“Send for the Great Lizard,” said King Solomon.  When the Great Lizard came, he asked him, “Was it you who were wearing your sword?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” said the Great Lizard; “but I had to.”

“Why?” said the king.

“Your Majesty knows,” said the Great Lizard, “that I am Chief Protector of the Sword.  I wore my sword because the Tortoise came wearing his coat of mail.”

So the Tortoise was sent for.

“Why did you wear your coat of mail?” said the king.

“I put it on, your Majesty,” said the Tortoise, “because I saw the King-crab trailing his three-edged pike.”

Then the King-crab was sent for.

“Why were you trailing your three-edged pike?” said King Solomon.

“Because, your Majesty,” said the King-crab, “I saw that the Crayfish had shouldered his lance.”

Immediately the Crayfish was sent for.

“Why did you shoulder your lance?” said the king.

“Because, your Majesty,” said the Crayfish, “I saw the Otter coming down to the river to kill my children.”

“Oh,” said King Solomon, “if that is the case, the Otter killed the Otter’s children.  And the Mouse-deer cannot be blamed, by the law of the land!”

FOOTNOTES: 

[23] Adapted from the story as told in Fables and Folk Tales from an Eastern Forest, by Walter Skeat.

EARLY[24]

     I like to lie and wait to see
       My mother braid her hair. 
     It is as long as it can be,
       And yet she doesn’t care. 
     I love my mother’s hair.

     And then the way her fingers go;
       They look so quick and white,—­
     In and out, and to and fro,
       And braiding in the light,
     And it is always right.

     So then she winds it, shiny brown,
     Around her head into a crown,
       Just like the day before. 
     And then she looks and pats it down,
       And looks a minute more;
     While I stay here all still and cool. 
     Oh, isn’t morning beautiful?

FOOTNOTES: 

[24] From The Singing Leaves, by Josephine Preston Peabody.

THE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER, AND THE JACKAL

Do you know what a Brahmin is?  A Brahmin is a very good and gentle kind of man who lives in India, and who treats all the beasts as if they were his brothers.  There is a great deal more to know about Brahmins, but that is enough for the story.

One day a Brahmin was walking along a country road when he came upon a Tiger, shut up in a strong iron cage.  The villagers had caught him and shut him up there for his wickedness.

“Oh, Brother Brahmin, Brother Brahmin,” said the Tiger, “please let me out, to get a little drink!  I am so thirsty, and there is no water here.”