Frank Melvin Bumstead 
 1382-1938 
 

 
AESOP'S FABLES. 
 
JESOP'S FABLES. 
 /<~ron fiftpiece- 
 
THREE HUNDRED 
 
 AESOP'S FABLES 
 
 LITERALLY TRANSLATED FROM ThE GREEK 
 
 EY THE 
 
 REV. GEO. FYLER TOWNS END, M.A. 
 
 TOtt) /tftj) 3Eiru*tratt'0nrf bn ^arrtrfon 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE ROUT I, EDGE AND SONS 
 
 THE BROADWAY, LUDGATE 
 NEW YORK : 416, BROOME STREET 
 
PREFA CE 
 
 THE Tale, the Parable, and the Fable are all common 
 and popular modes of conveying instruction. Each is 
 distinguished by its own special characteristics. The 
 Tale consists simply in the narration of a story either 
 founded on facts, or created solely by the imagination, 
 and not necessarily associated with the teaching of any 
 moral lesson. The Parable is the designed use of lan 
 guage purposely intended to convey a hidden and secret 
 meaning other than that contained in the words them 
 selves; and which may or may not bear a special reference 
 to the hearer or reader. The Fable partly agrees with, 
 and partly differs from, both of these. It will contain, 
 like the Tale, a short but real narrative ; it will seek, like 
 the Parable, to convey a hidden meaning, and that not 
 so much by the use of language, as by the skilful intro 
 duction of fictitious characters; and yet, unlike to either 
 Tale or Parable, it will ever keep in view, as its high 
 prerogative, and inseparable attribute, the great purpose 
 of instruction, and will necessarily seek to inculcate some 
 moral maxim, social duty, or political truth. The true 
 table, if it rise to its high requirements, ever aims at 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 one great end and purpose the representation of human 
 motive, and the improvement of human conduct, and yet 
 ''t so conceals its design under the disguise of fictitious 
 characters, by clothing with speech the animals of the 
 field, the birds of the air, the trees of the wood, or the 
 beasts of the forest, that the reader shall receive advice 
 without perceiving the presence of the adviser. Thus 
 the superiority of the counsellor, which often renders 
 counsel unpalatable, is kept out of view, and the lesson 
 comes with the greater acceptance when the reader is 
 led, unconsciously to himself, to have his sympathies en 
 listed in behalf of what is pure, honourable, and praise 
 worthy, and to have his indignation excited against what 
 is low, ignoble, and unworthy. The true fabulist, there 
 fore, discharges a most important function. He is neither 
 a narrator, nor an allegorist. He is a great teacher, a 
 corrector of morals, a censor of vice, and a commender 
 of virtue. In this consists the superiority of the Fable 
 over the Tale or the Parable. The fabulist is to create 
 a laugh, but yet, under a merry guise, to convey instruc 
 tion. Phgedrus, the great imitator of ^Esop, plainly in 
 dicates this double 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 accounts for the universal favour, of the 
 fables of ^Esop. " The fable," says Professor K. O. 
 Mueller, "originated in Greece in an intentional travestie 
 
Preface, vii 
 
 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 we have any ancient and 
 authentic account of the -^Esopian fables, we find it to 
 be the same."* 
 
 The construction of a fable involves a minute atten 
 tion to (i), the narration itself; (2), the deduction of the 
 moral; and (3), a careful maintenance of the individual 
 characteristics of the fictitious personages introduced into 
 it. The narration should relate to one simple action, 
 consistent with itself, and neither be overladen with a 
 multiplicity of details, nor distracted by a variety of 
 circumstances. The moral or lesson should be so plain, 
 and so intimately interwoven with, and so necessarily 
 dependent on, the narration, that every reader should be 
 compelled to give to it the same undeniable interpre 
 tation. The introduction of the animals or fictitious 
 characters should be marked with an unexceptionable 
 care and attention to their natural attributes, and to the 
 qualities attributed to them by universal popular consent. 
 The Fox should be always cunning, the Hare timid, the 
 Lion bold, the Wolf cruel, the Bull strong, the Horse 
 proud, and the Ass patient. Many of these fables are 
 characterized by the strictest observance of these rules. 
 They are occupied with one short narrative, from which 
 
 * A History of the Literature of Ancient Greece, by K. C. 
 Mueller. Vol. i. p. 191. London^ Parker, 1858 
 
vii? Preface. 
 
