Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat.
Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case.
Once there lived a hind in a forest. She had a son who had grown very young and strong.
She was very happy to see his stout body and branched strong horns and thought, "stags have powerful horns, why should they be afraid of hounds, wolves then?
It's sheer cowardice. I would never like my son to do it at all. "After some time, the hind's son came there. The hind wanted to teach him to be courageous.
Once a huge oak tree stood on the bank of a river. It was well nourished by the water of the river. Naturally, it was very strong and had a thick stem.
Just nearby, grew some reeds with thin but flexible stems. They stood almost half in water and had flourished well too.One day, strong winds blew.
The tree, though huge and strong, broke from the middle and was thrown across the stream just among the reeds.
It was high summer. A traveller hired a donkey and set out on a journey. The owner of the donkey was following behind to drive the beast. At mid-day, they decided to take rest for some time but couldn't find any shady place around. So, the traveler decided to rest in the shade of the donkey.
Dick was seven years old, and his sister, Catherine, was five. One day their mother took them to their aunt’s house to play while she went to the big city to buy some new clothes.
The children played for an hour, and then at half past four their aunt took Dick into the kitchen. She gave him a nice cake and a knife and said to him,
“ Now here’s a knife, Dick. Cut this cake in half and give one of the pieces to your sister, but remember to do it like a gentleman,”
“Like a gentleman?” Dick asked. “How do gentleman do it?”