The Ant And The Dove

by Aesop

　　A Dove saw an Ant fall into a brook. The Ant struggled in vain toreach the bank, and in pity, the Dove dropped a blade of strawclose beside it. Clinging to the straw like a shipwrecked sailorto a broken spar, the Ant floated safely to shore.

　　Soon after, the Ant saw a man getting ready to kill the Dove witha stone. But just as he cast the stone, the Ant stung him in theheel, so that the pain made him miss his aim, and the startledDove flew to safety in a distant wood.

　　A kindness is never wasted.