A HEN who had patiently hatched the eggs of vipers, was accosted by a Swallow, who said: "What a fool you are to give life to creatures who will destroy you, when they are grown."
"I am a little bit on the destroy myself," said the Hen, calm of swallowing one of the little reptiles; "and it is not an act of folly to provide oneself with the delicacies of the season."