Yousee，excellency，alltheworldiswittyandcleverexceptmyself。Iamneither。AsakindofcompensationIamallowedtotellthetruth，foritisawell-knownfactthatonlystupidpeopletell’thetruth。Addedtothis，Iamaspitefulman，justbecauseIamnotclever。IfIamoffendedorinjuredIbearitquitepatientlyuntilthemaninjuringmemeetswithsomemisfortune。ThenIremember，andtakemyrevenge。Ireturntheinjurysevenfold，asIvanPetrovitchPtitsinsays。Ofcourseheneverdoessohimself。Excellency，nodoubtyourecollectKryloff’sfable，’TheLionandtheAss’？Wellnow，that’syouandI。Thatfablewaswrittenpreciselyforus。\"
\"Youseemtobetalkingnonsenseagain，Ferdishenko，\"growledthegeneral。
\"Whatisthematter，excellency？Iknowhowtokeepmyplace。
WhenIsaidjustnowthatwe，youandI，werethelionandtheassofKryloff’sfable，ofcourseitisunderstoodthatItaketheroleoftheass。Yourexcellencyisthelionofwhichthefableremarks:
’Amightylion，terrorofthewoods，Wasshornofhisgreatprowessbyoldage。’