THE FABLES OF AESOP
Reading edition
"'Twas the Golden Age when every brute Had voice articulate, in speech was skilled, And the mid-forests with its synods filled. The tongues of rock and pine-leaf then were free; To ship and sailor then would speak the sea; Sparrows with farmers would shrewd talk maintain; Earth gave all fruits, nor asked for toil again. Mortals and gods were wont to mix as friends— To which conclusion all the teaching tends Of sage old Aesop."