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MODERN FABLES
"Ah!" cried he in wonder,
"How comes this to pass?
Who will now dare to slander
The skill of an Ass?"
And Asses in plenty,
I see at a glance
Will, one time in twenty.
Succeed by mere chance.
THE BEAR AND THE MONKEY
A BEAR, with whom a Piedmontese
Joined company, to earn their bread,
Essayed on half his legs to please
The public, where his master led.
With looks that boldly claimed applause.
He asked the Ape, "Sir, what think you?"
The Ape was skilled in dancing-laws
And answered, "It will never do!"
"You judge the matter wrong, my friend,"
Bruin rejoined, "You are not civil!
Were these legs given for you to mend
The ease and grace with which they swivel?"
