Thus you see that wit and self-possession are sometimes more than a match for superior strength and speed. If the little hare could not run so fast as the greyhounds, she could outwit them, and they saw no way to prevent it.
Uncle Charles.
GENTLE JESSIE AND THE WASP.
There is a little girl in our village whom we call "Gentle Jessie;" for she is so kind and gentle, that even the dumb animals and the insects seem to find it out, and to trust her.
On a dry pleasant day, last autumn, I saw her seated on the grass. I went up to tell her not to sit there; for it is not safe to sit on the ground, even in dry weather.
As I drew near to Jessie from behind, I heard her talking. To whom could she be talking? There was no one by her side; that is to say, no human being. But soon I found she was talking to a wasp that was coming as if to sting her.
"Wasp, wasp, go away, and come again another day," said she. But the wasp did not heed her. It flew quite near to her face. Instead of striking at the bold insect, she merely drew back a little out of its way; for she thought, "Surely the wasp will not harm me, if I do not harm it."
And she was right. It alighted near her for a moment, but did not sting her; and gentle Jessie did not try to harm it. Then the wasp flew to the flowers on her hat; but, not finding the food it wanted, at last it flew away.