Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/461

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SPANISH FABLES
393

"And now, if heaven should bless
My labors with but moderate success,
No fly shall pass this way.
Nor gnat, but they shall fall an easy prey."


He spoke, when from the sky
A strong wind swooped, and whirling, hurried by.
And far before the blast
Rose, leaf and web and plans and hopes were cast.

(José Rosas Moreno.)


THE EAGLE AND THE SERPENT

A SERPENT watched an Eagle gain
 On soaring wings, a mountain height,
And envied him, and crawled in pain
To where he saw the bird alight.


So fickle fortune oftentimes
Befriends the cunning and the base.
And many a grovelling reptile climbs
Up to the Eagle's lofty place.

(José Rosas Moreno.)


THE THREE COMPANIONS

AN Ermine, a Beaver and a Wild Boar made up their minds to seek a better country, and set out on the search for some forests, lakes and woods, which had still preserved the beauty of their prime-