 the moral naturally flows, and with which it is intimately 
 associated. " 'Tis the simple manner," says Dodsley,* 
 " in which the morals of -^Esop are interwoven with his 
 fables that distinguishes him, and gives him the pre 
 ference over all other mythologists. ' His Mountain 
 delivered of a Mouse' produces the moral of his fable 
 in ridicule of pompous pretenders; and his Crow, when 
 she drops her cheese, lets fall, as it were by accident, 
 the strongest admonition against the power of flattery. 
 There is no need of a separate sentence to explain it ; 
 no possibility of impressing it deeper, by that load we 
 too often see of accumulated reflections. "f An equal 
 amount of praise is due for the consistency with which 
 
 * Select Fables of ^sop and other Fabulists. In three books, 
 translated by Robert Dodsley, accompanied with a selection of 
 notes, and an Essay on Fable. Birmingham, 1864. P. 60. 
 
 f Some of these fables had, no doubt, in the first instance, a 
 primary and private interpretation. On the first occasion of their 
 being composed they were intended to refer to some passing event, 
 or to some individual acts of wrong-doing. Thus, the fables of the 
 "Eagle and the Fox" (p. 164), of the "Fox and Monkey" (p.6;), 
 are supposed to have been written by Archilochus, to avenge the 
 injuries done him by Lycambes. So also the fables of the " Swollen 
 Fox" (p.ioo), of the " Frogs asking a King" (p. 53), were spoken 
 by ^sop for the immediate purpose of reconciling the inhabitants 
 of Samos and Athens to their respective rulers, Periander and 
 Pisistratus: while the fable of the "Horse and Stag" was com 
 posed to caution the inhabitants of Himera against granting a body 
 guard to Phalaris. In a similar manner, the fable from Phsedrus, 
 the "Marriage of the Sun," is supposed to have reference to the 
 contemplated union of Livia, the daughter of Drusus, with Sejanus 
 the favourite, and minister of Trajan. These fables, however, 
 though thus originating in special events, and designed at first to 
 meet special circumstances, are so admirably constructed as to be 
 fraught with lessons of general utility, and of universal application. 
 
Preface, ix 
 
 the characters of the animals, fictitiously introduced, are 
 marked. While they are made to depict the motives 
 and passions of men, they retain, in an eminent degree, 
 their own special features of craft or counsel, of cowar 
 dice or courage, of generosity or rapacity. 
 
 These terms of praise, it must be confessed, cannot 
 be bestowed on all the fables in this collection. Many 
 of them lack that unity of design, that close connexion 
 of the moral with the narrative, that wise choice in the 
 introduction of the animals, which constitute the charm 
 and excellency of true ^Esopian fable. This inferiority 
 of some to others is sufficiently accounted for in the 
 history of the origin and descent of these fables. The 
 great bulk of them are not the immediate work of ^sop. 
 Many are obtained from ancient authors prior to the 
 time in which he lived. Thus, the fable of the " Hawk 
 and the Nightingale" is related by Hesiod;* the "Eagle 
 wounded by an Arrow winged with its own feathers," by 
 ^Eschylus ; f the " Fox avenging his wrongs on the 
 Eagle," by Archilochus.J 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 
 JEsop, rightfully bears his name, because he composed 
 
 * Hesiod. Opera et Dies, verse 202. 
 
 f yEschylus. Fragment of the Myrmidons. ^Eschylus speaks of 
 this fable as t existing before his day. ws 5' &TTI ptduv rdv 
 &ij3vo-TiKuj> \oyos. See Scholiast on the Aves of Aristophanes, 
 line 808. 
 
 Fragment, 38, ed. Gaisford. See also Mueller's History of the 
 t/iterature of Ancient Greece, vol. i. pp. 190 193. 
 
x Preface. 
 
 so large a number (all framed in the same mould, 
 and conformed to the same fashion, and stamped with 
 the same lineaments, image, and superscription) as to 
 secure to hmiself the right to be considered the father 
 of Greek fables, and the founder of this class of writing, 
 which has ever since borne his name, and has secured 
 for him, through all succeeding ages, the position of the 
 first of moralists.* . 
 
