upon the Wasp gave judgment:—"It is clear now who made the comb, and who cannot make it; the Court adjudges the honey to the Bees."
(Phædrus, Fables, Vol. III, No. 13; Thomas James' translation.)
ÆS0P AT PLAY
AN Athenian one day found Æsop at play with a company of little boys, and began to jeer and laugh at him for it. The old fellow, who was too much of a joker himself to suffer others to ridicule him, took a bow, unstrung it and laid it upon the ground. Then, addressing his critic, he said:
"Now, Philosopher, explain this riddle, if you can, and tell us the meaning of that unstrung bow."
The man, after racking his brain, and scratching his head for a considerable time, to no purpose, at last gave it up and said that he could not solve the riddle.
"Why," said Æsop, laughing, "if you keep a bow always bent, it will presently break; but if you let it go slack, it will be ready for use when you need it."
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
(Phædrus, Fables, Vol. III, No. 14; from Bussey's Fables Original and Selected.)
THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE OWL
AN Owl, accustomed to feed at night and to sleep during the day, was greatly disturbed by the noise of a Grasshopper, and earnestly besought her to leave off chirping. The Grasshopper refused to desist, and chirped louder and louder the more the Owl entreated.
