Aesop's Fables; a new translation
Every man carries Two Bags about with him, one in front and one
behind, and both are packed full of faults. The Bag in front contains
his neighbours' faults, the one behind his own. Hence it is that men
do not see their own faults, but never fail to see those of others.
THE OXEN AND THE AXLETREES
A pair of Oxen were drawing a heavily loaded waggon along the highway,
and, as they tugged and strained at the yoke, the Axletrees creaked
and groaned terribly. This was too much for the Oxen, who turned round
indignantly and said, "Hullo, you there! Why do you make such a noise
when we do all the work?"
They complain most who suffer least.
THE BOY AND THE FILBERTS
A Boy put his hand into a jar of Filberts, and grasped as many as his
fist could possibly hold. But when he tried to pull it out again, he
found he couldn't do so, for the neck of the jar was too small to
allow of the passage of so large a handful. Unwilling to lose his nuts
but unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears. A bystander, who
saw where the trouble lay, said to him, "Come, my boy, don't be so
greedy: be content with half the amount, and you'll be able to get
your hand out without difficulty."
Do not attempt too much at once.
THE FROGS ASKING FOR A KING
Time was when the Frogs were discontented because they had no one to
rule over them: so they sent a deputation to Jupiter to ask him to
give them a King. Jupiter, despising the folly of their request, cast
a log into the pool where they lived, and said that that should be
their King. The Frogs were terrified at first by the splash, and
scuttled away into the deepest parts of the pool; but by and by, when
they saw that the log remained motionless, one by one they ventured to
the surface again, and before long, growing bolder, they began to feel
such contempt for it that they even took to sitting upon it. Thinking
that a King of that sort was an insult to their dignity, they sent to
Jupiter a second time, and begged him to take away the sluggish King
he had given them, and to give them another and a better one. Jupiter,
annoyed at being pestered in this way, sent a Stork to rule over them,
who no sooner arrived among them than he began to catch and eat the
Frogs as fast as he could.
THE OLIVE-TREE AND THE FIG-TREE
An Olive-tree taunted a Fig-tree with the loss of her leaves at a
certain season of the year. "You," she said, "lose your leaves every
autumn, and are bare till the spring: whereas I, as you see, remain
green and flourishing all the year round." Soon afterwards there came
a heavy fall of snow, which settled on the leaves of the Olive so that
she bent and broke under the weight; but the flakes fell harmlessly
through the bare branches of the Fig, which survived to bear many
another crop.
THE LION AND THE BOAR
One hot and thirsty day in the height of summer a Lion and a Boar came
down to a little spring at the same moment to drink. In a trice they
were quarrelling as to who should drink first. The quarrel soon became
a fight and they attacked one another with the utmost fury. Presently,
stopping for a moment to take breath, they saw some vultures seated on
a rock above evidently waiting for one of them to be killed, when they
would fly down and feed upon the carcase. The sight sobered them at
once, and they made up their quarrel, saying, "We had much better be
friends than fight and be eaten by vultures."
THE WALNUT-TREE
A Walnut-tree, which grew by the roadside, bore every year a plentiful
crop of nuts. Every one who passed by pelted its branches with sticks
and stones, in order to bring down the fruit, and the tree suffered
severely. "It is hard," it cried, "that the very persons who enjoy my
fruit should thus reward me with insults and blows."
THE MAN AND THE LION
A Man and a Lion were companions on a journey, and in the course of
conversation they began to boast about their prowess, and each claimed
to be superior to the other in strength and courage. They were still
arguing with some heat when they came to a cross-road where there
was a statue of a Man strangling a Lion. "There!" said the Man
triumphantly, "look at that! Doesn't that prove to you that we are
stronger than you?" "Not so fast, my friend," said the Lion: "that is
only your view of the case. If we Lions could make statues, you may be
sure that in most of them you would see the Man underneath."
There are two sides to every question.
THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE
A Tortoise, discontented with his lowly life, and envious of the birds
he saw disporting themselves in the air, begged an Eagle to teach him
to fly. The Eagle protested that it was idle for him to try, as nature
had not provided him with wings; but the Tortoise pressed him with
entreaties and promises of treasure, insisting that it could only be
a question of learning the craft of the air. So at length the Eagle
consented to do the best he could for him, and picked him up in his
talons. Soaring with him to a great height in the sky he then let him
go, and the wretched Tortoise fell headlong and was dashed to pieces
on a rock.
THE KID ON THE HOUSETOP
A Kid climbed up on to the roof of an outhouse, attracted by the
grass and other things that grew in the thatch; and as he stood there
browsing away, he caught sight of a Wolf passing below, and jeered at
him because he couldn't reach him. The Wolf only looked up and said,
"I hear you, my young friend; but it is not you who mock me, but the
roof on which you are standing."
THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL
A fox once fell into a trap, and after a struggle managed to get free,
but with the loss of his brush. He was then so much ashamed of his
appearance that he thought life was not worth living unless he could
persuade the other Foxes to part with their tails also, and thus
divert attention from his own loss. So he called a meeting of all the
Foxes, and advised them to cut off their tails: "They're ugly things
anyhow," he said, "and besides they're heavy, and it's tiresome to be
always carrying them about with you." But one of the other Foxes said,
"My friend, if you hadn't lost your own tail, you wouldn't be so keen
on getting us to cut off ours."
