PREFACE
Reading edition
THE author is expected to say something by way of introducing, or apologizing for, his book. What is its object? Why did he write it, when there are already so many more than are wanted? In reply to these questions he would say (what is evident, indeed, without saying) that nobody adds another to the long list who does not believe that—on his subject, at least—there is room for one book more. And he proves the sincerity of his belief by making the venture.
The writer of this volume does not claim to present in it a single new truth. In the sphere of morals, of which it treats, he believes there is no such thing. It is not new truths that we need, but the application of old ones to our daily life and practice. Any device that may assist in securing so desirable a result is of value; in the hope that these Fables may not be wholly useless to this end he hazards their publication. As their title indicates, they will be found to vary widely in subject and mode of treatment.
One word about the illustrations: these all, without exception, were drawn for the book. Much time, labor, and expense have been bestowed upon the effort to make them appropriate and entertaining. The illustrations of a story may be compared to the music of a song. We can bear with some defect in the verse if the music awakens the sentiment the verse was intended to express. So the author hopes that the excellence and originality of many of these designs will in some measure make amends for whatever deficiencies the reader may discover in the text.
Page
The Innkeeper. 13
The Brook and the Waterwheel. 37
The Court-House Steeple. 41
Crooked Horn and Old Brindle. 46
The Millers Tenth. 51
The Lark and the Whippoorwill. 69
The Gate and Gate Post. 73
The Weedy Farm. 78
The King Seeking Content. 84
The Learned Owl. 94
The Horse and the Grasshoppers. 98
The Bark and the Lightship. 101
The Unhonored Servant. 104
Wings. 107
Standpoints. 111
The Man with a Menagerie. 117
Two Outlooks. 121
Job Nickel. 125
The Unused Loom. 133
Crowing. 137
Peter Crisp’s Spectacles. 140
The Two Apple Trees. 182
The Spring in the Woods. 186
The Distant View. 189
The Two Vines. 195
The Old Chestnut and the Young Oak. 199
Corn-cribs. 202
The Old Clock in the New Home. 209
The Great Secret. 213
The House-Builder. 216
Pigeons. 223
The Clock on the Desk. 225
The Watch-Dog. 228
The Opened Eyes. 231
The Lantern People. 235
Grand Relations. 253
Fair and Foul Weather. 255
Wreckage. 258
The Robin. 261
Riddles. 265
The Emigrants Wagon. 268
Big and Little Lanterns. 273
The Cat and the Tiger. 278
Charity. 281
The Day-Laborers. 286
The Artist’s Answer. 291
The Hemlock and the Sugar-Maple. 294
Bread and the Beautiful. 297
The Harper. 301
The Unappreciated Gift. 305
The Worn-Out Team. 310
The Wise Farmer. 314
Wayfarers. 319
Other Birds Feathers. 323
The Night-Watchman. 326
Single and Double. 332
The Boastful Fly. 335
The Mended Boots. 339
The Cripple and his Staff. 344
The Search. 360
The Swallows and the Windmill. 365
The Medicine-Man. 370
The Eagle and the Wren. 374
The Two Saplings. 378
The Cog-Wheel. 382
The Plough and the Mowing-Machine. 386
Fat and Lean. 389
Half Empty and Quite Full. 392
The Snake. 395
Rich & Poor. 398
The Hawk and the Chicken. 402
The Servants Money. 405
Future Greatness. 411
The Old Mans Watch. 415
The Teacher. 418
Cloud Shadows. 426
The Penitent Transgressor. 428
The Dry Well. 432
The Fruit Tree. 435
The Deer. 438
Homely and Handsome. 442
The Colt and Old Gray. 446
The King’s Almoner. 453
Pansies. 457
The Birds and the Bells. 459
Jack and Jenny. 465
The Meeting of the Winds. 476