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Fantastic Fables







by Ambrose Bierce

















Contents:







The Moral Principle and the Material Interest



The Crimson Candle



The Blotted Escutcheon and the Soiled Ermine



The Ingenious Patriot



Two Kings



An Officer and a Thug



The Conscientious Official



How Leisure Came



The Moral Sentiment



The Politicians



The Thoughtful Warden



The Treasury and the Arms



The Christian Serpent



The Broom of the Temple



The Critics



The Foolish Woman



Father and Son



The Discontented Malefactor



A Call to Quit



The Man and the Lightning



The Lassoed Bear



The Ineffective Rooter



A Protagonist of Silver



The Holy Deacon



A Hasty Settlement



The Wooden Guns



The Reform School Board



The Poet's Doom



The Noser and the Note



The Cat and the King



The Literary Astronomer



The Lion and the Rattlesnake



The Man with No Enemies



The Alderman and the Raccoon



The Flying…Machine



The Angel's Tear



The City of Political Distinction



The Party Over There



The Poetess of Reform



The Unchanged Diplomatist



An Invitation



The Ashes of Madame Blavatsky



The Opossum of the Future



The Life…Savers



The Australian Grasshopper



The Pavior



The Tried Assassin



The Bumbo of Jiam



The Two Poets



The Thistles upon the Grave



The Shadow of the Leader



The Sagacious Rat



The Member and the Soap



Alarm and Pride



A Causeway



Two in Trouble



The Witch's Steed



The All Dog



The Farmer's Friend



Physicians Two



The Overlooked Factor



A Racial Parallel



The Honest Cadi



The Kangaroo and the Zebra



A Matter of Method



The Man of Principle



The Returned Californian



The Compassionate Physician



Two of the Damned



The Austere Governor



Religions of Error



The Penitent Elector



The Tail of the Sphinx



A Prophet of Evil



The Crew of the Life…boat



A Treaty of Peace



The Nightside of Character



The Faithful Cashier



The Circular Clew



The Devoted Widow



The Hardy Patriots



The Humble Peasant



The Various Delegation



The No Case



A Harmless Visitor



The Judge and the Rash Act



The Prerogative of Might



An Inflated Ambition



Rejected Services



The Power of the Scalawag



At Large … One Temper



The Seeker and the Sought



His Fly…Speck Majesty



The Pugilist's Diet



The Old Man and the Pupil



The Deceased and his Heirs



The Politicians and the Plunder



The Man and the Wart



The Divided Delegation



A Forfeited Right



Revenge



An Optimist



A Valuable Suggestion



Two Footpads



Equipped for Service



The Basking Cyclone



At the Pole



The Optimist and the Cynic



The Poet and the Editor



The Taken Hand



An Unspeakable Imbecile



A Needful War



The Mine Owner and the Jackass



The Dog and the Physician



The Party Manager and the Gentleman。



The Legislator and the Citizen



The Rainmaker



The Citizen and the Snakes



Fortune and the Fabulist



A Smiling Idol



Philosophers Three



The Boneless King



Uncalculating Zeal



A Transposition



The Honest Citizen



A Creaking Tail



Wasted Sweets



Six and One



The Sportsman and the Squirrel



The Fogy and the Sheik



At Heaven's Gate



The Catted Anarchist



The Honourable Member



The Expatriated Boss



An Inadequate Fee



The Judge and the Plaintiff



The Return of the Representative



A Statesman



Two Dogs



Three Recruits



The Mirror



Saint and Sinner



An Antidote



A Weary Echo



The Ingenious Blackmailer



A Talisman



The Ancient Order



A Fatal Disorder



The Massacre



A Ship and a Man



Congress and the People



The Justice and His Accuser



The Highwayman and the Traveller



The Policeman and the Citizen



The Writer and the Tramps



Two Politicians



The Fugitive Office



The Tyrant Frog



The Eligible Son…in…Law



The Statesman and the Horse



An AErophobe



The Thrift of Strength



The Good Government



The Life…Saver



The Man and the Bird



From the Minutes



Three of a Kind



The Fabulist and the Animals



A Revivalist Revived



The Debaters



Two of the Pious



The Desperate Object



The Appropriate Memorial



A Needless Labour



A Flourishing Industry



The Self…Made Monkey



The Patriot and the Banker



The Mourning Brothers



