As a Cock was scratching up the straw, in a farm-yard, in search of food for the hens, he hit upon a Jewel that by some chance had found its way there. “Ho!” said he, “you are a very fine thing, no doubt, to those who prize you; but give me a barley-corn before all the pearls in the world.”
The Cock, in this, was sensible; but there are many silly people who despise what is precious only because they cannot understand it.
THE DOG AND THE SHADOW.
A Dog was crossing a river, with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he saw his own shadow reflected in the stream below. Thinking that it was another dog, with a piece of meat, he resolved to make himself master of that also; but in snapping at the supposed treasure he dropped the bit he was carrying, and so lost all.
Grasp at the shadow, and lose the substance;—the common fate of those who hazard a real blessing for a visionary good.