Three hundred Æsop’s fables

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THREE HUNDRED
ÆSOP’S FABLES

LITERALLY TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK

By the
Rev. George Fyler Townsend,gift magnetic tiles for 14 year olds M.A.

LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS

THEBROADWAY, LUDGATE
NEW YORK: 416 BROOME STREET

CONTENTS

PREFACE

The Tale, the Parable, and the Fable are all common and popular modes ofconveying instruction. Each is distinguished by its own specialcharacteristics. The Tale consists simply in the narration of a story eitherfounded on facts, or created solely by the imagination, and not necessarilyassociated with the teaching of any moral lesson. The Parable is the designeduse of language purposely intended to convey a hidden and secret meaning otherthan that contained in the words themselves; and which may or may not bear aspecial reference to the hearer, or reader. The Fable partly agrees with, andpartly differs from both of these. It will contain, like the Tale, a short butreal narrative; it will seek, like the Parable, to convey a hidden meaning, andthat not so much by the use of language, as by the skilful introduction offictitious characters; and yet, unlike to either Tale or Parable, it will everkeep in view, as its high prerogative, and inseparable attribute, the greatpurpose of instruction, and will necessarily seek to inculcate some moralmaxim, social duty, or political truth. The true Fable, if it rise to its highrequirements, ever aims at one great end and purpose—the representation ofhuman motive, and the improvement of human conduct, and yet it so conceals itsdesign under the disguise of fictitious characters, by clothing with speech theanimals of the field, the birds of the air, the trees of the wood, or thebeasts of the forest, that the reader shall receive advice without perceivingthe presence of the adviser. Thus the superiority of the counsellor, whichoften renders counsel unpalatable, is kept out of view, and the lesson comeswith the greater acceptance when the reader is led, unconsciously to himself,to have his sympathies enlisted in behalf of what is pure, honourable, andpraiseworthy, and to have his indignation excited against what is low, ignoble,and unworthy. The true fabulist, therefore, discharges a most importantfunction. He is neither a narrator, nor an allegorist. He is a great teacher, acorrector of morals, a censor of vice, and a commender of virtue. In thisconsists the superiority of the Fable over the Tale or the Parable. Thefabulist is to create a laugh, but yet, under a merry guise, to conveyinstruction. Phædrus, the great imitator of Æsop, plainly indicates thisdouble purpose to be the true office of the writer of fables.

Duplex libelli dos est: quod risum movet,
Et quod prudenti vitam consilio monet.

The continual observance of this twofold aim creates the charm, and accountsfor the universal favour, of the fables of Æsop. “The fable,” says Professor K.O. Mueller, “originated in Greece in an intentional travestie of human affairs.The ‘ainos,’ as its name denotes, is an admonition, or rather a reproof, veiled,either from fear of an excess of frankness, or from a love of fun and jest,beneath the fiction of an occurrence happening among beasts; and wherever wehave any ancient and authentic account of the Æsopian fables, we find it to bethe same.”^[1]

The construction of a fable involves a minute attention to (1), the narrationitself; (2), the deduction of the moral; and (3), a careful maintenance of theindividual characteristics of the fictitious personages introduced into it. Thenarration should relate to one simple action, consistent with itself, andneither be overladen with a multiplicity of details, nor distracted by avariety of circumstances. The moral or lesson should be so plain, and sointimately interwoven with, and so necessarily dependent on, the narration,that every reader should be compelled to give to it the same undeniableinterpretation. The introduction of the animals or fictitious characters shouldbe marked with an unexceptionable care and attention to their naturalattributes, and to the qualities attributed to them by universal popularconsent. The Fox should be always cunning, the Hare timid, the Lion bold, theWolf cruel, the Bull strong, the Horse proud, and the Ass patient. Many ofthese fables are characterized by the strictest observance of these rules. Theyare occupied with one short narrative, from which the moral naturally flows,and with which it is intimately associated. “’Tis the simple manner,” saysDodsley,^[2]“inwhich the morals of Æsop are interwoven with his fables that distinguisheshim, and gives him the preference over all other mythologists. His ‘Mountaindelivered of a Mouse,’ produces the moral of his fable in ridicule of pompouspretenders; and his Crow, when she drops her cheese, lets fall, as it were byaccident, the strongest admonition against the power of flattery. There is noneed of a separate sentence to explain it; no possibility of impressing itdeeper, by that load we too often see of accumulated reflections.”^[3]An equal amountof praise is due for the consistency with which the characters of the animals,fictitiously introduced, are marked. While they are made to depict the motivesand passions of men, they retain, in an eminent degree, their own specialfeatures of craft or counsel, of cowardice or courage, of generosity orrapacity.

These terms of praise, it must be confessed, cannot be bestowed on all thefables in this collection. Many of them lack that unity of design, that closeconnection of the moral with the narrative, that wise choice in theintroduction of the animals, which constitute the charm and excellency of trueÆsopian fable. This inferiority of some to others is sufficiently accountedfor in the history of the origin and descent of these fables. The great bulk ofthem are not the immediate work of Æsop. Many are obtained from ancientauthors prior to the time in which he lived. Thus, the fable of the “Hawk andthe Nightingale” is related by Hesiod;^[4]the “Eagle wounded by an Arrow, wingedwith its own feathers,” by Æschylus;^[5]the “Fox avenging his wrongs on theEagle,” by Archilochus.^[6]Many of them again are of later origin,and are to be traced to the monks of the middle ages: and yet this collection,though thus made up of fables both earlier and later than the era of Æsop,rightfully bears his name, because he composed so large a number (all framed inthe same mould, and conformed to the same fashion, and stamped with the samelineaments, image, and superscription) as to secure to himself the right to beconsidered the father of Greek fables, and the founder of this class ofwriting, which has ever since borne his name, and has secured for him, throughall succeeding ages, the position of the first of moralists.^[7]

The fables were in the first instance only narrated by Æsop, and for a longtime were handed down by the uncertain channel of oral tradition. Socrates ismentioned by Plato^[8]as having employed his time while in prison, awaiting the return of the sacredship from Delphos which was to be the signal of his death, in turning some ofthese fables into verse, but he thus versified only such as he remembered.Demetrius Phalereus, a philosopher at Athens about 300 B.C., is said to havemade the first collection of these fables. Phædrus, a slave by birth or bysubsequent misfortunes, and admitted by Augustus to the honours of a freedman,imitated many of these fables in Latin iambics about the commencement of theChristian era. Aphthonius, a rhetorician of Antioch, A.D. 315, wrote a treatiseon, and converted into Latin prose, some of these fables. This translation isthe more worthy of notice, as it illustrates a custom of common use, both inthese and in later times. The rhetoricians and philosophers were accustomed togive the Fables of Æsop as an exercise to their scholars, not only invitingthem to discuss the moral of the tale, but also to practice and to perfectthemselves thereby in style and rules of grammar, by making for themselves newand various versions of the fables. Ausonius,^[9]the friend of the Emperor Valentinian,and the latest poet of eminence in the Western Empire, has handed down some ofthese fables in verse, which Julianus Titianus, a contemporary writer of nogreat name, translated into prose. Avienus, also a contemporary of Ausonius,put some of these fables into Latin elegiacs, which are given by Nevelet (in abook we shall refer to hereafter), and are occasionally incorporated with theeditions of Phædrus.

Seven centuries elapsed before the next notice is found of the Fables of Æsop.During this long period these fables seem to have suffered an eclipse, to havedisappeared and to have been forgotten; and it is at the commencement of thefourteenth century, when the Byzantine emperors were the great patrons oflearning, and amidst the splendors of an Asiatic court, that we next findhonours paid to the name and memory of Æsop. Maximus Planudes, a learned monkof Constantinople, made a collection of about a hundred and fifty of thesefables. Little is known of his history. Planudes, however, was no mere recluse,shut up in his monastery. He took an active part in public affairs. In 1327A.D. he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Venice by the Emperor Andronicusthe Elder. This brought him into immediate contact with the Western Patriarch,whose interests he henceforth advocated with so much zeal as to bring on himsuspicion and persecution from the rulers of the Eastern Church. Planudes hasbeen exposed to a two-fold accusation. He is charged on the one hand withhaving had before him a copy of Babrias (to whom we shall have occasion torefer at greater length in the end of this Preface), and to have had the badtaste “to transpose,” or to turn his poetical version into prose: and he isasserted, on the other hand, never to have seen the Fables of Æsop at all, butto have himself invented and made the fables which he palmed off under the nameof the famous Greek fabulist. The truth lies between these two extremes.Planudes may have invented some few fables, or have inserted some that werecurrent in his day; but there is an abundance of unanswerable internal evidenceto prove that he had an acquaintance with the veritable fables of Æsop,although the versions he had access to were probably corrupt, as contained inthe various translations and disquisitional exercises of the rhetoricians andphilosophers. His collection is interesting and important, not only as theparent source or foundation of the earlier printed versions of Æsop, but asthe direct channel of attracting to these fables the attention of the learned.

The eventual re-introduction, however, of these Fables of Æsop to their highplace in the general literature of Christendom, is to be looked for in the Westrather than in the East. The calamities gradually thickening round the EasternEmpire, and the fall of Constantinople, 1453 A.D. combined with other events topromote the rapid restoration of learning in Italy; and with that recovery oflearning the revival of an interest in the Fables of Æsop is closelyidentified. These fables, indeed, were among the first writings of an earlierantiquity that attracted attention. They took their place beside the HolyScriptures and the ancient classic authors, in the minds of the great studentsof that day. Lorenzo Valla, one of the most famous promoters of Italianlearning, not only translated into Latin the Iliad of Homer and the Historiesof Herodotus and Thucydides, but also the Fables of Æsop.

These fables, again, were among the books brought into an extended circulationby the agency of the printing press. Bonus Accursius, as early as 1475–1480,printed the collection of these fables, made by Planudes, which, within fiveyears afterwards, Caxton translated into English, and printed at his press inWestminster Abbey, 1485.^[10]It must be mentioned also that thelearning of this age has left permanent traces of its influence on thesefables,^[11]bycausing the interpolation with them (as a κτῆμα εἰς ἰει) of some of thoseamusing stories which were so frequently introduced into the public discoursesof the great preachers of those days, and of which specimens are yet to befound in the extant sermons of Jean Raulin, Meffreth, and Gabriel Barlette.^[12]The publicationof this era which most probably has influenced these fables, is the “LiberFacetiarum,”^[13]abook consisting of a hundred jests and stories, by the celebrated PoggioBracciolini, published A.D. 1471, from which the two fables of the “Miller, hisSon, and the Ass,” and the “Fox and the Woodcutter,” are undoubtedly selected.

The knowledge of these fables rapidly spread from Italy into Germany, and theirpopularity was increased by the favour and sanction given to them by the greatfathers of the Reformation, who frequently used them as vehicles for satire andprotest against the tricks and abuses of the Romish ecclesiastics. The zealousand renowned Camerarius, who took an active part in the preparation of theConfession of Augsburgh, found time, amidst his numerous avocations, to preparea version for the students in the University of Tübingen, in which he was aprofessor. Martin Luther translated twenty of these fables, and was urged byMelancthon to complete the whole; while Gottfried Arnold, the celebratedLutheran theologian, and librarian to Frederick I., king of Prussia, mentionsthat the great Reformer valued the Fables of Æsop next after the HolyScriptures. In 1546 A.D. the second printed edition of the collection of theFables made by Planudes, was issued from the printing-press of Robert Stephens,in which were inserted some additional fables from a MS. in the Bibliothêque duRoy at Paris.

The greatest advance, however, towards a re-introduction of the Fables of Æsopto a place in the literature of the world, was made in the early part of theseventeenth century. In the year 1610, a learned Swiss, Isaac Nicholas Nevelet,sent forth the third printed edition of these fables, in a work entitled“Mythologia Æsopica.” This was a noble effort to do honour to the greatfabulist, and was the most perfect collection of Æsopian fables ever yetpublished. It consisted, in addition to the collection of fables given byPlanudes and reprinted in the various earlier editions, of one hundred andthirty-six new fables (never before published) from MSS. in the Library of theVatican, of forty fables attributed to Aphthonius, and of forty-three fromBabrias. It also contained the Latin versions of the same fables by Phædrus,Avienus, and other authors. This volume of Nevelet forms a complete “CorpusFabularum Æsopicarum;” and to his labours Æsop owes his restoration touniversal favour as one of the wise moralists and great teachers of mankind.During the interval of three centuries which has elapsed since the publicationof this volume of Nevelet’s, no book, with the exception of the HolyScriptures, has had a wider circulation than Æsop’s Fables. They have beentranslated into the greater number of the languages both of Europe and of theEast, and have been read, and will be read, for generations, alike by Jew,Heathen, Mohammedan, and Christian. They are, at the present time, not onlyengrafted into the literature of the civilized world, but are familiar ashousehold words in the common intercourse and daily conversation of theinhabitants of all countries.

This collection of Nevelet’s is the great culminating point in the history ofthe revival of the fame and reputation of Æsopian Fables. It is remarkable,also, as containing in its preface the germ of an idea, which has been sinceproved to have been correct by a strange chain of circumstances. Neveletintimates an opinion, that a writer named Babrias would be found to be theveritable author of the existing form of Æsopian Fables. This intimation hassince given rise to a series of inquiries, the knowledge of which is necessary,in the present day, to a full understanding of the true position of Æsop inconnection with the writings that bear his name.

The history of Babrias is so strange and interesting, that it might not unfitlybe enumerated among the curiosities of literature. He is generally supposed tohave been a Greek of Asia Minor, of one of the Ionic Colonies, but the exactperiod in which he lived and wrote is yet unsettled. He is placed, by onecritic,^[14]as farback as the institution of the Achaian League, B.C. 250; by another as late asthe Emperor Severus, who died A.D. 235; while others make him a contemporarywith Phædrus in the time of Augustus. At whatever time he wrote his version ofÆsop, by some strange accident it seems to have entirely disappeared, and tohave been lost sight of. His name is mentioned by Avienus; by Suidas, acelebrated critic, at the close of the eleventh century, who gives in hislexicon several isolated verses of his version of the fables; and by JohnTzetzes, a grammarian and poet of Constantinople, who lived during the latterhalf of the twelfth century. Nevelet, in the preface to the volume which wehave described, points out that the Fables of Planudes could not be the work ofÆsop, as they contain a reference in two places to “Holy monks,” and give averse from the Epistle of St. James as an “Epimith” to one of the fables, andsuggests Babrias as their author. Francis Vavassor,^[15]a learned French jesuit, entered atgreater length on this subject, and produced further proofs from internalevidence, from the use of the word Piræus in describing the harbour of Athens,a name which was not given till two hundred years after Æsop, and from theintroduction of other modern words, that many of these fables must have been atleast committed to writing posterior to the time of Æsop, and more boldlysuggests Babrias as their author or collector.^[16]These various references to Babriasinduced Dr. Richard Bentley, at the close of the seventeenth century, toexamine more minutely the existing versions of Æsop’s Fables, and hemaintained that many of them could, with a slight change of words, be resolvedinto the Scazonic^[17]iambics, in which Babrias is known tohave written: and, with a greater freedom than the evidence then justified, heput forth, in behalf of Babrias, a claim to the exclusive authorship of thesefables. Such a seemingly extravagant theory, thus roundly asserted, excitedmuch opposition. Dr. Bentley^[18]met with an able antagonist in amember of the University of Oxford, the Hon. Mr. Charles Boyle,^[19]afterwards Earlof Orrery. Their letters and disputations on this subject, enlivened on bothsides with much wit and learning, will ever bear a conspicuous place in theliterary history of the seventeenth century. The arguments of Dr. Bentley wereyet further defended a few years later by Mr. Thomas Tyrwhitt, a well-readscholar, who gave up high civil distinctions that he might devote himself themore unreservedly to literary pursuits. Mr. Tyrwhitt published, A.D. 1776, aDissertation on Babrias, and a collection of his fables in choliambic metrefound in a MS. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Francesco de Furia, a learnedItalian, contributed further testimony to the correctness of the suppositionthat Babrias had made a veritable collection of fables by printing from a MS.contained in the Vatican library several fables never before published. In theyear 1844, however, new and unexpected light was thrown upon this subject. Averitable copy of Babrias was found in a manner as singular as were the MSS. ofQuinctilian’s Institutes, and of Cicero’s Orations by Poggio in the monasteryof St. Gall A.D. 1416. M. Menoides, at the suggestion of M. Villemain, Ministerof Public Instruction to King Louis Philippe, had been entrusted with acommission to search for ancient MSS., and in carrying out his instructions hefound a MS. at the convent of St. Laura, on Mount Athos, which proved to be acopy of the long suspected and wished-for choliambic version of Babrias. ThisMS. was found to be divided into two books, the one containing a hundred andtwenty-five, and the other ninety-five fables. This discovery attracted verygeneral attention, not only as confirming, in a singular manner, theconjectures so boldly made by a long chain of critics, but as bringing to lightvaluable literary treasures tending to establish the reputation, and to confirmthe antiquity and authenticity of the great mass of Æsopian Fable. The Fablesthus recovered were soon published. They found a most worthy editor in the latedistinguished Sir George Cornewall Lewis, and a translator equally qualifiedfor his task, in the Reverend James Davies, M.A., sometime a scholar of LincolnCollege, Oxford, and himself a relation of their English editor. Thus, after aneclipse of many centuries, Babrias shines out as the earliest, and mostreliable collector of veritable Æsopian Fables.

Having thus given a complete synopsis of the origin, descent, and history ofthese fables, it only remains to explain the reasons which have induced thePublishers to prepare a new edition of Æsop, and to state the grounds on whichthey hope to establish a claim for support and public approval in theirundertaking. They boldly assert that the new light thrown upon these fables bythe discovery of the metrical version by Babrias, renders a new translation aninevitable necessity. The two chief existing English versions of Æsop are thoseby Archdeacon Croxall, and by the late Rev. Thomas James, canon ofPeterborough. The first of these deviates so very far from the text, that itdegenerates into a parody. The fables are so padded, diluted, and altered, asto give very little idea to the reader either of the terseness or the meaningof the original. The second of these is an improvement on its predecessor, butMr. James, either out of compliance with the wishes of the publishers, or incondescension to the taste prevalent some twenty years ago, has so freelyintroduced as the point of the fable conventional English sayings which are notsanctioned by the Greek, and which in many instances are scarcely equivalent toit, that his version frequently approaches a paraphrase rather than atranslation.

The Publishers therefore ground their first claim for public approval on thenecessity of a new translation. They trust further that their present work willhave met that necessity in a satisfactory manner. They have sought to give asnearly a literal translation as possible of the Greek text; and they hope thatif the reader should miss the smoothness and thoroughly English tone whichcharacterized the previous version of these fables, he will be more than repaidby gaining a nearer approach to the spirit, thoughts, and (in some cases) tothe epigrammatic terseness of the original. The Publishers trust to vindicate,on another ground, their claims to a share of public patronage. They haveinserted a hundred new fables, and they have the satisfaction of knowing thatthis edition, on which they have spared no pains nor cost, will afford a largerchoice, and greater variety, to the numerous and increasing circle of theadmirers of Æsopian Fables. Whatever be the result of their labours, they willbe content to have contributed towards promoting a wider acquaintance withfables, the wisdom, excellency, and wonderful suitableness of which to everycondition of humanity has been attested and confirmed by the experience of somany generations; and which in all ages, amidst the ever changing fluctuationsof human opinion, are adapted alike to amuse the young, and to instruct thethoughtful, and are well fitted to teach all who study them lessons useful fortheir guidance in every position of political, social, civil, or domestic life.

The Editor must claim the privilege of adding a few words on a matter personalto himself. He has already within the last few months been connected with oneedition of Æsop, and it may seem strange that he should be willing to undertakethe superintendence of another. His answer is, that the two works on which hehas been engaged were totally distinct, and entirely independent of each other.The first was a request to furnish new morals and applications to a definitenumber of fables; Ihe other was a commission to add a large number ofadditional fables and to make a wholly new translation. The necessity of a newand improved translation the Editor then recognized, and would have willinglyundertaken. It was a wish he had much at heart, and when the proposal wasvoluntarily made to him by the present Publishers, to undertake the task of anew translation of an enlarged number of Æsop’s Fables, he saw no reason forrefusing the offer because of his prior discharge of a totally differentdesign; and he resolved to comply with the request submitted to him, and to dohis best towards the attainment of so desirable an object as a purertranslation and more literal rendering of fables so justly celebrated.

The following are the sources from which the present translation has beenprepared:—

Babrii Fabulæ Æsopeæ. George Cornewall Lewis. Oxford, 1846.
Babrii Fabulæ Æsopeæ. E codice manuscripto partem secundam edidit.George Cornewall Lewis. London: Parker, 1857.
Mythologica Æsopica. Opera et studia Isaaci Nicholai Neveleti.Frankfort, 1610.
Fabulæ Æsopiacæ, quales ante Planudem ferebantur cura et studioFrancisci de Furia. Lipsiæ, 1810.
Αἰσωπεὶων Μυθῶν Συναγωγή. Ex recognitione Caroli Halmii. Lipsiæ, 1851
Phædri Fabulæ Esopiæ. Delphin Classics. 1822.

GEORGE FYLER TOWNSEND

LIFE OF AESOP

The Life and History of Æsop is involved, like that of Homer, the most famousof Greek poets, in much obscurity. Sardis, the capital of Lydia; Samos, a Greekisland; Mesembria, an ancient colony in Thrace; and Cotiæum, the chief city ofa province of Phrygia, contend for the distinction of being the birthplace ofÆsop. Although the honour thus claimed cannot be definitely assigned to any oneof these places, yet there are a few incidents now generally accepted byscholars as established facts, relating to the birth, life, and death of Æsop.He is, by an almost universal consent, allowed to have been born about the year620 B.C., and to have been by birth a slave. He was owned by two masters insuccession, both inhabitants of Samos, Xanthus and Jadmon, the latter of whomgave him his liberty as a reward for his learning and wit. One of theprivileges of a freedman in the ancient republics of Greece, was the permissionto take an active interest in public affairs; and Æsop, like the philosophersPhædo, Menippus, and Epictetus, in later times, raised himself from theindignity of a servile condition to a position of high renown. In his desirealike to instruct and to be instructed, he travelled through many countries,and among others came to Sardis, the capital of the famous king of Lydia, thegreat patron, in that day, of learning and of learned men. He met at the courtof Crœsus with Solon, Thales, and other sages, and is related so to havepleased his royal master by the part he took in the conversations held withthese philosophers, that he applied to him an expression which has since passedinto a proverb, “μᾶλλον ὁ Φρύξ.” “The Phrygian has spoken better than all.”

On the invitation of Crœsus he fixed his residence at Sardis, and was employedby that monarch in various difficult and delicate affairs of State. In hisdischarge of these commissions he visited the different petty republics ofGreece. At one time he is found in Corinth, and at another in Athens,endeavouring, by the narration of some of his wise fables, to reconcile theinhabitants of those cities to the administration of their respective rulersPeriander and Pisistratus. One of these ambassadorial missions, undertaken atthe command of Crœsus, was the occasion of his death. Having been sent toDelphi with a large sum of gold for distribution among the citizens, he was soprovoked at their covetousness that he refused to divide the money, and sent itback to his master. The Delphians, enraged at this treatment, accused him ofimpiety, and, in spite of his sacred character as ambassador, executed him as apublic criminal. This cruel death of Æsop was not unavenged. The citizens ofDelphi were visited with a series of calamities, until they made a publicreparation of their crime; and, “The blood of Æsop” became a well-known adage,bearing witness to the truth that deeds of wrong would not pass unpunished.Neither did the great fabulist lack posthumous honours; for a statue was erectedto his memory at Athens, the work of Lysippus, one of the most famous of Greeksculptors. Phædrus thus immortalizes the event:—

Æsopo ingentem statuam posuere Attici,
Servumque collocarunt æternâ in basi:
Patere honoris scirent ut cuncti viam;
Nec generi tribui sed virtuti gloriam.

