The Nick Klaus's Fables Read Online Free PDF Page A

his
hotel, he spotted a bunch of thoroughbreds playing basketball on a
court. Having never seen this type of work where he was from, he
headed their way. Watching them, he said: “I’d like to learn your
trade to hone my skills and bring back to the country.” The
thoroughbreds looked at each other in surprise and discomfort. One
of them, who did not want to upset him whispered: “Ok, but only for
a while.”
    The plough horse was over the moon. When he
reappeared the following hour, the thoroughbreds took a quick look
at him and shook their heads in dismay. The plough horse’s shorts
were sagging. His hooves tripped on them in their stride. His shirt
was dangling and getting hooked on his ears.
    Resigned, the thoroughbreds ignored him and fast and
furious started to jump and leap and spring and shoot on the
basketball court. The plough horse watched helpless, though he
eventually caught the ball. Right away, he rounded his shoulders,
lowered his head close to the ground and labored towards the basket
slowly, as if he were towing the entire court. The thoroughbreds
watched, shaking their heads in disbelief.
    “Why don’t you go and play in the fountain?” shouted
one of them. “Or leapfrog with your sister?” said another one. But
the plough horse was at work and heard nothing of their pokes.
Reaching below the basket, he stopped, sweating and out of breath,
holding the ball. The thoroughbreds waited, thinking he was going
to throw them the ball. But the plough horse waited longer. Seeing
that no one was moving, he then said: “I’m holding the ball under
the basket. That will be $1 for my toil.”
    The thoroughbreds shook their heads again, this time
in despair.
    “Aren’t you going to pay me?” said the plough horse,
hoarding the ball. The thoroughbreds huffed and puffed as they run
out of patience. “You’ll get $1 like everyone else, once you get
the ball to stay in the basket,” shouted a frustrated thoroughbred.
The plough horse glanced at the basket, noticed the hole at the
bottom of the net and burst out laughing. “Foolish city horses,
you’ll never get paid. Your basket is too wide for your ball, it
will never stay,” he said and with that he plodded away.

 
    The Blueberry Dad (#17)
     
    An excited young boy carrying two fishing rods ran
to his older brother and dragged him to the backyard deck.
    “Come on, let’s go fishing.”
    “What’s the urgency?”
    “I’ll tell you once we get there,” said the young
brother boarding a canoe.
    Soon the two boys were in the middle of the lake.
Without waiting, the young boy threw his line into the water.
    “What’s the emergency?” asked the older brother.
    “Dad lives at the bottom of the lake.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    “I heard Mom say so on the phone. He had been stuck
there for years she said. With so much baggage that no one could
pull him out of it.”
    The older brother took a deep breath and
contemplated his brother’s face, which was tearing with
anticipation. He smiled back at him.
    “He’s been down there for a while, hopefully he
hasn’t moved away. But we can’t fish him with a hook and a worm.
That will hurt his mouth and make him sick. Do you remember what he
loved best?”
    “Blueberries,” screamed the young boy, waving his
arms.
    So the boys went to the store and bought two cartons
of blueberries.
    Back at the lake, they tied the blueberries at the
end of their lines, and the younger brother tossed the rest of them
over board. The fish tasted them and too fussy swum away.
    The sun was coming down, and no father appeared. The
older brother seeing his young brother looking sad: “He may just be
sleeping.”
    They decided to go back home for the night.
    They were sitting for an early dinner, when they
heard a knock at the door. There standing at the door, a fiery bull
in a dripping suit, with a tie and horns that stuck out of his hat,
carried two gigantic suitcases.
    “Hey, may I come in?” he said to the