamed. Talking to each other about it, they said: "The Turtle is right. It is foolish to want everything. We barnyard creatures must live at peace with each other until we die. The barnyard is not ours; we use it only a little while."
EE-SZE (Meaning): The Creator made the world for all to use, and, while using it, the strong should not try to drive out the weak.
The Proud Fox and the Crab
One day a Fox said to a Crab: "Crawling thing, did you ever run in all your life?"
"Yes," said the Crab, "I run very often from the mud to the grass and back to the river."
"Oh, shame!" said the Fox, "that is no distance to run. How many feet and legs have you? I have only four. Why, if I had as many feet as you have, I would run at least six times as fast as you do. Did you know that you are really a very slow, stupid creature? Though I have only four feet I run ten times as far as you do. I never heard of any one with so many feet as you have, running so slowly."
The Crab said: "Would you like to run a race with a stupid creature like me? I will try to run as fast as you. I know I am small, so suppose we go to the scales and see how much heavier you are. As you are ten times larger than I, of course you will have to run ten times faster.
"Another reason why you can run so fast is because you have such a fine tail and hold it so high. If you would allow me to put it down, I do not think you would run any faster than I."
"Oh, very well," said the Fox, contemptuously, "do as you like, and still the race will be so easy for me that I will not even need to try. Your many legs and your stupid head do not go very well together. Now, if I had my sense and all of your legs, no creature in the forest could outrun me. As it is, there are none that can outwit me. I am known as the sharp-witted. Even man says, 'Qui-kwat-wui-lai' (sly as a fox). So do what you will, stupid one."
"If you will let me tie your beautiful tail down so it will stay," said the Crab, "I am sure I can win the race."
"Oh, no, you cannot," said the Fox. "But I will prove to even your stupid, slow brain that it will make no difference. Now, how do you wish that I should hold my tail?"
Said the Crab: "If you will allow me to hang something on your tail to hold it down, I am sure you cannot run faster than I."
"Do as you like," said the Fox.
"Allow me to come nearer," said the Crab, "and when I have it fastened to your tail, I will say 'Ready!' Then you are to start."
So the Crab crawled behind and caught the Fox's tail with his pincers and said, "Ready!" The Fox ran and ran until he was tired. And when he stopped, there was the Crab beside him.
"Where are you now?" said the Crab. "I thought you were to run ten times faster than I. You are not even ahead of me with all your boasting."
The Fox, panting for breath, hung his head in shame and went away where he might never see the crab again.
EE-SZE (Meaning): A big, proud, boastful mouth, is a worse thing for a man than it is for a fox.
The Mule and the Lion
One night the Lion was very hungry, but as the creatures of the wilderness knew and feared him even from afar, he could not find food. So he went to visit the young Mule that lived near the farmer's house, and when he saw him he smiled blandly and asked, "What do you eat, fair Lii, to make you so sleek and fat? What makes your hair so smooth and beautiful? I think your master gives you tender fresh grass and fat young pig to eat."
The Mule answered, "No, I am fat because I am gentle. My hair is beautiful because I do not fight with other creatures. But why do you come here, Sii? Are you hungry? I believe you are seeking for food."
The Lion said, "Oh, no, I am not hungry. I only walk around to get the cool, fresh air. And then the night is very beautiful. The moon hangs up in the clear sky with the stars and makes a soft light, and so I came to visit you. Would you not like to take a walk with me? I will take you to visit my friend, the Pig. I never go to his house alone; I always take a friend with me."
The Mule asked, "Shall we go to any other place?"
"Yes," answered the Lion, "I think we will go to visit another friend of mine who lives not far away."
Then the Mule asked his mother, "Will you allow me to go with Sii to see his friend?"
"Who is his friend?" asked the mother.
"The farmer's Pig." said the Mule.
"I think it is no harm if you go only there," said the mother Mule. "But you must not go anywhere else with Sii. The hunter is looking for him, I hear, and you must be careful. Do not trust him fully, for I fear he will tempt you to go to some other place or into some wrong thing. If I allow you to go, you must come home before midnight. The moon will not be gone then and you can see to find your way."
