Hercules and Minerva
Hercules was once travelling along a narrow road when
he saw lying on the ground in front of him what appeared
to be an apple, and as he passed he stamped upon it with
his heel. To his astonishment, instead of being crushed
it doubled in size; and, on his attacking it again and
smiting it with his club, it swelled up to an enormous
size and blocked up the whole road.
Upon this he dropped his club, and stood looking at it in
amazement. Just then Minerva appeared, and said to him,
"Leave it alone, my friend; that which you see before
you is the apple of discord: if you do not meddle with it,
it remains small as it was at first, but if you resort to
violence it swells into the thing you see."
The Fox who served a Lion
A Lion had a Fox to attend on him, and whenever
they went hunting the Fox found the prey and the
Lion fell upon it and killed it, and then they divided it
between them in certain proportions. But the Lion
eJways got a very large share, and the Fox a very small
one, which didn't please the latter at all; so he determined
to set up on his own account. He began by trying
to steal a lamb from a flock of sheep : but the shepherd
saw him and set his dogs on him. The hunter was now
the hunted, and was very soon caught and despatched by
the dogs. Better servitude with safety than freedom with danger.
Better servitude with safety than freedom with danger.
The quack Doctor
A certain man fell sick and took to his bed. He consulted a number of
doctors from time to time, and they all, with one exception, told him
that his life was in no immediate danger, but that his illness would
probably last a considerable time. The one who took a different view
of his case, who was also the last to be consulted, bade him prepare
for the worst: "You have not twenty-four hours to live," said he,
"and I fear I can do nothing." As it turned out, however, he was quite
wrong; for at the end of a few days the sick man quitted his bed and
took a walk abroad, looking, it is true, as pale as a ghost. In the
course of his walk he met the Doctor who had prophesied his death.
"Dear me," said the latter, "how do you do? You are fresh from the
other world, no doubt. Pray, how are our departed friends getting on
there?" "Most comfortably," replied the other, "for they have drunk
the water of oblivion, and have forgotten all the troubles of life.
By the way, just before I left, the authorities were making arrangements
to prosecute all the doctors, because they won't let sick men die in
the course of nature, but use their arts to keep them alive. They were
going to charge you along with the rest, till I assured them that you
were no doctor, but a mere impostor."
The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox
A Lion, infirm with age, lay sick in his den, and all the beasts of
the forest came to inquire after his health with the exception of the
Fox. The Wolf thought this was a good opportunity for paying off old
scores against the Fox, so he called the attention of the Lion to his
absence, and said, "You see, sire, that we have all come to see how
you are except the Fox, who hasn't come near you, and doesn't care
whether you are well or ill." Just then the Fox came in and heard the
last words of the Wolf. The Lion roared at him in deep displeasure,
but he begged to be allowed to explain his absence, and said,
"Not one of them cares for you so much as I, sire, for all the time
I have been going round to the doctors and trying to find a cure for
your illness." "And may I ask if you have found one?" said the Lion.
"I have, sire," said the Fox, "and it is this: you must flay a Wolf
and wrap yourself in his skin while it is still warm.
" The Lion accordingly turned to the Wolf and struck him dead with
one blow of his paw, in order to try the Fox's prescription; but the Fox
laughed and said to himself, "That's what comes of stirring up ill-will."
Hercules and Plutus
When Hercules was received among the gods and was entertained at
a banquet by Jupiter, he responded courteously to the greetings of
all with the exception of Plutus, the god of wealth. When Plutus
approached him, he cast his eyes upon the ground, and turned away and
pretended not to see him. Jupiter was surprised at this conduct on his
part, and asked why, after having been so cordial with all the other
gods, he had behaved like that to Plutus. "Sire," said Hercules, "I do not
like Plutus, and I will tell you why. When we were on earth together
I always noticed that he was to be found in the company of scoundrels."
The Fox and the Leopard
A Fox and a Leopard were disputing about their looks, and each claimed
to be the more handsome of the two. The Leopard said, "Look at my
smart coat; you have nothing to match that." But the Fox replied,
"Your coat may be smart, but my wits are smarter still."
