(84 Fables)

 
  The Cock and the Pearl The Frog and the Ox
  The Wolf and the Lamb Androcles
  The Dog and the Shadow The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts
  The Lion's Share The Hart and the Hunter
  The Wolf and the Crane The Serpent and the File
  The Man and the Serpent The Man and the Wood
  The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse The Dog and the Wolf
  The Fox and the Crow The Belly and the Members
  The Sick Lion The Hart in the Ox-Stall
  The Ass and the Lapdog The Fox and the Grapes
  The Lion and the Mouse The Horse, Hunter, and Stag
  The Swallow and the Other Birds The Peacock and Juno
  The Frogs Desiring a King The Fox and the Lion
  The Mountains in Labour The Lion and the Statue
  The Hares and the Frogs The Ant and the Grasshopper
  The Wolf and the Kid The Tree and the Reed
  The Woodman and the Serpent The Fox and the Cat
  The Bald Man and the Fly The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
  The Fox and the Stork The Dog in the Manger
  The Fox and the Mask The Man and the Wooden God
  The Jay and the Peacock The Fisher
  The Shepherd's Boy The Miser and His Gold
  The Young Thief and His Mother The Fox and the Mosquitoes
  The Man and His Two Wives The Fox Without a Tail
  The Nurse and the Wolf The One-Eyed Doe
  The Tortoise and the Birds Belling the Cat
  The Two Crabs The Hare and the Tortoise
  The Ass in the Lion's Skin The Old Man and Death
  The Two Fellows and the Bear The Hare With Many Friends
  The Two Pots The Lion in Love
  The Four Oxen and the Lion The Bundle of Sticks
  The Fisher and the Little Fish The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts
  Avaricious and Envious The Ass's Brains
  The Crow and the Pitcher The Eagle and the Arrow
  The Man and the Satyr The Milkmaid and Her Pail
  The Goose With the Golden Eggs The Cat-Maiden
  The Labourer and the Nightingale The Horse and the Ass
  The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner
  The Wind and the Sun The Buffoon and the Countryman
  Hercules and the Waggoner The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar
  The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey The Fox and the Goat



Aesop's Fables


  The Cock and the Pearl


A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the
hens when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw.
"Ho! ho!" quoth he, "that's for me," and soon rooted it out from
beneath the straw. What did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by
some chance had been lost in the yard? "You may be a treasure,"
quoth Master Cock, "to men that prize you, but for me I would
rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls."

Precious things are for those that can prize them.



  The Wolf and the Lamb


Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside,
when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to
drink a little lower down. "There's my supper," thought he, "if
only I can find some excuse to seize it." Then he called out to
the Lamb, "How dare you muddle the water from which I am
drinking?"

"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up
there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to
me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names
this time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old."

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was
your father;" and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb
and
 .WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA
 .ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out
 ."Any excuse will serve a tyrant."



  The Dog and the Shadow


It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was
carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on his way
home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he
crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the
water beneath. Thinking it was another dog with another piece of
meat, he made up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at
the shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of
meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never seen more.

Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.



  The Lion's Share


The Lion went once a-hunting along with the Fox, the Jackal,
and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till at last they
surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then came the question
how the spoil should be divided. "Quarter me this Stag," roared
the Lion; so the other animals skinned it and cut it into four
parts. Then the Lion took his stand in front of the carcass and
pronounced judgment: The first quarter is for me in my capacity
as King of Beasts; the second is mine as arbiter; another share
comes to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth
quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of you will
dare to lay a paw upon it."

"Humph," grumbled the Fox as he walked away with his tail
between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl
 ."You may share the labours of the great,
but you will not share the spoil."



  The Wolf and the Crane


A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, when
suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he could
not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in his throat, and ran
up and down groaning and groaning and seeking for something to
relieve the pain. He tried to induce every one he met to remove
the bone. "I would give anything," said he, "if you would take it
out." At last the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie
on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could. Then the Crane
put its long neck down the Wolf's throat, and with its beak
loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.

"Will you kindly give me the reward you promised?" said the
Crane.

The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: "Be content.
You have put your head inside a Wolf's mouth and taken it out
again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you."

Gratitude and greed go not together.



  The Man and the Serpent


A Countryman's son by accident trod upon a Serpent's tail,
which turned and bit him so that he died. The father in a rage
got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part of its tail.
So the Serpent in revenge began stinging several of the Farmer's
cattle and caused him severe loss. Well, the Farmer thought it
best to make it up with the Serpent, and brought food and honey to
the mouth of its lair, and said to it: "Let's forget and forgive;
perhaps you were right to punish my son, and take vengeance on my
cattle, but surely I was right in trying to revenge him; now that
we are both satisfied why should not we be friends again?"

"No, no," said the Serpent; "take away your gifts; you can
never forget the death of your son, nor I the loss of my tail."

Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten.



  The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse


Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a time went on a
visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough and ready, this
cousin, but he loved his town friend and made him heartily
welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had to
offer, but he offered them freely. The Town Mouse rather turned
up his long nose at this country fare, and said: "I cannot
understand, Cousin, how you can put up with such poor food as
this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the
country; come you with me and I will show you how to live. When
you have been in town a week you will wonder how you could ever
have stood a country life." No sooner said than done: the two
mice set off for the town and arrived at the Town Mouse's
residence late at night. "You will want some refreshment after
our long journey," said the polite Town Mouse, and took his friend
into the grand dining-room. There they found the remains of a
fine feast, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes
and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and barking.
"What is that?" said the Country Mouse. "It is only the dogs of
the house," answered the other. "Only!" said the Country Mouse.
"I do not like that music at my dinner." Just at that moment the
door flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had to
scamper down and run off. "Good-bye, Cousin," said the Country
Mouse, "What! going so soon?" said the other. "Yes," he replied;