So the Lion and the Mule went to visit the Pig, who lived in a house in the farmer's yard. But as soon as the Pig saw the Lion, he called out in a loud voice to his mother.
The Lion said, "He is afraid of me. I will hide and you may go in first."
When the Pig saw that the Mule was alone, he thought the Lion had gone.He opened his door wide and was very friendly to the Mule, saying,"Come in."
But the Lion jumped from his hiding place and caught the Pig as he came to the door. The Pig called to his mother in great fear, and the Mule begged the Lion, saying, "Let the poor little creature go free."
But the Lion said, "No, indeed; I have many Pigs at my house. It is better for him to go with me."
Then the Lion carried the Pig, while the Mule followed. Soon they came to where a fine looking dog lay on some hay behind a net. The Lion did not seem to see the net, for he dropped the Pig and tried to catch the Dog, who cried loudly for mercy.
But the Lion said to the foolish Mule, "See how rude the Dog is to us.We came to visit him and he makes a loud noise and tries to call thehunter so that he will drive us away. I have never been so insulted.Come here, Lii-Tsze, at once and help me!"
The Mule went to the Lion and the net fell and caught them both. At sunrise the Hunter came and found the Mule and the Lion in his net. The Mule begged earnestly and said, "Hunter, you know me and you know my mother. We are your friends and we do no wrong. Set me free, oh, hunter, set me free!"
The Hunter said, "No, I will not set you free. You may be good, but you are in bad company and must take what it brings. I will take you and the Lion both to the market place and sell you for silver. That is my right. I am a hunter. If you get in my net, that is your business. If I catch you, that is my business."
EE-SZE (Meaning): Bad company is a dangerous thing for man or beast.
The Lion and the Mosquitoes
One day Ah-Fou's father said to him, "Come here, my boy, and I will tell you a story. Do you remember the great lion we saw one day, which Ah-Kay caught? You know a strong rope held him, and he roared and tried to free himself until he died. Then when Ah-Kay took him from the net, he looked at the rope and the bamboo carefully, and found five of the great ropes broken.
"How strong is the lion? Twenty children like you could not break one strand of that great rope. But the lion broke five complete ropes. He is the strongest of all animals. He catches many creatures for his food, but once he lost a battle with one of the least of the wilderness creatures. Do you know what it was?"
"A bird could fight and then fly away. Was it a bird?"
"No, my son."
"A man is stronger than a lion."
"No; do you not remember the woodcutter who could put down five strong men? One night a wilderness lion caught and killed him."
"Then what was the smallest of all creatures of the wilderness that battled with a lion?"
The father said, "I will tell you the story: Once in the summer time the Lion was very thirsty. But the sun had taken all the water near the Lion's home and he went to many places seeking for it. In time he found an old well, but the water was not fresh. As the Lion was very thirsty, he said, 'I must drink, even though the water is stale.'
"But when he reached down into the old well, he found that it was the home of all the Mosquitoes of the wilderness.
"The Mosquitoes said to the Lion, 'Go away, we do not want you. This is our home and we are happy. We do not wish the lion, the fox, or the bear to come here. You are not our friend. Why do you come?"
"The Lion roared and said, 'Weak and foolish things! I am the Lion. It is you that should go away, for I have come to drink. This is my wilderness, and I am king. Do you know, weak things, that when I come out from my place and send forth my voice, all the creatures of the wilderness shake like leaves and bow their heads to me? What are you that you should have a place you call your home and tell me that I may or I may not?'
"Then the Mosquitoes answered, 'You are only one. You speak as if you were many. Our people had this old well for a home before your roar was heard in the wilderness. And many generations of us have been born here. This home is ours, and we are they that say who shall come or go. And yet you come and tell us to go out of our own door. If you do not leave us, we will call our people, and you shall know trouble.'
"But the Lion held his head high with pride and anger and said, 'What are you, oh, small of the small? I will kill every one of your useless people. When I drink, I will open my mouth only a little wider, and you shall be swallowed like the water. And to-morrow I shall forget that I drank to-day.'