The Disinterested Arbiter



The Thief and the Honest Man



The Dutiful Son











Aesopus Emendatus











The Cat and the Youth



The Farmer and His Sons



Jupiter and the Baby Show



The Man and the Dog



The Cat and the Birds



Mercury and the Woodchopper



The Fox and the Grapes



The Penitent Thief



The Archer and the Eagle



Truth and the Traveller



The Wolf and the Lamb



The Lion and the Boar



The Grasshopper and the Ant



The Fisher and the Fished



The Farmer and the Fox



Dame Fortune and the Traveller



The Victor and the Victim



The Wolf and the Shepherds



The Goose and the Swan



The Lion; the Cock; and the Ass



The Snake and the Swallow



The Wolves and the Dogs



The Hen and the Vipers



A Seasonable Joke



The Lion and the Thorn



The Fawn and the Buck



The Kite; the Pigeons; and the Hawk



The Wolf and the Babe



The Wolf and the Ostrich



The Herdsman and the Lion



The Man and the Viper



The Man and the Eagle



The War…horse and the Miller



The Dog and the Reflection



The Man and the Fish…horn



The Hare and the Tortoise



Hercules and the Carter



The Lion and the Bull



The Man and his Goose



The Wolf and the Feeding Goat



Jupiter and the Birds



The Lion and the Mouse



The Old Man and his Sons



The Crab and his Son



The North Wind and the Sun



The Mountain and the Mouse



The Bellamy and the Members











Old Saws with New Teeth











The Wolf and the Crane



The Lion and the Mouse



The Hares and the Frogs



The Belly and the Members



The Piping Fisherman



The Ants and the Grasshopper



The Dog and His Reflection



The Lion; the Bear; and the Fox



The Ass and the Lion's Skin



The Ass and the Grasshoppers



The Wolf and the Lion



The Hare and the Tortoise



The Milkmaid and Her Bucket



King Log and King Stork



The Wolf Who Would Be a Lion



The Monkey and the Nuts



The Boys and the Frogs















The Moral Principle and the Material Interest















A MORAL Principle met a Material Interest on a bridge wide enough 



for but one。







〃Down; you base thing!〃 thundered the Moral Principle; 〃and let me 



pass over you!〃







The Material Interest merely looked in the other's eyes without 



saying anything。







〃Ah;〃 said the Moral Principle; hesitatingly; 〃let us draw lots to 



see which shall retire till the other has crossed。〃







The Material Interest maintained an unbroken silence and an 



unwavering stare。







〃In order to avoid a conflict;〃 the Moral Principle resumed; 



somewhat uneasily; 〃I shall myself lie down and let you walk over 



me。〃







Then the Material Interest found a tongue; and by a strange 



coincidence it was its own tongue。  〃I don't think you are very 



good walking;〃 it said。  〃I am a little particular about what I 



have underfoot。  Suppose you get off into the water。〃







It occurred that way。















The Crimson Candle















A MAN lying at the point of death called his wife to his bedside 



and said:







〃I am about to leave you forever; give me; therefore; one last 



proof of your affection and fidelity; for; according to our holy 



religion; a married man seeking admittance at the gate of Heaven is 



required to swear that he has never defiled himself with an 



unworthy woman。  In my desk you will find a crimson candle; which 



has been blessed by the High Priest and has a peculiar mystical 



significance。  Swear to me that while it is in existence you will 



not remarry。〃







The Woman swore and the Man died。  At the funeral the Woman stood 



at the head of the bier; holding a lighted crimson candle till it 



was wasted entirely away。















The Blotted Escutcheon and the Soiled Ermine















A BLOTTED Escutcheon; rising to a question of privilege; said:







〃Mr。 Speaker; I wish to hurl back an allegation and explain that 



the spots upon me are the natural markings of one who is a direct 



descendant of the sun and a spotted fawn。  They come of no accident 



of character; but inhere in the divine order and constitution of 



things。〃







When the Blotted Escutcheon had resumed his seat a Soiled Ermine 



rose and said:







〃Mr。 Speaker; I have heard with profound

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