Pagina 139 de 626

So on they went till they came to a rapid stream. 'How shall we

get over?' said Chanticleer. Then said a straw, 'I will lay

myself across, and you may pass over upon me.' But as the mice

were going over, the straw slipped away and fell into the water,

and the six mice all fell in and were drowned. What was to be

done? Then a large log of wood came and said, 'I am big enough; I

will lay myself across the stream, and you shall pass over upon

me.' So he laid himself down; but they managed so clumsily, that

the log of wood fell in and was carried away by the stream. Then

a stone, who saw what had happened, came up and kindly offered to

help poor Chanticleer by laying himself across the stream; and

this time he got safely to the other side with the hearse, and

managed to get Partlet out of it; but the fox and the other

mourners, who were sitting behind, were too heavy, and fell back

into the water and were all carried away by the stream and

drowned.