Aesop's Fables; a new translation
the way from heaven, so that they are very seldom seen.
THE HARES AND THE FROGS
The Hares once gathered together and lamented the unhappiness of their
lot, exposed as they were to dangers on all sides and lacking the
strength and the courage to hold their own. Men, dogs, birds and
beasts of prey were all their enemies, and killed and devoured them
daily: and sooner than endure such persecution any longer, they one
and all determined to end their miserable lives. Thus resolved
and desperate, they rushed in a body towards a neighbouring pool,
intending to drown themselves. On the bank were sitting a number of
Frogs, who, when they heard the noise of the Hares as they ran, with
one accord leaped into the water and hid themselves in the depths.
Then one of the older Hares who was wiser than the rest cried out to
his companions, "Stop, my friends, take heart; don't let us destroy
ourselves after all: see, here are creatures who are afraid of us, and
who must, therefore, be still more timid than ourselves."
THE FOX AND THE STORK
A Fox invited a Stork to dinner, at which the only fare provided was a
large flat dish of soup. The Fox lapped it up with great relish, but
the Stork with her long bill tried in vain to partake of the savoury
broth. Her evident distress caused the sly Fox much amusement. But not
long after the Stork invited him in turn, and set before him a pitcher
with a long and narrow neck, into which she could get her bill with
ease. Thus, while she enjoyed her dinner, the Fox sat by hungry and
helpless, for it was impossible for him to reach the tempting contents
of the vessel.
THE WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
A Wolf resolved to disguise himself in order that he might prey upon a
flock of sheep without fear of detection. So he clothed himself in a
sheepskin, and slipped among the sheep when they were out at pasture.
He completely deceived the shepherd, and when the flock was penned
for the night he was shut in with the rest. But that very night as it
happened, the shepherd, requiring a supply of mutton for the table,
laid hands on the Wolf in mistake for a Sheep, and killed him with his
knife on the spot.
THE STAG IN THE OX-STALL
A Stag, chased from his lair by the hounds, took refuge in a farmyard,
and, entering a stable where a number of oxen were stalled, thrust
himself under a pile of hay in a vacant stall, where he lay concealed,
all but the tips of his horns. Presently one of the Oxen said to him,
"What has induced you to come in here? Aren't you aware of the risk
you are running of being captured by the herdsmen?" To which he
replied, "Pray let me stay for the present. When night comes I shall
easily escape under cover of the dark." In the course of the afternoon
more than one of the farm-hands came in, to attend to the wants of
the cattle, but not one of them noticed the presence of the Stag, who
accordingly began to congratulate himself on his escape and to express
his gratitude to the Oxen. "We wish you well," said the one who had
spoken before, "but you are not out of danger yet. If the master
comes, you will certainly be found out, for nothing ever escapes his
keen eyes." Presently, sure enough, in he came, and made a great to-do
about the way the Oxen were kept. "The beasts are starving," he cried;
"here, give them more hay, and put plenty of litter under them." As he
spoke, he seized an armful himself from the pile where the Stag lay
concealed, and at once detected him. Calling his men, he had him
seized at once and killed for the table.
THE MILKMAID AND HER PAIL
A farmer's daughter had been out to milk the cows, and was returning
to the dairy carrying her pail of milk upon her head. As she walked
along, she fell a-musing after this fashion: "The milk in this pail
will provide me with cream, which I will make into butter and take to
market to sell. With the money I will buy a number of eggs, and these,
when hatched, will produce chickens, and by and by I shall have quite
a large poultry-yard. Then I shall sell some of my fowls, and with the
money which they will bring in I will buy myself a new gown, which
I shall wear when I go to the fair; and all the young fellows will
admire it, and come and make love to me, but I shall toss my head
and have nothing to say to them." Forgetting all about the pail, and
suiting the action to the word, she tossed her head. Down went the
pail, all the milk was spilled, and all her fine castles in the air
vanished in a moment!
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
THE DOLPHINS, THE WHALES, AND THE SPRAT
The Dolphins quarrelled with the Whales, and before very long they
began fighting with one another. The battle was very fierce, and had
lasted some time without any sign of coming to an end, when a Sprat
thought that perhaps he could stop it; so he stepped in and tried to
persuade them to give up fighting and make friends. But one of the
Dolphins said to him contemptuously, "We would rather go on fighting
till we're all killed than be reconciled by a Sprat like you!"
THE FOX AND THE MONKEY
A Fox and a Monkey were on the road together, and fell into a dispute
as to which of the two was the better born. They kept it up for some
time, till they came to a place where the road passed through a
cemetery full of monuments, when the Monkey stopped and looked about
him and gave a great sigh. "Why do you sigh?" said the Fox. The Monkey
pointed to the tombs and replied, "All the monuments that you see here
were put up in honour of my forefathers, who in their day were eminent
men." The Fox was speechless for a moment, but quickly recovering he
said, "Oh! don't stop at any lie, sir; you're quite safe: I'm sure
none of your ancestors will rise up and expose you."
Boasters brag most when they cannot be detected.