 The fables were in the first instance only narrated by 
 ^Esop, and for a long time were handed down by the 
 uncertain channel of oral tradition. Socrates is men 
 tioned by Plato f as having employed his time while fn 
 prison, awaiting the return of the sacred ship from 
 Delphos which was to be the signal of his death, in 
 turning some of these 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 have made the first collection of these fables. 
 Phaedrus, a slave by birth or by subsequent misfortunes, 
 and admitted by Augustus to the honours of a freed- 
 man, imitated many of these fables in Latin iambics 
 
 * M. Bayle has well put this in his account of yEsop. " II n'y a 
 point d'apparence que les fables qui portent aujourd'hui son nom 
 soient les memes qu'il avait faites ; elles viennent bien de lui pour 
 la plupart, quant a la matiere et la pensee ; mais les paroles sont 
 d'un autre." And again, " C'est done a Hesiode, que j'aimerais 
 mieux attribuer la gloire Je 1'invention ; mais sans doute il laissa la 
 chose tres imparfaite. Esope la perfectionne si heureusement, 
 qu'on 1'a regarde comme le vrai pere de cette sorte de production." 
 Bayle^ Dictionnaire Historique. 
 
 t Plato in Phaedone. 
 
Preface. x i 
 
 about the commencement of the Christian era. Aph- 
 thonius, a rhetorician of Antioch, A.C. 315, wrote a 
 treatise on, and converted into Latin prose, some of 
 these fables. This translation is the more worthy of 
 notice, as it illustrates a custom of common use, both 
 in these and in later times. The rhetoricians and philo 
 sophers were accustomed to give the Fables of JEsop as 
 an exercise to their scholars, not only inviting them to 
 discuss the moral of the tale, but also to practise and 
 to perfect themselves thereby in style and rules of 
 grammar, by making for themselves new and various 
 versions of the fables. Ausonius, the friend of the 
 Emperor Valentinian, and the latest poet of eminence 
 in the Western Empire, has handed down some of these 
 fables in verse, which Julianus Titianus, a contemporary 
 writer of no great name, translated into prose. Avienus, 
 also a contemporary of Ausonius, put some of these 
 fables into Latin elegiacs, which are given by Nevelet 
 (in a book we shall refer to hereafter), and are occa 
 sionally incorporated with the editions of Phaedrus. 
 
 Seven centuries elapsed before the next notice is found 
 of the Fables of ^Esop. During this long period these 
 
 * Apologos en ! misit tibi 
 Ab usque Rheni limite 
 Ausonius nomen Italum 
 Preceptor August! tui 
 ^Esopiam trimetriam ; 
 Quam vertit exili stylo 
 Pedestre concinnans opus 
 Fandi Titianus artifex. 
 
 Ausonii Epistola, xvi. 75-80. 
 
xii Preface. 
 
 fables seem to have suffered an eclipse, to have dis 
 appeared, and to have been forgotten ; and it is at the 
 commencement of the fourteenth century, when the 
 Byzantine, emperors were the great patrons of learning, 
 and amidst the splendours of an Asiatic court, that we 
 next find honours paid to the name and memory of 
 ^Esop. Maximus Planudes, a learned monk of Constan 
 tinople, made a collection of about a hundred and fifty 
 of these fables. 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 1327 A.D. 
 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Venice by the 
 Emperor Andronicus the Elder. This brought him into 
 immediate contact with the Western Patriarch, whose 
 interests he henceforth advocated with so much zeal as 
 to bring on him suspicion and persecution from the 
 rulers of the Eastern Church. Planudes has been ex 
 posed to a two-fold accusation. He is charged on the 
 one hand with having had before him a copy of Babrias 
 (to whom we shall have occasion to refer at greater 
 length in the end of this Preface), and to have had the 
 bad taste " to transpose," or to turn his poetical version 
 into prose : and he is asserted, on the other hand, never 
 to have seen the Fables of ysop at all, but to have him- 
 self invented and made the fables which he palmed off 
 under the name of the famous Greek fabulist. The truth 
 lies between these two extremes. Planudes may have 
 invented some few fables, or have inserted some that 
 were current in his day; but there is an abundance of 
 unanswerable internal evidence to prove that he haH an 
 
Preface. xiii 
 
 acquaintance with the veritable fables of ^Esop, although 
 the versions he had access to were probably corrupt, as 
 contained in the various translations and disquisitional 
 exercises of the rhetoricians and philosophers. His col 
 lection is interesting and important, not only as the 
 parent source or foundation of the earlier printed ver 
 sions of JEsop, but as the direct channel of attracting to 
 these fables the attention of the learned. 
 