These few facts are all that can be relied on with any degree of certainty, inreference to the birth, life, and death of Æsop. They were first brought tolight, after a patient search and diligent perusal of ancient authors, by aFrenchman, M. Claude Gaspard Bachet de Mezeriac, who declined the honour ofbeing tutor to Louis XIII. of France, from his desire to devote himselfexclusively to literature. He published his Life of Æsop, Anno Domini 1632.The later investigations of a host of English and German scholars have addedvery little to the facts given by M. Mezeriac. The substantial truth of hisstatements has been confirmed by later criticism and inquiry. It remains tostate, that prior to this publication of M. Mezeriac, the life of Æsop wasfrom the pen of Maximus Planudes, a monk of Constantinople, who was sent on anembassy to Venice by the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus the elder, and who wrotein the early part of the fourteenth century. His life was prefixed to all theearly editions of these fables, and was republished as late as 1727 byArchdeacon Croxall as the introduction to his edition of Æsop. This life byPlanudes contains, however, so small an amount of truth, and is so full ofabsurd pictures of the grotesque deformity of Æsop, of wondrous apocryphalstories, of lying legends, and gross anachronisms, that it is now universallycondemned as false, puerile, and unauthentic.^[20]It is given up in the present day, bygeneral consent, as unworthy of the slightest credit.

AESOP’S FABLES

The Lion And The Mouse

A LION was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising upangrily, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteouslyentreated, saying: “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repayyour kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go. It happened shortly after thisthat the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to theground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came and gnawed the rope with histeeth, and set him free, exclaiming:

“You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, not expecting toreceive from me any repayment of your favour; now you know that it is possiblefor even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.”

The Wolf And The Lamb

WOLF, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violenthands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf’s right toeat him. He thus addressed him: “Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me.”“Indeed,” bleated the Lamb in a mournful tone of voice, “I was not then born.”Then said the Wolf, “You feed in my pasture.” “No, good sir,” replied the Lamb,“I have not yet tasted grass.” Again said the Wolf, “You drink of my well.”“No,” exclaimed the Lamb, “I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother’s milkis both food and drink to me.” Upon which the Wolf seized him and ate him up,saying, “Well! I won’t remain supperless, even though you refute every one ofmy imputations.” The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.

The Ass And The Grasshopper

AN ASS having heard some Grasshoppers chirping, was highly enchanted; and,desiring to possess the same charms of melody, demanded what sort of food theylived on to give them such beautiful voices. They replied, “The dew.” The Assresolved that he would live only upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger.

The Wolf and the Crane

A WOLF who had a bone stuck in his throat hired a Crane, for a large sum, toput her head into his mouth and draw out the bone. When the Crane had extractedthe bone and demanded the promised payment, the Wolf, grinning and grinding histeeth, exclaimed: “Why, you have surely already had a sufficient recompense, inhaving been permitted to draw out your head in safety from the mouth and jawsof a wolf.”

In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape injuryfor your pains.

The Father And His Sons

A FATHER had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves.When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined togive them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for thispurpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they haddone so, he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them in succession, andordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, andwere not able to do it. He next opened the faggot, took the sticks separately,one by one, and again put them into his sons’ hands, upon which they broke themeasily. He then addressed them in these words: “My sons, if you are of onemind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this faggot, uninjured byall the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, youwill be broken as easily as these sticks.”

The Bat And The Weasels

A BAT who fell upon the ground and was caught by a Weasel pleaded to be sparedhis life. The Weasel refused, saying that he was by nature the enemy of allbirds. The Bat assured him that he was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus wasset free. Shortly afterwards the Bat again fell to the ground and was caught byanother Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel said thathe had a special hostility to mice. The Bat assured him that he was not amouse, but a bat, and thus a second time escaped.

It is wise to turn circumstances to good account.

The Cock and the Jewel

A COCK, scratching for food for himself and his hens, found a precious stoneand exclaimed: “If your owner had found thee, and not I, he would have takenthee up, and have set thee in thy first estate; but I have found thee for nopurpose. I would rather have one barleycorn than all the jewels in the world.”

The Swallow and the Crow

THE SWALLOW and the Crow had a contention about their plumage. The Crow put anend to the dispute by saying, “Your feathers are all very well in the spring,but mine protect me against the winter.”

Fair weather friends are not worth much.

The Kingdom of the Lion

THE BEASTS of the field and forest had a Lion as their king. He was neitherwrathful, cruel, nor tyrannical, but just and gentle as a king could be. Duringhis reign he made a royal proclamation for a general assembly of all the birdsand beasts, and drew up conditions for a universal league, in which the Wolfand the Lamb, the Panther and the Kid, the Tiger and the Stag, the Dog and theHare, should live together in perfect peace and amity. The Hare said, “Oh, howI have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place withimpunity by the side of the strong.” And after the Hare said this, he ran forhis life.

The Traveler and His Dog

A TRAVELER about to set out on a journey saw his Dog stand at the doorstretching himself. He asked him sharply: “Why do you stand there gaping?Everything is ready but you, so come with me instantly.” The Dog, wagging histail, replied: “O, master! I am quite ready; it is you for whom I am waiting.”

The loiterer often blames delay on his more active friend.

The Ants and the Grasshopper

THE ANTS were spending a fine winter’s day drying grain collected in thesummertime. A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestlybegged for a little food. The Ants inquired of him, “Why did you not treasureup food during the summer?” He replied, “I had not leisure enough. I passed thedays in singing.” They then said in derision: “If you were foolish enough tosing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter.”

The Hare and the Tortoise

A HARE one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, whoreplied, laughing: “Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in arace.” The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented tothe proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix thegoal. On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoisenever for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight tothe end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep.At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise hadreached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.

Slow but steady wins the race.

The Charcoal-Burner And The Fuller

A CHARCOAL-BURNER carried on his trade in his own house. One day he met afriend, a Fuller, and entreated him to come and live with him, saying that theyshould be far better neighbors and that their housekeeping expenses would belessened. The Fuller replied, “The arrangement is impossible as far as I amconcerned, for whatever I should whiten, you would immediately blacken againwith your charcoal.”

Like will draw like.

The Boy Hunting Locusts

A BOY was hunting for locusts. He had caught a goodly number, when he saw aScorpion, and mistaking him for a locust, reached out his hand to take him. TheScorpion, showing his sting, said: “If you had but touched me, my friend, youwould have lost me, and all your locusts too!”

The Fisherman Piping

A FISHERMAN skilled in music took his flute and his nets to the seashore.Standing on a projecting rock, he played several tunes in the hope that thefish, attracted by his melody, would of their own accord dance into his net,which he had placed below. At last, having long waited in vain, he laid asidehis flute, and casting his net into the sea, made an excellent haul of fish.When he saw them leaping about in the net upon the rock he said: “O you mostperverse creatures, when I piped you would not dance, but now that I haveceased you do so merrily.”

The Dog and the Shadow

A DOG, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth, sawhis own shadow in the water and took it for that of another Dog, with a pieceof meat double his own in size. He immediately let go of his own, and fiercelyattacked the other Dog to get his larger piece from him. He thus lost both:that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow; and his own,because the stream swept it away.

Hercules and the Wagoner

A CARTER was driving a wagon along a country lane, when the wheels sank downdeep into a rut. The rustic driver, stupefied and aghast, stood looking at thewagon, and did nothing but utter loud cries to Hercules to come and help him.Hercules, it is said, appeared and thus addressed him: “Put your shoulders tothe wheels, my man. Goad on your bullocks, and never more pray to me for help,until you have done your best to help yourself, or depend upon it you willhenceforth pray in vain.”

Self-help is the best help.

The Mole and His Mother

A MOLE, a creature blind from birth, once said to his Mother: “I am sure than Ican see, Mother!” In the desire to prove to him his mistake, his Mother placedbefore him a few grains of frankincense, and asked, “What is it?” The youngMole said, “It is a pebble.” His Mother exclaimed: “My son, I am afraid thatyou are not only blind, but that you have lost your sense of smell.”

The Herdsman and the Lost Bull

A HERDSMAN tending his flock in a forest lost a Bull-calf from the fold. Aftera long and fruitless search, he made a vow that, if he could only discover thethief who had stolen the Calf, he would offer a lamb in sacrifice to Hermes,Pan, and the Guardian Deities of the forest. Not long afterwards, as heascended a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the Calf.Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and his hands to heaven, and said:“Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to the Guardian Deities of the forest if Icould only find out who had robbed me; but now that I have discovered thethief, I would willingly add a full-grown Bull to the Calf I have lost, if Imay only secure my own escape from him in safety.”

The Fawn and His Mother

A YOUNG FAWN once said to his Mother, “You are larger than a dog, and swifter,and more used to running, and you have your horns as a defense; why, then, OMother! do the hounds frighten you so?” She smiled, and said: “I know fullwell, my son, that all you say is true. I have the advantages you mention, butwhen I hear even the bark of a single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly awayas fast as I can.”

No arguments will give courage to the coward.

The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

THE ASS and the Fox, having entered into partnership together for their mutualprotection, went out into the forest to hunt. They had not proceeded far whenthey met a Lion. The Fox, seeing imminent danger, approached the Lion andpromised to contrive for him the capture of the Ass if the Lion would pledgehis word not to harm the Fox. Then, upon assuring the Ass that he would not beinjured, the Fox led him to a deep pit and arranged that he should fall intoit. The Lion, seeing that the Ass was secured, immediately clutched the Fox,and attacked the Ass at his leisure.

The Flies and the Honey-Pot

A NUMBER of Flies were attracted to a jar of honey which had been overturned ina housekeeper’s room, and placing their feet in it, ate greedily. Their feet,however, became so smeared with the honey that they could not use their wings,nor release themselves, and were suffocated. Just as they were expiring, theyexclaimed, “O foolish creatures that we are, for the sake of a little pleasurewe have destroyed ourselves.”

Pleasure bought with pains, hurts.

The Lioness

A CONTROVERSY prevailed among the beasts of the field as to which of theanimals deserved the most credit for producing the greatest number of whelps ata birth. They rushed clamorously into the presence of the Lioness and demandedof her the settlement of the dispute. “And you,” they said, “how many sons haveyou at a birth?” The Lioness laughed at them, and said: “Why! I have only one;but that one is altogether a thoroughbred Lion.”

The value is in the worth, not in the number.

The Farmer and the Snake

ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He had compassionon it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom. The Snake was quickly revivedby the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit its benefactor,inflicting on him a mortal wound. “Oh,” cried the Farmer with his last breath,“I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel.”

The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.

The Man and the Lion

A MAN and a Lion traveled together through the forest. They soon began to boastof their respective superiority to each other in strength and prowess. As theywere disputing, they passed a statue carved in stone, which represented “a Lionstrangled by a Man.” The traveler pointed to it and said: “See there! Howstrong we are, and how we prevail over even the king of beasts.” The Lionreplied: “This statue was made by one of you men. If we Lions knew how to erectstatues, you would see the Man placed under the paw of the Lion.”

One story is good, till another is told.

The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble

THE POMEGRANATE and Apple-Tree disputed as to which was the most beautiful.When their strife was at its height, a Bramble from the neighboring hedgelifted up its voice, and said in a boastful tone: “Pray, my dear friends, in mypresence at least cease from such vain disputings.”

The Farmer and the Stork

A FARMER placed nets on his newly-sown plowlands and caught a number of Cranes,which came to pick up his seed. With them he trapped a Stork that had fracturedhis leg in the net and was earnestly beseeching the Farmer to spare his life.“Pray save me, Master,” he said, “and let me go free this once. My broken limbshould excite your pity. Besides, I am no Crane, I am a Stork, a bird ofexcellent character; and see how I love and slave for my father and mother.Look too, at my feathers—they are not the least like those of a Crane.” TheFarmer laughed aloud and said, “It may be all as you say, I only know this: Ihave taken you with these robbers, the Cranes, and you must die in theircompany.”

Birds of a feather flock together.

The Mountain in Labor

A MOUNTAIN was once greatly agitated. Loud groans and noises were heard, andcrowds of people came from all parts to see what was the matter. While theywere assembled in anxious expectation of some terrible calamity, out came aMouse.

Don’t make much ado about nothing.

The Bear and the Fox

A BEAR boasted very much of his philanthropy, saying that of all animals he wasthe most tender in his regard for man, for he had such respect for him that hewould not even touch his dead body. A Fox hearing these words said with a smileto the Bear, “Oh! that you would eat the dead and not the living.”

The Tortoise and the Eagle

A TORTOISE, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the sea-birds of her hardfate, that no one would teach her to fly. An Eagle, hovering near, heard herlamentation and demanded what reward she would give him if he would take heraloft and float her in the air. “I will give you,” she said, “all the riches ofthe Red Sea.” “I will teach you to fly then,” said the Eagle; and taking her upin his talons he carried her almost to the clouds suddenly he let her go, andshe fell on a lofty mountain, dashing her shell to pieces. The Tortoiseexclaimed in the moment of death: “I have deserved my present fate; for whathad I to do with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on theearth?”

If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.

The Fox and the Goat

A FOX one day fell into a deep well and could find no means of escape. A Goat,overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and seeing the Fox, inquired ifthe water was good. Concealing his sad plight under a merry guise, the Foxindulged in a lavish praise of the water, saying it was excellent beyondmeasure, and encouraging him to descend. The Goat, mindful only of his thirst,thoughtlessly jumped down, but just as he drank, the Fox informed him of thedifficulty they were both in and suggested a scheme for their common escape.“If,” said he, “you will place your forefeet upon the wall and bend your head,I will run up your back and escape, and will help you out afterwards.” The Goatreadily assented and the Fox leaped upon his back. Steadying himself with theGoat’s horns, he safely reached the mouth of the well and made off as fast ashe could. When the Goat upbraided him for breaking his promise, he turnedaround and cried out, “You foolish old fellow! If you had as many brains inyour head as you have hairs in your beard, you would never have gone downbefore you had inspected the way up, nor have exposed yourself to dangers fromwhich you had no means of escape.”

Look before you leap.

The Raven and the Swan

A RAVEN saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautifulplumage. Supposing that the Swan’s splendid white color arose from his washingin the water in which he swam, the Raven left the altars in the neighborhoodwhere he picked up his living, and took up residence in the lakes and pools.But cleansing his feathers as often as he would, he could not change theircolor, while through want of food he perished.

Change of habit cannot alter Nature.

The Thirsty Pigeon

A PIGEON, oppressed by excessive thirst, saw a goblet of water painted on asignboard. Not supposing it to be only a picture, she flew towards it with aloud whir and unwittingly dashed against the signboard, jarring herselfterribly. Having broken her wings by the blow, she fell to the ground, and wascaught by one of the bystanders.

Zeal should not outrun discretion.

The Dog in the Manger

A DOG lay in a manger, and by his growling and snapping prevented the oxen fromeating the hay which had been placed for them. “What a selfish Dog!” said oneof them to his companions; “he cannot eat the hay himself, and yet refuses toallow those to eat who can.”

The Oxen and the Axle-Trees

A HEAVY WAGON was being dragged along a country lane by a team of Oxen. TheAxle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the Oxen, turning round,thus addressed the wheels: “Hullo there! why do you make so much noise? We bearall the labor, and we, not you, ought to cry out.”

Those who suffer most cry out the least.

The Farmer and the Cranes

SOME CRANES made their feeding grounds on some plowlands newly sown with wheat.For a long time the Farmer, brandishing an empty sling, chased them away by theterror he inspired; but when the birds found that the sling was only swung inthe air, they ceased to take any notice of it and would not move. The Farmer,on seeing this, charged his sling with stones, and killed a great number. Theremaining birds at once forsook his fields, crying to each other, “It is timefor us to be off to Liliput: for this man is no longer content to scare us, butbegins to show us in earnest what he can do.”

If words suffice not, blows must follow.

The Sick Lion

A LION, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself with food byforce, resolved to do so by artifice. He returned to his den, and lying downthere, pretended to be sick, taking care that his sickness should be publiclyknown. The beasts expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to his den, wherethe Lion devoured them. After many of the beasts had thus disappeared, the Foxdiscovered the trick and presenting himself to the Lion, stood on the outsideof the cave, at a respectful distance, and asked him how he was. “I am verymiddling,” replied the Lion, “but why do you stand without? Pray enter withinto talk with me.” “No, thank you,” said the Fox. “I notice that there are manyprints of feet entering your cave, but I see no trace of any returning.”

He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others.

The Bear and the Two Travelers

TWO MEN were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly met them on their path.One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in thebranches. The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground,and when the Bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over,he held his breath, and feigned the appearance of death as much as he could.The Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch a dead body. When hewas quite gone, the other Traveler descended from the tree, and jocularlyinquired of his friend what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear. “He gaveme this advice,” his companion replied. “Never travel with a friend who desertsyou at the approach of danger.”

Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail

A FOX caught in a trap escaped, but in so doing lost his tail. Thereafter,feeling his life a burden from the shame and ridicule to which he was exposed,he schemed to convince all the other Foxes that being tailless was much moreattractive, thus making up for his own deprivation. He assembled a good manyFoxes and publicly advised them to cut off their tails, saying that they wouldnot only look much better without them, but that they would get rid of theweight of the brush, which was a very great inconvenience. One of theminterrupting him said, “If you had not yourself lost your tail, my friend, youwould not thus counsel us.”

The Cat and the Cock

A CAT caught a Cock, and pondered how he might find a reasonable excuse foreating him. He accused him of being a nuisance to men by crowing in thenighttime and not permitting them to sleep. The Cock defended himself by sayingthat he did this for the benefit of men, that they might rise in time for theirlabours. The Cat replied, “Although you abound in specious apologies, I shallnot remain supperless;” and he made a meal of him.

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

ONCE UPON A TIME a Wolf resolved to disguise his appearance in order to securefood more easily. Encased in the skin of a sheep, he pastured with the flockdeceiving the shepherd by his costume. In the evening he was shut up by theshepherd in the fold; the gate was closed, and the entrance made thoroughlysecure. But the shepherd, returning to the fold during the night to obtain meatfor the next day, mistakenly caught up the Wolf instead of a sheep, and killedhim instantly.

Harm seek, harm find.

The Goat and the Goatherd

A GOATHERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to his flock. He whistled andsounded his horn in vain; the straggler paid no attention to the summons. Atlast the Goatherd threw a stone, and breaking its horn, begged the Goat not totell his master. The Goat replied, “Why, you silly fellow, the horn will speakthough I be silent.”

Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid.

The Boasting Traveler

A MAN who had traveled in foreign lands boasted very much, on returning to hisown country, of the many wonderful and heroic feats he had performed in thedifferent places he had visited. Among other things, he said that when he wasat Rhodes he had leaped to such a distance that no man of his day could leapanywhere near him as to that, there were in Rhodes many persons who saw him doit and whom he could call as witnesses. One of the bystanders interrupted him,saying: “Now, my good man, if this be all true there is no need of witnesses.Suppose this to be Rhodes, and leap for us.”

The Lion in Love

A LION demanded the daughter of a woodcutter in marriage. The Father, unwillingto grant, and yet afraid to refuse his request, hit upon this expedient to ridhimself of his importunities. He expressed his willingness to accept the Lionas the suitor of his daughter on one condition: that he should allow him toextract his teeth, and cut off his claws, as his daughter was fearfully afraidof both. The Lion cheerfully assented to the proposal. But when the toothless,clawless Lion returned to repeat his request, the Woodman, no longer afraid,set upon him with his club, and drove him away into the forest.

The Miser

A MISER sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in ahole in the ground by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily. One ofhis workmen observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch hismovements. He soon discovered the secret of the hidden treasure, and diggingdown, came to the lump of gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit,found the hole empty and began to tear his hair and to make loud lamentations.A neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief and learning the cause, said, “Praydo not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancythat the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same service; forwhen the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest useof it.”

The Porker, the Sheep, and the Goat

A young Pig was shut up in a fold-yard with a Goat and a Sheep. On one occasionthe shepherd laid hold of him, when he grunted, and squeaked, and resistedviolently. The Sheep and the Goat complained of his distressing cries, andsaid, “He often handles us, and we do not cry out.” To this he replied, “Yourhandling and mine are very different things. He catches you only for your wool,or your milk, but he lays hold on me for my very life.”

The Boy and the Filberts

A BOY put his hand into a pitcher full of filberts. He grasped as many as hecould possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was preventedfrom doing so by the neck of the pitcher. Unwilling to lose his filberts, andyet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented hisdisappointment. A bystander said to him, “Be satisfied with half the quantity,and you will readily draw out your hand.”

Do not attempt too much at once.

The Frogs Asking for a King

THE FROGS, grieved at having no established Ruler, sent ambassadors to Jupiterentreating for a King. Perceiving their simplicity, he cast down a huge loginto the lake. The Frogs were terrified at the splash occasioned by its falland hid themselves in the depths of the pool. But as soon as they realized thatthe huge log was motionless, they swam again to the top of the water, dismissedtheir fears, climbed up, and began squatting on it in contempt. After some timethey began to think themselves ill-treated in the appointment of so inert aRuler, and sent a second deputation to Jupiter to pray that he would set overthem another sovereign. He then gave them an Eel to govern them. When the Frogsdiscovered his easy good nature, they sent yet a third time to Jupiter to beghim to choose for them still another King. Jupiter, displeased with all theircomplaints, sent a Heron, who preyed upon the Frogs day by day till there werenone left to croak upon the lake.

The Laborer and the Snake

A SNAKE, having made his hole close to the porch of a cottage, inflicted amortal bite on the Cottager’s infant son. Grieving over his loss, the Fatherresolved to kill the Snake. The next day, when it came out of its hole forfood, he took up his axe, but by swinging too hastily, missed its head and cutoff only the end of its tail. After some time the Cottager, afraid that theSnake would bite him also, endeavored to make peace, and placed some bread andsalt in the hole. The Snake, slightly hissing, said: “There can henceforth beno peace between us; for whenever I see you I shall remember the loss of mytail, and whenever you see me you will be thinking of the death of your son.”

No one truly forgets injuries in the presence of him who caused the injury.

The Lion, the Mouse, and the Fox

A LION, fatigued by the heat of a summer’s day, fell fast asleep in his den. AMouse ran over his mane and ears and woke him from his slumbers. He rose up andshook himself in great wrath, and searched every corner of his den to find theMouse. A Fox seeing him said: “A fine Lion you are, to be frightened of aMouse.” “’Tis not the Mouse I fear,” said the Lion; “I resent his familiarityand ill-breeding.”

Little liberties are great offenses.

The Horse and Groom

A GROOM used to spend whole days in currycombing and rubbing down his Horse,but at the same time stole his oats and sold them for his own profit. “Alas!”said the Horse, “if you really wish me to be in good condition, you shouldgroom me less, and feed me more.”

