THE BOAR AND THE ASS.
A little scoundrel of an ass happening to meet with a boar, had a mind to be arch upon him. “And so, brother,” says he, “your humble servant.”
The boar, somewhat nettled at this familiarity, bristled up to him and told him he was surprised to hear him utter so impudent an untruth, and was just going to show his noble resentment, by giving him a rip in the flank; but, wisely stifling his passion, he contented himself with only saying, “Go, you sorry beast! I could be amply and easily revenged of you, but I do not care to foul my tusks with the blood of so base a creature.”
As you can see, some of the illustrations are knock-offs of Barlow's illustrations; here is Barlow's donkey and boar; in this case, the donkey has been stripped down to his essential donkey-ness, unlike the adorned donkey in Barlow, but the boar is posed in just the same attitude:
THE FOX AND THE GOAT.
A fox having tumbled by chance into a well, had been casting about a long while, to no purpose, how he should get out again; when, at last, a goat came to the place, and wanting to drink, asked Reynard, whether the water was good.
“Good!” says he, “ay, so sweet, that I am afraid I have surfeited myself, I have drank so abundantly.”
The goat, upon this, without any more ado, leapt in, and the fox, taking the advantage of his horns, by the assistance of them, as nimbly leapt out, leaving the poor goat at the bottom of the well to shift for himself.
A fox, very hungry, chanced to come into a vineyard, where hung branches of charming ripe grapes, but nailed up to a trellis so high, that he leaped till he quite tired himself, without being able to reach one of them.
At last, “Let who will take them,” says he, “they are but green and sour, so I’ll even let them alone.”
THE COUNTRYMAN AND THE SNAKE.
A villager, in a frosty, snowy winter, found a snake under a hedge almost dead with cold: he could not help having compassion for the poor creature, so brought it home, and laid it upon the hearth near the fire, but it had not lain there long before (being revived with the heat) it began to erect itself, and fly at the wife and children, filling the whole cottage with dreadful hissings.
The countryman hearing an outcry, and perceiving what the matter was, catched up a mattock, and soon dispatched him, upbraiding him at the same time in these words, “Is this —vile wretch! — the reward you make to him that saved your life? Die as you deserve; but a single death is too good for you.”
THE VIPER AND THE FILE.
A viper entering a smith's shop, looked up and down for something to eat; and seeing a file, fell to gnawing it as greedily as could be.
The file told him very gruffly, that he had best be quiet and let him alone, for he would get very little by nibbling at one who, upon occasion, could bite iron and steel.
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