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One winter's day, during a severe storm, a Horse, an Ox, and a

Dog came and begged for shelter in the house of a Man. He readily

admitted them, and, as they were cold and wet, he lit a fire for

their comfort: and he put oats before the Horse, and hay before

the Ox, while he fed the Dog with the remains of his own dinner.

When the storm abated, and they were about to depart, they

determined to show their gratitude in the following way. They

divided the life of Man among them, and each endowed one part of

it with the qualities which were peculiarly his own. The Horse

took youth, and hence young men are high-mettled and impatient of

restraint; the Ox took middle age, and accordingly men in middle

life are steady and hard-working; while the Dog took old age,

which is the reason why old men are so often peevish and

ill-tempered, and, like dogs, attached chiefly to those who look

to their comfort, while they are disposed to snap at those who

are unfamiliar or distasteful to them.