The Ass and the Mule

A MULETEER set forth on a journey, driving before him an Ass and a Mule, bothwell laden. The Ass, as long as he traveled along the plain, carried his loadwith ease, but when he began to ascend the steep path of the mountain, felt hisload to be more than he could bear. He entreated his companion to relieve himof a small portion, that he might carry home the rest; but the Mule paid noattention to the request. The Ass shortly afterwards fell down dead under hisburden. Not knowing what else to do in so wild a region, the Muleteer placedupon the Mule the load carried by the Ass in addition to his own, and at thetop of all placed the hide of the Ass, after he had skinned him. The Mule,groaning beneath his heavy burden, said to himself: “I am treated according tomy deserts. If I had only been willing to assist the Ass a little in his need,I should not now be bearing, together with his burden, himself as well.”

The Ass and the Lapdog

A MAN had an Ass, and a Maltese Lapdog, a very great beauty. The Ass was leftin a stable and had plenty of oats and hay to eat, just as any other Ass would.The Lapdog knew many tricks and was a great favourite with his master, who oftenfondled him and seldom went out to dine without bringing him home some tidbitto eat. The Ass, on the contrary, had much work to do in grinding the corn-milland in carrying wood from the forest or burdens from the farm. He oftenlamented his own hard fate and contrasted it with the luxury and idleness ofthe Lapdog, till at last one day he broke his cords and halter, and gallopedinto his master’s house, kicking up his heels without measure, and frisking andfawning as well as he could. He next tried to jump about his master as he hadseen the Lapdog do, but he broke the table and smashed all the dishes upon itto atoms. He then attempted to lick his master, and jumped upon his back. Theservants, hearing the strange hubbub and perceiving the danger of their master,quickly relieved him, and drove out the Ass to his stable with kicks and clubsand cuffs. The Ass, as he returned to his stall beaten nearly to death, thuslamented: “I have brought it all on myself! Why could I not have been contentedto labor with my companions, and not wish to be idle all the day like thatuseless little Lapdog!”

The Oxen and the Butchers

THE OXEN once upon a time sought to destroy the Butchers, who practiced a tradedestructive to their race. They assembled on a certain day to carry out theirpurpose, and sharpened their horns for the contest. But one of them who wasexceedingly old (for many a field had he plowed) thus spoke: “These Butchers,it is true, slaughter us, but they do so with skillful hands, and with nounnecessary pain. If we get rid of them, we shall fall into the hands ofunskillful operators, and thus suffer a double death: for you may be assured,that though all the Butchers should perish, yet will men never want beef.”

Do not be in a hurry to change one evil for another.

The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf

A SHEPHERD-BOY, who watched a flock of sheep near a village, brought out thevillagers three or four times by crying out, “Wolf! Wolf!” and when hisneighbors came to help him, laughed at them for their pains. The Wolf, however,did truly come at last. The Shepherd-boy, now really alarmed, shouted in anagony of terror: “Pray, do come and help me; the Wolf is killing the sheep;”but no one paid any heed to his cries, nor rendered any assistance. The Wolf,having no cause of fear, at his leisure lacerated or destroyed the whole flock.

There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.

The Boys and the Frogs

SOME BOYS, playing near a pond, saw a number of Frogs in the water and began topelt them with stones. They killed several of them, when one of the Frogs,lifting his head out of the water, cried out: “Pray stop, my boys: what issport to you, is death to us.”

The Salt Merchant and His Ass

A PEDDLER drove his Ass to the seashore to buy salt. His road home lay across astream into which his Ass, making a false step, fell by accident and rose upagain with his load considerably lighter, as the water melted the sack. ThePeddler retraced his steps and refilled his panniers with a larger quantity ofsalt than before. When he came again to the stream, the Ass fell down onpurpose in the same spot, and, regaining his feet with the weight of his loadmuch diminished, brayed triumphantly as if he had obtained what he desired. ThePeddler saw through his trick and drove him for the third time to the coast,where he bought a cargo of sponges instead of salt. The Ass, again playing thefool, fell down on purpose when he reached the stream, but the sponges becameswollen with water, greatly increasing his load. And thus his trick recoiled onhim, for he now carried on his back a double burden.

The Mischievous Dog

A DOG used to run up quietly to the heels of everyone he met, and to bite themwithout notice. His master suspended a bell about his neck so that the Dogmight give notice of his presence wherever he went. Thinking it a mark ofdistinction, the Dog grew proud of his bell and went tinkling it all over themarketplace. One day an old hound said to him: “Why do you make such anexhibition of yourself? That bell that you carry is not, believe me, any orderof merit, but on the contrary a mark of disgrace, a public notice to all men toavoid you as an ill mannered dog.”

Notoriety is often mistaken for fame.

The Goatherd and the Wild Goats

A GOATHERD, driving his flock from their pasture at eventide, found some WildGoats mingled among them, and shut them up together with his own for the night.The next day it snowed very hard, so that he could not take the herd to theirusual feeding places, but was obliged to keep them in the fold. He gave his owngoats just sufficient food to keep them alive, but fed the strangers moreabundantly in the hope of enticing them to stay with him and of making them hisown. When the thaw set in, he led them all out to feed, and the Wild Goatsscampered away as fast as they could to the mountains. The Goatherd scoldedthem for their ingratitude in leaving him, when during the storm he had takenmore care of them than of his own herd. One of them, turning about, said tohim: “That is the very reason why we are so cautious; for if you yesterdaytreated us better than the Goats you have had so long, it is plain also that ifothers came after us, you would in the same manner prefer them to ourselves.”

Old friends cannot with impunity be sacrificed for new ones.

The Man and His Two Sweethearts

A MIDDLE-AGED MAN, whose hair had begun to turn gray, courted two women at thesame time. One of them was young, and the other well advanced in years. Theelder woman, ashamed to be courted by a man younger than herself, made a point,whenever her admirer visited her, to pull out some portion of his black hairs.The younger, on the contrary, not wishing to become the wife of an old man, wasequally zealous in removing every gray hair she could find. Thus it came topass that between them both he very soon found that he had not a hair left onhis head.

Those who seek to please everybody please nobody.

The Sick Stag

A SICK STAG lay down in a quiet corner of its pasture-ground. His companionscame in great numbers to inquire after his health, and each one helped himselfto a share of the food which had been placed for his use; so that he died, notfrom his sickness, but from the failure of the means of living.

Evil companions bring more hurt than profit.

The Boy and the Nettles

A BOY was stung by a Nettle. He ran home and told his Mother, saying, “Althoughit hurts me very much, I only touched it gently.” “That was just why it stungyou,” said his Mother. “The next time you touch a Nettle, grasp it boldly, andit will be soft as silk to your hand, and not in the least hurt you.”

Whatever you do, do with all your might.

The Astronomer

AN ASTRONOMER used to go out at night to observe the stars. One evening, as hewandered through the suburbs with his whole attention fixed on the sky, he fellaccidentally into a deep well. While he lamented and bewailed his sores andbruises, and cried loudly for help, a neighbor ran to the well, and learningwhat had happened said: “Hark ye, old fellow, why, in striving to pry into whatis in heaven, do you not manage to see what is on earth?”

The Wolves and the Sheep

“WHY SHOULD there always be this fear and slaughter between us?” said theWolves to the Sheep. “Those evil-disposed Dogs have much to answer for. Theyalways bark whenever we approach you and attack us before we have done anyharm. If you would only dismiss them from your heels, there might soon betreaties of peace and reconciliation between us.” The Sheep, poor sillycreatures, were easily beguiled and dismissed the Dogs, whereupon the Wolvesdestroyed the unguarded flock at their own pleasure.

The Cat and the Birds

A CAT, hearing that the Birds in a certain aviary were ailing dressed himselfup as a physician, and, taking his cane and a bag of instruments becoming hisprofession, went to call on them. He knocked at the door and inquired of theinmates how they all did, saying that if they were ill, he would be happy toprescribe for them and cure them. They replied, “We are all very well, andshall continue so, if you will only be good enough to go away, and leave us aswe are.”

The Vain Jackdaw

JUPITER DETERMINED, it is said, to create a sovereign over the birds, and madeproclamation that on a certain day they should all present themselves beforehim, when he would himself choose the most beautiful among them to be king. TheJackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, searched through the woods and fields, andcollected the feathers which had fallen from the wings of his companions, andstuck them in all parts of his body, hoping thereby to make himself the mostbeautiful of all. When the appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembledbefore Jupiter, the Jackdaw also made his appearance in his many featheredfinery. But when Jupiter proposed to make him king because of the beauty of hisplumage, the birds indignantly protested, and each plucked from him his ownfeathers, leaving the Jackdaw nothing but a Jackdaw.

The Kid and the Wolf

A KID standing on the roof of a house, out of harm’s way, saw a Wolf passing byand immediately began to taunt and revile him. The Wolf, looking up, said,“Sirrah! I hear thee: yet it is not thou who mockest me, but the roof on whichthou art standing.”

Time and place often give the advantage to the weak over the strong.

The Old Woman and the Physician

AN OLD WOMAN having lost the use of her eyes, called in a Physician to healthem, and made this bargain with him in the presence of witnesses: that if heshould cure her blindness, he should receive from her a sum of money; but ifher infirmity remained, she should give him nothing. This agreement being made,the Physician, time after time, applied his salve to her eyes, and on everyvisit took something away, stealing all her property little by little. And whenhe had got all she had, he healed her and demanded the promised payment. TheOld Woman, when she recovered her sight and saw none of her goods in her house,would give him nothing. The Physician insisted on his claim, and, as she stillrefused, summoned her before the Judge. The Old Woman, standing up in theCourt, argued: “This man here speaks the truth in what he says; for I didpromise to give him a sum of money if I should recover my sight: but if Icontinued blind, I was to give him nothing. Now he declares that I am healed. Ion the contrary affirm that I am still blind; for when I lost the use of myeyes, I saw in my house various chattels and valuable goods: but now, though heswears I am cured of my blindness, I am not able to see a single thing in it.”

The Ox and the Frog

AN OX drinking at a pool trod on a brood of young frogs and crushed one of themto death. The Mother coming up, and missing one of her sons, inquired of hisbrothers what had become of him. “He is dead, dear Mother; for just now a veryhuge beast with four great feet came to the pool and crushed him to death withhis cloven heel.” The Frog, puffing herself out, inquired, “if the beast was asbig as that in size.” “Cease, Mother, to puff yourself out,” said her son, “anddo not be angry; for you would, I assure you, sooner burst than successfullyimitate the hugeness of that monster.”

The Farmer and His Sons

A FATHER, being on the point of death, wished to be sure that his sons wouldgive the same attention to his farm as he himself had given it. He called themto his bedside and said, “My sons, there is a great treasure hid in one of myvineyards.” The sons, after his death, took their spades and mattocks andcarefully dug over every portion of their land. They found no treasure, but thevines repaid their labor by an extraordinary and superabundant crop.

The Heifer and the Ox

A HEIFER saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plow, and tormented him withreflections on his unhappy fate in being compelled to labor. Shortlyafterwards, at the harvest festival, the owner released the Ox from his yoke,but bound the Heifer with cords and led him away to the altar to be slain inhonour of the occasion. The Ox saw what was being done, and said with a smile tothe Heifer: “For this you were allowed to live in idleness, because you werepresently to be sacrificed.”

The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle

TWO GAME COCKS were fiercely fighting for the mastery of the farmyard. One atlast put the other to flight. The vanquished Cock skulked away and hid himselfin a quiet corner, while the conqueror, flying up to a high wall, flapped hiswings and crowed exultingly with all his might. An Eagle sailing through theair pounced upon him and carried him off in his talons. The vanquished Cockimmediately came out of his corner, and ruled henceforth with undisputedmastery.

Pride goes before destruction.

The Charger and the Miller

A CHARGER, feeling the infirmities of age, was sent to work in a mill insteadof going out to battle. But when he was compelled to grind instead of servingin the wars, he bewailed his change of fortune and called to mind his formerstate, saying, “Ah! Miller, I had indeed to go campaigning before, but I wasbarbed from counter to tail, and a man went along to groom me; and now I cannotunderstand what ailed me to prefer the mill before the battle.” “Forbear,” saidthe Miller to him, “harping on what was of yore, for it is the common lot ofmortals to sustain the ups and downs of fortune.”

The Fox and the Monkey

A MONKEY once danced in an assembly of the Beasts, and so pleased them all byhis performance that they elected him their King. A Fox, envying him the honour,discovered a piece of meat lying in a trap, and leading the Monkey to the placewhere it was, said that she had found a store, but had not used it, she hadkept it for him as treasure trove of his kingdom, and counseled him to lay holdof it. The Monkey approached carelessly and was caught in the trap; and on hisaccusing the Fox of purposely leading him into the snare, she replied, “OMonkey, and are you, with such a mind as yours, going to be King over theBeasts?”

The Horse and His Rider

A HORSE SOLDIER took the utmost pains with his charger. As long as the warlasted, he looked upon him as his fellow-helper in all emergencies and fed himcarefully with hay and corn. But when the war was over, he only allowed himchaff to eat and made him carry heavy loads of wood, subjecting him to muchslavish drudgery and ill-treatment. War was again proclaimed, however, and whenthe trumpet summoned him to his standard, the Soldier put on his charger itsmilitary trappings, and mounted, being clad in his heavy coat of mail. TheHorse fell down straightway under the weight, no longer equal to the burden,and said to his master, “You must now go to the war on foot, for you havetransformed me from a Horse into an Ass; and how can you expect that I canagain turn in a moment from an Ass to a Horse?”

The Belly and the Members

THE MEMBERS of the Body rebelled against the Belly, and said, “Why should we beperpetually engaged in administering to your wants, while you do nothing buttake your rest, and enjoy yourself in luxury and self-indulgence?” The Memberscarried out their resolve and refused their assistance to the Belly. The wholeBody quickly became debilitated, and the hands, feet, mouth, and eyes, when toolate, repented of their folly.

The Widow and Her Little Maidens

A WIDOW who was fond of cleaning had two little maidens to wait on her. She wasin the habit of waking them early in the morning, at cockcrow. The maidens,aggravated by such excessive labor, resolved to kill the cock who roused theirmistress so early. When they had done this, they found that they had onlyprepared for themselves greater troubles, for their mistress, no longer hearingthe hour from the cock, woke them up to their work in the middle of the night.

The Vine and the Goat

A VINE was luxuriant in the time of vintage with leaves and grapes. A Goat,passing by, nibbled its young tendrils and its leaves. The Vine addressed himand said: “Why do you thus injure me without a cause, and crop my leaves? Isthere no young grass left? But I shall not have to wait long for my justrevenge; for if you now should crop my leaves, and cut me down to my root, Ishall provide the wine to pour over you when you are led as a victim to thesacrifice.”

Jupiter and the Monkey

JUPITER ISSUED a proclamation to all the beasts of the forest and promised aroyal reward to the one whose offspring should be deemed the handsomest. TheMonkey came with the rest and presented, with all a mother’s tenderness, aflat-nosed, hairless, ill-featured young Monkey as a candidate for the promisedreward. A general laugh saluted her on the presentation of her son. Sheresolutely said, “I know not whether Jupiter will allot the prize to my son,but this I do know, that he is at least in the eyes of me his mother, thedearest, handsomest, and most beautiful of all.”

The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons

THE PIGEONS, terrified by the appearance of a Kite, called upon the Hawk todefend them. He at once consented. When they had admitted him into the cote,they found that he made more havoc and slew a larger number of them in one daythan the Kite could pounce upon in a whole year.

Avoid a remedy that is worse than the disease.

The Dolphins, the Whales, and the Sprat

THE DOLPHINS and Whales waged a fierce war with each other. When the battle wasat its height, a Sprat lifted its head out of the waves and said that he wouldreconcile their differences if they would accept him as an umpire. One of theDolphins replied, “We would far rather be destroyed in our battle with eachother than admit any interference from you in our affairs.”

The Swallow, the Serpent, and the Court ofJustice

A SWALLOW, returning from abroad and especially fond of dwelling with men,built herself a nest in the wall of a Court of Justice and there hatched sevenyoung birds. A Serpent gliding past the nest from its hole in the wall ate upthe young unfledged nestlings. The Swallow, finding her nest empty, lamentedgreatly and exclaimed: “Woe to me a stranger! that in this place where allothers’ rights are protected, I alone should suffer wrong.”

The Two Pots

A RIVER carried down in its stream two Pots, one made of earthenware and theother of brass. The Earthen Pot said to the Brass Pot, “Pray keep at a distanceand do not come near me, for if you touch me ever so slightly, I shall bebroken in pieces, and besides, I by no means wish to come near you.”

Equals make the best friends.

The Shepherd and the Wolf

A SHEPHERD once found the whelp of a Wolf and brought it up, and after a whiletaught it to steal lambs from the neighboring flocks. The Wolf, having shownhimself an apt pupil, said to the Shepherd, “Since you have taught me to steal,you must keep a sharp lookout, or you will lose some of your own flock.”

The Crab and Its Mother

A CRAB said to her son, “Why do you walk so one-sided, my child? It is far morebecoming to go straight forward.” The young Crab replied: “Quite true, dearMother; and if you will show me the straight way, I will promise to walk init.” The Mother tried in vain, and submitted without remonstrance to thereproof of her child.

Example is more powerful than precept.

The Father and His Two Daughters

A MAN had two daughters, the one married to a gardener, and the other to atile-maker. After a time he went to the daughter who had married the gardener,and inquired how she was and how all things went with her. She said, “Allthings are prospering with me, and I have only one wish, that there may be aheavy fall of rain, in order that the plants may be well watered.” Not longafter, he went to the daughter who had married the tilemaker, and likewiseinquired of her how she fared; she replied, “I want for nothing, and have onlyone wish, that the dry weather may continue, and the sun shine hot and bright,so that the bricks might be dried.” He said to her, “If your sister wishes forrain, and you for dry weather, with which of the two am I to join my wishes?”

The Thief and His Mother

A BOY stole a lesson-book from one of his schoolfellows and took it home to hisMother. She not only abstained from beating him, but encouraged him. He nexttime stole a cloak and brought it to her, and she again commended him. TheYouth, advanced to adulthood, proceeded to steal things of still greater value.At last he was caught in the very act, and having his hands bound behind him,was led away to the place of public execution. His Mother followed in the crowdand violently beat her breast in sorrow, whereupon the young man said, “I wishto say something to my Mother in her ear.” She came close to him, and hequickly seized her ear with his teeth and bit it off. The Mother upbraided himas an unnatural child, whereon he replied, “Ah! if you had beaten me when Ifirst stole and brought to you that lesson-book, I should not have come tothis, nor have been thus led to a disgraceful death.”

The Old Man and Death

AN OLD MAN was employed in cutting wood in the forest, and, in carrying thefaggots to the city for sale one day, became very wearied with his longjourney. He sat down by the wayside, and throwing down his load, besought“Death” to come. “Death” immediately appeared in answer to his summons andasked for what reason he had called him. The Old Man hurriedly replied, “That,lifting up the load, you may place it again upon my shoulders.”

The Fir-Tree and the Bramble

A FIR-TREE said boastingly to the Bramble, “You are useful for nothing at all;while I am everywhere used for roofs and houses.” The Bramble answered: “Youpoor creature, if you would only call to mind the axes and saws which are aboutto hew you down, you would have reason to wish that you had grown up a Bramble,not a Fir-Tree.”

Better poverty without care, than riches with.

The Æthiop

THE PURCHASER of a black servant was persuaded that the color of his skin arosefrom dirt contracted through the neglect of his former masters. On bringing himhome he resorted to every means of cleaning, and subjected the man to incessantscrubbings. The servant caught a severe cold, but he never changed his color orcomplexion.

What’s bred in the bone will stick to the flesh.

The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk

A MOUSE who always lived on the land, by an unlucky chance formed an intimateacquaintance with a Frog, who lived for the most part in the water. The Frog,one day intent on mischief, bound the foot of the Mouse tightly to his own.Thus joined together, the Frog first of all led his friend the Mouse to themeadow where they were accustomed to find their food. After this, he graduallyled him towards the pool in which he lived, until reaching the very brink, hesuddenly jumped in, dragging the Mouse with him. The Frog enjoyed the wateramazingly, and swam croaking about, as if he had done a good deed. The unhappyMouse was soon suffocated by the water, and his dead body floated about on thesurface, tied to the foot of the Frog. A Hawk observed it, and, pouncing uponit with his talons, carried it aloft. The Frog, being still fastened to the legof the Mouse, was also carried off a prisoner, and was eaten by the Hawk.

Harm hatch, harm catch.

The Fisherman and His Nets

A FISHERMAN, engaged in his calling, made a very successful cast and captured agreat haul of fish. He managed by a skillful handling of his net to retain allthe large fish and to draw them to the shore; but he could not prevent thesmaller fish from falling back through the meshes of the net into the sea.

The Wolf and the Sheep

A WOLF, sorely wounded and bitten by dogs, lay sick and maimed in his lair.Being in want of food, he called to a Sheep who was passing, and asked him tofetch some water from a stream flowing close beside him. “For,” he said, “ifyou will bring me drink, I will find means to provide myself with meat.” “Yes,”said the Sheep, “if I should bring you the draught, you would doubtless make meprovide the meat also.”

Hypocritical speeches are easily seen through.

The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar

AN OLD WOMAN found an empty jar which had lately been full of prime old wineand which still retained the fragrant smell of its former contents. Shegreedily placed it several times to her nose, and drawing it backwards andforwards said, “O most delicious! How nice must the Wine itself have been, whenit leaves behind in the very vessel which contained it so sweet a perfume!”

The memory of a good deed lives.

The Man Bitten by a Dog

A MAN who had been bitten by a Dog went about in quest of someone who mightheal him. A friend, meeting him and learning what he wanted, said, “If youwould be cured, take a piece of bread, and dip it in the blood from your wound,and go and give it to the Dog that bit you.” The Man who had been bittenlaughed at this advice and said, “Why? If I should do so, it would be as if Ishould beg every Dog in the town to bite me.”

Benefits bestowed upon the evil-disposed increase their means of injuring you.

The Huntsman and the Fisherman

A HUNTSMAN, returning with his dogs from the field, fell in by chance with aFisherman who was bringing home a basket well laden with fish. The Huntsmanwished to have the fish, and their owner experienced an equal longing for thecontents of the game-bag. They quickly agreed to exchange the produce of theirday’s sport. Each was so well pleased with his bargain that they made for sometime the same exchange day after day. Finally a neighbor said to them, “If yougo on in this way, you will soon destroy by frequent use the pleasure of yourexchange, and each will again wish to retain the fruits of his own sport.”

Abstain and enjoy.

The Fox and the Crow

A CROW having stolen a bit of meat, perched in a tree and held it in her beak.A Fox, seeing this, longed to possess the meat himself, and by a wily stratagemsucceeded. “How handsome is the Crow,” he exclaimed, “in the beauty of hershape and in the fairness of her complexion! Oh, if her voice were only equalto her beauty, she would deservedly be considered the Queen of Birds!” This hesaid deceitfully; but the Crow, anxious to refute the reflection cast upon hervoice, set up a loud caw and dropped the flesh. The Fox quickly picked it up,and thus addressed the Crow: “My good Crow, your voice is right enough, butyour wit is wanting.”

