A man that kept a small farm came to the house of a judge. "Well, my man, " said the judge, "what do you come to me for? " "If you please, my lord, I have a sad tale to tell. " "Ha, the old tale! You folk with your small farms fall out, and then you come to plague me. " "Nay, my lord, this time it is with you and me. I have a bull that breaks out of his bounds, and he has got to your best field of corn, and has spoilt half of it; now I want to know what you would have me do in this case? " "Well, I must say you are a staunch old man to come and tell me of it, and I shall send my man John to look at the waste, and what he says it comes to you must pay. As to your bull, as you say he breaks out of his bounds, you must kill him, and that at once. " "Bless my heart! " said the man, "what was it I told you? I have but two small cows in the world. No, it was that red bull of yours, my lord, which locks and bars will not keep in; it is he that breaks through the fence of my cornfield, and fine work he has made of it; but, as you say you will send your man tomake things right, I thank you, and take my leave. " "No," said the judge, "you must not play me such a trick as this. I would not part with that red bull for all the world, and as to the field of corn, of course, you must take your chance. "The law will catch small flies, but wasps will break through.
We weigh not in the same scale the ills we do and the ills we feel.
From the fables of ?sop
About the Author.-?sop was a Greek slave who lived about,600 years before the time of Christ. He was set free and became a favourite of the rich king Cr?sus. His fables were full of wisdom. Whether he wrote all that is set down to him we do not know.
About the Story.-It has been said that no man can judge his own case. The fable proves it. But this judge did not seem to be wise and just. Suppose him to be wise and just: now give the story a different ending.
Make up a play about the judge and the poor man.
