His Writings 



93 



went, higher and higher. At length the eagle 

 vanished out of sight and soared well above all 

 the other birds. He was just getting ready to 

 shout, when the lark flew up higher still, shouting 

 M twirr, twirr, twirr " ; the eagle could go no 

 higher for his strength was done. 



The smaller birds said that the lark must be 

 king, but the eagle and the other large birds said 

 no, for he was a cheat. The small birds would 

 not have this, and said that the lark beat the eagle 

 by his cleverness, and that wit always was the 

 best. Still the larger birds would have it that 

 the eagle must be king, but the smaller birds 

 said M No, you want the eagle to be king so that 

 he can eat us up the way the chiefs do. You 

 want to eat us up, but the lark won't do this/' 



The birds then got into a great dispute, when 

 a falcon, who was sitting on an ant-heap, spoke 

 up and said : " You don't know what you are 

 doing. You agreed what to do, and now, because 

 the lark won, you can't agree. You put me in 

 mind of those things with two legs that they call 

 men. They are always talking, always squabbling, 

 and can never agree. I am so ashamed of your 

 long talk that from now on I will never speak 

 again," and this is the reason that the falcon has 

 never been heard to speak from that day. 



