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A Farmer set some traps in a field which he had lately sown with

corn, in order to catch the cranes which came to pick up the

seed. When he returned to look at his traps he found several

cranes caught, and among them a Stork, which begged to be let go,

and said, "You ought not to kill me: I am not a crane, but a

Stork, as you can easily see by my feathers, and I am the most

honest and harmless of birds." But the Farmer replied, "It's

nothing to me what you are: I find you among these cranes, who

ruin my crops, and, like them, you shall suffer."

If you choose bad companions no one will believe that you are

anything but bad yourself.

THE CHARGER AND THE MILLER