Aesop's Fables; a new translation
disgusted at the promotion of the Monkey: so having one day found a
trap with a piece of meat in it, he took the Monkey there and said to
him, "Here is a dainty morsel I have found, sire; I did not take it
myself, because I thought it ought to be reserved for you, our King.
Will you be pleased to accept it?" The Monkey made at once for the
meat and got caught in the trap. Then he bitterly reproached the Fox
for leading him into danger; but the Fox only laughed and said, "O
Monkey, you call yourself King of the Beasts and haven't more sense
than to be taken in like that!"
THE THIEVES AND THE COCK
Some Thieves broke into a house, and found nothing worth taking except
a Cock, which they seized and carried off with them. When they were
preparing their supper, one of them caught up the Cock, and was about
to wring his neck, when he cried out for mercy and said, "Pray do not
kill me: you will find me a most useful bird, for I rouse honest men
to their work in the morning by my crowing." But the Thief replied
with some heat, "Yes, I know you do, making it still harder for us to
get a livelihood. Into the pot you go!"
THE FARMER AND FORTUNE
A Farmer was ploughing one day on his farm when he turned up a pot of
golden coins with his plough. He was overjoyed at his discovery, and
from that time forth made an offering daily at the shrine of the
Goddess of the Earth. Fortune was displeased at this, and came to him
and said, "My man, why do you give Earth the credit for the gift which
I bestowed upon you? You never thought of thanking me for your good
luck; but should you be unlucky enough to lose what you have gained
I know very well that I, Fortune, should then come in for all the
blame."
Show gratitude where gratitude is due.
JUPITER AND THE MONKEY
Jupiter issued a proclamation to all the beasts, and offered a
prize to the one who, in his judgment, produced the most beautiful
offspring. Among the rest came the Monkey, carrying a baby monkey in
her arms, a hairless, flat-nosed little fright. When they saw it, the
gods all burst into peal on peal of laughter; but the Monkey hugged
her little one to her, and said, "Jupiter may give the prize to
whomsoever he likes: but I shall always think my baby the most
beautiful of them all."
FATHER AND SONS
A certain man had several Sons who were always quarrelling with one
another, and, try as he might, he could not get them to live together
in harmony. So he determined to convince them of their folly by the
following means. Bidding them fetch a bundle of sticks, he invited
each in turn to break it across his knee. All tried and all failed:
and then he undid the bundle, and handed them the sticks one by one,
when they had no difficulty at all in breaking them. "There, my boys,"
said he, "united you will be more than a match for your enemies: but
if you quarrel and separate, your weakness will put you at the mercy
of those who attack you."
Union is strength.
THE LAMP
A Lamp, well filled with oil, burned with a clear and steady light,
and began to swell with pride and boast that it shone more brightly
than the sun himself. Just then a puff of wind came and blew it out.
Some one struck a match and lit it again, and said, "You just keep
alight, and never mind the sun. Why, even the stars never need to be
relit as you had to be just now."
THE OWL AND THE BIRDS
The Owl is a very wise bird; and once, long ago, when the first oak
sprouted in the forest, she called all the other Birds together and
said to them, "You see this tiny tree? If you take my advice, you will
destroy it now when it is small: for when it grows big, the mistletoe
will appear upon it, from which birdlime will be prepared for your
destruction." Again, when the first flax was sown, she said to them,
"Go and eat up that seed, for it is the seed of the flax, out of which
men will one day make nets to catch you." Once more, when she saw the
first archer, she warned the Birds that he was their deadly enemy, who
would wing his arrows with their own feathers and shoot them. But they
took no notice of what she said: in fact, they thought she was rather
mad, and laughed at her. When, however, everything turned out as she
had foretold, they changed their minds and conceived a great respect
for her wisdom. Hence, whenever she appears, the Birds attend upon
her in the hope of hearing something that may be for their good. She,
however, gives them advice no longer, but sits moping and pondering on
the folly of her kind.
THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN
An Ass found a Lion's Skin, and dressed himself up in it. Then he went
about frightening every one he met, for they all took him to be a
lion, men and beasts alike, and took to their heels when they saw
him coming. Elated by the success of his trick, he loudly brayed in
triumph. The Fox heard him, and recognised him at once for the Ass he
was, and said to him, "Oho, my friend, it's you, is it? I, too, should
have been afraid if I hadn't heard your voice."
THE SHE-GOATS AND THEIR BEARDS
Jupiter granted beards to the She-Goats at their own request, much
to the disgust of the he-Goats, who considered this to be an
unwarrantable invasion of their rights and dignities. So they sent a
deputation to him to protest against his action. He, however, advised
them not to raise any objections. "What's in a tuft of hair?" said he.
"Let them have it if they want it. They can never be a match for you
in strength."
