Some went at my legs and some at my back, and among the others, there was one tiny fish so gentle and polite that he did me the great favor of eating even my tail." "From now on," said the man, horrified, "I swear I shall never again taste fish.

How I should enjoy opening a mullet or a whitefish just to find there the tail of a dead donkey!" "I think as you do," answered the Marionette, laughing.

"Still, you must know that when the fish finished eating my donkey coat, which covered me from head to foot, they naturally came to the bones--or rather, in my case, to the wood, for as you know, I am made of very hard wood.

After the first few bites, those greedy fish found out that the wood was not good for their teeth, and, afraid of indigestion, they turned and ran here and there without saying good-by or even as much as thank you to me.

Here, dear Master, you have my story.