FABLES. 



45 



THE MULE. 



A Mule, which was pampered up and easily 

 Avorked, became plump, sleek, and in high condi- 

 tion, and in the height of his wantonness, would 

 scamper about from hill to dale in al] the wildness 

 of unbridled restraint. Why should not I, said he 

 to himself, be as good a racer as any horse what- 

 ever? My father, whose pedigree was well known, 

 was one of the best of them; do not I resemble him 

 in every respect? While he was indulging his 

 vanity in reveries of this kind, his master having 

 occasion to mount him upon urgent business, put 

 him upon his speed, and, ere long, was obliged to 

 use both whip and spur to force him to push for- 

 ward. Thus jaded and tired, he muttered to him- 

 self, Alas ! I find now, I was mistaken in my 

 pedigree, for my sire was not a Horse, but an 

 Ass. 