 The eventual re-introduction, however, of these Fables 
 of ^Esop to their high place in the general literature of 
 Christendom, is to be looked for in the West rather than 
 in the East. The calamities gradually thickening round 
 the Eastern Empire, and the fall of Constantinople, 
 1453 A.D., combined with other events to promote the 
 rapid restoration of learning in Italy; and with that 
 recovery of learning the revival of an interest in the 
 Fables of ^Esop is closely identified. These fables, 
 indeed, were among the first writings of an earlier anti 
 quity that attracted attention. They took their place 
 beside the Holy Scriptures and the ancient classic 
 authors, in the minds of the great students of that day. 
 Lorenzo Valla, one of the most famous promoters of 
 Italian learning, not only translated into Latin the Iliad 
 of Homer and the Histories of Herodotus and Thucy- 
 dides, but also the Fables of ^Esop. 
 
 These fables, again, were among the books brought 
 into an extended circulation by the agency of the 
 printing press. Bonus Accursius, as early as 1475-1480, 
 printed the collection of these fables, made by Planudes, 
 which, within five years afterwards, Caxton translated 
 
xiv Preface. 
 
 into English, and printed at his press in Westminstei 
 Abbey, 1485.* It must be mentioned also that the 
 learning of this age has left permanent traces of its 
 influence on these fables,f by causing the interpolation 
 with them (as a KTYHJLO. iiq hi) of some of those amusing 
 stories which were so frequently introduced into the 
 public discourses of the great preachers of those days, 
 and of which specimens are yet to be found in the 
 extant sermons of Jean Raulin, Meffreth, and Gabriel 
 Barlette.J The publication of this era which most pro- 
 
 * Both these publications are in the British Museum, and are 
 placed in the library in cases under glass, for the inspection of the 
 curious. 
 
 f Fables may possibly have been not entirely unknown to the 
 mediaeval scholars. There are two celebrated works which might 
 by some be classed amongst works of this description. The one is 
 the "Speculum Sapientioe," attributed to St. Cyril, Archbishop of 
 Jerusalem, but of a considerably later origin, and existing only in 
 Latin.. It is divided into four books, and consists of long conversa 
 tions conducted by fictitious characters under the figures of the 
 beasts of 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 the stories are precisely those of ^Esop, and none 
 have the concinnity, terseness, and unmistakable deduction of the 
 lesson intended to be taught by the fable, so conspicuous in the great 
 Greek fabulist. The exact title of the book is this: "Speculum 
 Sapientiae, B. Cyrilli Episcopi : alias quadripartitus apologeticus 
 vocatus, in cujus quidem proverbiis omnis et totius sapientise specu 
 lum claret et feliciter incipit." The other is a larger work in two 
 volumes, published in the fourteenth century by Caesar Heisterbach, 
 a Cistercian monk, under the title of " Dialogus Miraculorum," 
 reprinted in 1851. This work consists of conversations in which 
 many stories are interwoven on all kinds of subjects. It has no 
 correspondence with the pure ^Esopian fable. 
 
 t Post-mediaeval Preachers, by S. Baring-Gould. Rivingtons, 
 1865. 
 
Preface. xv 
 
 bably has influenced these fables, is the " Liber Face- 
 tiarum,"* a book consisting of a hundred jests and 
 stories, by the celebrated Poggio Bracciolini, pub 
 lished A.D. 1471 ,from which the two fables of the 
 " Miller, his Son, and their Ass/' p. 79, and the 
 "Fox and the Woodcutter," p. 71, are undoubtedly 
 selected. 
 
 The knowledge of these fables rapidly spread from 
 Italy into Germany, and their popularity was increased 
 by the favour and sanction given to them by the great 
 fathers of the Reformation, who frequently used them 
 as vehicles for satire and protest against the tricks and 
 abuses of the Romish ecclesiastics. The zealous and 
 renowned Camerarius, who took an active part in the 
 preparation of the Confession of Augsburgh, found time, 
 amidst his numerous avocations, to prepare a version for 
 the students in the University of Tubingen, in which he 
 was a professor. Martin Luther translated twenty of 
 these fables, and was urged by Melancthon to complete 
 the whole; while Gottfried Arnold, the celebrated Lu 
 theran theologian and librarian to Frederick I., king of 
 Prussia, mentions that the great Reformer valued the 
 Fables of ^Esop next after the Holy Scriptures. In 
 1546 A.D. the second printed edition of the collection of 
 the Fables made by Planudes, was issued from the 
 printing-press of Robert Stephens, in which were inserted 
 some additional fables from a MS. in the Bibiiotheque 
 du Roy at Paris. 
 
