Читать книгу Gobble-Up Stories - Oscar Mandel - Страница 16
ОглавлениеI despise you.” So said the dog to the flea as he lifted his indignant rear leg to scratch his flank. “You parasite,” he added.
The flea happened to be a reasoner. “You call me a parasite,” he squeaked from behind a tuft of bristles which the dog could not reach, “but don’t you live off rabbits, don’t cats live off mice, don’t people live off chickens, don’t lions live off zebras? Why does everybody hate us so?”
Unfortunately, the dog was a reasoner too. “We despise you,” he said, “because you live off those who are bigger and stronger than yourself; that makes you a parasite. We live off those who are smaller and weaker than us; that makes us normal.”
What could the flea reply? Rules are made by rulers, and those who bother the rulers must not expect to be called by pretty names.
