ently a black Snake glided from its hole in the tree and rapidly approached the Brahman. But as it drew near, its senses were overcome by the fumes of the camphor. Forgetful of the Brahman, it flung itself upon his purse, and crazed with eagerness swallowed the whole package of camphor. The Crab, which the Serpent gobbled down with the rest of the package, stuck fast in his throat and killed him. When the Brahman awoke and looked about him, there by the roadside lay the dead black Serpent which had torn open his purse and eaten his packet of camphor. And near the Serpent sat the Crab the Brahman's mother had given him. When the Brahman saw these things he said to himself, "Ah, my mother spoke truly when she said that one should take a travelling companion, and never travel long distances alone. And because I followed her advice in a spirit of obedience and faith I was saved, even by a Crab, from the death which the black Serpent would have inflicted."
(Panchatantra. Vol. V. Chapter 15.)
THE STORY OF THE MOUSE MERCHANT
MANY a man, starting with a modest capital, has ended by acquiring great wealth. But I built up my large fortune by starting with nothing at all. Listen, and you shall hear how I did it.
My father died before I was born; and my mother's wicked relations robbed her of all she possessed. So in fear of her life she fled from them and took refuge at the home of one of my father's friends. There I was born, to become later the protector and mainstay of my excellent mother. Meanwhile she supported our lives by the pittance earned through hardest drudgery; and, poor as we were, she found a teacher who consented to instruct me in the simple rudiments of
