The eagle looked keenly at the hen and said:  “I would never have believed that you would behave so badly.  I promise you that, whenever you have found my ring, I will come down again and take you for my mate.  As a punishment for breaking your promise you shall always scratch the ground and look for the ring, and all your chickens that I find I will snatch away from you.  That is all.  Good-by.”  Then he flew away.

And ever since, all the hens all over the world have been scratching to find the eagle’s ring.

Note.—­The bird of whom this story is told is the dapay, or brahman kite.  It is larger than most of our hawks and is more like the eagle in appearance, although not very large.

CHAPTER 15

The Spider and the Fly.

Mr. Spider was once in love with Miss Fly.  Several times he declared his love, but was always repelled, for Miss Fly disliked his business.

One day, when she saw him coming, she closed the doors and windows of her house and made ready a pot of boiling water.

Mr. Spider called to be allowed to enter the house, but Miss Fly’s only answer was to throw the boiling water at him.

“Well!” cried Mr. Spider, “I and my descendants shall be avenged upon you and yours.  We will never give you a moment’s peace.”

Mr. Spider did not break his word, for to this day we see his hatred of the fly.

CHAPTER 16

The Battle of the Crabs.

One day the land crabs had a meeting.  One of them said:  “What shall we do with the waves?  They sing all the time so loudly that we cannot possibly sleep well at night.”  “Do you not think it would be well for all of us males to go down and fight them?” asked the eldest of the crabs.  “Yes,” all replied.  “Well, to-morrow all the males must get ready to go.”

The next day they started to go down to the sea.  On the way they met the shrimp.  “Where are you going, my friends?” asked the shrimp.  The crabs answered:  “We are going to fight the waves, because they will not let us sleep at night.”

“I don’t think you will win the battle,” said the shrimp.  “The waves are very strong, while your legs are so weak that your bodies bend almost to the ground when you walk,” and he laughed.  The crabs were so angry at his scorn that they ran at the shrimp and pinched him until he promised to help them in the battle.

When they reached the shore, the crabs looked at the shrimp and said:  “Your face is turned the wrong way, friend shrimp,” and they laughed at him, for crabs are much like other people, and think they are the only ones who are right.  “Are you ready to fight with the waves?  What weapon have you?”

“My weapon,” replied the shrimp, “is a spear on my head.”  Just then he saw a large wave coming, and ran away; but the crabs, who were all looking towards the shore, did not see it, and were killed.