"Ever read any fables?" asked the shark.
"No—yes—well, the catechism, the marriage service, and—"
"Oh, bother!" said the fish, playfully, smiling clean back to the pectoral fins; "get out of this and bolt your Æsop!"
The man did get out and bolted.
[This fable teaches that its worthy author was drunk as a loon.—TRANSLATOR.]
LI.
A lion pursued by some villagers was asked by a fox why he did not escape on horseback.
"There is a fine strong steed just beyond this rock," said the fox. "All you have to do is to get on his back and stay there."
So the lion went up to the charger and asked him to give him a lift.
"Certainly," said the horse, "with great pleasure."