The Widow and the Sheep

A CERTAIN poor widow had one solitary Sheep. At shearing time, wishing to takehis fleece and to avoid expense, she sheared him herself, but used the shearsso unskillfully that with the fleece she sheared the flesh. The Sheep, writhingwith pain, said, “Why do you hurt me so, Mistress? What weight can my blood addto the wool? If you want my flesh, there is the butcher, who will kill me in aninstant; but if you want my fleece and wool, there is the shearer, who willshear and not hurt me.”

The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.

The Playful Ass

AN ASS climbed up to the roof of a building, and frisking about there, broke inthe tiling. The owner went up after him and quickly drove him down, beating himseverely with a thick wooden cudgel. The Ass said, “Why, I saw the Monkey dothis very thing yesterday, and you all laughed heartily, as if it afforded youvery great amusement.”

The Stag in the Ox-Stall

A STAG, roundly chased by the hounds and blinded by fear to the danger he wasrunning into, took shelter in a farmyard and hid himself in a shed among theoxen. An Ox gave him this kindly warning: “O unhappy creature! why should youthus, of your own accord, incur destruction and trust yourself in the house ofyour enemy?” The Stag replied: “Only allow me, friend, to stay where I am, andI will undertake to find some favourable opportunity of effecting my escape.” Atthe approach of the evening the herdsman came to feed his cattle, but did notsee the Stag; and even the farm-bailiff with several laborers passed throughthe shed and failed to notice him. The Stag, congratulating himself on hissafety, began to express his sincere thanks to the Oxen who had kindly helpedhim in the hour of need. One of them again answered him: “We indeed wish youwell, but the danger is not over. There is one other yet to pass through theshed, who has as it were a hundred eyes, and until he has come and gone, yourlife is still in peril.” At that moment the master himself entered, and havinghad to complain that his oxen had not been properly fed, he went up to theirracks and cried out: “Why is there such a scarcity of fodder? There is not halfenough straw for them to lie on. Those lazy fellows have not even swept thecobwebs away.” While he thus examined everything in turn, he spied the tips ofthe antlers of the Stag peeping out of the straw. Then summoning his laborers,he ordered that the Stag should be seized and killed.

The Two Dogs

A MAN had two dogs: a Hound, trained to assist him in his sports, and aHousedog, taught to watch the house. When he returned home after a good day’ssport, he always gave the Housedog a large share of his spoil. The Hound,feeling much aggrieved at this, reproached his companion, saying, “It is veryhard to have all this labor, while you, who do not assist in the chase,luxuriate on the fruits of my exertions.” The Housedog replied, “Do not blameme, my friend, but find fault with the master, who has not taught me to labor,but to depend for subsistence on the labor of others.”

Children are not to be blamed for the faults of their parents.

The Wild Ass and the Lion

A WILD ASS and a Lion entered into an alliance so that they might capture thebeasts of the forest with greater ease. The Lion agreed to assist the Wild Asswith his strength, while the Wild Ass gave the Lion the benefit of his greaterspeed. When they had taken as many beasts as their necessities required, theLion undertook to distribute the prey, and for this purpose divided it intothree shares. “I will take the first share,” he said, “because I am King: andthe second share, as a partner with you in the chase: and the third share(believe me) will be a source of great evil to you, unless you willingly resignit to me, and set off as fast as you can.”

Might makes right.

The Lion and the Dolphin

A LION roaming by the seashore saw a Dolphin lift up its head out of the waves,and suggested that they contract an alliance, saying that of all the animalsthey ought to be the best friends, since the one was the king of beasts on theearth, and the other was the sovereign ruler of all the inhabitants of theocean. The Dolphin gladly consented to this request. Not long afterwards theLion had a combat with a wild bull, and called on the Dolphin to help him. TheDolphin, though quite willing to give him assistance, was unable to do so, ashe could not by any means reach the land. The Lion abused him as a traitor. TheDolphin replied, “Nay, my friend, blame not me, but Nature, which, while givingme the sovereignty of the sea, has quite denied me the power of living upon theland.”

The Eagle and the Arrow

AN EAGLE sat on a lofty rock, watching the movements of a Hare whom he soughtto make his prey. An archer, who saw the Eagle from a place of concealment,took an accurate aim and wounded him mortally. The Eagle gave one look at thearrow that had entered his heart and saw in that single glance that itsfeathers had been furnished by himself. “It is a double grief to me,” heexclaimed, “that I should perish by an arrow feathered from my own wings.”

The Sick Kite

A KITE, sick unto death, said to his mother: “O Mother! do not mourn, but atonce invoke the gods that my life may be prolonged.” She replied, “Alas! myson, which of the gods do you think will pity you? Is there one whom you havenot outraged by filching from their very altars a part of the sacrifice offeredup to them?”

We must make friends in prosperity if we would have their help in adversity.

The Lion and the Boar

ON A SUMMER DAY, when the great heat induced a general thirst among the beasts,a Lion and a Boar came at the same moment to a small well to drink. Theyfiercely disputed which of them should drink first, and were soon engaged inthe agonies of a mortal combat. When they stopped suddenly to catch theirbreath for a fiercer renewal of the fight, they saw some Vultures waiting inthe distance to feast on the one that should fall first. They at once made uptheir quarrel, saying, “It is better for us to make friends, than to become thefood of Crows or Vultures.”

The Mice in Council

THE MICE summoned a council to decide how they might best devise means ofwarning themselves of the approach of their great enemy the Cat. Among the manyplans suggested, the one that found most favour was the proposal to tie a bellto the neck of the Cat, so that the Mice, being warned by the sound of thetinkling, might run away and hide themselves in their holes at his approach.But when the Mice further debated who among them should thus “bell the Cat,”there was no one found to do it.

The One-Eyed Doe

A DOE blind in one eye was accustomed to graze as near to the edge of the cliffas she possibly could, in the hope of securing her greater safety. She turnedher sound eye towards the land that she might get the earliest tidings of theapproach of hunter or hound, and her injured eye towards the sea, from whenceshe entertained no anticipation of danger. Some boatmen sailing by saw her, andtaking a successful aim, mortally wounded her. Yielding up her last breath, shegasped forth this lament: “O wretched creature that I am! to take suchprecaution against the land, and after all to find this seashore, to which Ihad come for safety, so much more perilous.”

The Mice and the Weasels

THE WEASELS and the Mice waged a perpetual war with each other, in which muchblood was shed. The Weasels were always the victors. The Mice thought that thecause of their frequent defeats was that they had no leaders set apart from thegeneral army to command them, and that they were exposed to dangers from lackof discipline. They therefore chose as leaders Mice that were most renowned fortheir family descent, strength, and counsel, as well as those most noted fortheir courage in the fight, so that they might be better marshaled in battlearray and formed into troops, regiments, and battalions. When all this wasdone, and the army disciplined, and the herald Mouse had duly proclaimed war bychallenging the Weasels, the newly chosen generals bound their heads withstraws, that they might be more conspicuous to all their troops. Scarcely hadthe battle begun, when a great rout overwhelmed the Mice, who scampered off asfast as they could to their holes. The generals, not being able to get in onaccount of the ornaments on their heads, were all captured and eaten by theWeasels.

The more honour the more danger.

The Shepherd and the Sea

A SHEPHERD, keeping watch over his sheep near the shore, saw the Sea very calmand smooth, and longed to make a voyage with a view to commerce. He sold allhis flock, invested it in a cargo of dates, and set sail. But a very greattempest came on, and the ship being in danger of sinking, he threw all hismerchandise overboard, and barely escaped with his life in the empty ship. Notlong afterwards when someone passed by and observed the unruffled calm of theSea, he interrupted him and said, “It is again in want of dates, and thereforelooks quiet.”

The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion

AN ASS and a Cock were in a straw-yard together when a Lion, desperate fromhunger, approached the spot. He was about to spring upon the Ass, when the Cock(to the sound of whose voice the Lion, it is said, has a singular aversion)crowed loudly, and the Lion fled away as fast as he could. The Ass, observinghis trepidation at the mere crowing of a Cock summoned courage to attack him,and galloped after him for that purpose. He had run no long distance, when theLion, turning about, seized him and tore him to pieces.

False confidence often leads into danger.

The Rivers and the Sea

THE RIVERS joined together to complain to the Sea, saying, “Why is it that whenwe flow into your tides so potable and sweet, you work in us such a change, andmake us salty and unfit to drink?” The Sea, perceiving that they intended tothrow the blame on him, said, “Pray cease to flow into me, and then you willnot be made briny.”

The Wild Boar and the Fox

A WILD BOAR stood under a tree and rubbed his tusks against the trunk. A Foxpassing by asked him why he thus sharpened his teeth when there was no dangerthreatening from either huntsman or hound. He replied, “I do it advisedly; forit would never do to have to sharpen my weapons just at the time I ought to beusing them.”

To be well prepared for war is the best guarantee of peace.

The Milk-Woman and Her Pail

A FARMER’S daughter was carrying her Pail of milk from the field to thefarmhouse, when she fell a-musing. “The money for which this milk will be sold,will buy at least three hundred eggs. The eggs, allowing for all mishaps, willproduce two hundred and fifty chickens. The chickens will become ready for themarket when poultry will fetch the highest price, so that by the end of theyear I shall have money enough from my share to buy a new gown. In this dress Iwill go to the Christmas parties, where all the young fellows will propose tome, but I will toss my head and refuse them every one.” At this moment shetossed her head in unison with her thoughts, when down fell the milk pail tothe ground, and all her imaginary schemes perished in a moment.

The Bee and Jupiter

A BEE from Mount Hymettus, the queen of the hive, ascended to Olympus topresent Jupiter some honey fresh from her combs. Jupiter, delighted with theoffering of honey, promised to give whatever she should ask. She thereforebesought him, saying, “Give me, I pray thee, a sting, that if any mortal shallapproach to take my honey, I may kill him.” Jupiter was much displeased, for heloved the race of man, but could not refuse the request because of his promise.He thus answered the Bee: “You shall have your request, but it will be at theperil of your own life. For if you use your sting, it shall remain in the woundyou make, and then you will die from the loss of it.”

Evil wishes, like chickens, come home to roost.

The Wolf and the Housedog

A WOLF, meeting a big well-fed Mastiff with a wooden collar about his neckasked him who it was that fed him so well and yet compelled him to drag thatheavy log about wherever he went. “The master,” he replied. Then said the Wolf:“May no friend of mine ever be in such a plight; for the weight of this chainis enough to spoil the appetite.”

The Three Tradesmen

A GREAT CITY was besieged, and its inhabitants were called together to considerthe best means of protecting it from the enemy. A Bricklayer earnestlyrecommended bricks as affording the best material for an effective resistance.A Carpenter, with equal enthusiasm, proposed timber as a preferable method ofdefense. Upon which a Currier stood up and said, “Sirs, I differ from youaltogether: there is no material for resistance equal to a covering of hides;and nothing so good as leather.”

Every man for himself.

The Ass Carrying the Image

AN ASS once carried through the streets of a city a famous wooden Image, to beplaced in one of its Temples. As he passed along, the crowd made lowlyprostration before the Image. The Ass, thinking that they bowed their heads intoken of respect for himself, bristled up with pride, gave himself airs, andrefused to move another step. The driver, seeing him thus stop, laid his whiplustily about his shoulders and said, “O you perverse dull-head! it is not yetcome to this, that men pay worship to an Ass.”

They are not wise who give to themselves the credit due to others.

The Master and His Dogs

A CERTAIN MAN, detained by a storm in his country house, first of all killedhis sheep, and then his goats, for the maintenance of his household. The stormstill continuing, he was obliged to slaughter his yoke oxen for food. On seeingthis, his Dogs took counsel together, and said, “It is time for us to be off,for if the master spare not his oxen, who work for his gain, how can we expecthim to spare us?”

He is not to be trusted as a friend who mistreats his own family.

The Old Hound

A HOUND, who in the days of his youth and strength had never yielded to anybeast of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar in the chase. He seizedhim boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold because of the decay ofhis teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly coming up, was verymuch disappointed, and fiercely abused the dog. The Hound looked up and said,“It was not my fault master: my spirit was as good as ever, but I could nothelp my infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised for what I have been, thanto be blamed for what I am.”

The Two Travelers and the Axe

TWO MEN were journeying together. One of them picked up an axe that lay uponthe path, and said, “I have found an axe.” “Nay, my friend,” replied the other,“do not say ‘I,’ but ‘We’ have found an axe.” They had not gone far before theysaw the owner of the axe pursuing them, and he who had picked up the axe said,“We are undone.” “Nay,” replied the other, “keep to your first mode of speech,my friend; what you thought right then, think right now. Say ‘I,’ not ‘We’ areundone.”

He who shares the danger ought to share the prize.

The Old Lion

A LION, worn out with years and powerless from disease, lay on the ground atthe point of death. A Boar rushed upon him, and avenged with a stroke of histusks a long-remembered injury. Shortly afterwards the Bull with his hornsgored him as if he were an enemy. When the Ass saw that the huge beast could beassailed with impunity, he let drive at his forehead with his heels. Theexpiring Lion said, “I have reluctantly brooked the insults of the brave, butto be compelled to endure such treatment from thee, a disgrace to Nature, isindeed to die a double death.”

The Wolf and the Shepherds

A WOLF, passing by, saw some Shepherds in a hut eating a haunch of mutton fortheir dinner. Approaching them, he said, “What a clamor you would raise if Iwere to do as you are doing!”

The Seaside Travelers

SOME TRAVELERS, journeying along the seashore, climbed to the summit of a tallcliff, and looking over the sea, saw in the distance what they thought was alarge ship. They waited in the hope of seeing it enter the harbor, but as theobject on which they looked was driven nearer to shore by the wind, they foundthat it could at the most be a small boat, and not a ship. When however itreached the beach, they discovered that it was only a large faggot of sticks,and one of them said to his companions, “We have waited for no purpose, forafter all there is nothing to see but a load of wood.”

Our mere anticipations of life outrun its realities.

The Ass and His Shadow

A TRAVELER hired an Ass to convey him to a distant place. The day beingintensely hot, and the sun shining in its strength, the Traveler stopped torest, and sought shelter from the heat under the Shadow of the Ass. As thisafforded only protection for one, and as the Traveler and the owner of the Assboth claimed it, a violent dispute arose between them as to which of them hadthe right to the Shadow. The owner maintained that he had let the Ass only, andnot his Shadow. The Traveler asserted that he had, with the hire of the Ass,hired his Shadow also. The quarrel proceeded from words to blows, and while themen fought, the Ass galloped off.

In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance.

The Ass and His Masters

AN ASS, belonging to an herb-seller who gave him too little food and too muchwork made a petition to Jupiter to be released from his present service andprovided with another master. Jupiter, after warning him that he would repenthis request, caused him to be sold to a tile-maker. Shortly afterwards, findingthat he had heavier loads to carry and harder work in the brick-field, hepetitioned for another change of master. Jupiter, telling him that it would bethe last time that he could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to atanner. The Ass found that he had fallen into worse hands, and noting hismaster’s occupation, said, groaning: “It would have been better for me to havebeen either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the other of myformer masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who will evenafter I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him.”

Mercury and the Sculptor

MERCURY once determined to learn in what esteem he was held among mortals. Forthis purpose he assumed the character of a man and visited in this disguise aSculptor’s studio having looked at various statues, he demanded the price oftwo figures of Jupiter and Juno. When the sum at which they were valued wasnamed, he pointed to a figure of himself, saying to the Sculptor, “You willcertainly want much more for this, as it is the statue of the Messenger of theGods, and author of all your gain.” The Sculptor replied, “Well, if you willbuy these, I’ll fling you that into the bargain.”

The Fox and the Woodcutter

A FOX, running before the hounds, came across a Woodcutter felling an oak andbegged him to show him a safe hiding-place. The Woodcutter advised him to takeshelter in his own hut, so the Fox crept in and hid himself in a corner. Thehuntsman soon came up with his hounds and inquired of the Woodcutter if he hadseen the Fox. He declared that he had not seen him, and yet pointed, all thetime he was speaking, to the hut where the Fox lay hidden. The huntsman took nonotice of the signs, but believing his word, hastened forward in the chase. Assoon as they were well away, the Fox departed without taking any notice of theWoodcutter: whereon he called to him and reproached him, saying, “Youungrateful fellow, you owe your life to me, and yet you leave me without a wordof thanks.” The Fox replied, “Indeed, I should have thanked you fervently ifyour deeds had been as good as your words, and if your hands had not beentraitors to your speech.”

The Oak and the Reeds

A VERY LARGE OAK was uprooted by the wind and thrown across a stream. It fellamong some Reeds, which it thus addressed: “I wonder how you, who are so lightand weak, are not entirely crushed by these strong winds.” They replied, “Youfight and contend with the wind, and consequently you are destroyed; while weon the contrary bend before the least breath of air, and therefore remainunbroken, and escape.”

Stoop to conquer.

The Lion in a Farmyard

A LION entered a farmyard. The Farmer, wishing to catch him, shut the gate.When the Lion found that he could not escape, he flew upon the sheep and killedthem, and then attacked the oxen. The Farmer, beginning to be alarmed for hisown safety, opened the gate and released the Lion. On his departure the Farmergrievously lamented the destruction of his sheep and oxen, but his wife, whohad been a spectator to all that took place, said, “On my word, you are rightlyserved, for how could you for a moment think of shutting up a Lion along withyou in your farmyard when you know that you shake in your shoes if you onlyhear his roar at a distance?”

The Wolf and the Lion

A WOLF, having stolen a lamb from a fold, was carrying him off to his lair. ALion met him in the path, and seizing the lamb, took it from him. Standing at asafe distance, the Wolf exclaimed, “You have unrighteously taken that which wasmine from me!” To which the Lion jeeringly replied, “It was righteously yours,eh? The gift of a friend?”

The Birdcatcher, the Partridge, and theCock

A BIRDCATCHER was about to sit down to a dinner of herbs when a friendunexpectedly came in. The bird-trap was quite empty, as he had caught nothing,and he had to kill a pied Partridge, which he had tamed for a decoy. The birdentreated earnestly for his life: “What would you do without me when next youspread your nets? Who would chirp you to sleep, or call for you the covey ofanswering birds?” The Birdcatcher spared his life, and determined to pick out afine young Cock just attaining to his comb. But the Cock expostulated inpiteous tones from his perch: “If you kill me, who will announce to you theappearance of the dawn? Who will wake you to your daily tasks or tell you whenit is time to visit the bird-trap in the morning?” He replied, “What you say istrue. You are a capital bird at telling the time of day. But my friend and Imust have our dinners.”

Necessity knows no law.

The Ant and the Dove

AN ANT went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and being carried awayby the rush of the stream, was on the point of drowning. A Dove sitting on atree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream closeto her. The Ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortlyafterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, and laid his lime-twigsfor the Dove, which sat in the branches. The Ant, perceiving his design, stunghim in the foot. In pain the birdcatcher threw down the twigs, and the noisemade the Dove take wing.

The Hares and the Frogs

THE HARES, oppressed by their own exceeding timidity and weary of the perpetualalarm to which they were exposed, with one accord determined to put an end tothemselves and their troubles by jumping from a lofty precipice into a deeplake below. As they scampered off in large numbers to carry out their resolve,the Frogs lying on the banks of the lake heard the noise of their feet andrushed helter-skelter to the deep water for safety. On seeing the rapiddisappearance of the Frogs, one of the Hares cried out to his companions:“Stay, my friends, do not do as you intended; for you now see that there arecreatures who are still more timid than ourselves.”

The Monkey and the Fishermen

A MONKEY perched upon a lofty tree saw some Fishermen casting their nets into ariver, and narrowly watched their proceedings. The Fishermen after a while gaveup fishing, and on going home to dinner left their nets upon the bank. TheMonkey, who is the most imitative of animals, descended from the treetop andendeavored to do as they had done. Having handled the net, he threw it into theriver, but became tangled in the meshes and drowned. With his last breath hesaid to himself, “I am rightly served; for what business had I who had neverhandled a net to try and catch fish?”

The Swan and the Goose

A CERTAIN rich man bought in the market a Goose and a Swan. He fed the one forhis table and kept the other for the sake of its song. When the time came forkilling the Goose, the cook went to get him at night, when it was dark, and hewas not able to distinguish one bird from the other. By mistake he caught theSwan instead of the Goose. The Swan, threatened with death, burst forth intosong and thus made himself known by his voice, and preserved his life by hismelody.

The Doe and the Lion

A DOE hard pressed by hunters sought refuge in a cave belonging to a Lion. TheLion concealed himself on seeing her approach, but when she was safe within thecave, sprang upon her and tore her to pieces. “Woe is me,” exclaimed the Doe,“who have escaped from man, only to throw myself into the mouth of a wildbeast?”

In avoiding one evil, care must be taken not to fall into another.

The Fisherman and the Little Fish

A FISHERMAN who lived on the produce of his nets, one day caught a single smallFish as the result of his day’s labor. The Fish, panting convulsively, thusentreated for his life: “O Sir, what good can I be to you, and how little am Iworth? I am not yet come to my full size. Pray spare my life, and put me backinto the sea. I shall soon become a large fish fit for the tables of the rich,and then you can catch me again, and make a handsome profit of me.” TheFisherman replied, “I should indeed be a very simple fellow if, for the chanceof a greater uncertain profit, I were to forego my present certain gain.”

The Hunter and the Woodman

A HUNTER, not very bold, was searching for the tracks of a Lion. He asked a manfelling oaks in the forest if he had seen any marks of his footsteps or knewwhere his lair was. “I will,” said the man, “at once show you the Lionhimself.” The Hunter, turning very pale and chattering with his teeth fromfear, replied, “No, thank you. I did not ask that; it is his track only I am insearch of, not the Lion himself.”

The hero is brave in deeds as well as words.

The Swollen Fox

A VERY HUNGRY FOX, seeing some bread and meat left by shepherds in the hollowof an oak, crept into the hole and made a hearty meal. When he finished, he wasso full that he was not able to get out, and began to groan and lament hisfate. Another Fox passing by heard his cries, and coming up, inquired the causeof his complaining. On learning what had happened, he said to him, “Ah, youwill have to remain there, my friend, until you become such as you were whenyou crept in, and then you will easily get out.”

The Two Frogs

TWO FROGS dwelt in the same pool. When the pool dried up under the summer’sheat, they left it and set out together for another home. As they went alongthey chanced to pass a deep well, amply supplied with water, and when they sawit, one of the Frogs said to the other, “Let us descend and make our abode inthis well: it will furnish us with shelter and food.” The other replied withgreater caution, “But suppose the water should fail us. How can we get outagain from so great a depth?”

Do nothing without a regard to the consequences.

The Lamp

A LAMP, soaked with too much oil and flaring brightly, boasted that it gavemore light than the sun. Then a sudden puff of wind arose, and the Lamp wasimmediately extinguished. Its owner lit it again, and said: “Boast no more, buthenceforth be content to give thy light in silence. Know that not even thestars need to be relit.”

The Camel and the Arab

AN ARAB Camel-driver, after completing the loading of his Camel, asked himwhich he would like best, to go up hill or down. The poor beast replied, notwithout a touch of reason: “Why do you ask me? Is it that the level way throughthe desert is closed?”

