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A Snake suffered a good deal from being constantly trodden upon

by man and beast, owing partly to the length of his body and

partly to his being unable to raise himself above the surface of

the ground: so he went and complained to Jupiter about the risks

to which he was exposed. But Jupiter had little sympathy for him.

"I dare say," said he, "that if you had bitten the first that

trod on you, the others would have taken more trouble to look

where they put their feet."

THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW