The Trees and the Axe
A Woodman went into the forest and begged of the Trees the favour of
a handle for his Axe. The principal Trees at once agreed to so modest a
request, and unhesitatingly gave him a young ash sapling, out of which
he fashioned the handle he desired. No sooner had he done so than he
set to work to fell the noblest Trees in the wood. When they saw the
use to which he was putting their gift, they cried, "Alas! alas! We are
are undone, but we are ourselves to blame. The little we gave has cost us
us all: had we not sacrificed the rights of the ash, we might ourselves have
stood for ages."
The Astronomer
There was once an Astronomer whose habit it was to go out at night and
observe the stars. One night, as he was walking about outside the town
gates, gazing up absorbed into the sky and not looking where he was
going, he fell into a dry well. As he lay there groaning, some one
passing by heard him, and, coming to the edge of the well, looked down
and, on learning what had happened, said, "If you really mean to say
that you were looking so hard at the sky that you didn't even see
where your feet were carrying you along the ground, it appears to me
that you deserve all you've got."
The Labourer and the Snake
A Labourer's little son was bitten by a Snake and died of the wound.
The father was beside himself with grief, and in his anger against
the Snake he caught up an axe and went and stood close to the Snake's
hole, and watched for a chance of killing it. Presently the Snake came
out, and the man aimed a blow at it, but only succeeded in cutting off
the tip of its tail before it wriggled in again. He then tried to get
it to come out a second time, pretending that he wished to make up the
quarrel. But the Snake said, "I can never be your friend because of my
lost tail, nor you mine because of your lost child."
Injuries are never forgotten in the presence of those who caused them.
The Cage-Bird and the Bat
A Singing-bird was confined in a cage which hung outside a window,
and had a way of singing at night when all other birds were asleep.
One night a Bat came and clung to the bars of the cage, and asked the
Bird why she was silent by day and sang only at night. "I have a very
good reason for doing so," said the Bird: "it was once when I was singing
in the daytime that a fowler was attracted by my voice, and set his
nets for me and caught me. Since then I have never sung except by
night." But the Bat replied, "It is no use your doing that now when
you are a prisoner: if only you had done so before you were caught,
you might still have been free."
Precautions are useless after the event.
The Ass and his Purchaser
A Man who wanted to buy an Ass went to market, and, coming across
a likely-looking beast, arranged with the owner that he should be
allowed to take him home on trial to see what he was like. When he
reached home, he put him into his stable along with the other asses.
The newcomer took a look round, and immediately went and chose a place
next to the laziest and greediest beast in the stable. When the master
saw this he put a halter on him at once, and led him off and handed
him over to his owner again. The latter was a good deal surprised to
see him back so soon, and said, "Why, do you mean to say you have
tested him already?" "I don't want to put him through any more tests,"
replied the other: "I could see what sort of beast he is from the
companion he chose for himself."
A man is known by the company he keeps.
The Kid and the Wolf
A Kid strayed from the flock and was chased by a Wolf. When he saw he
must be caught he turned round and said to the Wolf, "I know, sir,
that I can't escape being eaten by you: and so, as my life is bound to
be short, I pray you let it be as merry as may be. Will you not play
me a tune to dance to before I die?" The Wolf saw no objection to
having some music before his dinner: so he took out his pipe and began
to play, while the Kid danced before him. Before many minutes were
passed the gods who guarded the flock heard the sound and came up to
see what was going on. They no sooner clapped eyes on the Wolf than
they gave chase and drove him away. As he ran off, he turned and said
to the Kid, "It's what I thoroughly deserve: my trade is the butcher's,
and I had no business to turn piper to please you."
The Debtor and his Sow
A Man of Athens fell into debt and was pressed for the money by his
creditor; but he had no means of paying at the time, so he begged for
delay. But the creditor refused and said he must pay at once. Then the
Debtor fetched a Sow--the only one he had--and took her to market
to offer her for sale. It happened that his creditor was there too.
Presently a buyer came along and asked if the Sow produced good
litters. "Yes," said the Debtor, "very fine ones; and the remarkable
thing is that she produces females at the Mysteries and males at the
Panathenea." (Festivals these were: and the Athenians always sacrifice
a sow at one, and a boar at the other; while at the Dionysia they sacrifice
a kid.) At that the creditor, who was standing by, put in, "Don't be surprised,
sir; why, still better, at the Dionysia this Sow has kids!"