"'Boastful one,' said the Mosquitoes, 'we do not believe that you have the power to destroy all our people. If you wish battle, we shall see. We know your name is great and that all animals bow their heads before you; but our people can kill you.'
"The Lion jumped high in his rage and said, 'No other creature in the wilderness has dared to say these things to me—the king. Have I come to the vile well of the silly Mosquitoes for wisdom?' And he held his head high, and gave the mighty roar of battle, and made ready to kill all the Mosquitoes.
"Then the Mosquitoes, big and little, flew around him. Many went into his ears, and the smallest ones went into his nose, and the big old ones went into his mouth to sting. A thousand and a thousand hung in the air just over his head and made a great noise, and the Lion soon knew that he could not conquer.
"He roared and jumped, and two of his front feet went down into the well. The well was narrow and deep and he could not get out, for his two hind feet were in the air and his head hung downward. And as he died, he said to himself:
"'My pride and anger have brought me this fate. Had I used gentle words, the Mosquitoes might have given me water for my thirst. I was wise and strong in the wilderness, and even the greatest of the animals feared my power. But I fought with the Mosquitoes and I die—not because I have not strength to overcome, but because of the foolishness of anger."
EE-SZE (Meaning): The wise can conquer the foolish. Power is nothing, strength is nothing. The wise, gentle and careful can always win.
"Of Fables judge not by their face;They give the simplest brute a teacher's place.Bare precepts were inert and tedious things;The story gives them life and wings."
*Translated by Elizur Wright, Jr.
The Grasshopper and the Ant
A Grasshopper gaySang the summer away,And found herself poorBy the winter's first roar.Of meat or of bread,Not a morsel she had!So a-begging she went,To her neighbour the Ant,For the loan of some wheat,Which would serve her to eat,Till the season came round."I will pay you," she saith,"On an animal's faith,Double weight in the poundEre the harvest be bound."The Ant is a friend—(And here she might mend)Little given to lend."How spent you the summer?"Quoth she, looking shameAt the borrowing dame."Night and day to each comerI sang, if you please.""You sang! I'm at ease,For 'tis plain at a glance,Now, ma'am, you must dance."
The Swan and the Cook
The pleasures of a poultry yardWere by a Swan and Gosling shared.The Swan was kept there for his looks,The thrifty Gosling for the Cooks;The first the garden's pride, the latterA greater favourite on the platter.They swam the ditches, side by side,And oft in sports aquatic vied,Plunging, splashing far and wide,With rivalry ne'er satisfied.One day the Cook, named Thirsty John,Sent for the Gosling, took the Swan,In haste his throat to cut,And put him in the pot.The bird's complaint resoundedIn glorious melody;Whereat the Cook, astoundedHis sad mistake to see,Cried, "What! make soup of a musician!Please God, I'll never set such dish on.No, no; I'll never cut a throatThat sings so passing sweet a note."
'Tis thus, whatever peril may alarm us,Sweet words will surely never harm us.
The Hornets and the Bees
"The artist by his work is known."A piece of honey-comb, one day,Discovered as a waif and stray,The Hornets treated as their own.Their title did the Bees dispute,And brought before a Wasp the suit.The judge was puzzled to decide,For nothing could be testifiedSave that around this honey-combThere had been seen, as if at home,Some longish, brownish, buzzing creatures,Much like the Bees in wings and features.But what of that? for marks the same,The Hornets, too, could truly claim.Between assertion and denial,The Wasp, in doubt, proclaimed new trial;And, hearing what an ant-hill swore,Could see no clearer than before."What use, I pray, of this expense?"At last exclaim'd a Bee of sense."We've laboured months in this affair,And now are only where we were.Meanwhile the honey runs to waste:'Tis time the judge should show some haste.Both sides have had sufficient bleeding,Without more fuss of scrawls and pleading.Let's set to work, these drones and we,And then all eyes the truth may see,Whose art it is that can produceThe magic cells, the nectar juice."The Hornets, flinching on their part,Show that the work transcends their art.The Wasp at length their title sees,And gives the honey to the Bees.