The Fox and the Hedgehog
A Fox, in swimming across a rapid river, was swept away by the current
and carried a long way downstream in spite of his struggles, until at
last, bruised and exhausted, he managed to scramble on to dry
ground from a backwater. As he lay there unable to move, a swarm of
horseflies settled on him and sucked his blood undisturbed, for he was
too weak even to shake them off. A Hedgehog saw him, and asked if he
should brush away the flies that were tormenting him; but the Fox
replied, "Oh, please, no, not on any account, for these flies have
sucked their fill and are taking very little from me now; but, if you
drive them off, another swarm of hungry ones will come and suck all
the blood I have left, and leave me without a drop in my veins."
The Crow and the Raven
A Crow became very jealous of a Raven, because the latter was
regarded by men as a bird of omen which foretold the future, and was
accordingly held in great respect by them. She was very anxious to
get the same sort of reputation herself; and, one day, seeing some
travellers approaching, she flew on to a branch of a tree at the
roadside and cawed as loud as she could. The travellers were in some
dismay at the sound, for they feared it might be a bad omen; till one of
them, spying the Crow, said to his companions, "It's all right, my friends,
we can go on without fear, for it's only a crow and that means nothing."
Those who pretend to be something they are not only make
themselves ridiculous.
The Witch
A Witch professed to be able to avert the anger of the gods by means
of charms, of which she alone possessed the secret; and she drove
a brisk trade, and made a fat livelihood out of it. But certain persons
accused her of black magic and carried her before the judges, and
demanded that she should be put to death for dealings with the Devil.
She was found guilty and condemned to death: and one of the judges
said to her as she was leaving the dock, "You say you can avert the
anger of the gods. How comes it, then, that you have failed to disarm
the enmity of men?"
The old Man and Death
An Old Man cut himself a bundle of faggots in a wood and started to
carry them home. He had a long way to go, and was tired out before he
had got much more than half-way. Casting his burden on the ground,
he called upon Death to come and release him from his life of toil.
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when, much to his dismay,
Death stood before him and professed his readiness to serve him. He was
almost frightened out of his wits, but he had enough presence of mind to
stammer out, "Good sir, if you'd be so kind, pray help me up with my burden again."
The Miser
A Miser sold everything he had, and melted down his hoard of gold into a single lump, which he buried secretly in a field. Every day he went to look at it, and would sometimes spend long hours gloating over his treasure. One of his men noticed his frequent visits to the spot, and one day watched him and discovered his secret. Waiting his opportunity, he went one night and dug up the gold and stole it.
Next day the Miser visited the place as usual, and, finding his treasure gone, fell to tearing his hair and groaning over his loss. In this condition he was seen by one of his neighbours, who asked him what his trouble was.
The Miser told him of his misfortune; but the other replied, "Don't take it so much to heart, my friend; put a brick into the hole, and take a look at it every day: you won't be any worse off than before, for even when you had your gold it was of no earthly use to you."
The Foxes and the River
A number of Foxes assembled on the bank of a river and wanted to
drink; but the current was so strong and the water looked so deep and
dangerous that they didn't dare to do so, but stood near the edge
encouraging one another not to be afraid. At last one of them, to
shame the rest, and show how brave he was, said, "I am not a bit
frightened! See, I'll step right into the water!" He had no sooner
done so than the current swept him off his feet. When the others saw
him being carried down-stream they cried, "Don't go and leave us! Come
back and show us where we too can drink with safety." But he replied,
"I'm afraid I can't yet: I want to go to the seaside, and this current
will take me there nicely. When I come back I'll show you with pleasure."
The Horse an the Stag
There was once a Horse who used to graze in a meadow which he had all
to himself. But one day a Stag came into the meadow, and said he had
as good a right to feed there as the Horse, and moreover chose all the
best places for himself. The Horse, wishing to be revenged upon his
unwelcome visitor, went to a man and asked if he would help him to
turn out the Stag. "Yes," said the man, "I will by all means; but I can
only do so if you let me put a bridle in your mouth and mount on
your back." The Horse agreed to this, and the two together very soon
turned the Stag out of the pasture: but when that was done, the Horse
found to his dismay that in the man he had got a master for good.
