The birds and the beasts were preparing to have war against each other. The birds asked the bat to join them. "But I am a beast," said the bat. The beasts asked the bat to join them. "But I am a bird," said the bat. The birds and beasts decided to use conflict resolution skills. There was no fight. All of them were happy and they had parties. The bat tried to join the birds at their party. They pecked at him and made him fly away. The bat tried to join the beasts at their party, but they tried to bite him. He flew away fast. Then he said,

All of the mice gathered for a meeting. They needed to find a way to deal with their great enemy, the cat. They talked and talked. Finally, a young mouse said, "I have a great idea! I know all of you will love my idea. The cat is sly and tricky, right?" "Yes!" all of them agreed. "We need to know when she is coming so we can hide, right?" "Yes!" all of them agreed. "Let's tie a bell on the cat! That way, we will always know when she is coming!" said the young mouse. "Yes! Yes!" all of them shouted and clapped. Then an old mouse said, "That sounds good. It is easier said than done. Who will bell the cat?" Everyone was quiet. They shook their heads. Then the old mouse said,

A man and boy were walking beside their donkey on the way to market. They passed a man who said, "Look dummy, don't you know that donkeys are for riding!" So the man put the boy on the donkey. Soon they passed some men who said, "See that lazy boy! He lets his father walk while he rides!" So the man rode and let the boy walk. Soon they passed two women. One said to the other, "Shame on that lazy man. He makes his poor son walk while he rides!" So the man let the boy ride with him. "That should please everyone," said the man. Soon they passed people in town. One man said, "You should be ashamed of yourself for having two big people ride that poor little donkey!" So the man and boy got off of the donkey. They sat down and talked for a long time about what to do. They decided to tie the donkey's legs to a pole and to carry him. The donkey didn't like this at all. He kicked and brayed. Everyone laughed and jeered at the man and the boy. As they crossed a bridge, the donkey got one leg free. He kicked the boy who dropped his end of the pole. The donkey fell into the river.

The tortoise wanted to live far away in a new land. He knew the eagle could take him there quickly although eagles were enemies of tortoises. He thought he would be safe if he asked a young eagle and if he offered great reward. A young eagle agreed to take him and not to hurt him. They flew near a crow who said, "You have a good meal there." The eagle said, "I don't want to eat him. His shell is too hard." The crow said, "See the rocks far below us. They can break the shell." The young eagle said, "I hadn't thought about that." He dropped the tortoise. The eagle and the crow had a good meal.

The wolf devised a clever plan for getting his meals. He found a sheep skin and put it over his back. Without the shepherd and his dogs noticing, he walked among the sheep. Each day a sheep or a lamb would follow him away from the herd. He ate many tasty lamb chops before the dogs caught him.

A wolf noticed a lamb drinking just downstream. He thought she would be an easy supper. If he could trick her, he would not even have to run after her. Then he called out, ""We can drink from the same stream, friend, but you are making my water muddy." The lamb said, "Nay, master wolf. If your water is muddy, I can't be the cause if it. You see, the water goes past you then it comes to me." The wolf changed the subject. He must make the lamb feel bad and helpless. He said, "Why did you call me bad names this time last year?" The lamb said, "That could not have been me. I am only six months old." Then the wolf said, "I don't care. If it was not you, it was your father!" He pounced upon the poor lamb, but the shepherd's dogs arrived in time to save her.

A thirsty fox saw juicy grapes. They were on a vine which was on a high limb. The sun had ripened them nicely. "Those look great!" said the fox. He jumped and jumped to get them. He missed them each time. Then he said, "Forget it! Who wants those lousy grapes. They are likely to be sour anyway."