joyed. And he reflected: "Very good, indeed. Red-Eye's flight is a blessing to us. For he was farsighted, while the rest are numskulls. I can easily destroy them now. For the proverb says:
If no farsighted counselors,
Long-tried, secure,
Aid him, the downfall of a king
Is swift and sure.
And there is sound reasoning in this:
The shrewd discover enemies
Disguised as friends
In senseless counselors whose speech
To evil tends."
After these reflections, he dropped each day one fagot from the forest into his own nest, with the ultimate purpose of setting the cave afire. Nor did the owls, poor fools, perceive that he was building up his nest in order to burn them alive. Well, there is sense in the saying:
Cause your friends no bitter woes;
Do not fraternize with foes:
Friends, when lost, are friends no more;
Enemies were lost before.
Thus, pretending to build a nest, Live-Strong constructed a woodpile at the fortress gate. Then at sunrise, when the owls became blind, he hastened away and reported to Cloudy: "My lord and king, I have prepared the enemy's cave for burning. Come with your retainers, each bringing a lighted fagot from the forest, to throw on my nest at the gate of the