 * For an account of this work see the Life of Poggio Bracciolini, 
 by the Rev. William Shepherd. Liverpool, 1801. 
 
xvi Preface. 
 
 The greatest advance, however, towards a re-Introduc 
 tion of the Fables of ^Esop to a place in the literature 
 of the world, was made in the early part of the seven- 
 teenth 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 
 ^Esopica." This was a noble effort to do honour to the 
 great fabulist, and was the most perfect collection of 
 ^sopian fables ever yet published. It consisted, in 
 addition to the collection of fables given by Planudes 
 and reprinted in the various earlier editions, of one 
 hundred and thirty-six new fables (never before pub 
 lished) from MSS. in the Library of the Vatican, of 
 forty fables attributed to Aphthonius, and of forty-three 
 from Babrias. It also contained the Latin versions 
 of the same fables by Phsedrus, Avienus, and other 
 authors. This volume of Nevelet forms a complete 
 " Corpus Fabularum ./Esopicarum j " and to his labours 
 yEsop owes his restoration to universal favour as one 
 of the wise moralists and great teachers of mankind 
 During the interval of three centuries which has elapsed 
 since the publication of this volume of Nevelet's, no 
 book, with the exception of the Holy Scriptures, has 
 had a wider circulation than ^Esop's Fables. They 
 have been translated into the greater number of the 
 languages both of Europe and of the East, and have 
 been read, and will be read, for generations, alike by 
 Jew, Heathen, Mahommedan, and Christian. They are y 
 at the present time, not only engrafted into the litera 
 ture of the civilized world, but are familiar as house- 
 
Preface. xvii 
 
 hold words in the common intercourse and daily con 
 versation of the inhabitants of all countries. 
 
 This collection of Nevelet's is the great culminating 
 point in the history of the revival of the fame and 
 reputation of ^Esopian Fables. It is remarkable, also, 
 as containing in its preface the germ of an idea, which 
 has been since proved to have been correct by a stran e 
 chain of circumstances. Nevelet intimates an opinion 
 that a writer named Babrias would be found to be the 
 veritable author of the existing form of ^Esopian Fables. 
 This intimation has since 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 ^Esop in connexion with the writings that bear his 
 name. 
 
 The history of Babrias is so strange and interesting, 
 that it might not unfitly be enumerated among the 
 curiosities of literature. He is generally supposed to 
 have been a Greek of Asia Minor, of one of the Ionic 
 Colonies, but the exact period in which he lived and 
 wrote is yet unsettled. He is placed, by one critic,* 
 as far back as the institution of the Achaian League, 
 B.C. 250; by another as late as the Emperor Severus, 
 who died A.D. 235 ; while others make him a contem 
 porary with Phaedrus in the time of Augustus. At 
 whatever time he wrote his version of -^Esop, by some 
 strange accident it seems to have entirely disappeared, 
 and to have been lost sight of. His name" is mentioned 
 
 * Professor Theodore Bergh. See Classical Museum, No. viii. 
 July, 1849. 
 
xviii Preface. 
 
 by Avienus ; by Suidas, a celebrated critic, at the close 
 of the eleventh century, who gives in his lexicon several 
 isolated verses of his version of the fables ; and by John 
 Tzetzes, a grammarian and poet of Constantinople, 
 who lived during the latter half of the twelfth century. 
 Nevelet, in the preface to the volume which we have 
 described, points out that the Fables of Planudes could 
 not be the work of ^Esop, as they contain a reference 
 in two places to " Holy Monks/' and gives a verse from 
 the Epistle of St. James as an "Epimith" to one 
 of the fables, and suggests Babrias as their author. 
 Francis Vavassor,* a learned French Jesuit, entered at 
 greater length on this subject, and produced further 
 proofs from internal evidence, from the use of the word 
 Piraeus in describing the harbour of Athens, a name 
 which was not given till two hundred years after ^Esop, 
 and from the introduction of other modern words, that 
 many of these fables must have been at least committed 
 to writing posterior to the time of ^Esop, and more 
 boldly suggests Babrias as their author or collector.! 
 
