Fifty Famous Fables Part 12

"Oh, mother!" they called out as soon as they saw her; "do take us away from this field. The farmer has sent for Mr. White to cut this wheat to-morrow."

"If that is so," said the mother, "you need have no fear. If he waits for his neighbor to do his work, his wheat will not be cut."

Late the next afternoon while the mother lark was away, the farmer and his son came to the field again.

"Did you ask Mr. White to reap the grain?" said the farmer.

"Yes," replied his son, "and he promised to come."

"But he has not come," said the farmer, "and it is so late that I know he will not come to-day. The wheat will spoil if it is not cut. If our neighbors will not help us, we shall have to call upon our relatives.

Go out this afternoon and ask your uncle John and his sons to cut the wheat for us to-morrow."

As soon as the mother came home, the little birds said, "The wheat will surely be cut tomorrow, for the farmer has sent for his relatives to cut it. Please take us away to-night, mother."

"Don't worry," said the mother; "there is no danger so long as the farmer waits for his relatives to do the work. We will stay right here to-night."

About noon the next day, the farmer and his son came to the field again. "This grain is still standing," said the father. "I told you to get your uncle John and his sons to cut it today. Why has nothing been done?"

"I called upon them and asked them to cut the wheat. They said that they would be here this morning. I do not know why they did not come."

"This grain must not stand another day," said the farmer. "It is sh.e.l.ling out now. You and I will come out here early to-morrow and cut it ourselves."

When the mother lark heard that the farmer had made up his mind to cut the wheat himself, she said to her little ones, "Get ready to fly away.

If the farmer is to do the work himself, it will be done at once."

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

A lion was sleeping one day when a little mouse came along and ran up and down over his face.

This awakened the lion and made him very angry.

He put his paw over the mouse and said, "What do you mean by waking me?

You shall pay for this," and he opened his big mouth to swallow the mouse.

"Oh, do not kill me, Mr. Lion!" squealed the mouse. "I did not mean to waken you. Do let me go and I will never trouble you again."

"No, I will not let you go," roared the lion.

"Please do," cried the frightened mouse. "If you will let me go perhaps I can do something for you sometime."

This made the lion laugh. "You do something for ME," he said. "What a joke! Well, you are such a little fellow that I will let you go this time, but never let me see you about here again," and he lifted his paw.

As the little mouse scampered off, he said, "Thank you, kind lion, I shall not forget your kindness."

Some time after this the lion was caught in a trap. The hunters tied him to a tree while they went to get a wagon to carry him away.

The lion roared so loud that the ground shook. The little mouse heard him.

"That lion is in trouble," he said. "I will see what I can do to help him," and he ran to the lion.

When the mouse saw that the lion was tied with ropes, he said, "Cheer up, Mr. Lion. Be quiet and I will set you free," and he began gnawing the ropes.

He worked long and hard and at last the lion was free.

THE ANT AND THE DOVE

An ant went to the river to get a drink. The water rushed along so fast that he was washed off the bank into the river.

"I shall drown!" he cried. "Help! help! help!" but his voice was so tiny that it could not be heard.

A dove was sitting in a tree that overhung the water. She saw the ant struggling, and quickly nipped off a leaf and let it fall into the water. The ant climbed upon it and floated down the river until the leaf was washed upon the bank of the stream.

The ant called out in its tiny voice, "Thank you, kind dove, you have saved my life;" but of course the dove could not hear him.

Several days after this, the dove was again sitting in a tree. A hunter crept carefully up to the tree. His gun was pointed at the dove and he was about to shoot, when he was bitten in the leg by an ant.

He cried out with pain and dropped his gun. This frightened the dove and she flew away.

"Thank you, kind ant," cooed the dove, and the ant heard and was glad.

THE HAPPY FAMILY

There was once a very queer family living in the woods. There were four in all--a rat, a raven, a tortoise, and a gazelle.

All day the animals were away from home hunting food.

The rat caught beetles which had hidden under leaves. He visited fields and barns Now and then he went to a henhouse.

The tortoise found plenty of insects in the woods and fields and did not object to a toadstool now and then.

The raven visited grain fields where he often met the rat.

The gazelle ate gra.s.s wherever he could find it. When he could not get gra.s.s, he ate the sprouts of trees.

At night all met at their home in the woods and talked of what had happened to them through the day. This is one of their adventures: