things went with her. She said, "All things are prospering with
me, and I have only one wish, that there may be a heavy fall of
rain, in order that the plants may be well watered." Not long
after, he went to the daughter who had married the tilemaker, and
likewise inquired of her how she fared; she replied, "I want for
nothing, and have only one wish, that the dry weather may
continue, and the sun shine hot and bright, so that the bricks
might be dried." He said to her, "If your sister wishes for rain,
and you for dry weather, with which of the two am I to join my
wishes?'


The Farmer and His Sons

A FATHER, being on the point of death, wished to be sure that his
sons would give the same attention to his farm as he himself had
given it. He called them to his bedside and said, "My sons,
there is a great treasure hid in one of my vineyards." The sons,
after his death, took their spades and mattocks and carefully dug
over every portion of their land. They found no treasure, but
the vines repaid their labor by an extraordinary and
superabundant crop.


The Crab and Its Mother

A CRAB said to her son, "Why do you walk so one-sided, my child?
It is far more becoming to go straight forward." The young Crab
replied: "Quite true, dear Mother; and if you will show me the
straight way, I will promise to walk in it." The Mother tried in