The bald Huntsman
A Man who had lost all his hair took to wearing a wig, and one day
he went out hunting. It was blowing rather hard at the time, and he
hadn't gone far before a gust of wind caught his hat and carried it off,
and his wig too, much to the amusement of the hunt. But he quite entered
into the joke, and said, "Ah, well! the hair that wig is made of didn't
stick to the head on which it grew; so it's no wonder it won't stick to mine."
The Herdsman and the lost Bull
A Herdsman was tending his cattle when he missed a young Bull, one of
the finest of the herd. He went at once to look for him, but, meeting with
no success in his search, he made a vow that, if he should discover the thief,
he would sacrifice a calf to Jupiter. Continuing his search, he entered
a thicket, where he presently espied a lion devouring the lost Bull.
Terrified with fear, he raised his hands to heaven and cried, "Great Jupiter,
I vowed I would sacrifice a calf to thee if I should discover the thief: but now
a full-grown Bull I promise thee if only I myself escape unhurt from his clutches."
The Mule
One morning a Mule, who had too much to eat and too little to do,
began to think himself a very fine fellow indeed, and frisked about
saying, "My father was undoubtedly a high-spirited horse and I take
after him entirely." But very soon afterwards he was put into the
harness and compelled to go a very long way with a heavy load behind
him. At the end of the day, exhausted by his unusual exertions, he said
dejectedly to himself, "I must have been mistaken about my father;
he can only have been an ass after all."
The Hound and the Fox
A Hound, roaming in the forest, spied a lion, and being well used
to lesser game, gave chase, thinking he would make a fine quarry.
Presently the lion perceived that he was being pursued; so, stopping
short, he rounded on his pursuer and gave a loud roar. The Hound
immediately turned tail and fled. A Fox, seeing him running away,
jeered at him and said, "Ho! ho! There goes the coward who chased
a lion and ran away the moment he roared!"
The Father and his Daughters
A Man had two Daughters, one of whom he gave in marriage to a
gardener, and the other to a potter. After a time he thought he
would go and see how they were getting on; and first he went to the
gardener's wife. He asked her how she was, and how things were going
with herself and her husband. She replied that on the whole they were
doing very well: "But," she continued, "I do wish we could have some
good heavy rain: the garden wants it badly." Then he went on to the
potter's wife and made the same inquiries of her. She replied that she
and her husband had nothing to complain of: "But," she went on, "I do
wish we could have some nice dry weather, to dry the pottery."
Her Father looked at her with a humorous expression on his face. "You want
dry weather," he said, "and your sister wants rain. I was going to ask
in my prayers that your wishes should be granted; but now it strikes
me I had better not refer to the subject."
The Thief and the Innkeeper
A Thief hired a room at an inn, and stayed there some days on the
look-out for something to steal. No opportunity, however, presented
itself, till one day, when there was a festival to be celebrated, the
Innkeeper appeared in a fine new coat and sat down before the door of
the inn for an airing. The Thief no sooner set eyes upon the coat than
he longed to get possession of it. There was no business doing, so he
went and took a seat by the side of the Innkeeper, and began talking
to him. They conversed together for some time, and then the Thief
suddenly yawned and howled like a wolf. The Innkeeper asked him in
some concern what ailed him. The Thief replied, "I will tell you about
myself, sir, but first I must beg you to take charge of my clothes
for me, for I intend to leave them with you. Why I have these fits
of yawning I cannot tell: maybe they are sent as a punishment for my
misdeeds; but, whatever the reason, the facts are that when I have
yawned three times I become a ravening wolf and fly at men's throats."
As he finished speaking he yawned a second time and howled again as
before. The Innkeeper, believing every word he said, and terrified
at the prospect of being confronted with a wolf, got up hastily and
started to run indoors; but the Thief caught him by the coat and tried
to stop him, crying, "Stay, sir, stay, and take charge of my clothes,
or else I shall never see them again." As he spoke he opened his mouth
and began to yawn for the third time. The Innkeeper, mad with the fear
of being eaten by a wolf, slipped out of his coat, which remained in
the other's hands, and bolted into the inn and locked the door behind
him; and the Thief then quietly stole off with his spoil.