The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass

A MILLER and his son were driving their Ass to a neighboring fair to sell him.They had not gone far when they met with a troop of women collected round awell, talking and laughing. “Look there,” cried one of them, “did you ever seesuch fellows, to be trudging along the road on foot when they might ride?” Theold man hearing this, quickly made his son mount the Ass, and continued to walkalong merrily by his side. Presently they came up to a group of old men inearnest debate. “There,” said one of them, “it proves what I was a-saying. Whatrespect is shown to old age in these days? Do you see that idle lad ridingwhile his old father has to walk? Get down, you young scapegrace, and let theold man rest his weary limbs.” Upon this the old man made his son dismount, andgot up himself. In this manner they had not proceeded far when they met acompany of women and children: “Why, you lazy old fellow,” cried severaltongues at once, “how can you ride upon the beast, while that poor little ladthere can hardly keep pace by the side of you?” The good-natured Millerimmediately took up his son behind him. They had now almost reached the town.“Pray, honest friend,” said a citizen, “is that Ass your own?” “Yes,” repliedthe old man. “O, one would not have thought so,” said the other, “by the wayyou load him. Why, you two fellows are better able to carry the poor beast thanhe you.” “Anything to please you,” said the old man; “we can but try.” So,alighting with his son, they tied the legs of the Ass together and with thehelp of a pole endeavored to carry him on their shoulders over a bridge nearthe entrance to the town. This entertaining sight brought the people in crowdsto laugh at it, till the Ass, not liking the noise nor the strange handlingthat he was subject to, broke the cords that bound him and, tumbling off thepole, fell into the river. Upon this, the old man, vexed and ashamed, made thebest of his way home again, convinced that by endeavoring to please everybodyhe had pleased nobody, and lost his Ass in the bargain.

The Cat and the Mice

A CERTAIN HOUSE was overrun with Mice. A Cat, discovering this, made her wayinto it and began to catch and eat them one by one. Fearing for their lives,the Mice kept themselves close in their holes. The Cat was no longer able toget at them and perceived that she must tempt them forth by some device. Forthis purpose she jumped upon a peg, and suspending herself from it, pretendedto be dead. One of the Mice, peeping stealthily out, saw her and said, “Ah, mygood madam, even though you should turn into a meal-bag, we will not come nearyou.”

The Mouse and the Bull

A BULL was bitten by a Mouse and, angered by the wound, tried to capture him.But the Mouse reached his hole in safety. Though the Bull dug into the wallswith his horns, he tired before he could rout out the Mouse, and crouchingdown, went to sleep outside the hole. The Mouse peeped out, crept furtively uphis flank, and again biting him, retreated to his hole. The Bull rising up, andnot knowing what to do, was sadly perplexed. At which the Mouse said, “Thegreat do not always prevail. There are times when the small and lowly are thestrongest to do mischief.”

The Dog and the Cook

A RICH MAN gave a great feast, to which he invited many friends andacquaintances. His Dog availed himself of the occasion to invite a strangerDog, a friend of his, saying, “My master gives a feast, and there is alwaysmuch food remaining; come and sup with me tonight.” The Dog thus invited wentat the hour appointed, and seeing the preparations for so grand anentertainment, said in the joy of his heart, “How glad I am that I came! I donot often get such a chance as this. I will take care and eat enough to last meboth today and tomorrow.” While he was congratulating himself and wagging histail to convey his pleasure to his friend, the Cook saw him moving about amonghis dishes and, seizing him by his fore and hind paws, bundled him withoutceremony out of the window. He fell with force upon the ground and limped away,howling dreadfully. His yelling soon attracted other street dogs, who came upto him and inquired how he had enjoyed his supper. He replied, “Why, to tellyou the truth, I drank so much wine that I remember nothing. I do not know howI got out of the house.”

The Thieves and the Cock

SOME THIEVES broke into a house and found nothing but a Cock, whom they stole,and got off as fast as they could. Upon arriving at home they prepared to killthe Cock, who thus pleaded for his life: “Pray spare me; I am very serviceableto men. I wake them up in the night to their work.” “That is the very reasonwhy we must the more kill you,” they replied; “for when you wake yourneighbors, you entirely put an end to our business.”

The safeguards of virtue are hateful to those with evil intentions.

The Dancing Monkeys

A PRINCE had some Monkeys trained to dance. Being naturally great mimics ofmen’s actions, they showed themselves most apt pupils, and when arrayed intheir rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as any of the courtiers. Thespectacle was often repeated with great applause, till on one occasion acourtier, bent on mischief, took from his pocket a handful of nuts and threwthem upon the stage. The Monkeys at the sight of the nuts forgot their dancingand became (as indeed they were) Monkeys instead of actors. Pulling off theirmasks and tearing their robes, they fought with one another for the nuts. Thedancing spectacle thus came to an end amidst the laughter and ridicule of theaudience.

The Farmer and the Fox

A FARMER, who bore a grudge against a Fox for robbing his poultry yard, caughthim at last, and being determined to take an ample revenge, tied some rope wellsoaked in oil to his tail, and set it on fire. The Fox by a strange fatalityrushed to the fields of the Farmer who had captured him. It was the time of thewheat harvest; but the Farmer reaped nothing that year and returned homegrieving sorely.

The Traveler and Fortune

A TRAVELER wearied from a long journey lay down, overcome with fatigue, on thevery brink of a deep well. Just as he was about to fall into the water, DameFortune, it is said, appeared to him and waking him from his slumber thusaddressed him: “Good Sir, pray wake up: for if you fall into the well, theblame will be thrown on me, and I shall get an ill name among mortals; for Ifind that men are sure to impute their calamities to me, however much by theirown folly they have really brought them on themselves.”

Everyone is more or less master of his own fate.

The Seagull and the Kite

A SEAGULL having bolted down too large a fish, burst its deep gullet-bag andlay down on the shore to die. A Kite saw him and exclaimed: “You richly deserveyour fate; for a bird of the air has no business to seek its food from thesea.”

Every man should be content to mind his own business.

The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox

A LION and a Bear seized a Kid at the same moment, and fought fiercely for itspossession. When they had fearfully lacerated each other and were faint fromthe long combat, they lay down exhausted with fatigue. A Fox, who had goneround them at a distance several times, saw them both stretched on the groundwith the Kid lying untouched in the middle. He ran in between them, and seizingthe Kid scampered off as fast as he could. The Lion and the Bear saw him, butnot being able to get up, said, “Woe be to us, that we should have fought andbelabored ourselves only to serve the turn of a Fox.”

It sometimes happens that one man has all the toil, and another all the profit.

The Philosopher, the Ants, and Mercury

A PHILOSOPHER witnessed from the shore the shipwreck of a vessel, of which thecrew and passengers were all drowned. He inveighed against the injustice ofProvidence, which would for the sake of one criminal perchance sailing in theship allow so many innocent persons to perish. As he was indulging in thesereflections, he found himself surrounded by a whole army of Ants, near whosenest he was standing. One of them climbed up and stung him, and he immediatelytrampled them all to death with his foot. Mercury presented himself, andstriking the Philosopher with his wand, said, “And are you indeed to makeyourself a judge of the dealings of Providence, who hast thyself in a similarmanner treated these poor Ants?”

The Peasant and the Eagle

A PEASANT found an Eagle captured in a trap, and much admiring the bird, sethim free. The Eagle did not prove ungrateful to his deliverer, for seeing thePeasant sitting under a wall which was not safe, he flew toward him and withhis talons snatched a bundle from his head. When the Peasant rose in pursuit,the Eagle let the bundle fall again. Taking it up, the man returned to the sameplace, to find that the wall under which he had been sitting had fallen topieces; and he marveled at the service rendered him by the Eagle.

The Fox and the Leopard

THE FOX and the Leopard disputed which was the more beautiful of the two. TheLeopard exhibited one by one the various spots which decorated his skin. Butthe Fox, interrupting him, said, “And how much more beautiful than you am I,who am decorated, not in body, but in mind.”

The Lion and the Hare

A LION came across a Hare, who was fast asleep. He was just in the act ofseizing her, when a fine young Hart trotted by, and he left the Hare to followhim. The Hare, scared by the noise, awoke and scudded away. The Lion was unableafter a long chase to catch the Hart, and returned to feed upon the Hare. Onfinding that the Hare also had run off, he said, “I am rightly served, forhaving let go of the food that I had in my hand for the chance of obtainingmore.”

The Image of Mercury and the Carpenter

A VERY POOR MAN, a Carpenter by trade, had a wooden image of Mercury, beforewhich he made offerings day by day, and begged the idol to make him rich, butin spite of his entreaties he became poorer and poorer. At last, being veryangry, he took his image down from its pedestal and dashed it against the wall.When its head was knocked off, out came a stream of gold, which the Carpenterquickly picked up and said, “Well, I think thou art altogether contradictoryand unreasonable; for when I paid you honour, I reaped no benefits: but now thatI maltreat you I am loaded with an abundance of riches.”

The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass

THE LION, the Fox and the Ass entered into an agreement to assist each other inthe chase. Having secured a large booty, the Lion on their return from theforest asked the Ass to allot his due portion to each of the three partners inthe treaty. The Ass carefully divided the spoil into three equal shares andmodestly requested the two others to make the first choice. The Lion, burstingout into a great rage, devoured the Ass. Then he requested the Fox to do himthe favour to make a division. The Fox accumulated all that they had killed intoone large heap and left to himself the smallest possible morsel. The Lion said,“Who has taught you, my very excellent fellow, the art of division? You areperfect to a fraction.” He replied, “I learned it from the Ass, by witnessinghis fate.”

Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others.

The Bull and the Goat

A BULL, escaping from a Lion, hid in a cave which some shepherds had recentlyoccupied. As soon as he entered, a He-Goat left in the cave sharply attackedhim with his horns. The Bull quietly addressed him: “Butt away as much as youwill. I have no fear of you, but of the Lion. Let that monster go away and Iwill soon let you know what is the respective strength of a Goat and a Bull.”

It shows an evil disposition to take advantage of a friend in distress.

The Bald Knight

A BALD KNIGHT, who wore a wig, went out to hunt. A sudden puff of wind blew offhis hat and wig, at which a loud laugh rang forth from his companions. Hepulled up his horse, and with great glee joined in the joke by saying, “What amarvel it is that hairs which are not mine should fly from me, when they haveforsaken even the man on whose head they grew.”

The Oaks and Jupiter

THE OAKS presented a complaint to Jupiter, saying, “We bear for no purpose theburden of life, as of all the trees that grow we are the most continually inperil of the axe.” Jupiter made answer: “You have only to thank yourselves forthe misfortunes to which you are exposed: for if you did not make suchexcellent pillars and posts, and prove yourselves so serviceable to thecarpenters and the farmers, the axe would not so frequently be laid to yourroots.”

The Monkeys and Their Mother

THE MONKEY, it is said, has two young ones at each birth. The Mother fondlesone and nurtures it with the greatest affection and care, but hates andneglects the other. It happened once that the young one which was caressed andloved was smothered by the too great affection of the Mother, while thedespised one was nurtured and reared in spite of the neglect to which it wasexposed.

The best intentions will not always ensure success.

The Hare and the Hound

A HOUND started a Hare from his lair, but after a long run, gave up the chase.A goat-herd seeing him stop, mocked him, saying “The little one is the bestrunner of the two.” The Hound replied, “You do not see the difference betweenus: I was only running for a dinner, but he for his life.”

The Shepherd and the Dog

A SHEPHERD penning his sheep in the fold for the night was about to shut up awolf with them, when his Dog perceiving the wolf said, “Master, how can youexpect the sheep to be safe if you admit a wolf into the fold?”

The Oak and the Woodcutters

THE WOODCUTTER cut down a Mountain Oak and split it in pieces, making wedges ofits own branches for dividing the trunk. The Oak said with a sigh, “I do notcare about the blows of the axe aimed at my roots, but I do grieve at beingtorn in pieces by these wedges made from my own branches.”

Misfortunes springing from ourselves are the hardest to bear.

The Wasp and the Snake

A WASP seated himself upon the head of a Snake and, striking him unceasinglywith his stings, wounded him to death. The Snake, being in great torment andnot knowing how to rid himself of his enemy, saw a wagon heavily laden withwood, and went and purposely placed his head under the wheels, saying, “Atleast my enemy and I shall perish together.”

The Peacock and the Crane

A PEACOCK spreading its gorgeous tail mocked a Crane that passed by, ridiculingthe ashen hue of its plumage and saying, “I am robed, like a king, in gold andpurple and all the colors of the rainbow; while you have not a bit of color onyour wings.” “True,” replied the Crane; “but I soar to the heights of heavenand lift up my voice to the stars, while you walk below, like a cock, among thebirds of the dunghill.”

Fine feathers don’t make fine birds.

The Hen and the Golden Eggs

A COTTAGER and his wife had a Hen that laid a golden egg every day. Theysupposed that the Hen must contain a great lump of gold in its inside, and inorder to get the gold they killed it. Having done so, they found to theirsurprise that the Hen differed in no respect from their other hens. The foolishpair, thus hoping to become rich all at once, deprived themselves of the gainof which they were assured day by day.

The Ass and the Frogs

AN ASS, carrying a load of wood, passed through a pond. As he was crossingthrough the water he lost his footing, stumbled and fell, and not being able torise on account of his load, groaned heavily. Some Frogs frequenting the poolheard his lamentation, and said, “What would you do if you had to live herealways as we do, when you make such a fuss about a mere fall into the water?”

Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do largemisfortunes.

The Crow and the Raven

A CROW was jealous of the Raven, because he was considered a bird of good omenand always attracted the attention of men, who noted by his flight the good orevil course of future events. Seeing some travelers approaching, the Crow flewup into a tree, and perching herself on one of the branches, cawed as loudly asshe could. The travelers turned towards the sound and wondered what itforeboded, when one of them said to his companion, “Let us proceed on ourjourney, my friend, for it is only the caw of a crow, and her cry, you know, isno omen.”

Those who assume a character which does not belong to them, only makethemselves ridiculous.

The Trees and the Axe

A MAN came into a forest and asked the Trees to provide him a handle for hisaxe. The Trees consented to his request and gave him a young ash-tree. Nosooner had the man fitted a new handle to his axe from it, than he began to useit and quickly felled with his strokes the noblest giants of the forest. An oldoak, lamenting when too late the destruction of his companions, said to aneighboring cedar, “The first step has lost us all. If we had not given up therights of the ash, we might yet have retained our own privileges and have stoodfor ages.”

The Wolves and the Sheepdogs

THE WOLVES thus addressed the Sheepdogs: “Why should you, who are like us in somany things, not be entirely of one mind with us, and live with us as brothersshould? We differ from you in one point only. We live in freedom, but you bowdown to and slave for men, who in return for your services flog you with whipsand put collars on your necks. They make you also guard their sheep, and whilethey eat the mutton throw only the bones to you. If you will be persuaded byus, you will give us the sheep, and we will enjoy them in common, till we allare surfeited.” The Dogs listened favourably to these proposals, and, enteringthe den of the Wolves, they were set upon and torn to pieces.

The Bull, the Lioness, and the Wild-BoarHunter

A BULL finding a lion’s cub asleep gored him to death with his horns. TheLioness came up, and bitterly lamented the death of her whelp. A wild-boarHunter, seeing her distress, stood at a distance and said to her, “Think howmany men there are who have reason to lament the loss of their children, whosedeaths have been caused by you.”

The Bowman and Lion

A VERY SKILLFUL BOWMAN went to the mountains in search of game, but all thebeasts of the forest fled at his approach. The Lion alone challenged him tocombat. The Bowman immediately shot out an arrow and said to the Lion: “I sendthee my messenger, that from him thou mayest learn what I myself shall be whenI assail thee.” The wounded Lion rushed away in great fear, and when a Fox whohad seen it all happen told him to be of good courage and not to back off atthe first attack he replied: “You counsel me in vain; for if he sends sofearful a messenger, how shall I abide the attack of the man himself?”

Be on guard against men who can strike from a distance.

The Camel

WHEN MAN first saw the Camel, he was so frightened at his vast size that he ranaway. After a time, perceiving the meekness and gentleness of the beast’stemper, he summoned courage enough to approach him. Soon afterwards, observingthat he was an animal altogether deficient in spirit, he assumed such boldnessas to put a bridle in his mouth, and to let a child drive him.

Use serves to overcome dread.

The Crab and the Fox

A CRAB, forsaking the seashore, chose a neighboring green meadow as its feedingground. A Fox came across him, and being very hungry ate him up. Just as he wason the point of being eaten, the Crab said, “I well deserve my fate, for whatbusiness had I on the land, when by my nature and habits I am only adapted forthe sea?”

Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness.

The Ass and the Old Shepherd

A SHEPHERD, watching his Ass feeding in a meadow, was alarmed all of a suddenby the cries of the enemy. He appealed to the Ass to fly with him, lest theyshould both be captured, but the animal lazily replied, “Why should I, pray? Doyou think it likely the conqueror will place on me two sets of panniers?” “No,”rejoined the Shepherd. “Then,” said the Ass, “as long as I carry the panniers,what matters it to me whom I serve?”

In a change of government the poor change nothing beyond the name of theirmaster.

The Fox and the Hedgehog

A FOX swimming across a rapid river was carried by the force of the currentinto a very deep ravine, where he lay for a long time very much bruised, sick,and unable to move. A swarm of hungry blood-sucking flies settled upon him. AHedgehog, passing by, saw his anguish and inquired if he should drive away theflies that were tormenting him. “By no means,” replied the Fox; “pray do notmolest them.” “How is this?” said the Hedgehog; “do you not want to be rid ofthem?” “No,” returned the Fox, “for these flies which you see are full ofblood, and sting me but little, and if you rid me of these which are alreadysatiated, others more hungry will come in their place, and will drink up allthe blood I have left.”

The Woman and Her Hen

A WOMAN possessed a Hen that gave her an egg every day. She often pondered howshe might obtain two eggs daily instead of one, and at last, to gain herpurpose, determined to give the Hen a double allowance of barley. From that daythe Hen became fat and sleek, and never once laid another egg.

The Kites and the Swans

TEE KITES of olden times, as well as the Swans, had the privilege of song. Buthaving heard the neigh of the horse, they were so enchanted with the sound,that they tried to imitate it; and, in trying to neigh, they forgot how tosing.

The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of present blessings.

The Dog and the Hare

A HOUND having started a Hare on the hillside pursued her for some distance, atone time biting her with his teeth as if he would take her life, and at anotherfawning upon her, as if in play with another dog. The Hare said to him, “I wishyou would act sincerely by me, and show yourself in your true colors. If youare a friend, why do you bite me so hard? If an enemy, why do you fawn on me?”

No one can be a friend if you know not whether to trust or distrust him.

The Hares and the Foxes

THE HARES waged war with the Eagles, and called upon the Foxes to help them.They replied, “We would willingly have helped you, if we had not known who youwere, and with whom you were fighting.”

Count the cost before you commit yourselves.

The Bull and the Calf

A BULL was striving with all his might to squeeze himself through a narrowpassage which led to his stall. A young Calf came up, and offered to go beforeand show him the way by which he could manage to pass. “Save yourself thetrouble,” said the Bull; “I knew that way long before you were born.”

The Stag, the Wolf, and the Sheep

A STAG asked a Sheep to lend him a measure of wheat, and said that the Wolfwould be his surety. The Sheep, fearing some fraud was intended, excusedherself, saying, “The Wolf is accustomed to seize what he wants and to run off;and you, too, can quickly outstrip me in your rapid flight. How then shall I beable to find you, when the day of payment comes?”

Two blacks do not make one white.

The Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow

AN EAGLE made her nest at the top of a lofty oak; a Cat, having found aconvenient hole, moved into the middle of the trunk; and a Wild Sow, with heryoung, took shelter in a hollow at its foot. The Cat cunningly resolved todestroy this chance-made colony. To carry out her design, she climbed to thenest of the Eagle, and said, “Destruction is preparing for you, and for me too,unfortunately. The Wild Sow, whom you see daily digging up the earth, wishes touproot the oak, so she may on its fall seize our families as food for heryoung.” Having thus frightened the Eagle out of her senses, she crept down tothe cave of the Sow, and said, “Your children are in great danger; for as soonas you go out with your litter to find food, the Eagle is prepared to pounceupon one of your little pigs.” Having instilled these fears into the Sow, shewent and pretended to hide herself in the hollow of the tree. When night cameshe went forth with silent foot and obtained food for herself and her kittens,but feigning to be afraid, she kept a lookout all through the day. Meanwhile,the Eagle, full of fear of the Sow, sat still on the branches, and the Sow,terrified by the Eagle, did not dare to go out from her cave. And thus theyboth, along with their families, perished from hunger, and afforded ampleprovision for the Cat and her kittens.

The Wolf and the Fox

AT ONE TIME a very large and strong Wolf was born among the wolves, whoexceeded all his fellow-wolves in strength, size, and swiftness, so that theyunanimously decided to call him “Lion.” The Wolf, with a lack of senseproportioned to his enormous size, thought that they gave him this name inearnest, and, leaving his own race, consorted exclusively with the lions. Anold sly Fox, seeing this, said, “May I never make myself so ridiculous as youdo in your pride and self-conceit; for even though you have the size of a lionamong wolves, in a herd of lions you are definitely a wolf.”

The Mule

A MULE, frolicsome from lack of work and from too much corn, galloped about ina very extravagant manner, and said to himself: “My father surely was ahigh-mettled racer, and I am his own child in speed and spirit.” On the nextday, being driven a long journey, and feeling very wearied, he exclaimed in adisconsolate tone: “I must have made a mistake; my father, after all, couldhave been only an ass.”

The Prophet

A WIZARD, sitting in the marketplace, was telling the fortunes of thepassers-by when a person ran up in great haste, and announced to him that thedoors of his house had been broken open and that all his goods were beingstolen. He sighed heavily and hastened away as fast as he could run. A neighborsaw him running and said, “Oh! you fellow there! you say you can foretell thefortunes of others; how is it you did not foresee your own?”

The Two Frogs

TWO FROGS were neighbors. One inhabited a deep pond, far removed from publicview; the other lived in a gully containing little water, and traversed by acountry road. The Frog that lived in the pond warned his friend to change hisresidence and entreated him to come and live with him, saying that he wouldenjoy greater safety from danger and more abundant food. The other refused,saying that he felt it so very hard to leave a place to which he had becomeaccustomed. A few days afterwards a heavy wagon passed through the gully andcrushed him to death under its wheels.

A willful man will have his way to his own hurt.

The Serpent and the Eagle

A SERPENT and an Eagle were struggling with each other in deadly conflict. TheSerpent had the advantage, and was about to strangle the bird. A countryman sawthem, and running up, loosed the coil of the Serpent and let the Eagle go free.The Serpent, irritated at the escape of his prey, injected his poison into thedrinking horn of the countryman. The rustic, ignorant of his danger, was aboutto drink, when the Eagle struck his hand with his wing, and, seizing thedrinking horn in his talons, carried it aloft.