THE OLD LION
A Lion, enfeebled by age and no longer able to procure food for
himself by force, determined to do so by cunning. Betaking himself to
a cave, he lay down inside and feigned to be sick: and whenever any of
the other animals entered to inquire after his health, he sprang upon
them and devoured them. Many lost their lives in this way, till one
day a Fox called at the cave, and, having a suspicion of the truth,
addressed the Lion from outside instead of going in, and asked him how
he did. He replied that he was in a very bad way: "But," said he, "why
do you stand outside? Pray come in." "I should have done so," answered
the Fox, "if I hadn't noticed that all the footprints point towards
the cave and none the other way."
THE BOY BATHING
A Boy was bathing in a river and got out of his depth, and was in
great danger of being drowned. A man who was passing along a road
heard his cries for help, and went to the riverside and began to scold
him for being so careless as to get into deep water, but made no
attempt to help him. "Oh, sir," cried the Boy, "please help me first
and scold me afterwards."
Give assistance, not advice, in a crisis.
THE QUACK FROG
Once upon a time a Frog came forth from his home in the marshes and
proclaimed to all the world that he was a learned physician, skilled
in drugs and able to cure all diseases. Among the crowd was a Fox, who
called out, "You a doctor! Why, how can you set up to heal others when
you cannot even cure your own lame legs and blotched and wrinkled
skin?"
Physician, heal thyself.
THE SWOLLEN FOX
A hungry Fox found in a hollow tree a quantity of bread and meat,
which some shepherds had placed there against their return. Delighted
with his find he slipped in through the narrow aperture and greedily
devoured it all. But when he tried to get out again he found himself
so swollen after his big meal that he could not squeeze through the
hole, and fell to whining and groaning over his misfortune. Another
Fox, happening to pass that way, came and asked him what the matter
was; and, on learning the state of the case, said, "Well, my friend, I
see nothing for it but for you to stay where you are till you shrink
to your former size; you'll get out then easily enough."
THE MOUSE, THE FROG, AND THE HAWK
A Mouse and a Frog struck up a friendship; they were not well mated,
for the Mouse lived entirely on land, while the Frog was equally
at home on land or in the water. In order that they might never be
separated, the Frog tied himself and the Mouse together by the leg
with a piece of thread. As long as they kept on dry land all went
fairly well; but, coming to the edge of a pool, the Frog jumped in,
taking the Mouse with him, and began swimming about and croaking with
pleasure. The unhappy Mouse, however, was soon drowned, and floated
about on the surface in the wake of the Frog. There he was spied by a
Hawk, who pounced down on him and seized him in his talons. The Frog
was unable to loose the knot which bound him to the Mouse, and thus
was carried off along with him and eaten by the Hawk.
THE BOY AND THE NETTLES
A Boy was gathering berries from a hedge when his hand was stung by a
Nettle. Smarting with the pain, he ran to tell his mother, and said
to her between his sobs, "I only touched it ever so lightly, mother."
"That's just why you got stung, my son," she said; "if you had grasped
it firmly, it wouldn't have hurt you in the least."
THE PEASANT AND THE APPLE-TREE
A Peasant had an Apple-tree growing in his garden, which bore no
fruit, but merely served to provide a shelter from the heat for the
sparrows and grasshoppers which sat and chirped in its branches.
Disappointed at its barrenness he determined to cut it down, and went
and fetched his axe for the purpose. But when the sparrows and the
grasshoppers saw what he was about to do, they begged him to spare
it, and said to him, "If you destroy the tree we shall have to seek
shelter elsewhere, and you will no longer have our merry chirping to
enliven your work in the garden." He, however, refused to listen to
them, and set to work with a will to cut through the trunk. A few
strokes showed that it was hollow inside and contained a swarm of bees
and a large store of honey. Delighted with his find he threw down his
axe, saying, "The old tree is worth keeping after all."
Utility is most men's test of worth.
THE JACKDAW AND THE PIGEONS
A Jackdaw, watching some Pigeons in a farmyard, was filled with envy
when he saw how well they were fed, and determined to disguise himself
as one of them, in order to secure a share of the good things they
enjoyed. So he painted himself white from head to foot and joined the
flock; and, so long as he was silent, they never suspected that he
was not a pigeon like themselves. But one day he was unwise enough
to start chattering, when they at once saw through his disguise and
pecked him so unmercifully that he was glad to escape and join his own
kind again. But the other jackdaws did not recognise him in his white
dress, and would not let him feed with them, but drove him away: and
so he became a homeless wanderer for his pains.
JUPITER AND THE TORTOISE
Jupiter was about to marry a wife, and determined to celebrate the
event by inviting all the animals to a banquet. They all came except
the Tortoise, who did not put in an appearance, much to Jupiter's
surprise. So when he next saw the Tortoise he asked him why he had not
been at the banquet. "I don't care for going out," said the Tortoise;
"there's no place like home." Jupiter was so much annoyed by this
reply that he decreed that from that time forth the Tortoise should
carry his house upon his back, and never be able to get away from home
even if he wished to.
THE DOG IN THE MANGER
A Dog was lying in a Manger on the hay which had been put there for
the cattle, and when they came and tried to eat, he growled and
snapped at them and wouldn't let them get at their food. "What a
selfish beast," said one of them to his companions; "he can't eat
himself and yet he won't let those eat who can."
THE TWO BAGS