Three Hundred Æsop's Fables/The Hawk and the Nightingale
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THE HAWK AND THE NIGHTINGALE.
A Nightingale sitting aloft upon an oak, and singing according to his wont, was seen by a Hawk who, being in want of food, made a swoop down, and seized him. The Nightingale, about to lose his life, earnestly besought the Hawk to let him go, saying that he was not big enough to satisfy the hunger of a Hawk, who, if he wanted food, ought to pursue the larger birds. The Hawk, interrupting him, said: "I should indeed have lost my senses if I should let go food ready to my hand, for the sake of pursuing birds which are not yet even within sight."