 * Vavassor's treatise, entitled " De Ludicra Dictione," was 
 written A.D. 1658, at the request of the celebrated M. Bal/.ac 
 (though published after his death), for the purpose of showing that 
 the burlesque style of writing adopted by Scarron and D'Assouci, 
 and at that time so popular in France, had no sanction from the 
 ancient classic writers. Francisci Vavassoris opera onmia. Am 
 sterdam, 1709. 
 
 t The claims of Babrias also found a warm advocate in the 
 learned Frenchman, M. Bayle, who, in his admirable Dictionary 
 (Dictionnaire Historique et Critique de Pierre Bayle. Paris, 1820), 
 gives additional arguments in confirmation of the opinions of his 
 learned predecessors, Nevelet and Vavassor. 
 
Preface. xix 
 
 These various references to Babrias induced Dr. Richard 
 Bentley, at the close of the seventeenth century, to 
 examine more minutely the existing versions of ^sop's 
 Fables, and he maintained that many of them could, 
 with a slight change of words, be resolved into the 
 Scazonic* iambics, in which Babrias is known to have 
 written: and, with a greater freedom than the evidence 
 then justified, he put forth, in behalf of Babrias, a claim 
 to the exclusive authorship of these fables. Such a 
 seemingly extravagant theory, thus roundly asserted, 
 excited much opposition. Dr. Bentleyf met with an 
 able antagonist in a member of the University of 
 Oxford, the Hon. Mr. Charles Boyle, J afterwards Earl 
 of Orrery. Their letters and disputations on this sub 
 ject, enlivened on both sides with much wit and learning, 
 will ever bear a conspicuous place in 'the literary history 
 of the seventeenth century. The arguments of Dr. 
 Bentley were yet further defended a few years later by 
 Mr. Thomas Tyrwhitt, a well-read scholar, who gave up 
 high civil distinctions that he might devote himself the 
 more unreservedly to literary pursuits. Mr. Tyrwhitt 
 published, A.D. 1776, a Dissertation on Babrias, and a 
 
 * Scazonic, or halting, iambics ; a choliambic (a lame, halt 
 ing iambic) differs from the iambic Senarius in always having a 
 spondee or trochee for its last foot ; the fifth foot, to avoid short 
 ness of metre, being generally an iambic. See Fables of Babrias, 
 translated by Rev. James Davies. Lockwood, 1860. Preface, 
 p. 27. 
 
 f See Dr. Bentley's Dissertations upon the Epistles of Phalaris. 
 
 $ Dr. Bentley's Dissertations on the Epistles of Phalaris, 
 and Fables of ^Esop examined. By the Honourable Charles 
 Boyle. 
 
xx Preface. 
 
 collection of his fables m choliambic metre found in 
 a MS. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Francesco de 
 Furia, a learned Italian, contributed further testimony 
 to the correctness of the supposition that Babrias had 
 made a veritable collection of fables by printing from a 
 MS. contained in the Vatican library several fables never 
 before published. In the year 1844, however, new and 
 unexpected light was thrown upon this subject. A verit 
 able copy of Babrias was found in a manner as singular 
 as were the MSS. of Quinctilian's Institutes, and of 
 Cicero's Orations by Poggio in the monastery of St. Gall, 
 A.D. 1416. M. Menoides, at the suggestion of M. Ville- 
 main, Minister of Public Instruction to King Louis 
 Philippe, had been entrusted with a commission to 
 search for ancient MSS., and m carrying out his instruc 
 tions he found a 'MS. at the convent of St. Laura, on 
 Mount Athos, which proved to be a copy of the long- 
 suspected and wished-for choliambic version of Babrias. 
 This MS. was found to be divided into two books, the 
 one containing a hundred and twenty-five, and the other 
 ninety-five fables. This discovery attracted very general 
 attention, not only as confirming, in a singular manner, 
 the conjectures so boldly made by a long chain of critics, 
 but as bringing to light valuable literary treasures tend 
 ing to establish the reputation, and to confirm the 
 antiquity and authenticity of the great mass of ^Esopian 
 Fable. The Fables thus recovered were soon published. 
 They found a most worthy editor in the late distinguished 
 Sir George Cornewall Lewis, and a translator equally 
 qualified for his task, in the Reverend James Davies, 
 
Preface. xxi 
 
 M.A., sometime a scholar of Lincoln College, Oxford, 
 and himself a relation of their English editor. Thus, 
 after an eclipse of many centuries, Babrias shines out as 
 the earliest and most rMiabla collector of veritable 
 ^Esopian Fables. 
 