The Pack-Ass and the Wild-Ass
A Wild Ass, who was wandering idly about, one day came upon a Pack-Ass
lying at full length in a sunny spot and thoroughly enjoying himself.
Going up to him, he said, "What a lucky beast you are! Your sleek coat
shows how well you live: how I envy you!" Not long after the Wild Ass
saw his acquaintance again, but this time he was carrying a heavy
load, and his driver was following behind and beating him with a thick
stick. "Ah, my friend," said the Wild Ass, "I don't envy you any more:
for I see you pay dear for your comforts."
Advantages that are dearly bought are doubtful blessings.
The Ass and his Masters
A Gardener had an Ass which had a very hard time of it, what with
scanty food, heavy loads, and constant beating. The Ass therefore
begged Jupiter to take him away from the Gardener and hand him over
to another master. So Jupiter sent Mercury to the Gardener to bid
him sell the Ass to a Potter, which he did. But the Ass was as
discontented as ever, for he had to work harder than before: so he
begged Jupiter for relief a second time, and Jupiter very obligingly
arranged that he should be sold to a Tanner. But when the Ass saw what
his new master's trade was, he cried in despair, "Why wasn't I content
to serve either of my former masters, hard as I had to work and badly
as I was treated? for they would have buried me decently, but now I shall
come in the end to the tanning-vat."
Servants don't know a good master till they have served a worse.
The Pack-Ass the Wild-Ass, and the Lion
A Wild Ass saw a Pack-Ass jogging along under a heavy load, and
taunted him with the condition of slavery in which he lived, in these
words: "What a vile lot is yours compared with mine! I am free as the
air, and never do a stroke of work; and, as for fodder, I have only to
go to the hills and there I find far more than enough for my needs.
But you! you depend on your master for food, and he makes you carry
heavy loads every day and beats you unmercifully." At that moment a
Lion appeared on the scene, and made no attempt to molest the Pack-Ass
owing to the presence of the driver; but he fell upon the Wild Ass,
who had no one to protect him, and without more ado made a meal of him.
It is no use being your own master unless you can stand up for yourself.
The Ant
Ants were once men and made their living by tilling the soil. But, not
content with the results of their own work, they were always casting
longing eyes upon the crops and fruits of their neighbours, which they
stole, whenever they got the chance, and added to their own store.
At last their covetousness made Jupiter so angry that he changed them
into Ants. But, though their forms were changed, their nature remained
the same: and so, to this day, they go about among the cornfields and
gather the fruits of others' labour, and store them up for their own use.
You may punish a thief, but his bent remains.
The Frogs and the Well
Two Frogs lived together in a marsh. But one hot summer the marsh
dried up, and they left it to look for another place to live in: for
frogs like damp places if they can get them. By and by they came to
a deep well, and one of them looked down into it, and said to the other,
"This looks a nice cool place: let us jump in and settle here." But the other,
who had a wiser head on his shoulders, replied, "Not so fast, my friend:
supposing this well dried up like the marsh, how should we get out again?"
Think twice before you act.
The Crab and the Fox
A Crab once left the sea-shore and went and settled in a meadow some
way inland, which looked very nice and green and seemed likely to be
a good place to feed in. But a hungry Fox came along and spied the Crab
and caught him. Just as he was going to be eaten up, the Crab said,
"This is just what I deserve; for I had no business to leave my natural
home by the sea and settle here as though I belonged to the land."
Be content with your lot.
The Fox and the Grasshopper
A Grasshopper sat chirping in the branches of a tree. A Fox heard her,
and, thinking what a dainty morsel she would make, he tried to get her
down by a trick. Standing below in full view of her, he praised her
song in the most flattering terms, and begged her to descend, saying
he would like to make the acquaintance of the owner of so beautiful a
voice. But she was not to be taken in, and replied, "You are very much
mistaken, my dear sir, if you imagine I am going to come down: I keep
well out of the way of you and your kind ever since the day when I saw
numbers of grasshoppers' wings strewn about the entrance to a fox's earth."