The Crow and the Pitcher

A CROW perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and hoping to find water, flew toit with delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that itcontained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He triedeverything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were invain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry and dropped themone by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water withinhis reach and thus saved his life.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

The Thief and the Innkeeper

A THIEF hired a room in a tavern and stayed a while in the hope of stealingsomething which should enable him to pay his reckoning. When he had waited somedays in vain, he saw the Innkeeper dressed in a new and handsome coat andsitting before his door. The Thief sat down beside him and talked with him. Asthe conversation began to flag, the Thief yawned terribly and at the same timehowled like a wolf. The Innkeeper said, “Why do you howl so fearfully?” “I willtell you,” said the Thief, “but first let me ask you to hold my clothes, or Ishall tear them to pieces. I know not, sir, when I got this habit of yawning,nor whether these attacks of howling were inflicted on me as a judgment for mycrimes, or for any other cause; but this I do know, that when I yawn for thethird time, I actually turn into a wolf and attack men.” With this speech hecommenced a second fit of yawning and again howled like a wolf, as he had atfirst. The Innkeeper, hearing his tale and believing what he said, becamegreatly alarmed and, rising from his seat, attempted to run away. The Thieflaid hold of his coat and entreated him to stop, saying, “Pray wait, sir, andhold my clothes, or I shall tear them to pieces in my fury, when I turn into awolf.” At the same moment he yawned the third time and set up a terrible howl.The Innkeeper, frightened lest he should be attacked, left his new coat in theThief’s hand and ran as fast as he could into the inn for safety. The Thiefmade off with the coat and did not return again to the inn.

Every tale is not to be believed.

The Hart and the Vine

A HART, hard pressed in the chase, hid himself beneath the large leaves of aVine. The huntsmen, in their haste, overshot the place of his concealment.Supposing all danger to have passed, the Hart began to nibble the tendrils ofthe Vine. One of the huntsmen, attracted by the rustling of the leaves, lookedback, and seeing the Hart, shot an arrow from his bow and struck it. The Hart,at the point of death, groaned: “I am rightly served, for I should not havemaltreated the Vine that saved me.”

The Gnat and the Lion

A GNAT came and said to a Lion, “I do not in the least fear you, nor are youstronger than I am. For in what does your strength consist? You can scratchwith your claws and bite with your teeth an a woman in her quarrels. I repeatthat I am altogether more powerful than you; and if you doubt it, let us fightand see who will conquer.” The Gnat, having sounded his horn, fastened himselfupon the Lion and stung him on the nostrils and the parts of the face devoid ofhair. While trying to crush him, the Lion tore himself with his claws, until hepunished himself severely. The Gnat thus prevailed over the Lion, and, buzzingabout in a song of triumph, flew away. But shortly afterwards he becameentangled in the meshes of a cobweb and was eaten by a spider. He greatlylamented his fate, saying, “Woe is me! that I, who can wage war successfullywith the hugest beasts, should perish myself from this spider, the mostinconsiderable of insects!”

The Fox and the Grapes

A FAMISHED FOX saw some clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from a trellisedvine. She resorted to all her tricks to get at them, but wearied herself invain, for she could not reach them. At last she turned away, hiding herdisappointment and saying: “The Grapes are sour, and not ripe as I thought.”

The Walnut-Tree

A WALNUT TREE standing by the roadside bore an abundant crop of fruit. For thesake of the nuts, the passers-by broke its branches with stones and sticks. TheWalnut-Tree piteously exclaimed, “O wretched me! that those whom I cheer withmy fruit should repay me with these painful requitals!”

The Kid and the Wolf

A KID, returning without protection from the pasture, was pursued by a Wolf.Seeing he could not escape, he turned round, and said: “I know, friend Wolf,that I must be your prey, but before I die I would ask of you one favour youwill play me a tune to which I may dance.” The Wolf complied, and while he waspiping and the Kid was dancing, some hounds hearing the sound ran up and beganchasing the Wolf. Turning to the Kid, he said, “It is just what I deserve; forI, who am only a butcher, should not have turned piper to please you.”

The Monkey and the Dolphin

A SAILOR, bound on a long voyage, took with him a Monkey to amuse him while onshipboard. As he sailed off the coast of Greece, a violent tempest arose inwhich the ship was wrecked and he, his Monkey, and all the crew were obliged toswim for their lives. A Dolphin saw the Monkey contending with the waves, andsupposing him to be a man (whom he is always said to befriend), came and placedhimself under him, to convey him on his back in safety to the shore. When theDolphin arrived with his burden in sight of land not far from Athens, he askedthe Monkey if he were an Athenian. The latter replied that he was, and that hewas descended from one of the most noble families in that city. The Dolphinthen inquired if he knew the Piræus (the famous harbor of Athens). Supposingthat a man was meant, the Monkey answered that he knew him very well and thathe was an intimate friend. The Dolphin, indignant at these falsehoods, dippedthe Monkey under the water and drowned him.

The Horse and the Stag

AT ONE TIME the Horse had the plain entirely to himself. Then a Stag intrudedinto his domain and shared his pasture. The Horse, desiring to revenge himselfon the stranger, asked a man if he were willing to help him in punishing theStag. The man replied that if the Horse would receive a bit in his mouth andagree to carry him, he would contrive effective weapons against the Stag. TheHorse consented and allowed the man to mount him. From that hour he found thatinstead of obtaining revenge on the Stag, he had enslaved himself to theservice of man.

The Jackdaw and the Doves

A JACKDAW, seeing some Doves in a cote abundantly provided with food, paintedhimself white and joined them in order to share their plentiful maintenance.The Doves, as long as he was silent, supposed him to be one of themselves andadmitted him to their cote. But when one day he forgot himself and began tochatter, they discovered his true character and drove him forth, pecking himwith their beaks. Failing to obtain food among the Doves, he returned to theJackdaws. They too, not recognizing him on account of his color, expelled himfrom living with them. So desiring two ends, he obtained neither.

The Fox and the Monkey

A FOX and a Monkey were traveling together on the same road. As they journeyed,they passed through a cemetery full of monuments. “All these monuments whichyou see,” said the Monkey, “are erected in honour of my ancestors, who were intheir day freedmen and citizens of great renown.” The Fox replied, “You havechosen a most appropriate subject for your falsehoods, as I am sure none ofyour ancestors will be able to contradict you.”

A false tale often betrays itself.

The Man and His Wife

A MAN had a Wife who made herself hated by all the members of his household.Wishing to find out if she had the same effect on the persons in her father’shouse, he made some excuse to send her home on a visit to her father. After ashort time she returned, and when he inquired how she had got on and how theservants had treated her, she replied, “The herdsmen and shepherds cast on melooks of aversion.” He said, “O Wife, if you were disliked by those who go outearly in the morning with their flocks and return late in the evening, whatmust have been felt towards you by those with whom you passed the whole day!”

Straws show how the wind blows.

The Man, the Horse, the Ox, and the Dog

A HORSE, Ox, and Dog, driven to great straits by the cold, sought shelter andprotection from Man. He received them kindly, lighted a fire, and warmed them.He let the Horse make free with his oats, gave the Ox an abundance of hay, andfed the Dog with meat from his own table. Grateful for these favours, theanimals determined to repay him to the best of their ability. For this purpose,they divided the term of his life between them, and each endowed one portion ofit with the qualities which chiefly characterized himself. The Horse chose hisearliest years and gave them his own attributes: hence every man is in hisyouth impetuous, headstrong, and obstinate in maintaining his own opinion. TheOx took under his patronage the next term of life, and therefore man in hismiddle age is fond of work, devoted to labor, and resolute to amass wealth andto husband his resources. The end of life was reserved for the Dog, whereforethe old man is often snappish, irritable, hard to please, and selfish, tolerantonly of his own household, but averse to strangers and to all who do notadminister to his comfort or to his necessities.

The Thief and the Housedog

A THIEF came in the night to break into a house. He brought with him severalslices of meat in order to pacify the Housedog, so that he would not alarm hismaster by barking. As the Thief threw him the pieces of meat, the Dog said, “Ifyou think to stop my mouth, you will be greatly mistaken. This sudden kindnessat your hands will only make me more watchful, lest under these unexpectedfavours to myself, you have some private ends to accomplish for your ownbenefit, and for my master’s injury.”

The Apes and the Two Travelers

TWO MEN, one who always spoke the truth and the other who told nothing butlies, were traveling together and by chance came to the land of Apes. One ofthe Apes, who had raised himself to be king, commanded them to be seized andbrought before him, that he might know what was said of him among men. Heordered at the same time that all the Apes be arranged in a long row on hisright hand and on his left, and that a throne be placed for him, as was thecustom among men. After these preparations he signified that the two men shouldbe brought before him, and greeted them with this salutation: “What sort of aking do I seem to you to be, O strangers?” The Lying Traveler replied, “Youseem to me a most mighty king.” “And what is your estimate of those you seearound me?” “These,” he made answer, “are worthy companions of yourself, fit atleast to be ambassadors and leaders of armies.” The Ape and all his court,gratified with the lie, commanded that a handsome present be given to theflatterer. On this the truthful Traveler thought to himself, “If so great areward be given for a lie, with what gift may not I be rewarded, if, accordingto my custom, I tell the truth?” The Ape quickly turned to him. “And pray howdo I and these my friends around me seem to you?” “Thou art,” he said, “a mostexcellent Ape, and all these thy companions after thy example are excellentApes too.” The King of the Apes, enraged at hearing these truths, gave him overto the teeth and claws of his companions.

The Fox and the Lion

WHEN A FOX who had never yet seen a Lion, fell in with him by chance for thefirst time in the forest, he was so frightened that he nearly died with fear.On meeting him for the second time, he was still much alarmed, but not to thesame extent as at first. On seeing him the third time, he so increased inboldness that he went up to him and commenced a familiar conversation with him.

Acquaintance softens prejudices.

The Weasel and the Mice

A WEASEL, inactive from age and infirmities, was not able to catch mice as heonce did. He therefore rolled himself in flour and lay down in a dark corner. AMouse, supposing him to be food, leaped upon him, and was instantly caught andsqueezed to death. Another perished in a similar manner, and then a third, andstill others after them. A very old Mouse, who had escaped many a trap andsnare, observed from a safe distance the trick of his crafty foe and said, “Ah!you that lie there, may you prosper just in the same proportion as you are whatyou pretend to be!”

The Boy Bathing

A BOY bathing in a river was in danger of being drowned. He called out to apassing traveler for help, but instead of holding out a helping hand, the manstood by unconcernedly, and scolded the boy for his imprudence. “Oh, sir!”cried the youth, “pray help me now and scold me afterwards.”

Counsel without help is useless.

The Peacock and Juno

THE PEACOCK made complaint to Juno that, while the nightingale pleased everyear with his song, he himself no sooner opened his mouth than he became alaughingstock to all who heard him. The Goddess, to console him, said, “But youfar excel in beauty and in size. The splendor of the emerald shines in yourneck and you unfold a tail gorgeous with painted plumage.” “But for whatpurpose have I,” said the bird, “this dumb beauty so long as I am surpassed insong?” “The lot of each,” replied Juno, “has been assigned by the will of theFates—to thee, beauty; to the eagle, strength; to the nightingale, song; to theraven, favourable, and to the crow, unfavourable auguries. These are allcontented with the endowments allotted to them.”

The Wolf and the Shepherd

A WOLF followed a flock of sheep for a long time and did not attempt to injureone of them. The Shepherd at first stood on his guard against him, as againstan enemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements. But when the Wolf, dayafter day, kept in the company of the sheep and did not make the slightesteffort to seize them, the Shepherd began to look upon him as a guardian of hisflock rather than as a plotter of evil against it; and when occasion called himone day into the city, he left the sheep entirely in his charge. The Wolf, nowthat he had the opportunity, fell upon the sheep, and destroyed the greaterpart of the flock. When the Shepherd returned to find his flock destroyed, heexclaimed: “I have been rightly served; why did I trust my sheep to a Wolf?”

The Hares and the Lions

THE HARES harangued the assembly, and argued that all should be equal. TheLions made this reply: “Your words, O Hares! are good; but they lack both clawsand teeth such as we have.”

The Seller of Images

A CERTAIN MAN made a wooden image of Mercury and offered it for sale. When noone appeared willing to buy it, in order to attract purchasers, he cried outthat he had the statue to sell of a benefactor who bestowed wealth and helpedto heap up riches. One of the bystanders said to him, “My good fellow, why doyou sell him, being such a one as you describe, when you may yourself enjoy thegood things he has to give?” “Why,” he replied, “I am in need of immediatehelp, and he is wont to give his good gifts very slowly.”

The Hawk and the Nightingale

A NIGHTINGALE, sitting aloft upon an oak and singing according to his wont, wasseen by a Hawk who, being in need of food, swooped down and seized him. TheNightingale, about to lose his life, earnestly begged the Hawk to let him go,saying that he was not big enough to satisfy the hunger of a Hawk who, if hewanted food, ought to pursue the larger birds. The Hawk, interrupting him,said: “I should indeed have lost my senses if I should let go food ready in myhand, for the sake of pursuing birds which are not yet even within sight.”

The Lark and Her Young Ones

A LARK had made her nest in the early spring on the young green wheat. Thebrood had almost grown to their full strength and attained the use of theirwings and the full plumage of their feathers, when the owner of the field,looking over his ripe crop, said, “The time has come when I must ask all myneighbors to help me with my harvest.” One of the young Larks heard his speechand related it to his mother, inquiring of her to what place they should movefor safety. “There is no occasion to move yet, my son,” she replied; “the manwho only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest is not really inearnest.” The owner of the field came again a few days later and saw the wheatshedding the grain from excess of ripeness. He said, “I will come myselftomorrow with my laborers, and with as many reapers as I can hire, and will getin the harvest.” The Lark on hearing these words said to her brood, “It is timenow to be off, my little ones, for the man is in earnest this time; he nolonger trusts his friends, but will reap the field himself.”

Self-help is the best help.

The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox

A DOG and a Cock being great friends, agreed to travel together. At nightfallthey took shelter in a thick wood. The Cock flying up, perched himself on thebranches of a tree, while the Dog found a bed beneath in the hollow trunk. Whenthe morning dawned, the Cock, as usual, crowed very loudly several times. A Foxheard the sound, and wishing to make a breakfast on him, came and stood underthe branches, saying how earnestly he desired to make the acquaintance of theowner of so magnificent a voice. The Cock, suspecting his civilities, said:“Sir, I wish you would do me the favour of going around to the hollow trunkbelow me, and waking my porter, so that he may open the door and let you in.”When the Fox approached the tree, the Dog sprang out and caught him, and torehim to pieces.

The Geese and the Cranes

THE GEESE and the Cranes were feeding in the same meadow, when a birdcatchercame to ensnare them in his nets. The Cranes, being light of wing, fled away athis approach; while the Geese, being slower of flight and heavier in theirbodies, were captured.

The Ass and the Wolf

AN ASS feeding in a meadow saw a Wolf approaching to seize him, and immediatelypretended to be lame. The Wolf, coming up, inquired the cause of his lameness.The Ass replied that passing through a hedge he had trod with his foot upon asharp thorn. He requested that the Wolf pull it out, lest when he ate him itshould injure his throat. The Wolf consented and lifted up the foot, and wasgiving his whole mind to the discovery of the thorn, when the Ass, with hisheels, kicked his teeth into his mouth and galloped away. The Wolf, being thusfearfully mauled, said, “I am rightly served, for why did I attempt the art ofhealing, when my father only taught me the trade of a butcher?”

The Goat and the Ass

A MAN once kept a Goat and an Ass. The Goat, envying the Ass on account of hisgreater abundance of food, said, “How shamefully you are treated: at one timegrinding in the mill, and at another carrying heavy burdens;” and he furtheradvised him to pretend to be epileptic and fall into a ditch and so obtainrest. The Ass listened to his words, and falling into a ditch, was very muchbruised. His master, sending for a leech, asked his advice. He bade him pourupon the wounds the lungs of a Goat. They at once killed the Goat, and sohealed the Ass.

The Lion and the Bull

A LION, greatly desiring to capture a Bull, and yet afraid to attack him onaccount of his great size, resorted to a trick to ensure his destruction. Heapproached the Bull and said, “I have slain a fine sheep, my friend; and if youwill come home and partake of him with me, I shall be delighted to have yourcompany.” The Lion said this in the hope that, as the Bull was in the act ofreclining to eat, he might attack him to advantage, and make his meal on him.The Bull, on approaching the Lion’s den, saw the huge spits and giant caldrons,and no sign whatever of the sheep, and, without saying a word, quietly took hisdeparture. The Lion inquired why he went off so abruptly without a word ofsalutation to his host, who had not given him any cause for offense. “I havereasons enough,” said the Bull. “I see no indication whatever of your havingslaughtered a sheep, while I do see very plainly every preparation for yourdining on a bull.”

The Fox and the Mask

A FOX entered the house of an actor and, rummaging through all his properties,came upon a Mask, an admirable imitation of a human head. He placed his paws onit and said, “What a beautiful head! Yet it is of no value, as it entirelylacks brains.”

The Grasshopper and the Owl

AN OWL, accustomed to feed at night and to sleep during the day, was greatlydisturbed by the noise of a Grasshopper and earnestly besought her to stopchirping. The Grasshopper refused to desist, and chirped louder and louder themore the Owl entreated. When she saw that she could get no redress and that herwords were despised, the Owl attacked the chatterer by a stratagem. “Since Icannot sleep,” she said, “on account of your song which, believe me, is sweetas the lyre of Apollo, I shall indulge myself in drinking some nectar whichPallas lately gave me. If you do not dislike it, come to me and we will drinkit together.” The Grasshopper, who was thirsty, and pleased with the praise ofher voice, eagerly flew up. The Owl came forth from her hollow, seized her, andput her to death.

The Fowler and the Viper

A FOWLER, taking his bird-lime and his twigs, went out to catch birds. Seeing athrush sitting upon a tree, he wished to take it, and fitting his twigs to aproper length, watched intently, having his whole thoughts directed towards thesky. While thus looking upwards, he unknowingly trod upon a Viper asleep justbefore his feet. The Viper, turning about, stung him, and falling into a swoon,the man said to himself, “Woe is me! that while I purposed to hunt another, Iam myself fallen unawares into the snares of death.”

The Horse and the Ass

A HORSE, proud of his fine trappings, met an Ass on the highway. The Ass, beingheavily laden, moved slowly out of the way. “Hardly,” said the Horse, “can Iresist kicking you with my heels.” The Ass held his peace, and made only asilent appeal to the justice of the gods. Not long afterwards the Horse, havingbecome broken-winded, was sent by his owner to the farm. The Ass, seeing himdrawing a dungcart, thus derided him: “Where, O boaster, are now all thy gaytrappings, thou who are thyself reduced to the condition you so lately treatedwith contempt?”

The Lion and the Three Bulls

THREE BULLS for a long time pastured together. A Lion lay in ambush in the hopeof making them his prey, but was afraid to attack them while they kepttogether. Having at last by guileful speeches succeeded in separating them, heattacked them without fear as they fed alone, and feasted on them one by one athis own leisure.

Union is strength.

The Wolf and the Goat

A WOLF saw a Goat feeding at the summit of a steep precipice, where he had nochance of reaching her. He called to her and earnestly begged her to come lowerdown, lest she fall by some mishap; and he added that the meadows lay where hewas standing, and that the herbage was most tender. She replied, “No, myfriend, it is not for the pasture that you invite me, but for yourself, who arein want of food.”

The Fly and the Draught-Mule

A FLY sat on the axle-tree of a chariot, and addressing the Draught-Mule said,“How slow you are! Why do you not go faster? See if I do not prick your neckwith my sting.” The Draught-Mule replied, “I do not heed your threats; I onlycare for him who sits above you, and who quickens my pace with his whip, orholds me back with the reins. Away, therefore, with your insolence, for I knowwell when to go fast, and when to go slow.”

The Fishermen

SOME FISHERMEN were out trawling their nets. Perceiving them to be very heavy,they danced about for joy and supposed that they had taken a large catch. Whenthey had dragged the nets to the shore they found but few fish: the nets werefull of sand and stones, and the men were beyond measure cast down so much atthe disappointment which had befallen them, but because they had formed suchvery different expectations. One of their company, an old man, said, “Let uscease lamenting, my mates, for, as it seems to me, sorrow is always the twinsister of joy; and it was only to be looked for that we, who just now wereover-rejoiced, should next have something to make us sad.”

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

A COUNTRY MOUSE invited a Town Mouse, an intimate friend, to pay him a visitand partake of his country fare. As they were on the bare plowlands, eatingthere wheat-stocks and roots pulled up from the hedgerow, the Town Mouse saidto his friend, “You live here the life of the ants, while in my house is thehorn of plenty. I am surrounded by every luxury, and if you will come with me,as I wish you would, you shall have an ample share of my dainties.” The CountryMouse was easily persuaded, and returned to town with his friend. On hisarrival, the Town Mouse placed before him bread, barley, beans, dried figs,honey, raisins, and, last of all, brought a dainty piece of cheese from abasket. The Country Mouse, being much delighted at the sight of such goodcheer, expressed his satisfaction in warm terms and lamented his own hard fate.Just as they were beginning to eat, someone opened the door, and they both ranoff squeaking, as fast as they could, to a hole so narrow that two could onlyfind room in it by squeezing. They had scarcely begun their repast again whensomeone else entered to take something out of a cupboard, whereupon the twoMice, more frightened than before, ran away and hid themselves. At last theCountry Mouse, almost famished, said to his friend: “Although you have preparedfor me so dainty a feast, I must leave you to enjoy it by yourself. It issurrounded by too many dangers to please me. I prefer my bare plowlands androots from the hedgerow, where I can live in safety, and without fear.”

The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape

A WOLF accused a Fox of theft, but the Fox entirely denied the charge. An Apeundertook to adjudge the matter between them. When each had fully stated hiscase the Ape announced this sentence: “I do not think you, Wolf, ever lost whatyou claim; and I do believe you, Fox, to have stolen what you so stoutly deny.”

The dishonest, if they act honestly, get no credit.

The Wasps, the Partridges, and the Farmer

THE WASPS and the Partridges, overcome with thirst, came to a Farmer andbesought him to give them some water to drink. They promised amply to repay himthe favour which they asked. The Partridges declared that they would dig aroundhis vines and make them produce finer grapes. The Wasps said that they wouldkeep guard and drive off thieves with their stings. But the Farmer interruptedthem, saying: “I have already two oxen, who, without making any promises, doall these things. It is surely better for me to give the water to them than toyou.”

The Brother and the Sister

A FATHER had one son and one daughter, the former remarkable for his goodlooks, the latter for her extraordinary ugliness. While they were playing oneday as children, they happened by chance to look together into a mirror thatwas placed on their mother’s chair. The boy congratulated himself on his goodlooks; the girl grew angry, and could not bear the self-praises of her Brother,interpreting all he said (and how could she do otherwise?) into reflection onherself. She ran off to her father, to be avenged on her Brother, andspitefully accused him of having, as a boy, made use of that which belongedonly to girls. The father embraced them both, and bestowing his kisses andaffection impartially on each, said, “I wish you both would look into themirror every day: you, my son, that you may not spoil your beauty by evilconduct; and you, my daughter, that you may make up for your lack of beauty byyour virtues.”

The Dogs and the Fox

SOME DOGS, finding the skin of a lion, began to tear it in pieces with theirteeth. A Fox, seeing them, said, “If this lion were alive, you would soon findout that his claws were stronger than your teeth.”

It is easy to kick a man that is down.

The Blind Man and the Whelp

A BLIND MAN was accustomed to distinguishing different animals by touching themwith his hands. The whelp of a Wolf was brought him, with a request that hewould feel it, and say what it was. He felt it, and being in doubt, said: “I donot quite know whether it is the cub of a Fox, or the whelp of a Wolf, but thisI know full well. It would not be safe to admit him to the sheepfold.”