Oh, would that suits at law with usMight every one be managed thus!
The Two Rats, the Fox, and the Egg
Two Rats in foraging fell on an Egg—For gentry such as theyA genteel dinner every way;They needed not to find an ox's leg.Brimful of joy and appetite,They were about to sack the box,So tight without the aid of locks,When suddenly there came in sightA personage—Sir Slyboots Fox.Sure, luck was never more untowardSince Fortune was a vixen froward!How should they save their Egg—and bacon?Their plunder couldn't then be bagg'd.Should it in forward paws be taken,Or roll'd along, or dragg'd?Each method seem'd impossible,And each was then of danger full.Necessity, ingenious mother,Brought forth what help'd them from their pother.As still there was a chance to save their prey,The sponger yet some hundred yards away—One seized the Egg, and turned upon his back,And then, in spite of many a thump and thwack,That would have torn, perhaps, a coat of mail,The other dragg'd him by the tail.Who dares the inference to blink,That beasts possess wherewith to think?
Were I commission'd to bestowThis power on creatures here below,The beasts should have as much of mindAs infants of the human kind.
The Lion's Share
The Heifer, the Goat, and their sister the Sheep,Compacted their earnings in common to keep,'Tis said, in time past, with a Lion, who swayedFull lordship o'er neighbours, of whatever grade.The Goat, as it happened, a Stag having snared,Sent off to the rest, that the beast might be shared.All gathered; the Lion first counts on his claws,And says, "We'll proceed to divide with our pawsThe stag into pieces, as fix'd by our laws."This done, he announces part first as his own;"'Tis mine," he says, "truly, as Lion alone."To such a decision there's nought to be said,As he who has made it is doubtless the head."Well, also, the second to me should belong;'Tis mine, be it known, by the right of the strong.Again, as the bravest, the third must be mine.To touch but the fourth whoso maketh a sign,I'll choke him to deathIn the space of a breath!"
The Shepherd and His Dog
A Shepherd, with a single Dog,Was ask'd the reason whyHe kept a Dog, whose least supplyAmounted to a loaf of breadFor every day. The people saidHe'd better give the animalTo guard the village seignior's hall;For him, a Shepherd, it would beA thriftier economyTo keep small curs, say two or three,That would not cost him half the food,And yet for watching be as good.The fools, perhaps, forgot to tellIf they would fight the wolf as well.The silly Shepherd, giving heed,Cast off his Dog of mastiff breed,And took three dogs to watch his cattle,Which ate far less, but fled in battle.
Not vain our tale, if it convincesSmall states that 'tis a wiser thingTo trust a single powerful king,Than half a dozen petty princes.
The Old Man and the Ass
An Old Man, riding on his Ass,Had found a spot of thrifty grass,And there turn'd loose his weary beast.Old Grizzle, pleased with such a feast,Flung up his heels, and caper'd round,Then roll'd and rubb'd upon the ground,And frisk'd and browsed and bray'd,And many a clean spot made.Arm'd men came on them as he fed:"Let's fly!" in haste the Old Man said."And wherefore so?" the Ass replied;"With heavier burdens will they ride?""No," said the man, already started,"Then," cried the Ass, as he departed."I'll stay, and be—no matter whose;Save you yourself, and leave me loose,But let me tell you, ere you go(I speak plain English, as you know),My master is my only foe."
The Lion Going to War
The Lion had an enterprise in hand;Held a war-council, sent his provost-marshal,And gave the animals a call impartial—Each, in his way, to serve his high command.The Elephant should carry on his backThe tools of war, the mighty public pack,And fight in elephantine way and form;The Bear should hold himself prepared to storm;The Fox all secret stratagems should fix;The Monkey should amuse the foe by tricks."Dismiss," said one, "the blockhead Asses,And Hares, too cowardly and fleet.""No," said the King; "I use all classes;Without their aid my force were incomplete.The Ass shall be our trumpeter, to scareOur enemy. And then the nimble HareOur royal bulletins shall homeward bear."
