It was growing dark. The owls began to fly in the
forest, over the ravine, in search of their prey.
A big gray hare was bounding over the field, and
began to smooth his fur.
An old owl, as she sat on the bough, was watching
the gray hare ; and a young owl said, " Why don't you
pounce down on the hare ? "
The old one replied :
" I am not strong enough. The hare is large. If
you should clutch him, he would carry you off into the
thicket."
But the young owl said :
" Why, I could hold him with one claw, and with the
other I could cling to the tree."
And the young owl swooped down on the hare,
clutched his back with his claw in such a way that all
the nails sank into the fur, and he was going to cling
to the tre... (From: Wikisource.org.)
I was riding along the road, when I heard some one
shouting behind me. It was a young shepherd. He
was running across a field, and pointing at something.
I looked, and saw two wolves running across the
field. One was full grown ; the other was a cub. The
cub had on his back a lamb which had just been killed,
and he had the leg in his mouth.
The old wolf was running behind.
As soon as I saw the wolves, I joined the shepherd,
and we started in pursuit, setting up a shout.
When they heard our shout, some peasants started
out also in pursuit, with their dogs.
.As soon as the old wolf caught sight of the dogs
and the men, he ran to the young one, snatched the lamb
from him, jerked it over his own back, and both wolves... (From: Wikisource.org.)
Hares feed at night on the bark of trees ; field-hares,
on seeds and grass ; barn-hares, on grains of wheat on
the threshing-floors.
In the nighttime hares leave on the snow a deep,
noticeable trail. Men and dogs and foxes and crows
and eagles delight in hunting hares.
If a hare went in a straight line without doubling,
then in the morning there would be no trouble in following his trail and catching him ; but God has endowed
the hare with timidity, and this timidity is his salvation.
At night the hare runs over the fields and woods with-
out fear and leaves a straight track; but as soon as
morning comes, and his foes awake, then the hare
begins to listen, now for the barking of dogs, now for
the creaking of sledge... (From: Wikisource.org.)
A man sees with his eyes, hears with his ears, smells
with his nose, tastes with his tongue, and feels with his
fingers. Some men have more serviceable eyes. Some
men have less serviceable eyes than others. One man
has keen sense of hearing, another is deaf. One man
has a more delicate sense of smell than another, and he
perceives an odor from a long distance, while another
will not notice the stench from a bad egg. One person
recognizes an object by touching it, while another can
do nothing of the sort, and is unable to distinguish
wood from paper by the touch. One no sooner puts a substance into his mouth than he tells it is sweet, while
another swallows it and cannot make out whether it is
sweet or bitter.
In th... (From: Wikisource.org.)
Twist the index finger with the middle finger and
place between these fingers intertwined a small ball in
such a way that it touches both, and then shut your
eyes. It will seem to you that you are holding two
balls. Open your eyes and you will see that it is only
one. Your fingers have deceived you, and your eyes
have corrected the impression.
Look best of all a little sidewise at a good, clear
mirror, it will seem to you that it is a window or a door,
and that there is something behind it. Touch it with
your fingers and you will assure yourself that it is a
mirror. Your eyes deceived you, but your fingers cor-
rected the impression. (From: Wikisource.org.)
In my garden there were some old mulberry trees.
They had been set out long ago by my grandfather.
One autumn I was given a quantity 1 of silkworm
eggs, and advised to raise the worms and make silk.
These eggs were dark gray and so small that in my
zolotnik I counted five thousand eight hundred and
thirty-five of them. They were smaller than the heads
of the smallest pins. They were perfectly inert ;
only, when they were crushed, they made a crackling
sound.
I heaped them up on my table and had forgotten all
about them.
But when spring came, I went one day out into
my garden and noticed that the mulberry buds were
swelling, and were even in leaf where the sun got to
them. Then I remembered about my silkworm egg... (From: Wikisource.org.)
