The Tongue and the Teeth

The Tongue & the Teeth
Once upon a time there was a boy who had a bad habit of talking more than was necessary.

"What a tongue!" sighed the teeth one day. "tis never still, never quiet!"

"What are you grumbling about?" replied the tongue arrogantly. "You teeth are only slaves, and your job is merely to chew whatever I decide. We have nothing in common, and I shall not allow you to meddle in my affairs."

So the boy went on chattering, very impertinently sometimes, and his tongue was happy, learning new words every day.

But one day, when the boy did some damage, and then allowed his tongue to tell a big lie, the teeth obeyed the heart, sprang together and bit the tongue.

From that day onward the tongue became timid and prudent, and thought twice before speaking.

The Flames
For more than a month the flames had glowed in the glass-blowers furnace, where bottles and glasses were made.

One day they saw a candle supported on a fine shining candlestick coming towards them. At once, with passionate longing, they strove to approach the sweet little candle.

One in particular, leaping from the ember that fed it, turned its back on the furnace, and slipping through a little crack, flung itself upon te candle, devouring it greedily.

But the eager flame soon consumed the poor little candle and, not wishing to die with it, tried to return to the furnace from which it had escaped.

But it could not detach itself from the soft wax, and it called in vain for help from the other flames.

The rebel flame turned into suffocating smoke, leaving all of its brothers resplendent, looking forward to a long and glittering life.


The Tree and the Pole
A tree which grew luxuriantly, lifting to heaven its plume of green leaves, objected to the presence of a straight, dry old pole beside it.

"Pole, you are too close to me. Can you not move further away?"

The pole pretended not to hear and made no reply.

Then the tree turned to the thorn hedge surrounding it.

"Hedge, can you not go somehwere else? You irritate me."

The hedge pretended not to hear, and made no reply.

"Beautiful tree," said a lizard, raising his wise little head to look up at the tree, "do you not see that the pole is holding you up straight? Do you not realise that the hedge is protecting you from bad company?"

The Mouse, the Cat and the Weasel
One morning a little mouse could not leave his house. It was besieged.

A hungry weasel was waiting outside. Through a tiny breathing hole the mouse saw him intently watching the entrance, ready to spring,

The poor little mouse, knowing himself to be in terrible danger, trembled all over with fear.

But a cat suddenly leaped onto the weasel's back, seized him between his teeth and devoured him.

"Great Jupiter, I thank you" sighed the nouse, who had observed the scene through his spy hole, "and I shall willingly sacrifice some of my food to you."

And so he gave the cat some of his food. But in escaping one danger, he foolishly forgot the other. The cat, being a cat, ate him too.