 Having thus given a complete synopsis of the origin, 
 descent, and history of these fables, it only remains to 
 explain the reasons which have induced the Publishers 
 to prepare a new edition ot ^Esop, and to state the 
 grounds on which they hope to establish a claim for 
 support and public approval in their undertaking. They 
 boldly assert that the new light thrown upon these tables 
 by the discovery of the metrical version by Babrias, 
 renders a new translation an inevitable necessity. The 
 two chief existing English versions of ^Esop are those by 
 Archdeacon Croxall, and by the late Rev. Thomas 
 James, canon of Peterborough. The first of these 
 deviates so very far from the text, that it degenerates 
 into a parody. The fables are so padded, diluted, and 
 altered, as to give very little idea to the reader either of 
 the terseness or the meaning of the original. The second 
 of these is an improvement on its predecessor, but Mr. 
 James, either out of compliance with the wishes of the 
 publishers, or in condescension to the taste prevalent 
 some twenty years ago, has so freely introduced as the 
 point of the fable conventional English sayings which 
 are not sanctioned by the Greek, and which in many 
 instances are scarcely equivalent to it, that his version 
 frequently approaches a paraphrase rather than a 
 translation. 
 
xx ii Preface. 
 
 The Publishers therefore ground their first claim for 
 public approval on the necessity of a new translation. 
 They trust further that their present work will have met 
 that necessity in a satisfactory manner. They have 
 sought to give as nearly a literal translation as possible 
 of the Greek text ; and they hope that if the reader 
 should miss the smoothness and thoroughly English 
 tone which characterized the previous version of these 
 fables, he will be more than repaid by gaining a nearer 
 approach to the spirit, thoughts, and (in some cases) to 
 the epigrammatic terseness of the original. The Pub 
 lishers trust to vindicate, on another ground, their claims 
 to a share of public patronage. They have inserted a 
 hundred new fables, and they have the satisfaction of 
 knowing that this edition, on which they have spared no 
 pains nor cost, will afford a larger choice, and greater 
 variety, to the numerous and increasing circle of the 
 admirers of ^Esopian Fables. Whatever be the result 
 of their labours, they will be content to have contributed 
 towards promoting a wider acquaintance with fables, 
 the wisdom, excellency, and wonderful suitableness of 
 which to every condition of humanity has been attested 
 and confirmed by the experience of so many genera 
 tions ; and which in all ages, amidst the ever changing 
 fluctuations of human opinion, are adapted alike to 
 amuse the young, and to instruct the thoughtful, and are 
 well fitted to teach all who study them lessons useful 
 for their guidance in every position of political, social, 
 civil, or domestic life. 
 
 The Editor must claim the privilege of adding a few 
 
Preface. xxiii 
 
 tvords on a matter personal to himself. He has already 
 within the last few months been connected with one 
 edition of /Esop, and it may seem strange that he 
 should be willing to undertake the superintendence 
 of another. His answer is, that the two works on 
 which he has been engaged were totally distinct, and 
 entirely independent of each other. The first was a 
 request to furnish new morals and applications to a 
 definite number of fables; the other was a commis 
 sion to add a large number of additional fables and 
 to make a wholly new translation. The necessity of 
 a new and improved translation the Editor then re 
 cognized, and would have willingly undertaken. It 
 was a wish he had much at heart, and when the pro 
 posal was voluntarily made to him by the present 
 Publishers, to undertake the task of a new translation 
 of an enlarged number of ^Esop's Fables, he saw no 
 reason for refusing the offer because of his prior dis 
 charge of a totally different design; and he resolved to 
 comply with the request submitted to him, and to do 
 his best towards the attainment of so desirable an 
 object as a purer translation and more literal rendering 
 of fables so justly celebrated. 
 
 The following are the sources from which the present 
 translation has been prepared : 
 
 Babrii Fabulne yEsopese. George Cornewall Lewis. Oxford, 
 1846. 
 
 Babrii Fabulae /Esopese. E codice manuscripto partem 
 secundam edidit. George Cornewall Lewis. London: Parker, 
 1857- 
 
xxiv 
 
 Preface. 
 
 Mythologica ^Esopica. Opera et studia Isaac! Nicholai Neve- 
 leti. Frankfort, 1610. 
 
