A Peacock, puffed up with vanity, met a Crane one day, and to impress him spread his gorgeous tail in the Sun. The angry Merchant immediately turned about and drove the Ass back to the seashore, where he loaded him with two great baskets of sponges. But his weight upset the chair, and Ass and man rolled over together in the pile of broken dishes from the table. They were great friends and were constantly in all sorts of mischief together. What a crime, cried one, to load up a poor dumb beast like that! I move that the Bees and the Wasps be both instructed to build a honey comb. Then the Stag perceived that the legs of which he was so ashamed would have saved him had it not been for the useless ornaments on his head.
Preparedness for war is the best guarantee of peace.