"Stop a little," exclaims the Ass; "I have found out the secret. We shall be sure to play in tune if we sit in a row."
They follow its advice, and form in an orderly line. But the quartette is as unmusical as ever. Louder than before there arose among them squabbling and wrangling as to how they ought to be seated. It happened that a Nightingale came flying that way, attracted by their noise. At once they all entreated it to solve their difficulty.
"Be so kind," they say, "as to bear with us a little, in order that our quartette may come off properly. Music we have; instruments we have: tell us only how we ought to place ourselves."
But the Nightingale replies,
"To be a musician, one must have a quicker intelligence and a finer ear than you possess. You, my friends, may place yourselves just as you like, but you will never become musicians."
Demian's Fish Soup
"Neighbour, light of mine eyes! do eat a little more!"
"Dear neighbour, I am full to the throat."
"No matter; just a little plateful. Believe me, the soup is cooked gloriously."
"But I've had three platefuls already."