Rat

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org The Fables of Pilpay by Anonymous Translated by Abdullah Al-Mukafa and Joseph Harris Section 12 Fable 4 The Countrymen and the Several Rats There was once a certain husbandman who had a barn full of corn, which he had carefully kept closed, locked up.

And not far from this lived a rat, who long labored on every side of it, endeavoring to make a hole somewhere to creep in at.

After great trouble, he at length found his way into the barn, where when he had thoroughly filled his belly, amazed at the vast treasures which he saw himself master of, away he ran full of joy, and gave notice of it to a multitude of other rats, his neighbors, telling them of his immense riches, but carefully concealing the place where they lay.

Such a one is, as it were, another self, to whom we impart our most secret thoughts, who partakes of our joy and comforts us in our affliction.

Add to this that his company is an everlasting pleasure to us.

But nothing can perhaps give your Majesty a clearer or nobler idea of the pleasures of a reciprocal friendship than the following fable." Fable One: The Raven, the Rat, and the Pigeons Near adjoining to Odorna there was once a most delightful place which was extremely full of wild fowl, and was therefore much frequented by the sportsmen and fowlers.

A raven one day accidentally espied in this place, at the foot of a tree, on the top of which she had built her nest, a certain fowler with a net in his hand.

The poor raven was afraid at first, imagining it was herself that the fowler aimed at; but her fear ceased when she observed the motions of the person, who, after he had spread his net upon the ground, and scattered some corn about it to allure the birds, went and hid himself behind a hedge, where he was no sooner laid down but a flock of pigeons threw themselves upon the corn, without hearkening to their chieftain, who would fain have hindered them, telling them that they were not so rashly to abandon themselves to their passions.

But someone with sharp teeth certainly has been in here.

It must be that I have left the door open some time, and a rat has slept in.

I'll just have to get after you, Mr. Rat or Mr.

Mouse.

We can't have you in our corn crib.

Anansi stood and paced.

He had a client that preferred anonymity, but, well, the rat looked like a trustworthy fellow.

Did the rat know Nothing? Rat was almost offended, but quickly understood that Anansi was talking about the guy.

"Oh, yeah, Nothing.

Great man." "Well, someone is trying to kill him," Anansi said with no small degree of panache.

As Rat knew, Anansi was Nothing's neighbor and best friend, so he was taking the initiative here.

They were gonna set a trap for the murderer.

The plan was this: a hole, a deep hole, right in front of Nothing's front door.