THE VAIN JACKDAW
Jupiter announced that he intended to appoint a king over the birds,
and named a day on which they were to appear before his throne, when
he would select the most beautiful of them all to be their ruler.
Wishing to look their best on the occasion they repaired to the banks
of a stream, where they busied themselves in washing and preening
their feathers. The Jackdaw was there along with the rest, and
realised that, with his ugly plumage, he would have no chance of being
chosen as he was: so he waited till they were all gone, and then
picked up the most gaudy of the feathers they had dropped, and
fastened them about his own body, with the result that he looked gayer
than any of them. When the appointed day came, the birds assembled
before Jupiter's throne; and, after passing them in review, he was
about to make the Jackdaw king, when all the rest set upon the
king-elect, stripped him of his borrowed plumes, and exposed him for
the Jackdaw that he was.
THE TRAVELLER AND HIS DOG
A Traveller was about to start on a journey, and said to his Dog, who
was stretching himself by the door, "Come, what are you yawning for?
Hurry up and get ready: I mean you to go with me." But the Dog merely
wagged his tail and said quietly, "I'm ready, master: it's you I'm
waiting for."
THE SHIPWRECKED MAN AND THE SEA
A Shipwrecked Man cast up on the beach fell asleep after his struggle
with the waves. When he woke up, he bitterly reproached the Sea for
its treachery in enticing men with its smooth and smiling surface,
and then, when they were well embarked, turning in fury upon them and
sending both ship and sailors to destruction. The Sea arose in the
form of a woman, and replied, "Lay not the blame on me, O sailor, but
on the Winds. By nature I am as calm and safe as the land itself: but
the Winds fall upon me with their gusts and gales, and lash me into a
fury that is not natural to me."
THE WILD BOAR AND THE FOX
A Wild Boar was engaged in whetting his tusks upon the trunk of a tree
in the forest when a Fox came by and, seeing what he was at, said to
him, "Why are you doing that, pray? The huntsmen are not out to-day,
and there are no other dangers at hand that I can see." "True, my
friend," replied the Boar, "but the instant my life is in danger I
shall need to use my tusks. There'll be no time to sharpen them then."
MERCURY AND THE SCULPTOR
Mercury was very anxious to know in what estimation he was held by
mankind; so he disguised himself as a man and walked into a Sculptor's
studio, where there were a number of statues finished and ready for
sale. Seeing a statue of Jupiter among the rest, he inquired the price
of it. "A crown," said the Sculptor. "Is that all?" said he, laughing;
"and" (pointing to one of Juno) "how much is that one?" "That," was
the reply, "is half a crown." "And how much might you be wanting for
that one over there, now?" he continued, pointing to a statue of
himself. "That one?" said the Sculptor; "Oh, I'll throw him in for
nothing if you'll buy the other two."
THE FAWN AND HIS MOTHER
A Hind said to her Fawn, who was now well grown and strong, "My son,
Nature has given you a powerful body and a stout pair of horns, and I
can't think why you are such a coward as to run away from the hounds."
Just then they both heard the sound of a pack in full cry, but at a
considerable distance. "You stay where you are," said the Hind; "never
mind me": and with that she ran off as fast as her legs could carry
her.
THE FOX AND THE LION
A Fox who had never seen a Lion one day met one, and was so terrified
at the sight of him that he was ready to die with fear. After a time
he met him again, and was still rather frightened, but not nearly so
much as he had been when he met him first. But when he saw him for the
third time he was so far from being afraid that he went up to him and
began to talk to him as if he had known him all his life.
THE EAGLE AND HIS CAPTOR
A Man once caught an Eagle, and after clipping his wings turned him
loose among the fowls in his hen-house, where he moped in a corner,
looking very dejected and forlorn. After a while his Captor was glad
enough to sell him to a neighbour, who took him home and let his wings
grow again. As soon as he had recovered the use of them, the Eagle
flew out and caught a hare, which he brought home and presented to his
benefactor. A fox observed this, and said to the Eagle, "Don't waste
your gifts on him! Go and give them to the man who first caught you;
make _him_ your friend, and then perhaps he won't catch you and clip
your wings a second time."
THE BLACKSMITH AND HIS DOG
A Blacksmith had a little Dog, which used to sleep when his master was
at work, but was very wide awake indeed when it was time for meals.
One day his master pretended to be disgusted at this, and when he had
thrown him a bone as usual, he said, "What on earth is the good of a
lazy cur like you? When I am hammering away at my anvil, you just curl
up and go to sleep: but no sooner do I stop for a mouthful of food
than you wake up and wag your tail to be fed."
Those who will not work deserve to starve.
THE STAG AT THE POOL
A thirsty Stag went down to a pool to drink. As he bent over the
surface he saw his own reflection in the water, and was struck with
admiration for his fine spreading antlers, but at the same time he