“‘Who are you?’ asked the Vulture.
“‘I am a Cat.’
“‘Go away at once, Cat, or I will kill you,’ said the Vulture.
“The Cat then begged the Vulture to listen to what he had to say, and afterward decide whether he should live or die.
“To this the Vulture consented, and so the Cat began:
“‘I live near the River Ganges, eating no flesh and doing many things by way of penance. The birds that often visit me have said so much in your praise that I have come here, hoping to learn wisdom from you. It is not possible that you, who must know the law of strangers, could think of slaying me. Without doubt you know what the book says about the householder:—
Bar not thy door to the stranger, be he friend or be he foe,
For the tree will shade the woodman while his axe doth lay it low.
“Also:—
Greeting fair, and room to rest in; fire, and water from the well—