THE ASS AND THE LAP-DOG
There was once a man who had an Ass and a Lap-dog. The Ass was housed
in the stable with plenty of oats and hay to eat and was as well off
as an ass could be. The little Dog was made a great pet of by his
master, who fondled him and often let him lie in his lap; and if he
went out to dinner, he would bring back a tit-bit or two to give him
when he ran to meet him on his return. The Ass had, it is true, a good
deal of work to do, carting or grinding the corn, or carrying the
burdens of the farm: and ere long he became very jealous, contrasting
his own life of labour with the ease and idleness of the Lap-dog. At
last one day he broke his halter, and frisking into the house just as
his master sat down to dinner, he pranced and capered about, mimicking
the frolics of the little favourite, upsetting the table and smashing
the crockery with his clumsy efforts. Not content with that, he even
tried to jump on his master's lap, as he had so often seen the dog
allowed to do. At that the servants, seeing the danger their master
was in, belaboured the silly Ass with sticks and cudgels, and drove
him back to his stable half dead with his beating. "Alas!" he cried,
"all this I have brought on myself. Why could I not be satisfied with
my natural and honourable position, without wishing to imitate the
ridiculous antics of that useless little Lap-dog?"
THE FIR-TREE AND THE BRAMBLE
A Fir-tree was boasting to a Bramble, and said, somewhat
contemptuously, "You poor creature, you are of no use whatever. Now,
look at me: I am useful for all sorts of things, particularly when men
build houses; they can't do without me then." But the Bramble replied,
"Ah, that's all very well: but you wait till they come with axes and
saws to cut you down, and then you'll wish you were a Bramble and not
a Fir."
Better poverty without a care than wealth with its many
obligations.
THE FROGS' COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SUN
Once upon a time the Sun was about to take to himself a wife. The
Frogs in terror all raised their voices to the skies, and Jupiter,
disturbed by the noise, asked them what they were croaking about. They
replied, "The Sun is bad enough even while he is single, drying up our
marshes with his heat as he does. But what will become of us if he
marries and begets other Suns?"
THE DOG, THE COCK, AND THE FOX
A Dog and a Cock became great friends, and agreed to travel together.
At nightfall the Cock flew up into the branches of a tree to roost,
while the Dog curled himself up inside the trunk, which was hollow. At
break of day the Cock woke up and crew, as usual. A Fox heard, and,
wishing to make a breakfast of him, came and stood under the tree and
begged him to come down. "I should so like," said he, "to make the
acquaintance of one who has such a beautiful voice." The Cock replied,
"Would you just wake my porter who sleeps at the foot of the tree?
He'll open the door and let you in." The Fox accordingly rapped on the
trunk, when out rushed the Dog and tore him in pieces.
THE GNAT AND THE BULL
A Gnat alighted on one of the horns of a Bull, and remained sitting
there for a considerable time. When it had rested sufficiently and was
about to fly away, it said to the Bull, "Do you mind if I go now?" The
Bull merely raised his eyes and remarked, without interest, "It's all
one to me; I didn't notice when you came, and I shan't know when you
go away."
We may often be of more consequence in our own eyes than in the
eyes of our neighbours.
THE BEAR AND THE TRAVELLERS
Two Travellers were on the road together, when a Bear suddenly
appeared on the scene. Before he observed them, one made for a tree at
the side of the road, and climbed up into the branches and hid there.
The other was not so nimble as his companion; and, as he could not
escape, he threw himself on the ground and pretended to be dead. The
Bear came up and sniffed all round him, but he kept perfectly still
and held his breath: for they say that a bear will not touch a dead
body. The Bear took him for a corpse, and went away. When the coast
was clear, the Traveller in the tree came down, and asked the other
what it was the Bear had whispered to him when he put his mouth to
his ear. The other replied, "He told me never again to travel with a
friend who deserts you at the first sign of danger."
Misfortune tests the sincerity of friendship.
THE SLAVE AND THE LION
A Slave ran away from his master, by whom he had been most cruelly
treated, and, in order to avoid capture, betook himself into the
desert. As he wandered about in search of food and shelter, he came to
a cave, which he entered and found to be unoccupied. Really, however,
it was a Lion's den, and almost immediately, to the horror of the
wretched fugitive, the Lion himself appeared. The man gave himself
up for lost: but, to his utter astonishment, the Lion, instead of
springing upon him and devouring him, came and fawned upon him, at
the same time whining and lifting up his paw. Observing it to be much
swollen and inflamed, he examined it and found a large thorn embedded
in the ball of the foot. He accordingly removed it and dressed
the wound as well as he could: and in course of time it healed up
completely. The Lion's gratitude was unbounded; he looked upon the man
as his friend, and they shared the cave for some time together. A day
came, however, when the Slave began to long for the society of his
fellow-men, and he bade farewell to the Lion and returned to the town.
Here he was presently recognised and carried off in chains to his
former master, who resolved to make an example of him, and ordered
that he should be thrown to the beasts at the next public spectacle in
the theatre. On the fatal day the beasts were loosed into the arena,
and among the rest a Lion of huge bulk and ferocious aspect; and then