His only clothing was a Piece of Cloth which he wore round his waist.  But, as ill-luck would have it, rats were plentiful in the wood, so he had to keep a cat.  The cat required milk to feed it, so a cow had to be kept.  The cow required tending, so a cowboy was employed.  The boy required a house to live in, so a house was built for him.  To look after the house, a maid had to be engaged.  To provide company for the maid, a few more houses had to be built, and people invited to live in them.  In this manner a little township sprang up.

The man said:  “The farther we seek to go from the world and its cares, the more they multiply!”

The Tiger, the Fox, and the Hunters

A Fox was once caught in a trap.  A hungry Tiger saw him and said, “So you are here!”

“Only on your account,” said the Fox, in a whisper.

“How so?” said the Tiger.

“Why, you were complaining you could not get men to eat, so I got into this net to-day, that you may have the men when they come to take me,” said the Fox, and gave a hint that if the Tiger would wait a while in a thicket close by, he would point out the men to him.

“May I depend upon your word?” said the Tiger.

“Certainly,” said the Fox.

The hunters came, and, seeing the Fox in the net, said:  “So you are here!”

“Only on your account,” said the Fox, in a whisper.

“How so?” said the men.

“Why, you were complaining you could not get at the Tiger that has been devouring your cattle.  I got into this net to-day that you may have him.  As I expected, he came to eat me up, and is in yonder thicket,” said the Fox, and gave a hint that if they would take him out of the trap he would point out the Tiger.  “May we depend upon your word?” said the men.

“Certainly,” said the Fox, while the men went with him in a circle to see that he did not escape.

Then the Fox said to the Tiger and the men:  “Sir Tiger, here are the men; gentlemen, here is the Tiger.”

The men left the Fox and turned to the Tiger.  The former beat a hasty retreat to the wood, saying, “I have kept my promise to both; now you may settle it between yourselves.”

The Tiger exclaimed, when it was too late:  “Alas! what art for a double part?”

The Hare and the Pig

A Hare and a Pig once agreed to leap over a ditch.  The Hare went a great way, and fell into it, just short by an inch.  The Pig went some way and fell into it; but far behind the Hare.  Yet they were eager to know which of them leapt more, and was therefore the better animal.

So they said to a Fox, who had been watching the race:  “Will you tell us which of us is superior, and which inferior, in the race?”

The Fox said:  “Both in the ditch:  can’t say which!”