1
The complaints of the wild animals increased daily.
“One no longer knows what one dare do and what not,” said the mole. “Yesterday, my cousin was throwing up earth, as our family have done ever since they existed. At that moment, he was caught and killed by one of Two-Legs’ sons, because the mole-hill appeared in the middle of one of his flower-beds.”
“His daughter killed my wife, because she thought her ugly,” said a young spider. “Not that my wife was nice to me. She wanted to eat me immediately after the wedding and I had a narrow escape. But, apart from that, she was the most inoffensive person under the sun and really never hurt a soul. Except the flies, of course.”
“He took away my wife and planted her in his garden,” said the hop-vine.
“And he throws me out if I show the least tiny green shoot,” said the gout-weed.
“He shuts us up in hives,” said the bee.
“He hunts us by clapping his hands and hitting us with cloths,” said the moth.
“He locks us up and fattens us and eats us,” grunted the pig.
“He sets traps for us if we try to get a morsel of food,” said the mouse.
“He is the master of us all,” said the stag. “We have no one to complain to. We have no king. The lion is no longer the ruler of the forest. He kills us with his claws when he is hungry, but he makes no attempt to defend us.”