“THE FOX,
“Provisional President and Editor.”
“Read and sign this document,” said he to the ex-editors.
Whereupon the Cock replied, “Sir, I shall not dishonour myself by such a treacherous act.”
“We shall see,” replied the Fox.
He then proceeded to draw up another proclamation.
SECOND PROCLAMATION.
“Citizens, while you were asleep you were being betrayed, but friends were watching for you. Too long had we bowed our heads without murmuring; the time had come for us to assert our dignity. The traitors who governed and sold you breathe no more! The records of our nation will teach the world how the animal kingdom redresses its wrongs. During this hour justice has been executed, the work is finished, the culprits have paid with their lives the penalty of their guilt—they have been hanged!
“N.B.—Out of sacred regard for our ancestors who suffered the extreme penalty of the law, they have been hanged on new gibbets.
“THE FOX.”