Evil tendencies are shown in early life.

The Cobbler Turned Doctor

A COBBLER unable to make a living by his trade and made desperate by poverty,began to practice medicine in a town in which he was not known. He sold a drug,pretending that it was an antidote to all poisons, and obtained a great namefor himself by long-winded puffs and advertisements. When the Cobbler happenedto fall sick himself of a serious illness, the Governor of the town determinedto test his skill. For this purpose he called for a cup, and while filling itwith water, pretended to mix poison with the Cobbler’s antidote, commanding himto drink it on the promise of a reward. The Cobbler, under the fear of death,confessed that he had no knowledge of medicine, and was only made famous by thestupid clamors of the crowd. The Governor then called a public assembly andaddressed the citizens: “Of what folly have you been guilty? You have nothesitated to entrust your heads to a man, whom no one could employ to make eventhe shoes for their feet.”

The Wolf and the Horse

A WOLF coming out of a field of oats met a Horse and thus addressed him: “Iwould advise you to go into that field. It is full of fine oats, which I haveleft untouched for you, as you are a friend whom I would love to hear enjoyinggood eating.” The Horse replied, “If oats had been the food of wolves, youwould never have indulged your ears at the cost of your belly.”

Men of evil reputation, when they perform a good deed, fail to get credit forit.

The Two Men Who Were Enemies

TWO MEN, deadly enemies to each other, were sailing in the same vessel.Determined to keep as far apart as possible, the one seated himself in thestem, and the other in the prow of the ship. A violent storm arose, and withthe vessel in great danger of sinking, the one in the stern inquired of thepilot which of the two ends of the ship would go down first. On his replyingthat he supposed it would be the prow, the Man said, “Death would not begrievous to me, if I could only see my Enemy die before me.”

The Gamecocks and the Partridge

A MAN had two Gamecocks in his poultry-yard. One day by chance he found a tamePartridge for sale. He purchased it and brought it home to be reared with hisGamecocks. When the Partridge was put into the poultry-yard, they struck at itand followed it about, so that the Partridge became grievously troubled andsupposed that he was thus evilly treated because he was a stranger. Not longafterwards he saw the Cocks fighting together and not separating before one hadwell beaten the other. He then said to himself, “I shall no longer distressmyself at being struck at by these Gamecocks, when I see that they cannot evenrefrain from quarreling with each other.”

The Fox and the Lion

A FOX saw a Lion confined in a cage, and standing near him, bitterly reviledhim. The Lion said to the Fox, “It is not thou who revilest me; but thismischance which has befallen me.”

The Quack Frog

A FROG once upon a time came forth from his home in the marsh and proclaimed toall the beasts that he was a learned physician, skilled in the use of drugs andable to heal all diseases. A Fox asked him, “How can you pretend to prescribefor others, when you are unable to heal your own lame gait and wrinkled skin?”

The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox

A LION, growing old, lay sick in his cave. All the beasts came to visit theirking, except the Fox. The Wolf therefore, thinking that he had a capitalopportunity, accused the Fox to the Lion of not paying any respect to him whohad the rule over them all and of not coming to visit him. At that very momentthe Fox came in and heard these last words of the Wolf. The Lion roaring out ina rage against him, the Fox sought an opportunity to defend himself and said,“And who of all those who have come to you have benefited you so much as I, whohave traveled from place to place in every direction, and have sought andlearnt from the physicians the means of healing you?” The Lion commanded himimmediately to tell him the cure, when he replied, “You must flay a wolf aliveand wrap his skin yet warm around you.” The Wolf was at once taken and flayed;whereon the Fox, turning to him, said with a smile, “You should have moved yourmaster not to ill, but to good, will.”

The Dog’s House

IN THE WINTERTIME, a Dog curled up in as small a space as possible on accountof the cold, determined to make himself a house. However when the summerreturned again, he lay asleep stretched at his full length and appeared tohimself to be of a great size. Now he considered that it would be neither aneasy nor a necessary work to make himself such a house as would accommodatehim.

The North Wind and the Sun

THE NORTH WIND and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, andagreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaringman of his clothes. The North Wind first tried his power and blew with all hismight, but the keener his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloakaround him, until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called uponthe Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out with all hiswarmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays than he took off onegarment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed andbathed in a stream that lay in his path.

Persuasion is better than Force.

The Crow and Mercury

A CROW caught in a snare prayed to Apollo to release him, making a vow to offersome frankincense at his shrine. But when rescued from his danger, he forgothis promise. Shortly afterwards, again caught in a snare, he passed by Apolloand made the same promise to offer frankincense to Mercury. Mercury soonappeared and said to him, “O thou most base fellow? how can I believe thee, whohast disowned and wronged thy former patron?”

The Fox and the Crane

A FOX invited a Crane to supper and provided nothing for his entertainment butsome soup made of pulse, which was poured out into a broad flat stone dish. Thesoup fell out of the long bill of the Crane at every mouthful, and his vexationat not being able to eat afforded the Fox much amusement. The Crane, in histurn, asked the Fox to sup with him, and set before her a flagon with a longnarrow mouth, so that he could easily insert his neck and enjoy its contents athis leisure. The Fox, unable even to taste it, met with a fitting requital,after the fashion of her own hospitality.

The Wolf and the Lion

ROAMING BY the mountainside at sundown, a Wolf saw his own shadow becomegreatly extended and magnified, and he said to himself, “Why should I, being ofsuch an immense size and extending nearly an acre in length, be afraid of theLion? Ought I not to be acknowledged as King of all the collected beasts?”While he was indulging in these proud thoughts, a Lion fell upon him and killedhim. He exclaimed with a too late repentance, “Wretched me! this overestimationof myself is the cause of my destruction.”

The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat

THE BIRDS waged war with the Beasts, and each were by turns the conquerors. ABat, fearing the uncertain issues of the fight, always fought on the side whichhe felt was the strongest. When peace was proclaimed, his deceitful conduct wasapparent to both combatants. Therefore being condemned by each for histreachery, he was driven forth from the light of day, and henceforth concealedhimself in dark hiding-places, flying always alone and at night.

The Spendthrift and the Swallow

A YOUNG MAN, a great spendthrift, had run through all his patrimony and had butone good cloak left. One day he happened to see a Swallow, which had appearedbefore its season, skimming along a pool and twittering gaily. He supposed thatsummer had come, and went and sold his cloak. Not many days later, winter setin again with renewed frost and cold. When he found the unfortunate Swallowlifeless on the ground, he said, “Unhappy bird! what have you done? By thusappearing before the springtime you have not only killed yourself, but you havewrought my destruction also.”

The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner

A TRUMPETER, bravely leading on the soldiers, was captured by the enemy. Hecried out to his captors, “Pray spare me, and do not take my life without causeor without inquiry. I have not slain a single man of your troop. I have noarms, and carry nothing but this one brass trumpet.” “That is the very reasonfor which you should be put to death,” they said; “for, while you do not fightyourself, your trumpet stirs all the others to battle.”

The Owl and the Birds

AN OWL, in her wisdom, counseled the Birds that when the acorn first began tosprout, to pull it all up out of the ground and not allow it to grow. She saidacorns would produce mistletoe, from which an irremediable poison, thebird-lime, would be extracted and by which they would be captured. The Owl nextadvised them to pluck up the seed of the flax, which men had sown, as it was aplant which boded no good to them. And, lastly, the Owl, seeing an archerapproach, predicted that this man, being on foot, would contrive darts armedwith feathers which would fly faster than the wings of the Birds themselves.The Birds gave no credence to these warning words, but considered the Owl to bebeside herself and said that she was mad. But afterwards, finding her wordswere true, they wondered at her knowledge and deemed her to be the wisest ofbirds. Hence it is that when she appears they look to her as knowing allthings, while she no longer gives them advice, but in solitude laments theirpast folly.

The Goods and the Ills

ALL the Goods were once driven out by the Ills from that common share whichthey each had in the affairs of mankind; for the Ills by reason of theirnumbers had prevailed to possess the earth. The Goods wafted themselves toheaven and asked for a righteous vengeance on their persecutors. They entreatedJupiter that they might no longer be associated with the Ills, as they hadnothing in common and could not live together, but were engaged in unceasingwarfare; and that an indissoluble law might be laid down for their futureprotection. Jupiter granted their request and decreed that henceforth the Illsshould visit the earth in company with each other, but that the Goods shouldone by one enter the habitations of men. Hence it arises that Ills abound, forthey come not one by one, but in troops, and by no means singly: while theGoods proceed from Jupiter, and are given, not alike to all, but singly, andseparately; and one by one to those who are able to discern them.

The Ass in the Lion’s Skin

AN ASS, having put on the Lion’s skin, roamed about in the forest and amusedhimself by frightening all the foolish animals he met in his wanderings. Atlast coming upon a Fox, he tried to frighten him also, but the Fox no soonerheard the sound of his voice than he exclaimed, “I might possibly have beenfrightened myself, if I had not heard your bray.”

The Sparrow and the Hare

A HARE pounced upon by an eagle sobbed very much and uttered cries like achild. A Sparrow upbraided her and said, “Where now is thy remarkable swiftnessof foot? Why were your feet so slow?” While the Sparrow was thus speaking, ahawk suddenly seized him and killed him. The Hare was comforted in her death,and expiring said, “Ah! you who so lately, when you supposed yourself safe,exulted over my calamity, have now reason to deplore a similar misfortune.”

The Flea and the Ox

A FLEA thus questioned an Ox: “What ails you, that being so huge and strong,you submit to the wrongs you receive from men and slave for them day by day,while I, being so small a creature, mercilessly feed on their flesh and drinktheir blood without stint?” The Ox replied: “I do not wish to be ungrateful,for I am loved and well cared for by men, and they often pat my head andshoulders.” “Woe’s me!” said the flea; “this very patting which you like,whenever it happens to me, brings with it my inevitable destruction.”

The Ass and His Purchaser

A MAN wished to purchase an Ass, and agreed with its owner that he should tryout the animal before he bought him. He took the Ass home and put him in thestraw-yard with his other Asses, upon which the new animal left all the othersand at once joined the one that was most idle and the greatest eater of themall. Seeing this, the man put a halter on him and led him back to his owner. Onbeing asked how, in so short a time, he could have made a trial of him, heanswered, “I do not need a trial; I know that he will be just the same as theone he chose for his companion.”

A man is known by the company he keeps.

The Dove and the Crow

A DOVE shut up in a cage was boasting of the large number of young ones whichshe had hatched. A Crow hearing her, said: “My good friend, cease from thisunseasonable boasting. The larger the number of your family, the greater yourcause of sorrow, in seeing them shut up in this prison-house.”

The Man and the Satyr

A MAN and a Satyr once drank together in token of a bond of alliance beingformed between them. One very cold wintry day, as they talked, the Man put hisfingers to his mouth and blew on them. When the Satyr asked the reason forthis, he told him that he did it to warm his hands because they were so cold.Later on in the day they sat down to eat, and the food prepared was quitescalding. The Man raised one of the dishes a little towards his mouth and blewin it. When the Satyr again inquired the reason, he said that he did it to coolthe meat, which was too hot. “I can no longer consider you as a friend,” saidthe Satyr, “a fellow who with the same breath blows hot and cold.”

Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva, and Momus

ACCORDING to an ancient legend, the first man was made by Jupiter, the firstbull by Neptune, and the first house by Minerva. On the completion of theirlabours, a dispute arose as to which had made the most perfect work. They agreedto appoint Momus as judge, and to abide by his decision. Momus, however, beingvery envious of the handicraft of each, found fault with all. He first blamedthe work of Neptune because he had not made the horns of the bull below hiseyes, so he might better see where to strike. He then condemned the work ofJupiter, because he had not placed the heart of man on the outside, thateveryone might read the thoughts of the evil disposed and take precautionsagainst the intended mischief. And, lastly, he inveighed against Minervabecause she had not contrived iron wheels in the foundation of her house, soits inhabitants might more easily remove if a neighbor proved unpleasant.Jupiter, indignant at such inveterate faultfinding, drove him from his officeof judge, and expelled him from the mansions of Olympus.

The Eagle and the Jackdaw

AN EAGLE, flying down from his perch on a lofty rock, seized upon a lamb andcarried him aloft in his talons. A Jackdaw, who witnessed the capture of thelamb, was stirred with envy and determined to emulate the strength and flightof the Eagle. He flew around with a great whir of his wings and settled upon alarge ram, with the intention of carrying him off, but his claws becameentangled in the ram’s fleece and he was not able to release himself, althoughhe fluttered with his feathers as much as he could. The shepherd, seeing whathad happened, ran up and caught him. He at once clipped the Jackdaw’s wings,and taking him home at night, gave him to his children. On their saying,“Father, what kind of bird is it?” he replied, “To my certain knowledge he is aDaw; but he would like you to think an Eagle.”

The Eagle and the Fox

AN EAGLE and a Fox formed an intimate friendship and decided to live near eachother. The Eagle built her nest in the branches of a tall tree, while the Foxcrept into the underwood and there produced her young. Not long after they hadagreed upon this plan, the Eagle, being in want of provision for her youngones, swooped down while the Fox was out, seized upon one of the little cubs,and feasted herself and her brood. The Fox on her return, discovered what hadhappened, but was less grieved for the death of her young than for herinability to avenge them. A just retribution, however, quickly fell upon theEagle. While hovering near an altar, on which some villagers were sacrificing agoat, she suddenly seized a piece of the flesh, and carried it, along with aburning cinder, to her nest. A strong breeze soon fanned the spark into aflame, and the eaglets, as yet unfledged and helpless, were roasted in theirnest and dropped down dead at the bottom of the tree. There, in the sight ofthe Eagle, the Fox gobbled them up.

The Two Bags

EVERY MAN, according to an ancient legend, is born into the world with two bagssuspended from his neck all bag in front full of his neighbors’ faults, and alarge bag behind filled with his own faults. Hence it is that men are quick tosee the faults of others, and yet are often blind to their own failings.

The Bitch and Her Whelps

A BITCH, ready to whelp, earnestly begged a shepherd for a place where shemight litter. When her request was granted, she besought permission to rear herpuppies in the same spot. The shepherd again consented. But at last the Bitch,protected by the bodyguard of her Whelps, who had now grown up and were able todefend themselves, asserted her exclusive right to the place and would notpermit the shepherd to approach.

The Stag at the Pool

A STAG overpowered by heat came to a spring to drink. Seeing his own shadowreflected in the water, he greatly admired the size and variety of his horns,but felt angry with himself for having such slender and weak feet. While he wasthus contemplating himself, a Lion appeared at the pool and crouched to springupon him. The Stag immediately took to flight, and exerting his utmost speed,as long as the plain was smooth and open kept himself easily at a safe distancefrom the Lion. But entering a wood he became entangled by his horns, and theLion quickly came up to him and caught him. When too late, he thus reproachedhimself: “Woe is me! How I have deceived myself! These feet which would havesaved me I despised, and I gloried in these antlers which have proved mydestruction.”

What is most truly valuable is often underrated.

The Lark Burying Her Father

THE LARK (according to an ancient legend) was created before the earth itself,and when her father died, as there was no earth, she could find no place ofburial for him. She let him lie uninterred for five days, and on the sixth day,not knowing what else to do, she buried him in her own head. Hence she obtainedher crest, which is popularly said to be her father’s grave-hillock.

Youth’s first duty is reverence to parents.

The Gnat and the Bull

A GNAT settled on the horn of a Bull, and sat there a long time. Just as he wasabout to fly off, he made a buzzing noise, and inquired of the Bull if he wouldlike him to go. The Bull replied, “I did not know you had come, and I shall notmiss you when you go away.”

Some men are of more consequence in their own eyes than in the eyes of theirneighbors.

The Monkey and the Camel

THE BEASTS of the forest gave a splendid entertainment at which the Monkeystood up and danced. Having vastly delighted the assembly, he sat down amidstuniversal applause. The Camel, envious of the praises bestowed on the Monkeyand desiring to divert to himself the favour of the guests, proposed to stand upin his turn and dance for their amusement. He moved about in so utterlyridiculous a manner that the Beasts, in a fit of indignation, set upon him withclubs and drove him out of the assembly.

It is absurd to ape our betters.

The Dogs and the Hides

SOME DOGS famished with hunger saw a number of cowhides steeping in a river.Not being able to reach them, they agreed to drink up the river, but ithappened that they burst themselves with drinking long before they reached thehides.

Attempt not impossibilities.

The Jackdaw and the Fox

A HALF-FAMISHED JACKDAW seated himself on a fig-tree, which had produced somefruit entirely out of season, and waited in the hope that the figs would ripen.A Fox seeing him sitting so long and learning the reason of his doing so, saidto him, “You are indeed, sir, sadly deceiving yourself; you are indulging ahope strong enough to cheat you, but which will never reward you withenjoyment.”

Mercury and the Workmen

A WORKMAN, felling wood by the side of a river, let his axe drop by accidentinto a deep pool. Being thus deprived of the means of his livelihood, he satdown on the bank and lamented his hard fate. Mercury appeared and demanded thecause of his tears. After he told him his misfortune, Mercury plunged into thestream, and, bringing up a golden axe, inquired if that were the one he hadlost. On his saying that it was not his, Mercury disappeared beneath the watera second time, returned with a silver axe in his hand, and again asked theWorkman if it were his. When the Workman said it was not, he dived into thepool for the third time and brought up the axe that had been lost. The Workmanclaimed it and expressed his joy at its recovery. Mercury, pleased with hishonesty, gave him the golden and silver axes in addition to his own. TheWorkman, on his return to his house, related to his companions all that hadhappened. One of them at once resolved to try and secure the same good fortunefor himself. He ran to the river and threw his axe on purpose into the pool atthe same place, and sat down on the bank to weep. Mercury appeared to him justas he hoped he would; and having learned the cause of his grief, plunged intothe stream and brought up a golden axe, inquiring if he had lost it. TheWorkman seized it greedily, and declared that truly it was the very same axethat he had lost. Mercury, displeased at his knavery, not only took away thegolden axe, but refused to recover for him the axe he had thrown into the pool.

The Peasant and the Apple-Tree

A PEASANT had in his garden an Apple-Tree which bore no fruit but only servedas a harbor for the sparrows and grasshoppers. He resolved to cut it down, andtaking his axe in his hand, made a bold stroke at its roots. The grasshoppersand sparrows entreated him not to cut down the tree that sheltered them, but tospare it, and they would sing to him and lighten his labours. He paid noattention to their request, but gave the tree a second and a third blow withhis axe. When he reached the hollow of the tree, he found a hive full of honey.Having tasted the honeycomb, he threw down his axe, and looking on the tree assacred, took great care of it.

Self-interest alone moves some men.

The Two Soldiers and the Robber

TWO SOLDIERS traveling together were set upon by a Robber. The one fled away;the other stood his ground and defended himself with his stout right hand. TheRobber being slain, the timid companion ran up and drew his sword, and then,throwing back his traveling cloak said, “I’ll at him, and I’ll take care heshall learn whom he has attacked.” On this, he who had fought with the Robbermade answer, “I only wish that you had helped me just now, even if it had beenonly with those words, for I should have been the more encouraged, believingthem to be true; but now put up your sword in its sheath and hold your equallyuseless tongue, till you can deceive others who do not know you. I, indeed, whohave experienced with what speed you run away, know right well that nodependence can be placed on your valor.”

The Shepherd and the Sheep

A SHEPHERD driving his Sheep to a wood, saw an oak of unusual size full ofacorns, and spreading his cloak under the branches, he climbed up into the treeand shook them down. The Sheep eating the acorns inadvertently frayed and torethe cloak. When the Shepherd came down and saw what was done, he said, “O youmost ungrateful creatures! You provide wool to make garments for all other men,but you destroy the clothes of him who feeds you.”

The Trees Under the Protection of the Gods

THE GODS, according to an ancient legend, made choice of certain trees to beunder their special protection. Jupiter chose the oak, Venus the myrtle, Apollothe laurel, Cybele the pine, and Hercules the poplar. Minerva, wondering whythey had preferred trees not yielding fruit, inquired the reason for theirchoice. Jupiter replied, “It is lest we should seem to covet the honour for thefruit.” But said Minerva, “Let anyone say what he will the olive is more dearto me on account of its fruit.” Then said Jupiter, “My daughter, you arerightly called wise; for unless what we do is useful, the glory of it is vain.”

The Flea and the Wrestler

A FLEA settled upon the bare foot of a Wrestler and bit him, causing the man tocall loudly upon Hercules for help. When the Flea a second time hopped upon hisfoot, he groaned and said, “O Hercules! if you will not help me against a Flea,how can I hope for your assistance against greater antagonists?”

The Lion and the Fox

A FOX entered into partnership with a Lion on the pretense of becoming hisservant. Each undertook his proper duty in accordance with his own nature andpowers. The Fox discovered and pointed out the prey; the Lion sprang on it andseized it. The Fox soon became jealous of the Lion carrying off the Lion’sshare, and said that he would no longer find out the prey, but would capture iton his own account. The next day he attempted to snatch a lamb from the fold,but he himself fell prey to the huntsmen and hounds.

Truth and the Traveler

A WAYFARING MAN, traveling in the desert, met a woman standing alone andterribly dejected. He inquired of her, “Who art thou?” “My name is Truth,” shereplied. “And for what cause,” he asked, “have you left the city to dwell alonehere in the wilderness?” She made answer, “Because in former times, falsehoodwas with few, but is now with all men.”

The Manslayer

A MAN committed a murder, and was pursued by the relations of the man whom hemurdered. On his reaching the river Nile he saw a Lion on its bank and beingfearfully afraid, climbed up a tree. He found a serpent in the upper branchesof the tree, and again being greatly alarmed, he threw himself into the river,where a crocodile caught him and ate him. Thus the earth, the air, and thewater alike refused shelter to a murderer.

The Lion and the Eagle

AN EAGLE stayed his flight and entreated a Lion to make an alliance with him totheir mutual advantage. The Lion replied, “I have no objection, but you mustexcuse me for requiring you to find surety for your good faith, for how can Itrust anyone as a friend who is able to fly away from his bargain whenever hepleases?”

Try before you trust.

The Ass and His Driver

AN ASS, being driven along a high road, suddenly started off and bolted to thebrink of a deep precipice. While he was in the act of throwing himself over,his owner seized him by the tail, endeavoring to pull him back. When the Asspersisted in his effort, the man let him go and said, “Conquer, but conquer toyour cost.”

The Thrush and the Fowler

A THRUSH was feeding on a myrtle-tree and did not move from it because itsberries were so delicious. A Fowler observed her staying so long in one spot,and having well bird-limed his reeds, caught her. The Thrush, being at thepoint of death, exclaimed, “O foolish creature that I am! For the sake of alittle pleasant food I have deprived myself of my life.”

The Mother and the Wolf

A FAMISHED WOLF was prowling about in the morning in search of food. As hepassed the door of a cottage built in the forest, he heard a Mother say to herchild, “Be quiet, or I will throw you out of the window, and the Wolf shall eatyou.” The Wolf sat all day waiting at the door. In the evening he heard thesame woman fondling her child and saying: “You are quiet now, and if the Wolfshould come, we will kill him.” The Wolf, hearing these words, went home,gasping with cold and hunger. When he reached his den, Mistress Wolf inquiredof him why he returned wearied and supperless, so contrary to his wont. Hereplied: “Why, forsooth! use I gave credence to the words of a woman!”