The Fox and the Bramble
In making his way through a hedge a Fox missed his footing and caught at a Bramble to save himself from falling. Naturally, he got badly scratched, and in disgust he cried to the Bramble, "It was your help I wanted, and see how you have treated me! I'd sooner have fallen outright."
The Bramble, interrupting him, replied, "You must have lost your wits, my friend, to catch at me, who am myself always catching at others."
The Fox and the Snake
A Snake, in crossing a river, was carried away by the current, but managed to wriggle on to a bundle of thorns which was floating by, and was thus carried at a great rate down-stream. A Fox caught sight of it from the bank as it went whirling along, and called out, "Gad! the passenger fits the ship!"
The Lion, the Fox, and the Stag
A Lion lay sick in his den, unable to provide himself with food.
So he said to his friend the Fox, who came to ask how he did,
"My good friend, I wish you would go to yonder wood and beguile
the big Stag, who lives there, to come to my den: I have a fancy to
make my dinner off a stag's heart and brains.
"The Fox went to the wood and found the Stag and said to him,
"My dear sir, you're in luck. You know the Lion, our King: well, he's
at the point of death, and has appointed you his successor to rule
over the beasts. I hope you won't forget that I was the first to bring
you the good news. And now I must be going back to him; and, if
you take my advice, you'll come too and be with him at the last."
The Stag was highly flattered, and followed the Fox to the Lion's den,
suspecting nothing. No sooner had he got inside than the Lion sprang
upon him, but he misjudged his spring, and the Stag got away with
only his ears torn, and returned as fast as he could to the shelter
of the wood. The Fox was much mortified, and the Lion, too, was
dreadfully disappointed, for he was getting very hungry in spite
of his illness. So he begged the Fox to have another try at coaxing
the Stag to his den. "It'll be almost impossible this time," said the Fox,
"but I'll try"; and off he went to the wood a second time, and found the
Stag resting and trying to recover from his fright. As soon as he saw
the Fox he cried, "You scoundrel, what do you mean by trying to lure
me to my death like that? Take yourself off, or I'll do you to death
with my horns." But the Fox was entirely shameless.
"What a coward you were," said he; "surely you didn't think the Lion
meant any harm? Why, he was only going to whisper some royal secrets
into your ear when you went off like a scared rabbit. You have rather
disgusted him, and I'm not sure he won't make the wolf King instead,
unless you come back at once and show you've got some spirit.
I promise you he won't hurt you, and I will be your faithful servant."
The Stag was foolish enough to be persuaded to return, and this time the
Lion made no mistake, but overpowered him, and feasted right royally
upon his carcase. The Fox, meanwhile, watched his chance and, when the
Lion wasn't looking, filched away the brains to reward him for his trouble.
Presently the Lion began searching for them, of course without success:
and the Fox, who was watching him, said, "I don't think it's much use
your looking for the brains: a creature who twice walked into a Lion's
den can't have got any."
The Man who lost his Spade
A Man was engaged in digging over his vineyard, and one day on coming
to work he missed his Spade. Thinking it may have been stolen by one
of his labourers, he questioned them closely, but they one and all
denied any knowledge of it. He was not convinced by their denials,
and insisted that they should all go to the town and take oath in a temple
that they were not guilty of the theft. This was because he had no
great opinion of the simple country deities, but thought that the
thief would not pass undetected by the shrewder gods of the town.
When they got inside the gates the first thing they heard was the town
crier proclaiming a reward for information about a thief who had
stolen something from the city temple. "Well," said the Man to himself,
"it strikes me I had better go back home again. If these town gods
can't detect the thieves who steal from their own temples, it's scarcely
likely they can tell me who stole my Spade."
The Partridge and the Fowler
A Fowler caught a Partridge in his nets, and was just about to wring
its neck when it made a piteous appeal to him to spare its life and said,
"Do not kill me, but let me live and I will repay you for your kindness
by decoying other partridges into your nets." "No," said the Fowler,
"I will not spare you. I was going to kill you anyhow, and after that
treacherous speech you thoroughly deserve your fate."
