FOR YOUNG JUDAEANS
THE COCK AND THE ELDERS.
Once upon a time the Elders of a synagogue went to an inn to dine together. Having ordered poultry, the inn-keeper told them that he had only one large bird, which was a most ferocious bird, and would possibly give much trouble to catch and kill. But the Elders insisted on having the cock for their meal, and volunteered to assist the inn-keeper to catch him, as they liked to have a little sport. When they entered the yard the cock became suspicious and with a loud shriek he ran out, biting the fingers of those who endeavored to get hold of him. Ultimately, after a fruitless chase, the cock flew up to the roof of the little synagogue where, after having crowed three times in succession, he addressed the Elders as follows:
“Listen to me attentively, ye Elders of this synagogue who pretend to be pious and God-fearing people. Is it right that you should maliciously plan to seize and kill me after I have rendered you for several years past many kind and valuable services? Did I not do my regular crowing day by day and in the early morning awake you from your slumber, and remind you to go, to synagogue and offer there your prayers to the Almighty? Besides, you ought to remember that I have been and am still the progenitor of a large and ever multiplying flock of chickens, which afford to both the sick and the healthy members of your community delicious and invigorating food. Morover, pray do not forget that I am now old, and that in consequence my meat cannot but be tough and tasteless, so that, should I become a victim of your greediness, you would certainly suffer from indigestion, and you would have to call in a physician, whose bill would no doubt be very heavy. And, finally, I beseech you to mind the words of Scripture, which commands you in reference to young birds to spare the
parents while you are removing their offspring from their nests."
When the Elders heard the cock's touching homily they were moved to pity and remorse. They paid the inn-keeper the value of the old cock, and instructed him to let him live on unharmed till he died a natural death.
THE SPIDER AND THE BEE.
A Rabbinical Fable.
A spider and a bee were once discussing which of the two produced more useful things. "You," said the spider, "certainly produce honey but you get it only from outside by culling it from various flowers in the fields and gardens. But the threads which I produce I spin from my own body, and thus the sources which I use are within me." "True," said the bee, "but your threads are not only useless, but also so disagreeable that they are often destroyed by the hand of man. The sweet stuff, however, which I supply is greatly appreciated, and I am, in consequence, frequently praised in verse and prose."
Moral.—Introduce to thy neighbors only that which is pleasant and useful, though it may not be of thy own creation.
THE LION AND THE FOX.
A Rabbinical Fable.
One day the king of beasts went on a voyage and was attended, among other animals, by the fox. On their arrival in port, an ass, who held the office of taxcollector, demanded the usual toll. Being reproved by the fox for asking toll of a king, the ass said that he returned it to his treasurer. With this foolish excuse, the lion was greatly displeased, and in order to punish the ass he told the fox to tear him to pieces and to bring the remains for his consumption. The fox did so, but reserved the heart and ate it himself. When the lion found it missing, he asked