The Hen and the Swallow

A HEN finding the eggs of a viper and carefully keeping them warm, nourishedthem into life. A Swallow, observing what she had done, said, “You sillycreature! why have you hatched these vipers which, when they shall have grown,will inflict injury on all, beginning with yourself?”

The Rose and the Amaranth

AN AMARANTH planted in a garden near a Rose-Tree, thus addressed it: “What alovely flower is the Rose, a favourite alike with Gods and with men. I envy youyour beauty and your perfume.” The Rose replied, “I indeed, dear Amaranth,flourish but for a brief season! If no cruel hand pluck me from my stem, yet Imust perish by an early doom. But thou art immortal and dost never fade, butbloomest for ever in renewed youth.”

The Travelers and the Plane-Tree

TWO TRAVELERS, worn out by the heat of the summer’s sun, laid themselves downat noon under the widespreading branches of a Plane-Tree. As they rested underits shade, one of the Travelers said to the other, “What a singularly uselesstree is the Plane! It bears no fruit, and is not of the least service to man.”The Plane-Tree, interrupting him, said, “You ungrateful fellows! Do you, whilereceiving benefits from me and resting under my shade, dare to describe me asuseless, and unprofitable?”

Some men underrate their best blessings.

The Ass and the Horse

AN ASS besought a Horse to spare him a small portion of his feed. “Yes,” saidthe Horse; “if any remains out of what I am now eating I will give it you forthe sake of my own superior dignity, and if you will come when I reach my ownstall in the evening, I will give you a little sack full of barley.” The Assreplied, “Thank you. But I can’t think that you, who refuse me a little matternow, will by and by confer on me a greater benefit.”

The Crow and the Sheep

A TROUBLESOME CROW seated herself on the back of a Sheep. The Sheep, muchagainst his will, carried her backward and forward for a long time, and at lastsaid, “If you had treated a dog in this way, you would have had your desertsfrom his sharp teeth.” To this the Crow replied, “I despise the weak and yieldto the strong. I know whom I may bully and whom I must flatter; and I thusprolong my life to a good old age.”

The Fox and the Bramble

A FOX was mounting a hedge when he lost his footing and caught hold of aBramble to save himself. Having pricked and grievously torn the soles of hisfeet, he accused the Bramble because, when he had fled to her for assistance,she had used him worse than the hedge itself. The Bramble, interrupting him,said, “But you really must have been out of your senses to fasten yourself onme, who am myself always accustomed to fasten upon others.”

The Ass and the Charger

AN ASS congratulated a Horse on being so ungrudgingly and carefully providedfor, while he himself had scarcely enough to eat and not even that without hardwork. But when war broke out, a heavily armed soldier mounted the Horse, andriding him to the charge, rushed into the very midst of the enemy. The Horsewas wounded and fell dead on the battlefield. Then the Ass, seeing all thesethings, changed his mind, and commiserated the Horse.

The Lion, Jupiter, and the Elephant

THE LION wearied Jupiter with his frequent complaints. “It is true, O Jupiter!”he said, “that I am gigantic in strength, handsome in shape, and powerful inattack. I have jaws well provided with teeth, and feet furnished with claws,and I lord it over all the beasts of the forest, and what a disgrace it is,that being such as I am, I should be frightened by the crowing of a cock.”Jupiter replied, “Why do you blame me without a cause? I have given you all theattributes which I possess myself, and your courage never fails you except inthis one instance.” On hearing this the Lion groaned and lamented very muchand, reproaching himself with his cowardice, wished that he might die. As thesethoughts passed through his mind, he met an Elephant and came close to hold aconversation with him. After a time he observed that the Elephant shook hisears very often, and he inquired what was the matter and why his ears movedwith such a tremor every now and then. Just at that moment a Gnat settled onthe head of the Elephant, and he replied, “Do you see that little buzzinginsect? If it enters my ear, my fate is sealed. I should die presently.” TheLion said, “Well, since so huge a beast is afraid of a tiny gnat, I will nomore complain, nor wish myself dead. I find myself, even as I am, better offthan the Elephant.”

The Dog and the Oyster

A DOG, used to eating eggs, saw an Oyster and, opening his mouth to its widestextent, swallowed it down with the utmost relish, supposing it to be an egg.Soon afterwards suffering great pain in his stomach, he said, “I deserve allthis torment, for my folly in thinking that everything round must be an egg.”

They who act without sufficient thought, will often fall into unsuspecteddanger.

The Mules and the Robbers

TWO MULES well-laden with packs were trudging along. One carried panniersfilled with money, the other sacks weighted with grain. The Mule carrying thetreasure walked with head erect, as if conscious of the value of his burden,and tossed up and down the clear-toned bells fastened to his neck. Hiscompanion followed with quiet and easy step. All of a sudden Robbers rushedupon them from their hiding-places, and in the scuffle with their owners,wounded with a sword the Mule carrying the treasure, which they greedily seizedwhile taking no notice of the grain. The Mule which had been robbed and woundedbewailed his misfortunes. The other replied, “I am indeed glad that I wasthought so little of, for I have lost nothing, nor am I hurt with any wound.”

The Lamb and the Wolf

A WOLF pursued a Lamb, which fled for refuge to a certain Temple. The Wolfcalled out to him and said, “The Priest will slay you in sacrifice, if heshould catch you.” On which the Lamb replied, “It would be better for me to besacrificed in the Temple than to be eaten by you.”

The Partridge and the Fowler

A FOWLER caught a Partridge and was about to kill it. The Partridge earnestlybegged him to spare his life, saying, “Pray, master, permit me to live and Iwill entice many Partridges to you in recompense for your mercy to me.” TheFowler replied, “I shall now with less scruple take your life, because you arewilling to save it at the cost of betraying your friends and relations.”

The Flea and the Man

A MAN, very much annoyed with a Flea, caught him at last, and said, “Who areyou who dare to feed on my limbs, and to cost me so much trouble in catchingyou?” The Flea replied, “O my dear sir, pray spare my life, and destroy me not,for I cannot possibly do you much harm.” The Man, laughing, replied, “Now youshall certainly die by mine own hands, for no evil, whether it be small orlarge, ought to be tolerated.”

The Rich Man and the Tanner

A RICH MAN lived near a Tanner, and not being able to bear the unpleasant smellof the tan-yard, he pressed his neighbor to go away. The Tanner put off hisdeparture from time to time, saying that he would leave soon. But as he stillcontinued to stay, as time went on, the rich man became accustomed to thesmell, and feeling no manner of inconvenience, made no further complaints.

The Viper and the File

A VIPER, entering the workshop of a smith, sought from the tools the means ofsatisfying his hunger. He more particularly addressed himself to a File, andasked of him the favour of a meal. The File replied, “You must indeed be asimple-minded fellow if you expect to get anything from me, who am accustomedto take from everyone, and never to give anything in return.”

The covetous are poor givers.

The Lion and the Shepherd

A LION, roaming through a forest, trod upon a thorn. Soon afterward he came upto a Shepherd and fawned upon him, wagging his tail as if to say, “I am asuppliant, and seek your aid.” The Shepherd boldly examined the beast,discovered the thorn, and placing his paw upon his lap, pulled it out; thusrelieved of his pain, the Lion returned into the forest. Some time after, theShepherd, being imprisoned on a false accusation, was condemned “to be cast tothe Lions” as the punishment for his imputed crime. But when the Lion wasreleased from his cage, he recognized the Shepherd as the man who healed him,and instead of attacking him, approached and placed his foot upon his lap. TheKing, as soon as he heard the tale, ordered the Lion to be set free again inthe forest, and the Shepherd to be pardoned and restored to his friends.

The Camel and Jupiter

THE CAMEL, when he saw the Bull adorned with horns, envied him and wished thathe himself could obtain the same honours. He went to Jupiter, and besought himto give him horns. Jupiter, vexed at his request because he was not satisfiedwith his size and strength of body, and desired yet more, not only refused togive him horns, but even deprived him of a portion of his ears.

The Panther and the Shepherds

A PANTHER, by some mischance, fell into a pit. The Shepherds discovered him,and some threw sticks at him and pelted him with stones, while others, movedwith compassion towards one about to die even though no one should hurt him,threw in some food to prolong his life. At night they returned home, notdreaming of any danger, but supposing that on the morrow they would find himdead. The Panther, however, when he had recruited his feeble strength, freedhimself with a sudden bound from the pit, and hastened to his den with rapidsteps. After a few days he came forth and slaughtered the cattle, and, killingthe Shepherds who had attacked him, raged with angry fury. Then they who hadspared his life, fearing for their safety, surrendered to him their flocks andbegged only for their lives. To them the Panther made this reply: “I rememberalike those who sought my life with stones, and those who gave me food aside,therefore, your fears. I return as an enemy only to those who injured me.”

The Eagle and the Kite

AN EAGLE, overwhelmed with sorrow, sat upon the branches of a tree in companywith a Kite. “Why,” said the Kite, “do I see you with such a rueful look?” “Iseek,” she replied, “a mate suitable for me, and am not able to find one.”“Take me,” returned the Kite, “I am much stronger than you are.” “Why, are youable to secure the means of living by your plunder?” “Well, I have often caughtand carried away an ostrich in my talons.” The Eagle, persuaded by these words,accepted him as her mate. Shortly after the nuptials, the Eagle said, “Fly offand bring me back the ostrich you promised me.” The Kite, soaring aloft intothe air, brought back the shabbiest possible mouse, stinking from the length oftime it had lain about the fields. “Is this,” said the Eagle, “the faithfulfulfillment of your promise to me?” The Kite replied, “That I might attain yourroyal hand, there is nothing that I would not have promised, however much Iknew that I must fail in the performance.”

The Eagle and His Captor

AN EAGLE was once captured by a man, who immediately clipped his wings and puthim into his poultry-yard with the other birds, at which treatment the Eaglewas weighed down with grief. Later, another neighbor purchased him and allowedhis feathers to grow again. The Eagle took flight, and pouncing upon a hare,brought it at once as an offering to his benefactor. A Fox, seeing this,exclaimed, “Do not cultivate the favour of this man, but of your former owner,lest he should again hunt for you and deprive you a second time of your wings.”

The King’s Son and the Painted Lion

A KING, whose only son was fond of martial exercises, had a dream in which hewas warned that his son would be killed by a lion. Afraid the dream shouldprove true, he built for his son a pleasant palace and adorned its walls forhis amusement with all kinds of life-sized animals, among which was the pictureof a lion. When the young Prince saw this, his grief at being thus confinedburst out afresh, and, standing near the lion, he said: “O you most detestableof animals! through a lying dream of my father’s, which he saw in his sleep, Iam shut up on your account in this palace as if I had been a girl: what shall Inow do to you?” With these words he stretched out his hands toward athorn-tree, meaning to cut a stick from its branches so that he might beat thelion. But one of the tree’s prickles pierced his finger and caused great painand inflammation, so that the young Prince fell down in a fainting fit. Aviolent fever suddenly set in, from which he died not many days later.

We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to escape them.

The Cat and Venus

A CAT fell in love with a handsome young man, and entreated Venus to change herinto the form of a woman. Venus consented to her request and transformed herinto a beautiful damsel, so that the youth saw her and loved her, and took herhome as his bride. While the two were reclining in their chamber, Venus wishingto discover if the Cat in her change of shape had also altered her habits oflife, let down a mouse in the middle of the room. The Cat, quite forgetting herpresent condition, started up from the couch and pursued the mouse, wishing toeat it. Venus was much disappointed and again caused her to return to herformer shape.

Nature exceeds nurture.

The Eagle and the Beetle

THE EAGLE and the Beetle were at enmity together, and they destroyed oneanother’s nests. The Eagle gave the first provocation in seizing upon and ineating the young ones of the Beetle. The Beetle got by stealth at the Eagle’seggs, and rolled them out of the nest, and followed the Eagle even into thepresence of Jupiter. On the Eagle making his complaint, Jupiter ordered him tomake his nest in his lap; and while Jupiter had the eggs in his lap, the Beetlecame flying about him, and Jupiter rising up unawares, to drive him away fromhis head, threw down the eggs, and broke them.

The weak often revenge themselves on those who use them ill, even though theybe more powerful.

The She-Goats and Their Beards

THE SHE-GOATS having obtained a beard by request to Jupiter, the He-Goats weresorely displeased and made complaint that the females equaled them in dignity.“Allow them,” said Jupiter, “to enjoy an empty honour and to assume the badge ofyour nobler sex, so long as they are not your equals in strength or courage.”

It matters little if those who are inferior to us in merit should be like us inoutside appearances.

The Bald Man and the Fly

A FLY bit the bare head of a Bald Man who, endeavoring to destroy it, gavehimself a heavy slap. Escaping, the Fly said mockingly, “You who have wished torevenge, even with death, the Prick of a tiny insect, see what you have done toyourself to add insult to injury?” The Bald Man replied, “I can easily makepeace with myself, because I know there was no intention to hurt. But you, anill-favoured and contemptible insect who delights in sucking human blood, I wishthat I could have killed you even if I had incurred a heavier penalty.”

The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea

A SHIPWRECKED MAN, having been cast upon a certain shore, slept after hisbuffetings with the deep. After a while he awoke, and looking upon the Sea,loaded it with reproaches. He argued that it enticed men with the calmness ofits looks, but when it had induced them to plow its waters, it grew rough anddestroyed them. The Sea, assuming the form of a woman, replied to him: “Blamenot me, my good sir, but the winds, for I am by my own nature as calm and firmeven as this earth; but the winds suddenly falling on me create these waves,and lash me into fury.”

The Buffoon and the Countryman

A RICH NOBLEMAN once opened the theaters without charge to the people, and gavea public notice that he would handsomely reward any person who invented a newamusement for the occasion. Various public performers contended for the prize.Among them came a Buffoon well known among the populace for his jokes, and saidthat he had a kind of entertainment which had never been brought out on anystage before. This report being spread about made a great stir, and the theaterwas crowded in every part. The Buffoon appeared alone upon the platform,without any apparatus or confederates, and the very sense of expectation causedan intense silence. He suddenly bent his head towards his bosom and imitatedthe squeaking of a little pig so admirably with his voice that the audiencedeclared he had a porker under his cloak, and demanded that it should be shakenout. When that was done and nothing was found, they cheered the actor, andloaded him with the loudest applause. A Countryman in the crowd, observing allthat has passed, said, “So help me, Hercules, he shall not beat me at thattrick!” and at once proclaimed that he would do the same thing on the next day,though in a much more natural way. On the morrow a still larger crowd assembledin the theater, but now partiality for their favourite actor very generallyprevailed, and the audience came rather to ridicule the Countryman than to seethe spectacle. Both of the performers appeared on the stage. The Buffoongrunted and squeaked away first, and obtained, as on the preceding day, theapplause and cheers of the spectators. Next the Countryman commenced, andpretending that he concealed a little pig beneath his clothes (which in truthhe did, but not suspected by the audience ) contrived to take hold of and topull his ear causing the pig to squeak. The Crowd, however, cried out with oneconsent that the Buffoon had given a far more exact imitation, and clamored forthe Countryman to be kicked out of the theater. On this the rustic produced thelittle pig from his cloak and showed by the most positive proof the greatnessof their mistake. “Look here,” he said, “this shows what sort of judges youare.”

The Crow and the Serpent

A CROW in great want of food saw a Serpent asleep in a sunny nook, and flyingdown, greedily seized him. The Serpent, turning about, bit the Crow with amortal wound. In the agony of death, the bird exclaimed: “O unhappy me! whohave found in that which I deemed a happy windfall the source of mydestruction.”

The Hunter and the Horseman

A CERTAIN HUNTER, having snared a hare, placed it upon his shoulders and setout homewards. On his way he met a man on horseback who begged the hare of him,under the pretense of purchasing it. However, when the Horseman got the hare,he rode off as fast as he could. The Hunter ran after him, as if he was sure ofovertaking him, but the Horseman increased more and more the distance betweenthem. The Hunter, sorely against his will, called out to him and said, “Getalong with you! for I will now make you a present of the hare.”

The Olive-Tree and the Fig-Tree

THE OLIVE-TREE ridiculed the Fig-Tree because, while she was green all the yearround, the Fig-Tree changed its leaves with the seasons. A shower of snow fellupon them, and, finding the Olive full of foliage, it settled upon its branchesand broke them down with its weight, at once despoiling it of its beauty andkilling the tree. But finding the Fig-Tree denuded of leaves, the snow fellthrough to the ground, and did not injure it at all.

The Frogs’ Complaint Against the Sun

ONCE UPON A TIME, when the Sun announced his intention to take a wife, theFrogs lifted up their voices in clamor to the sky. Jupiter, disturbed by thenoise of their croaking, inquired the cause of their complaint. One of themsaid, “The Sun, now while he is single, parches up the marsh, and compels us todie miserably in our arid homes. What will be our future condition if he shouldbeget other suns?”

The Brazier and His Dog

A BRAZIER had a little Dog, which was a great favourite with his master, and hisconstant companion. While he hammered away at his metals the Dog slept; butwhen, on the other hand, he went to dinner and began to eat, the Dog woke upand wagged his tail, as if he would ask for a share of his meal. His master oneday, pretending to be angry and shaking his stick at him, said, “You wretchedlittle sluggard! what shall I do to you? While I am hammering on the anvil, yousleep on the mat; and when I begin to eat after my toil, you wake up and wagyour tail for food. Do you not know that labor is the source of every blessing,and that none but those who work are entitled to eat?”

FOOTNOTES

1 (return)
[ A History of the Literature of Ancient Greece, by K. O. Mueller. Vol. i, p.191. London, Parker, 1858.]

2 (return)
[ Select Fables of Æsop, and other Fabulists. In three books, translated byRobert Dodsley, accompanied with a selection of notes, and an Essay on Fable.Birmingham, 1864. P. 60.]

3 (return)
[ Some of these fables had, no doubt, in the first instance, a primary andprivate interpretation. On the first occasion of their being composed they wereintended to refer to some passing event, or to some individual acts ofwrong-doing. Thus, the fables of the “Eagle and the Fox” and of the “Fox andMonkey” are supposed to have been written by Archilochus, to avenge theinjuries done him by Lycambes. So also the fables of the “Swollen Fox” and ofthe “Frogs asking a King” were spoken by Æsop for the immediate purpose ofreconciling the inhabitants of Samos and Athens to their respective rulers,Periander and Pisistratus; while the fable of the “Horse and Stag” was composedto caution the inhabitants of Himera against granting a bodyguard to Phalaris.In a similar manner, the fable from Phædrus, the “Marriage of the Sun,” issupposed to have reference to the contemplated union of Livia, the daughter ofDrusus, with Sejanus the favourite, and minister of Trajan. These fables,however, though thus originating in special events, and designed at first tomeet special circumstances, are so admirably constructed as to be fraught withlessons of general utility, and of universal application.]

4 (return)
[ Hesiod. Opera et Dies, verse 202.]

5 (return)
[ Æschylus. Fragment of the Myrmidons. Æschylus speaks of this fable asexisting before his day. ὡς δ’ ἐστὶ μύθων τῶν Διβυστικῶν λογος. See Scholiaston the Aves of Aristophanes, line 808.]

6 (return)
[ Fragment. 38, ed. Gaisford. See also Mueller’s History of the Literature ofAncient Greece, vol. i. pp. 190–193.]

7 (return)
[ M. Bayle has well put this in his account of Æsop. “Il n’y a pointd’apparence que les fables qui portent aujourd’hui son nom soient les mêmesqu’il avait faites; elles viennent bien de lui pour la plupart, quant à lamatière et la pensée; mais les paroles sont d’un autre.” And again, “C’est doncà Hésiode, que j’aimerais mieux attribuer la gloire de l’invention; mais sansdoute il laissa la chose très imparfaite. Esope la perfectionne siheureusement, qu’on l’a regarde comme le vrai père de cette sorte deproduction.”—Bayle. Dictionnaire Historique.]

8 (return)
[ Plato in Phædone.]

9 (return)
[ Apologos en! misit tibi
Ab usque Rheni limite
Ausonius nomen Italum
Præceptor Augusti tui
Æsopiam trimetriam;
Quam vertit exili stylo
Pedestre concinnans opus
Fandi Titianus artifex.
            Ausonii Epistola, xvi. 75–80.]

10 (return)
[ Both these publications are in the British Museum, and are placed in thelibrary in cases under glass, for the inspection of the curious.]

11 (return)
[ Fables may possibly have been not entirely unknown to the mediæval scholars.There are two celebrated works which might by some be classed amongst works ofthis description. The one is the “Speculum Sapientiæ,” attributed to St.Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, but of a considerably later origin, andexisting only in Latin. It is divided into four books, and consists of longconversations conducted by fictitious characters under the figures the beastsof the field and forest, and aimed at the rebuke of particular classes of men,the boastful, the proud, the luxurious, the wrathful, &c. None of thestories are precisely those of Æsop, and none have the concinnity, terseness,and unmistakable deduction of the lesson intended to be taught by the fable, soconspicuous in the great Greek fabulist. The exact title of the book is this:“Speculum Sapientiæ, B. Cyrilli Episcopi: alias quadripartitus apologeticusvocatus, in cujus quidem proverbiis omnis et totius sapientiæ speculum claretet feliciter incipit.” The other is a larger work in two volumes, published inthe fourteenth century by Cæsar Heisterbach, a Cistercian monk, under thetitle of “Dialogus Miraculorum,” reprinted in 1851. This work consists ofconversations in which many stories are interwoven on all kinds of subjects. Ithas no correspondence with the pure Æsopian fable.]

12 (return)
[ Post-mediæval Preachers, by S. Baring-Gould. Rivingtons, 1865.]

13 (return)
[ For an account of this work see the Life of Poggio Bracciolini, by the Rev.William Shepherd. Liverpool, 1801.]

14 (return)
[ Professor Theodore Bergh. See Classical Museum, No. viii. July, 1849.]

15 (return)
[ Vavassor’s treatise, entitled “De Ludicrâ Dictione” was written A.D. 1658, atthe request of the celebrated M. Balzac (though published after his death), forthe purpose of showing that the burlesque style of writing adopted by Scarronand D’Assouci, and at that time so popular in France, had no sanction from theancient classic writers. Francisci Vavassoris opera omnia. Amsterdam.1709.]

16 (return)
[ The claims of Babrias also found a warm advocate in the learned Frenchman, M.Bayle, who, in his admirable Dictionary, (Dictionnaire Historique etCritique de Pierre Bayle. Paris, 1820,) gives additional arguments inconfirmation of the opinions of his learned predecessors, Nevelet andVavassor.]

17 (return)
[ Scazonic, or halting, iambics; a choliambic (a lame, halting iambic) differsfrom the iambic Senarius in always having a spondee or trochee for its lastfoot; the fifth foot, to avoid shortness of metre, being generally an iambic.See Fables of Babrias, translated by Rev. James Davies. Lockwood, 1860.Preface, p. 27.]

18 (return)
[ See Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations upon the Epistles of Phalaris.]

19 (return)
[ Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations on the Epistles of Phalaris, and Fables of Æsopexamined. By the Honourable Charles Boyle.]

20 (return)
[ M. Bayle thus characterises this Life of Æsop by Planudes, “Tous les habilesgens conviennent que c’est un roman, et que les absurdités grossières qui l’ony trouve le rendent indigne de toute créance.” Dictionnaire Historique.Art. Esope.]

INDEX

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