Table of Contents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Assembly of Animals
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indian Fables |
by P. V. Ramaswami Raju |
An appealing collection of more than a hundred Indian fables that are delightful as well as short, pithy, and ingenious. Each fable has its separate moral in prose or rhyme; these are often epigrams of the shrewdest kind, full of wit and subtlety. Most of these fables are likely to be new to the majority of readers. In the characters of animals the same rules are observed as in Western fables. As the symbol of strength, the lion (or, in one or two instances, the tiger) is king, the fox is the symbol of cunning, the bear of inert power, the wolf of ferocity, the owl of assumed wisdom, and so forth. Ages 7-10 | 160 pages |
$9.95 |
|
|
THE ASSEMBLY OF ANIMALS
ONCE there was a great assembly of the
animals in a wood. The lion said, "Look,
how great my valour! 'tis this that makes
me king of the woods."
The fox said, "Look, how deep my
cunning! 'tis this that feeds me so well."
The peacock said, "Look, how bright
my feathers! 'tis this that makes me the
wonder and admiration of the wood."
The elephant said, "Look, how long
and powerful my tusks! there is nothing
that can resist them."
A toad, who lived secure in the heart
[31] of a rock, close by, said, " 'Tis the lion's
valour that leads him to the herds, and
gets him killed by the hunters. 'Tis the
fox's cunning that brings him to the furrier
at last. 'Tis the plumes of the peacock
that men covet; hence his ruin. The
elephant is hunted for his tusks, and they
are his bane. In the mark of your vanity
is your death!"
![[Illustration]](http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/thumbnails/pyle_merry.jpg) |
Hundreds of additional titles available for
online reading when you join Gateway to the Classics
|
![[Illustration]](http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/thumbnails/comstock_wildflowers.jpg) |
|
|