The runaway Slave
A Slave, being discontented with his lot, ran away from his master.
He was soon missed by the latter, who lost no time in mounting his
horse and setting out in pursuit of the fugitive. He presently came up
with him, and the Slave, in the hope of avoiding capture, slipped into
a treadmill and hid himself there. "Aha," said his master, "that's the
very place for you, my man!"
The Hunter and the Woodman
A Hunter was searching in the forest for the tracks of a lion, and, catching sight presently of a Woodman engaged in felling a tree, he went up to him and asked him if he had noticed a lion's footprints anywhere about, or if he knew where his den was.
The Woodman answered, "If you will come with me, I will show you the lion himself." The Hunter turned pale with fear, and his teeth chattered as he replied, "Oh, I'm not looking for the lion, thanks, but only for his tracks."
The Serpent and the Eagle
An Eagle swooped down upon a Serpent and seized it in his talons with
the intention of carrying it off and devouring it. But the Serpent was
too quick for him and had its coils round him in a moment; and then
there ensued a life-and-death struggle between the two. A countryman,
who was a witness of the encounter, came to the assistance of the
Eagle, and succeeded in freeing him from the Serpent and enabling him
to escape. In revenge the Serpent spat some of his poison into the
man's drinking-horn. Heated with his exertions, the man was about to
slake his thirst with a draught from the horn, when the Eagle knocked
it out of his hand, and spilled its contents upon the ground.
One good turn deserves another.
The Rogue and the Oracle
A Rogue laid a wager that he would prove the Oracle at Delphi to be
untrustworthy by procuring from it a false reply to an inquiry by
himself. So he went to the temple on the appointed day with a small
bird in his hand, which he concealed under the folds of his cloak,
and asked whether what he held in his hand were alive or dead. If the
Oracle said "dead," he meant to produce the bird alive: if the reply
was "alive," he intended to wring its neck and show it to be dead.
But the Oracle was one too many for him, for the answer he got was this:
"Stranger, whether the thing that you hold in your hand be alive or
dead is a matter that depends entirely on your own will."
The Horse and the Ass
A Horse, proud of his fine harness, met an Ass on the high-road.
As the Ass with his heavy burden moved slowly out of the way to let
him pass, the Horse cried out impatiently that he could hardly resist
kicking him to make him move faster. The Ass held his peace, but did
not forget the other's insolence. Not long afterwards the Horse became
broken-winded, and was sold by his owner to a farmer. One day, as he
was drawing a dung-cart, he met the Ass again, who in turn derided him
and said, "Aha! you never thought to come to this, did you, you who
were so proud! Where are all your gay trappings now?"
The Dog chasing a Wolf
A Dog was chasing a Wolf, and as he ran he thought what a fine fellow
he was, and what strong legs he had, and how quickly they covered the
ground. "Now, there's this Wolf," he said to himself, "what a poor
creature he is: he's no match for me, and he knows it and so he runs
away." But the Wolf looked round just then and said, "Don't you imagine
I'm running away from you, my friend: it's your master I'm afraid of."
Grief and his Due
When Jupiter was assigning the various gods their privileges, it so
happened that Grief was not present with the rest: but when all had
received their share, he too entered and claimed his due. Jupiter was
at a loss to know what to do, for there was nothing left for him.
However, at last he decided that to him should belong the tears that
are shed for the dead. Thus it is the same with Grief as it is with the
other gods. The more devoutly men render to him his due, the more
lavish is he of that which he has to bestow. It is not well, therefore,
to mourn long for the departed; else Grief, whose sole pleasure
is in such mourning, will be quick to send fresh cause for tears.
The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons
The Pigeons in a certain dovecote were persecuted by a Kite, who every
now and then swooped down and carried off one of their number.
So they invited a Hawk into the dovecote to defend them against their
enemy. But they soon repented of their folly: for the Hawk killed more of
them in a day than the Kite had done in a year.
