Fables Paraphrased From The Indian And Imitations, Leo Tolstoy

Fables Paraphrased From The Indian And Imitations

Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole 1885

I

HEAD AND TAIL OF THE SERPENT

serpent’s Tail was disputing with the serpent’s Head as to which should go first.
The Head said :
“You cannot go first; you have no eyes or ears.”
The Tail replied :
“ But at all events I have the strength to make you go. If I wanted, I could twine around a tree, and you could not stir.”
The Head said :
“ Let us Part company.”
And the Tail tore itself away from the Head, and crawled away in its own direction.
But as soon as it had left the Head, it came upon a cranny and fell into it.

II

FINE THREADS

A MAN bade a spinner spin fine threads. The spinner spun fine threads; but the man declared that the threads were not good, and that he wished the very finest of fine threads.
The spinner said :
“ If these are not fine enough for you, then here are some others that will suit you.”
And she pointed to a bare spot. The man declared that he could not see them.
The spinner replied :
“ The fact that you cannot see them proves that they are very fine; I can’t see them myself.”
The fool was rejoiced, and ordered some more of the same thread, and paid down the money for it.

III

DIVISION OF THE INHERITANCE

A FATHER had two sons. He said to them :
“ I am dying; divide everything equally.”
When the father was dead, the sons could not make the division without quarreling.
They went to a neighbor to help them decide.
The neighbor asked them what their father had com-manded them to do.
They replied :
“ He commanded us to make equal shares of every-thing.”
Then said the neighbor :
“ Tear all the raiment in two; break all the utensils in two; cut all the live stock in two.”
The brothers took the neighbor’s advice, and at the end neither had anything.

IV

MONKEY

A MAN went into the woods. He felled a tree, and began to cut it in pieces. He lifted the end of the tree on the stump, sat astride upon it, and began to saw. Then he drove a wedge into the cleft, and began to saw farther along; then he removed the wedge, and put it in the new place.
A monkey was sitting on a tree, watching him.
When the man lay down to sleep, the monkey got astride of the tree and began to saw; but when he took out the wedge, the tree closed together again, and nipped his tail.
He began to struggle and squeal.
The man awoke, knocked the monkey down, and tied him with a rope.

MONKEY AND THE PEAS
A MONKEY was carrying two handfuls of peas. One little pea dropped out. He tried to pick it up, and spilt twenty. He tried to pick up the twenty, and spilt them all. Then he lost his temper, scattered the peas in all directions, and ran away.

VI

MILCH COW

A MAN had a Cow; every day she gave a pail of milk. The man invited some guests. In order to get more milk he did not milk the Cow for ten days.
He thought that on the tenth day the Cow would give him ten pails of milk.
But the Cow’s milk had dried up, and she gave less milk than ever before.

VII

DUCK AND THE MOON

A DUCK was floating down the river; she had been hunting for a fish, and all day long she had not found one.
When night came, she saw the Moon in the water, and thought that it was a fish, and she dived down to catch the Moon.
The other ducks saw this, and began to make sport of her.
From that time forth the Duck began to be ashamed and lose courage, so that whenever she saw a fish under the water she would not seize it, and so she died of starvation.

VIII

WOLF IN THE DUST

A WOLF was anxious to steal a sheep from the flock, and went to the leeward, so that the dust from the flock might cover him. The Shepherd Dog saw him and said :
“ It ‘s no use, Wolf, for you to go in the dust; it will spoil your eyes.”
But the Wolf replied :
“ It is very unfortunate, Doggy, 1 my eyes were spoiled long ago, but they say that the dust from a flock of sheep is an excellent remedy for the eyes.”

IX

MOUSE UNDER THE GRANARY

A MOUSE lived under a granary. In the granary floor was a little hole and the grain slipped down through the hole. The Mouse’s life was happy, but the desire came ov^er her to make a show of her life.
She gnawed a larger hole, and invited other Mice.
“ Come,” said she, “ and have a feast; there will be food enough for all.”
But after she had brought the Mice, she discovered that there was no hole at all. The farmer had noticed .the big hole in the floor, and closed it up.
1 Sobachenka, diminutive of Sobaka.

X

VERY BEST PEAR

A GENTLEMAN sent his servant to buy the very best pears.
The servant went to the shop, and asked for pears.
The merchant gave them to him; but the servant said :
“ No; give me your very best pears.”
The merchant said :
“ Taste one; you will find that they are delicious.”
“How can I know,” exclaimed the servant, that they are all delicious, if I taste only one ? “
So he bit a little out of each pear, and took them to his master.
Then his master dismissed him.

XI

FALCON AND THE COCK

A FALCON became tame, and would fly to his master’s hand whenever he called. The Cock was afraid of the master, and screamed when he came near him.
And the Falcon said to the Cock :
“ You Cocks have no sense of gratitude ! What a race of slaves you are ! As soon as you are hungry, you go to your master. It is a very different thing with us wild birds; we are strong and we can fly faster than all others, and we are not afraid of men; but we go of our own accord and perch on their hands when they call us. We remember that they have given us food.”
And the Cock said :
“ You do not run away from men, because you never saw a Falcon roasted; but many a time have we seen Cocks roasted ! “

XII

JACKALS AND THE ELEPHANT

Jackals had eaten all the carrion in the forest, and there was nothing left for them to devour. Now there was an aged Jackal, and he devised a plan to get food. He went to the Elephant, and said :
“ We used to have a tsar, but he became spoiled; he would lay such tasks on us that it was impossible to do them; we wish to elect another tsar; and my people have sent me to beg you to become our tsar. We live well; whatever you wish, that we will do, and we will honor you in all respects. Come, let us go to our empire.”
The Elephant consented, and followed the Jackal. The Jackal led him into a bog. When the Elephant began to sink, the Jackal said :
“ Now order whatever you desire, and we will do it.”
The Elephant said :
“ I command you to pull me out of here.”
The Jackal laughed, and said :
“ Seize my tail with your proboscis, and I will instantly pull you out”

The Elephant replied :
“ Can you pull me out with your tail ? “
But the Jackal demanded :
“ Why, then, did you order anything that was impos-sible to do ? We drove away our first tsar for the very reason that he laid impossible commands on us ! “
When the Elephant had perished in the swamp, the Jackals came and ate him up.

XIII

HERON, THE FISHES, AND THE CRAB

A HERON lived by a pond, and was beginning to grow old. She was no longer strong enough to catch fish. So she began to plan how she might contrive to get a living. And she said to the Fishes :
“ Fishes, you have not the least idea what a misfortune is threatening you. I have heard some men say that they are going to drain the pond, and catch all of you. I happen to know that beyond this mountain is a nice little pond. I would help you to get there; but I am now in years; it is hard for me to fly.”
The Fishes began to beseech the Heron to help them.
The Heron replied :
“ I will do my best for you, I will carry you over; but I cannot do it all at once, only one at a time.”
And so the Fishes were delighted; they all said :
“ Carry rne ! carry me ! “

And the Heron began to carry them; she would take up one at a time, carry him off to a field, and feast on him. In this way she ate up many fishes.
Now there lived in the pond an aged Crab. When the Heron began to carry off the Fishes, he suspected the true state of affairs; and he said :
“ Well, now, Heron, take me also to your new settle-ment.”
The Heron seized the Crab, and flew off with him. As soon as she reached the field, she was going to drop the Crab. But the Crab, seeing the bones of the Fishes on the field, clasped his claws around the Heron’s neck, and strangled her; and then he crawled back to the pond and told the Fishes.

XIV

WATER-SPRITE AND THE PEARL

A MAN was sailing in a