The owl and the grasshopper
The Owl always takes her sleep during the
day. Then after sundown, when the rosy
light fades from the sky and the shadows
rise slowly through the wood, out she comes
ruffling and blinking from the old hollow
tree. Now her weird "hoo-hoo-hoo-oo-oo"
echoes through the quiet wood, and she
begins her hunt for the bugs and beetles,
frogs and mice she likes so well to eat.
Now there was a certain old Owl who had
become very cross and hard to please as she
grew older, especially if anything disturbed
her daily slumbers. One warm summer
afternoon as she dozed away in her den in
the old oak tree, a Grasshopper nearby
began a joyous but very raspy song. Out
popped the old Owl's head from the opening
in the tree that served her both for door and
for window.
"Get away from here, sir," she said to the
Grasshopper. "Have you no manners? You
should at least respect my age and leave me
to sleep in quiet!"
But the Grasshopper answered saucily that
he had as much right to his place in the sun
as the Owl had to her place in the old oak.
Then he struck up a louder and still more
rasping tune.
The wise old Owl knew quite well that it
would do no good to argue with the
Grasshopper, nor with anybody else for that
matter. Besides, her eyes were not sharp
enough by day to permit her to punish the
Grasshopper as he deserved. So she laid
aside all hard words and spoke very kindly
to him.
"Well sir," she said, "if I must stay awake, I
am going to settle right down to enjoy your
singing. Now that I think of it, I have a
wonderful wine here, sent me from
Olympus, of which I am told Apollo drinks
before he sings to the high gods. Please
come up and taste this delicious drink with
me. I know it will make you sing like Apollo
himself."
The foolish Grasshopper was taken in by the
Owl's flattering words. Up he jumped to the
Owl's den, but as soon as he was near
enough so the old Owl could see him
clearly, she pounced upon him and ate him
up.
Flattery is not a proof of true admiration. Do
not let flattery throw you off your guard
against an enemy.