Even the weakest may find means to avenge a wrong

An Eagle was chasing a hare, which was running for dear life and
was at her wits' end to know where to turn for help. Presently
she espied a Beetle, and begged it to aid her. So when the Eagle
came up the Beetle warned her not to touch the hare, which was
under its protection. But the Eagle never noticed the Beetle
because it was so small, seized the hare and ate her up. The
Beetle never forgot this, and used to keep an eye on the Eagle's
nest, and whenever the Eagle laid an egg it climbed up and
rolled it out of the nest and broke it.

At last the Eagle got so worried over the loss of her eggs that she
went up to Jupiter, who is the special protector of Eagles, and
begged him to give her a safe place to nest in; so he let her lay
her eggs in his lap. But the Beetle noticed this and made a ball of
dirt the size of an Eagle's egg, and flew up and deposited it in
Jupiter's lap. When Jupiter saw the dirt, he stood up to shake it
out of his robe, and, forgetting about the eggs, he shook them
out too, and they were broken just as before.

Ever since then, they say, Eagles never lay their eggs at the
season when Beetles are about.

Cooperate or suffer the penalties.

A Muleteer set forth on a journey, driving before him an Ass and
a Mule, both well laden. The Ass, as long as he traveled along the
plain, carried his load with ease, but when he began to ascend the
steep path of the mountain, felt his load to be more than he could
bear. He entreated his companion to relieve him of a small
portion, that he might carry home the rest; but the Mule paid no
attention to the request.

The Ass shortly afterwards fell down dead under his burden. Not
knowing what else to do in so wild a region, the Muleteer placed
upon the Mule the load carried by the Ass in addition to his own,
and at the top of all placed the hide of the Ass, after he had
skinned him.

The Mule, groaning beneath his heavy burden, said to himself:
"I am treated according to my deserts. If I had only been willing
to assist the Ass a little in his need, I should not now be bearing,
together with his burden, himself as well."

Those who try to entrap others are often caught by their own schemes.

A Dog and a Cock, who were the best of friends, wished very
much to see something of the world. So they decided to
leave the farmyard and to set out into the world along the
road that led to the woods. The two comrades traveled along
in the very best of spirits and without meeting any adventure
to speak of.

At nightfall the Cock, looking for a place to roost, as was his
custom, spied nearby a hollow tree that he thought would do
very nicely for a night's lodging. The Dog could creep inside
and the Cock would fly up on one of the branches. So said, so
done, and both slept very comfortably.

With the first glimmer of dawn the Cock awoke. For the
moment he forgot just where he was. He thought he was still
in the farmyard where it had been his duty to arouse the
household at daybreak. So standing on tip-toes he flapped his
wings and crowed lustily. But instead of awakening the farmer,
he awakened a Fox not far off in the wood. The Fox
immediately had rosy visions of a very delicious breakfast.
Hurrying to the tree where the Cock was roosting, he said
very politely:

"A hearty welcome to our woods, honored sir. I cannot tell
you how glad I am to see you here. I am quite sure we shall
become the closest of friends."

"I feel highly flattered, kind sir," replied the Cock slyly. "If
you will please go around to the door of my house at the foot
of the tree, my porter will let you in."

The hungry but unsuspecting Fox, went around the tree as he
was told, and in a twinkling the Dog had seized him.

Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.

In the old days, when men were allowed to have many wives, a
middle-aged Man had one wife that was old and one that was
young; each loved him very much, and desired to see him like
herself.

Now the Man's hair was turning grey, which the young Wife did
not like, as it made him look too old for her husband. So every
night she used to comb his hair and pick out the white ones. But
the elder Wife saw her husband growing grey with great pleasure,
for she did not like to be mistaken for his mother. So every
morning she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the
black ones as she could. The consequence was the Man soon
found himself entirely bald.

He that submits his principles to the influence and caprices of
opposite parties will end in having no principles at all.

Make-up may do wonders but deep inside, you are who you are.

A Jay venturing into a yard where Peacocks used to walk, found
there a number of feathers which had fallen from the Peacocks
when they were moulting. He tied them all to his tail and strutted
down towards the Peacocks. When he came near them they soon
discovered the cheat, and striding up to him pecked at him and
plucked away his borrowed plumes. So the Jay could do no better
than go back to the other Jays, who had watched his behavior
from a distance; but they were equally annoyed with him, and
told him:

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds."

It is much easier said than done.

The Mice once called a meeting to decide on a plan to free
themselves of their enemy, the Cat. At least they wished to find
some way of knowing when she was coming, so they might have
time to run away. Indeed, something had to be done, for they
lived in such constant fear of her claws that they hardly dared
stir from their dens by night or day.

Many plans were discussed, but none of them was thought good
enough. At last a very young Mouse got up and said:

“I have a plan that seems very simple, but I know it will be
successful. All we have to do is to hang a bell about the Cat's neck.
When we hear the bell ringing we will know immediately that
our enemy is coming.”

All the Mice were much surprised that they had not thought of
such a plan before. But in the midst of the rejoicing over their
good fortune, an old Mouse arose and said:

“I will say that the plan of the young Mouse is very good. But let
me ask one question: Who will bell the Cat?”

The Mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the
old Mouse said:

“It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”

Think Outside the Box

You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night, it’s raining heavily, when suddenly you pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for a bus:

• An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
• An old friend who once saved your life.
• The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing very well that there could only be one passenger in your car?

This is a dilemma that was once used as part of a job application.

• You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you
  should save her first;
• * or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this
  would be the perfect chance to ! pay him back.
• However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired had no trouble coming up with his answer. Guess what was his answer?

He simply answered:

“I would give the car keys to my Old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.”

Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to “Think Outside the Box.”