Moorish Fables
“While watching man in all his phases,
And seeing that, in many cases,
He acts just like the brute creation—
I’ve thought the lord of all these races
Of no less failings showed the traces
Than do his lieges in relation.”
MOORISH FABLES
The Wagtail and the Jackal
At a time when the animals spoke, a Wagtail laid her eggs on the ground. The little ones grew up. A Jackal and a Fox came to them. The Jackal said to the Fox:
“Swear to me that the Wagtail owes me a pound of butter.”
The Fox swore to it. The Bird began to weep. A Greyhound came to her and asked her what was the matter. She answered him:
“The Fox has calumniated me.”
“Well,” said the Hound, “put me in this sack of skin.”
She put him in the sack. “Tie up the top well,” said the Hound. When the Jackal returned she said to him,
“Come and measure out the butter.”
The Jackal advanced and unfastened the sack. He saw the Hound, who stretched out his paws and said to the Fox,
“I am ill; come and measure, Fox.”
The Fox approached. The Hound seized him. The Jackal said:
“Remember your false testimony.”