Aesop's Fables

An Eagle, overwhelmed with sorrow, sat on the branches of a tree in company with a Kite. “Why,” said the Kite, “do I see you with such a rueful look?” “I am looking,” she replied, “for a mate suitable for me, and I am not able to find one.” “Take me,” replied the Kite. “I am much stronger than you are.” “Why, are you able to secure the means of living by your plunder?” “Well, I have often caught and carried away an ostrich in my talons.” The Eagle, persuaded by these words, accepted him as her mate. Shortly after the wedding, the Eagle said, “Fly off and bring me back the ostrich you promised me.” The Kite, soaring aloft into the air, brought back the shabbiest possible mouse, stinking from the length of time it had lain about the fields. “Is this,” said the Eagle, “the faithful fulfillment of your promise to me?” The Kite replied, “To win your royal hand, I would have promised anything at all, however well I knew that I would fail to keep my promise.”