mighty jaws? and askest thou now for a still further reward?' The crane thought this argument, if not convincing, very powerful; he went his way, and was happy, indeed, to have escaped so imminent a danger. The application of this fable," added the eloquent Joshua, "is easy enough. Remember, dear brethren, you are under foreign subjection; recollect your past sufferings, and think yourselves happy in the comparative ease you at present enjoy; at all events, do not provoke, by vain and useless resistance, the mighty power of the Emperor." The people were instructed, and went home peaceably.
Genesis Rabba, § LXIV, end.
The Traveller and the Date-tree of the Oasis
Rabbi Nahman, who was very rich, learned, and wise, requested his friend, Rabbi Isaac, to give him his blessing. "You put me in mind," said the latter, "of a certain man, who, having travelled in a desert nearly a whole day, found himself very hungry, thirsty, and fatigued. Necessity obliged him to travel onward, till at last he came to a most enchanting spot, where grew a fine date-tree, watered by a small rivulet. The fatigued traveller seated himself in the shade of the tree, plucked some of its delicious fruit, and refreshed himself. Grateful for the un-