The Woman and the Farmer
A Woman, who had lately lost her husband, used to go every day to his
grave and lament her loss. A Farmer, who was engaged in ploughing not
far from the spot, set eyes upon the Woman and desired to have her
for his wife: so he left his plough and came and sat by her side,
and began to shed tears himself. She asked him why he wept; and he
replied, "I have lately lost my wife, who was very dear to me, and
tears ease my grief." "And I," said she, "have lost my husband."
And so for a while they mourned in silence. Then he said, "Since you and
I are in like case, shall we not do well to marry and live together? I shall
take the place of your dead husband, and you, that of my dead wife."
The Woman consented to the plan, which indeed seemed reasonable
enough: and they dried their tears. Meanwhile, a thief had come
and stolen the oxen which the Farmer had left with his plough.
On discovering the theft, he beat his breast and loudly bewailed his loss.
When the Woman heard his cries, she came and said, "Why, are you
weeping still?" To which he replied, "Yes, and I mean it this time."
Prometheus and the making of Man
At the bidding of Jupiter, Prometheus set about the creation of Man
and the other animals. Jupiter, seeing that Mankind, the only rational
creatures, were far outnumbered by the irrational beasts, bade him
redress the balance by turning some of the latter into men. Prometheus
did as he was bidden, and this is the reason why some people have the
forms of men but the souls of beasts.
The Swallow and the Crow
A Swallow was once boasting to a Crow about her birth. "I was once a
princess," said she, "the daughter of a King of Athens, but my husband
used me cruelly, and cut out my tongue for a slight fault. Then, to
protect me from further injury, I was turned by Juno into a bird."
"You chatter quite enough as it is," said the Crow. "What you would
have been like if you hadn't lost your tongue, I can't think."
The Hunter and the Horseman
A Hunter went out after game, and succeeded in catching a hare, which he was carrying home with him when he met a man on horseback, who said to him, "You have had some sport I see, sir," and offered to buy it.
The Hunter readily agreed; but the Horseman had no sooner got the hare in his hands than he set spurs to his horse and went off at full gallop.
The Hunter ran after him for some little distance; but it soon dawned upon him that he had been tricked, and he gave up trying to overtake the Horseman, and, to save his face, called after him as loud as he could, "All right, sir, all right, take your hare: it was meant all along as a present."
The Goatherd and the wild Goats
A Goatherd was tending his goats out at pasture when he saw a number of Wild Goats approach and mingle with his flock. At the end of the day he drove them home and put them all into the pen together.
Next day the weather was so bad that he could not take them out as usual: so he kept them at home in the pen, and fed them there. He only gave his own goats enough food to keep them from starving, but he gave the Wild Goats as much as they could eat and more; for he was very anxious for them to stay, and he thought that if he fed them well they wouldn't want to leave him. When the weather improved, he took them all out to pasture again; but no sooner had they got near the hills than the Wild Goats broke away from the flock and scampered off.
The Goatherd was very much disgusted at this, and roundly abused them for their ingratitude. "Rascals!" he cried, "to run away like that after the way I've treated you!" Hearing this, one of them turned round and said, "Oh, yes, you treated us all right - too well, in fact; it was just that that put us on our guard. If you treat newcomers like ourselves so much better than your own flock, it's more than likely that, if another lot of strange goats joined yours, we should then be neglected in favour of the last comers."
The Nightingale and the Swallow
A Swallow, conversing with a Nightingale, advised her to quit the leafy coverts where she made her home, and to come and live with men, like herself, and nest under the shelter of their roofs.
But the Nightingale replied, "Time was when I too, like yourself, lived among men: but the memory of the cruel wrongs I then suffered makes them hateful to me, and never again will I approach their dwellings."
The scene of past sufferings revives painful memories.
The Traveller and Fortune
A Traveller, exhausted with fatigue after a long journey, sank down at
the very brink of a deep well and presently fell asleep. He was within
an ace of falling in, when Dame Fortune appeared to him and touched
him on the shoulder, cautioning him to move further away. "Wake up,
good sir, I pray you," she said; "had you fallen into the well, the blame
would have been thrown not on your own folly but on me, Fortune."
