Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 July 1874 — A Fable for Farmers. [ARTICLE]

A Fable for Farmers.

In a certain zoological garden two bear s were chained several rods apart which were fed each with a certain kind of fruit. Now there were in the same garden a half dozen monkeys who thought ’ it would be nice if they could manage to get a portion of these luscious fruits for themselves. Accordingly they persuaded the biars that variety being the spice of life it would not only be grateful to their palates, but conducive to healthy digestion, if they would exchange with each other a portion of these fruits at each meal. But the chains being too short for the bears to come within srconvenient distance of each other the exchange could be eflected only through the kind offices of the six monkeys aforesaid. Accordingly the fruit was passed by bear No. 1 to the first monkey, who passed it to the next, and so on to the last, whodelivered it to bear No. 2. The fruit in exchange passed back to bear No. 1 in like manner. Now eaclDinonkey througli whose paws the fruit passed thought that a few bifes was no more than a just compensation for his services, and it happened when the fruit reached its destination little more of it was left than the cores. So the bears grew lean in spite of" improved digestion, and the monkeys grew fat and put.on many airs, and winked at each other as they passed the hungry bears in the course of their employment. The keeper of the gardens seeing this, and ascertaining the? cause, lengthened the chains of the bears, and so the services of the monkeys were .dispensed with, and the bears grew fatagain. But the monkeys set up a howl at being deprived of their legitimate employment, and berated the bears for their ingratitude. This fable teaches a lesson which Patrons should ponder.— Exchange.