The Farmer, his Boy, and the Rooks
A Farmer had just sown a field of wheat, and was keeping a careful
watch over it, for numbers of Rooks and starlings kept continually
settling on it and eating up the grain. Along with him went his Boy,
carrying a sling: and whenever the Farmer asked for the sling the
starlings understood what he said and warned the Rooks and they were
off in a moment. So the Farmer hit on a trick. "My lad," said he, "we
must get the better of these birds somehow. After this, when I want
the sling, I won't say 'sling,' but just 'humph!' and you must then
hand me the sling quickly." Presently back came the whole flock.
"Humph!" said the Farmer; but the starlings took no notice, and he
had time to sling several stones among them, hitting one on the head,
another in the legs, and another in the wing, before they got out of
range. As they made all haste away they met some cranes, who asked
them what the matter was. "Matter?" said one of the Rooks; "it's those
rascals, men, that are the matter. Don't you go near them. They have
a way of saying one thing and meaning another which has just been the
death of several of our poor friends."
The Ass and the Dog
An Ass and a Dog were on their travels together, and, as they went
along, they found a sealed packet lying on the ground. The Ass picked
it up, broke the seal, and found it contained some writing, which he
proceeded to read out aloud to the Dog. As he read on it turned out
to be all about grass and barley and hay--in short, all the kinds of
fodder that Asses are fond of. The Dog was a good deal bored with
listening to all this, till at last his impatience got the better of him,
and he cried, "Just skip a few pages, friend, and see if there isn't
something about meat and bones." The Ass glanced all through the
packet, but found nothing of the sort, and said so. Then the Dog said
in disgust, "Oh, throw it away, do: what's the good of a thing like that?"
The Ass carrying the Image
A certain man put an Image on the back of his Ass to take it to one of
the temples of the town. As they went along the road all the people
they met uncovered and bowed their heads out of reverence for the
Image; but the Ass thought they were doing it out of respect for
himself, and began to give himself airs accordingly. At last he became
so conceited that he imagined he could do as he liked, and, by way of
protest against the load he was carrying, he came to a full stop and
flatly declined to proceed any further. His driver, finding him so obstinate,
hit him hard and long with his stick, saying the while, "Oh, you dunder-headed
idiot, do you suppose it's come to this, that men pay worship to an Ass?"
Rude shocks await those who take to themselves the credit that is due to
others.
The Athenian and the Theban
An Athenian and a Theban were on the road together, and passed the
time in conversation, as is the way of travellers. After discussing
a variety of subjects they began to talk about heroes, a topic that
tends to be more fertile than edifying. Each of them was lavish in his
praises of the heroes of his own city, until eventually the Theban
asserted that Hercules was the greatest hero who had ever lived on
earth, and now occupied a foremost place among the gods; while the
Athenian insisted that Theseus was far superior, for his fortune had
been in every way supremely blessed, whereas Hercules had at one time
been forced to act as a servant. And he gained his point, for he was
a very glib fellow, like all Athenians; so that the Theban, who was no
match for him in talking, cried at last in some disgust, "All right, have your
way; I only hope that, when our heroes are angry with us, Athens may
suffer from the anger of Hercules, and Thebes only from that of Theseus."
The Goatherd and the Goat
A Goatherd was one day gathering his flock to return to the fold, when
one of his goats strayed and refused to join the rest. He tried for a long
time to get her to return by calling and whistling to her, but the Goat
took no notice of him at all; so at last he threw a stone at her and broke
one of her horns. In dismay, he begged her not to tell his master: but she
replied, "You silly fellow, my horn would cry aloud even if I held my tongue."
It's no use trying to hide what can't be hidden.
The Sheep and the Dog
Once upon a time the Sheep complained to the shepherd about the
difference in his treatment of themselves and his Dog. "Your conduct,"
said they, "is very strange and, we think, very unfair. We provide you
with wool and lambs and milk and you give us nothing but grass, and
even that we have to find for ourselves: but you get nothing at all
from the Dog, and yet you feed him with tit-bits from your own table."
Their remarks were overheard by the Dog, who spoke up at once and
said, "Yes, and quite right, too: where would you be if it wasn't for
me? Thieves would steal you! Wolves would eat you! Indeed, if I didn't
keep constant watch over you, you would be too terrified even to graze!"
The Sheep were obliged to acknowledge that he spoke the truth, and never
again made a grievance of the regard in which he was held by his master.