A monarch provident and wiseWill hold his subjects all of consequence,And know in each what talent lies.There's nothing useless to a man of sense.
The Ass and the Lap-dog
One's native talent from its courseCannot be turned aside by force;But poorly apes the country clownThe polish'd manners of the town.Their Maker chooses but a fewWith power of pleasing to imbue;Where wisely leave it we, the mass,Unlike a certain fabled Ass,That thought to gain his master's blessingBy jumping on him and caressing."What!" said the Donkey in his heart;"Ought it to be that Puppy's partTo lead his useless lifeIn full companionshipWith master and his wife,While I must bear the whip?What doth the Cur a kiss to drawForsooth, he only gives his paw!If that is all there needs to please,I'll do the thing myself, with ease."Possess'd with this bright notion—His master sitting on his chair,At leisure in the open air—He ambled up, with awkward motion,And put his talents to the proof;Upraised his bruised and batter'd hoof,And, with an amiable mien,His master patted on the chin,The action gracing with a word—The fondest bray that e'er was heard!Oh, such caressing was there ever?Or melody with such a quaver?"Ho! Martin! here! a club, a club bring!"Out cried the master, sore offended.So Martin gave the Ass a drubbing—And so the comedy was ended.
The Hare and the Partridge
A field in common shareA Partridge and a Hare,And live in peaceful state,Till, woeful to relate!The hunters mingled cryCompels the Hare to fly.He hurries to his fort,And spoils almost the sportBy faulting every houndThat yelps upon the ground.At last his reeking heatBetrays his snug retreat.Old Tray, with philosophic nose,Snuffs carefully, and growsSo certain, that he cries,"The Hare is here; bow wow!"And veteran Ranger now—The dog that never lies—"The Hare is gone," replies.Alas! poor, wretched Hare,Back comes he to his lair,To meet destruction there!The Partridge, void of fear,Begins her friend to jeer:—"You bragg'd of being fleet;How serve you, now, your feet?"Scarce has she ceased to speak—The laugh yet in her beak—When comes her turn to die,From which she could not fly.She thought her wings, indeed,Enough for every need;But in her laugh and talk,Forgot the cruel hawk!
The Weasel in the Granary
A Weasel through a hole contrived to squeeze,(She was recovering from disease),Which led her to a farmer's hoard.There lodged, her wasted form she cherish'd;Heaven knows the lard and victuals storedThat by her gnawing perish'd!Of which the consequenceWas sudden corpulence.A week or so was past,When having fully broken fast,A noise she heard, and hurriedTo find the hole by which she came,And seem'd to find it not the same;So round she ran, most sadly flurried;And, coming back, thrust out her head,Which, sticking there, she said,"This is the hole, there can't be blunder:What makes it now so small, I wonder,Where, but the other day, I pass'd with ease?"A Rat her trouble sees,And cries, "But with an emptier belly;You entered lean, and lean must sally."
The Wolf Turned Shepherd
A Wolf, whose gettings from the flocksBegan to be but few,Bethought himself to play the foxIn character quite new.A Shepherd's hat and coat he took,A cudgel for a crook,Nor e'en the pipe forgot:And more to seem what he was not,Himself upon his hat he wrote,"I'm Willie, shepherd of these sheep."His person thus complete,His crook in upraised feet,The impostor Willie stole upon the keep.The proper Willie, on the grass asleep,Slept there, indeed, profoundly,His dog and pipe slept, also soundly;His drowsy sheep around lay.As for the greatest number,Much bless'd the hypocrite their slumberAnd hoped to drive away the flock,Could he the Shepherd's voice but mock.He thought undoubtedly he could.He tried: the tone in which he spoke,Loud echoing from the wood,The plot and slumber broke;Sheep, dog, and man awoke.The Wolf, in sorry plight,In hampering coat bedight,Could neither run nor fight.
