Fifty Famous Fables
   Just then his mother came up and stood beside him.

   "How queer!" said the little dog. "That is the pug's mother. I did not see her before. It would be too cold for me down in that water. Why do they live there?"

   "You foolish child," replied the mother. "It is our shadows that you see there. See, they are just like us."

   "I am not a baby. I know what dogs are, mother. Those are real dogs."

   "Watch, my son, and see what happens," and the mother dropped a stone on the two shadows. They were gone.

   The little pug stood surprised. He dropped his ears and went slowly home without saying another word.

   "I have caught one at last," said a hunter, "and this is as fine a partridge as one often sees. It is a young one, too, I do believe," and he reached his hand into the net to take it out.

   This frightened the partridge. It fluttered and cackled, pecking at the hunter's hand.

   At last it cried out, "Let me go! Do let me go! I am but one little bird. If you will set me free, I will lead a large flock of partridges to your net, and will coax them to go into it."

   But the hunter said, "You seem very willing to deceive the partridges; you might also deceive me. I will not let you go."

   "I am stronger than you," said the North Wind to the Sun.

   "That is not true," said the Sun. "Everyone knows that I am the stronger."

   "Show me that you are stronger than I," replied the North Wind. "You know very well that you are not."

   "Do you see that traveler coming? I can make him take off his coat. You can not," said the Sun.

   "We will see about that," answered the North Wind. "The one that makes the traveler take off his coat is the victor."

   "All right," said the Sun, "and you may have the first trial."

   "Whew! How the North Wind blows," said the traveler. "Whew! whew! Hold on there, North Wind; I would rather walk than fly. Whew! whew!

   "How cold it is! I must button my coat uptight. Whew! whew! whew! I never felt 
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