The Shepherd and the Wolf
A Shepherd found a Wolf's Cub straying in the pastures, and took him
home and reared him along with his dogs. When the Cub grew to his full
size, if ever a wolf stole a sheep from the flock, he used to join the
dogs in hunting him down. It sometimes happened that the dogs failed
to come up with the thief, and, abandoning the pursuit, returned home.
The Wolf would on such occasions continue the chase by himself, and
when he overtook the culprit, would stop and share the feast with him,
and then return to the Shepherd. But if some time passed without
a sheep being carried off by the wolves, he would steal one himself
and share his plunder with the dogs. The Shepherd's suspicions were
aroused, and one day he caught him in the act; and, fastening a rope
round his neck, hung him on the nearest tree.
What's bred in the bone is sure to come out in the flesh.
The Lion, Jupiter and the Elephant
The Lion, for all his size and strength, and his sharp teeth and
claws, is a coward in one thing: he can't bear the sound of a cock
crowing, and runs away whenever he hears it. He complained bitterly
to Jupiter for making him like that; but Jupiter said it wasn't his
fault: he had done the best he could for him, and, considering this
was his only failing, he ought to be well content. The Lion, however,
wouldn't be comforted, and was so ashamed of his timidity that he
wished he might die. In this state of mind, he met the Elephant and
had a talk with him. He noticed that the great beast cocked up his
ears all the time, as if he were listening for something, and he asked
him why he did so. Just then a gnat came humming by, and the Elephant
said, "Do you see that wretched little buzzing insect? I'm terribly
afraid of its getting into my ear: if it once gets in, I'm dead and done
for." The Lion's spirits rose at once when he heard this: "For," he said
to himself, "if the Elephant, huge as he is, is afraid of a gnat, I needn't
be so much ashamed of being afraid of a cock, who is ten thousand times
bigger than a gnat."
The Pig and the Sheep
A Pig found his way into a meadow where a flock of Sheep were grazing.
The shepherd caught him, and was proceeding to carry him off to the
butcher's when he set up a loud squealing and struggled to get free.
The Sheep rebuked him for making such a to-do, and said to him,
"The shepherd catches us regularly and drags us off just like that, and we
don't make any fuss." "No, I dare say not," replied the Pig, "but my
case and yours are altogether different: he only wants you for wool,
but he wants me for bacon."
The Gardener and his Dog
A Gardner's Dog fell into a deep well, from which his master used to
draw water for the plants in his garden with a rope and a bucket.
Failing to get the Dog out by means of these, the Gardener went down
into the well himself in order to fetch him up. But the Dog thought he
had come to make sure of drowning him; so he bit his master as soon as
he came within reach, and hurt him a good deal, with the result that
he left the Dog to his fate and climbed out of the well, remarking,
"It serves me quite right for trying to save so determined a suicide."
The Rivers and the Sea
Once upon a time all the Rivers combined to protest against the action
of the Sea in making their waters salt. "When we come to you," said
they to the Sea, "we are sweet and drinkable: but when once we have
mingled with you, our waters become as briny and unpalatable as your
own." The Sea replied shortly, "Keep away from me and you'll remain sweet."
The Lion in Love
A Lion fell deeply in love with the daughter of a cottager and wanted
to marry her; but her father was unwilling to give her to so fearsome
a husband, and yet didn't want to offend the Lion; so he hit upon the
following expedient. He went to the Lion and said, "I think you will
make a very good husband for my daughter: but I cannot consent to your
union unless you let me draw your teeth and pare your nails, for my
daughter is terribly afraid of them." The Lion was so much in love that
he readily agreed that this should be done. When once, however, he was
thus disarmed, the Cottager was afraid of him no longer, but drove him
away with his club.
The Bee-Keeper
A Thief found his way into an apiary when the Bee-keeper was away,
and stole all the honey. When the Keeper returned and found the hives
empty, he was very much upset and stood staring at them for some time.
Before long the bees came back from gathering honey, and, finding
their hives overturned and the Keeper standing by, they made for him
with their stings. At this he fell into a passion and cried, "You ungrateful
scoundrels, you let the thief who stole my honey get off scot-free,
and then you go and sting me who have always taken such care of you!"
When you hit back make sure you have got the right man.