There's always leakage of deceitWhich makes it never safe to cheat,Whoever is a Wolf had betterKeep clear of hypocritic fetter.
The Lion and the Ass Hunting
The King of animals, with royal grace,Would celebrate his birthday in the chase.Twas not with bow and arrows,To slay some wretched sparrows;The Lion hunts the wild boar of the wood,The antlered deer and stags, the fat and good.This time, the King, t' insure success,Took for his aide-de-camp an Ass,A creature of stentorian voice,That felt much honoured by the choice.The Lion hid him in a proper station,And ordered him to bray, for his vocation,Assured that his tempestuous cryThe boldest beasts would terrify,And cause them from their lairs to fly.And, sooth, the horrid noise the creature madeDid strike the tenants of the wood with dread;And, as they headlong fled,All fell within the Lion's ambuscade."Has not my service gloriousMade both of us victorious?"Cried out the much-elated Ass."Yes," said the Lion; "bravely bray'd!Had I not known yourself and race,I should have been myself afraid!"The Donkey, had he dared,With anger would have flaredAt this retort, though justly made;For who could suffer boasts to passSo ill-befitting to an Ass?
The Oak and the Reed
The Oak one day address'd the Reed:"To you ungenerous indeedHas nature been, my humble friend,With weakness aye obliged to bend.The smallest bird that flits in airIs quite too much for you to bear;The slightest wind that wreathes the lakeYour ever-trembling head doth shake.The while, my towering formDares with the mountain topThe solar blaze to stop,And wrestle with the storm.What seems to you the blast of death,To me is but a zephyr's breath.Beneath my branches had you grown,Less suffering would your life have known,Unhappily you oftenest showIn open air your slender form,Along the marshes wet and low,That fringe the kingdom of the storm.To you, declare I must,Dame Nature seems unjust."Then modestly replied the Reed:"Your pity, sir, is kind indeed,But wholly needless for my sake.The wildest wind that ever blewIs safe to me compared with you.I bend, indeed, but never break.Thus far, I own, the hurricaneHas beat your sturdy back in vain;But wait the end." Just at the word,The tempest's hollow voice was heard.The North sent forth her fiercest child,Dark, jagged, pitiless, and wild.The Oak, erect, endured the blow;The Reed bow'd gracefully and low.But, gathering up its strength once more,In greater fury than before,The savage blast o'erthrew, at last,That proud, old, sky-encircled head,Whose feet entwined the empire of the dead!
The Bat and the Two Weasels
A blundering Bat once stuck her headInto a wakeful Weasel's bed;Whereat the mistress of the house,A deadly foe of rats and mice,Was making ready in a triceTo eat the stranger as a mouse."What! do you dare," she said, "to creep inThe very bed I sometimes sleep in,Now, after all the provocationI've suffered from your thievish nation?It's plain to see you are a mouse,That gnawing pest of every house,Your special aim to do the cheese ill.Ay, that you are, or I'm no Weasel.""I beg your pardon," said the Bat;"My kind is very far from that.What! I a mouse! Who told you such a lie?Why, ma'am, I am a bird;And, if you doubt my word,Just see the wings with which I fly.Long live the mice that cleave the sky!"These reasons had so fair a show,The Weasel let the creature go.
By some strange fancy led,The same wise blunderhead,But two or three days later,Had chosen for her restAnother Weasel's nest,This last, of birds a special hater.New peril brought this step absurd:Without a moment's thought or puzzle,Dame Weasel, oped her peaked muzzleTo eat th' intruder as a bird."Hold! do not wrong me," cried the Bat;"I'm truly no such thing as that.Your eyesight strange conclusions gathers.What makes a bird, I pray? Its feathers.I'm cousin of the mice and rats.Great Jupiter confound the cats!"The Bat, by such adroit replying,Twice saved herself from dying.
And many a human strangerThus turns his coat in danger;And sings, as suits, where'er he goes,"God save the king!"—or "save his foes!"
