Anecdote XCIII.
Elephants were, of old, employed in India in the launching of ships. It is related of one, that, being directed to force a very large vessel into the water, the work proved superior to its strength; his master, with sarcastic tone, bid the keeper take away the lazy beast, and bring another: the poor animal instantly repeated his efforts, fractured his skull, and died on the spot.
Anecdote XCIV.
During a sudden inundation of the Rhine, a hare, unable to escape through the water to an eminence, climbed up a tree. One of the boatmen rowing about to assist the unfortunate inhabitants, observing puss, rowed up to the tree, and mounted it, eager for the game, without properly fastening his boat. The terrified hare, on the approach of its pursuer, sprang from the branch into the boat, which thus set in motion floated away, leaving its owner in the tree in dread of being washed away by the current. After several hours’ anxiety, he was perceived, and taken off by some of his companions.