The Dove and the Ant
A Dove came to a brook to drink,When, leaning o'er its crumbling brink,An Ant fell in, and vainly tried,In this, to her, an ocean tide,To reach the land; whereat the Dove,With every living thing in love,Was prompt a spire of grass to throw her,By which the Ant regained the shore.
A barefoot scamp, both mean and sly,Soon after chanced this Dove to spy;And, being arm'd with bow and arrow,The hungry codger doubted notThe bird of Venus, in his pot,Would make a soup before the morrow.Just as his deadly bow he drew,Our Ant just bit his heel.Roused by the villain's squeal,The Dove took timely hint, and flewFar from the rascal's coop—And with her flew his soup.
The Cock and the Fox
Upon a tree there mounted guardA veteran Cock, adroit and cunning;When to the roots a Fox up running,Spoke thus, in tones of kind regard:"Our quarrel, brother, 's at an end;Henceforth I hope to live your friend;For peace now reignsThroughout the animal domains.I bear the news—come down, I pray,And give me the embrace fraternal;And please, my brother, don't delay.So much the tidings do concern all,That I must spread them far to-day.Now you and yours can take your walksWithout a fear or thought of hawks.And should you clash with them or others,In us you'll find the best of brothers;For which you may, this joyful night,Your merry bonfires light.But, first, let's seal the blissWith one fraternal kiss."The Cock replied, "Upon my word,A better thing I never heard;And doubly I rejoiceTo hear it from your voice;There really must be something in it,For yonder come two greyhounds, which I flatterMyself are couriers on this very matter.They come so fast, they'll be here in a minute.I'll down, and all of us will seal the blessingWith general kissing and caressing.""Adieu," said Fox; "my errand's pressing;I'll hurry on my way,And we'll rejoice some other day."So off the fellow scampered, quick and light,To gain the fox-holes of a neighbouring height,Less happy in his stratagem than flight.The Cock laugh'd sweetly in his sleeve—'Tis doubly sweet deceiver to deceive.
The Wolf, the Goat, and the Kid
As went a Goat of grass to take her fill,And browse the herbage of a distant hill,She latch'd her door, and bid,With matron care, her Kid;"My daughter, as you live,This portal don't undoTo any creature whoThis watchword does not give:'Deuce take the Wolf and all his race'!"The Wolf was passing near the placeBy chance, and heard the words with pleasure,And laid them up as useful treasure;And hardly need we mention,Escaped the Goat's attention.No sooner did he seeThe matron off, than he,With hypocritic tone and face,Cried out before the place,"Deuce take the Wolf and all his race!"Not doubting thus to gain admission.The Kid, not void of all suspicion,Peer'd through a crack, and cried,"Show me white paw beforeYou ask me to undo the door."The Wolf could not, if he had died,For wolves have no connectionWith paws of that complexion.So, much surprised, our gourmandiserRetired to fast till he was wiser.
How would the Kid have been undoneHad she but trusted to the wordThe Wolf by chance had overheard!Two sureties better are than one;And cautions worth its cost,Though sometimes seeming lost.
The Fox, the Monkey, and the Animals
Left kingless by the lion's death,The beasts once met, our story saith,Some fit successor to install.Forth from a dragon-guarded, moated place,The crown was brought and, taken from its case,And being tried by turns on all,The heads of most were found too small;Some horned were, and some too big;Not one would fit the regal gear.Forever ripe for such a rig,The Monkey, looking very queer,Approached with antics and grimaces,And, after scores of monkey faces,With what would seem a gracious stoop,Pass'd through the crown as through a hoop.The beasts, diverted with the thing,Did homage to him as their king.The Fox alone the vote regretted,But yet in public never fretted.When he his compliments had paidTo royalty, thus newly made,"Great sire, I know a place," said he,"Where lies conceal'd a treasure,Which, by the right of royalty,Should bide your royal pleasure."The King lack'd not an appetiteFor such financial pelf,And, not to lose his royal right,Ran straight to see it for himself.It was a trap, and he was caught.Said Reynard, "Would you have it thought,You Ape, that you can fill a throne,And guard the rights of all, alone.Not knowing how to guard your own?"