 Fabube ^sopiacse, qnales ante Planudem ferebantur cura et 
 studio Francisci de Furia. Lipsioe, 1810. 
 
 AtVwTretwi' M.vduv Zvvayuyri. Ex recbgnitione Caroli HalmiL 
 Lipsioe, 1851. 
 
 vlri Fabuloe Esopise. Delphin. Classics. 1822. 
 
LIFE OF 
 
 THE Life and History of ysop is involved, like that o( 
 Homer, the most famous of Greek poets, in much 
 obscurity. Sardis, the capital of Lydia; Samos, a Greek 
 island ; Mesembria, an ancient colony in Thrace ; and 
 Cotiaeum, the chief city of a province of Phrygia, con 
 tend for the distinction of being the birthplace of ^Esop. 
 Although the honour thus claimed cannot be definitely 
 assigned to any one of these places, yet there are a 
 few incidents now generally accepted by scholars as 
 established facts, relating to the birth, life, and death of 
 ^Esop. He is, by an almost universal consent, allowed 
 to have been born about the year 620 B.C., and to have 
 been by birth a slave. He was owned by two masters 
 in succession, both inhabitants of Samos, Xanthus and 
 Jadmon, the latter of whom gave him his liberty as a 
 reward for his learning and wit. One of the privileges 
 of a freedman in the ancient republics of Greece, was 
 the permission to take an active interest in public affairs ; 
 and ^Esop, like the philosophers Phaedo, Menippus, and 
 Epictetus, in later times, raised himself from the indignity 
 
xxvi The Life of 
 
 of a servile condition to a position of high renown. In 
 his desire alike to instruct and to be instructed, he 
 travelled through many countries, ojid among others 
 came to Sardis, the capital of the famous king of Lydia, 
 the great patron, in that day, of learning and of learned 
 men. He met at the court of Croesus with Solon, 
 Thales, and other sages, and is related so to have 
 pleased his royal master by the part he took in the 
 conversations held with these philosophers, that he 
 applied to him an expression which has since passed 
 into a proverb, " juaAAov 6 $pd" " The Phrygian 
 has spoken better than all." 
 
 On the invitation of Croesus he fixed his residence at 
 Sardis, and was employed by that monarch in various 
 difficult and delicate affairs of State. In his discharge 
 of these commissions he visited the different petty re 
 publics of Greece. 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 the inhabitants 
 of those cities to the administration of their respective 
 rulers, Periander and Pisistratus. One of these ambas 
 sadorial missions, undertaken at the command of Croesus, 
 was the occasion of his death. Having been sent to 
 Delphi with a large sum of gold for distribution among 
 the citizens, he was so provoked at their covetousness 
 that he refused to divide the money, and sent it back to 
 his master. The Delphians, enraged at this treatment, 
 accused him of impiety, and, in spite of his sacred 
 character as ambassador, executed him as a public 
 criminal. This cruel death of ^Esop was not unavenged. 
 
The Life of ALsop. xxvii 
 
 The citizens of Delphi were visited with a series of 
 calamities, until they made a public reparation of their 
 crime ; and " the blood of y'Esop " 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 erected to his memory at Athens, the work of 
 Lysippus, one of the most famous of Greek sculptors. 
 Phaedrus thus immortalizes the event : 
 
 ./Esopo ingentem sta'umn posuere Attici, 
 Servumque collocarunt seterna in basi : 
 Patere honoris scirent ut cuncti viam ; 
 Nee generi tribui sed virtuti gloriam. 
 
 These few facts are all that can be relied on with 
 any degree of certainty, in reference to the birth, life, 
 and death of ^Esop. They were first brought to light, 
 after a patient search and diligent perusal of ancient 
 authors, by a Frenchman, M. Claude Gaspard Bachet 
 de Mezeriac, who declined the honour of being tutor to 
 Louis XIII. of France from his desire to devote him 
 self exclusively to literature. He published his Life of 
 ^Esop, Anno Domini 1632. The later investigations of 
 a host of English and German scholars have added very 
 little to the facts given by M. Mezeriac. The substan 
 tial truth of his statements has been confirmed by later 
 criticism and inquiry. It remains to state that, prior to 
 this publication of M. Mezeriac, the life of yEsop was 
 from the pen of Maximus Planudes, a monk of Constan 
 tinople, who was sent on an embassy to Venice by the 
 Byzantine Emperor Andronicus the elder, and who 
 
xxviii The Life of A? sop. 
 
 wrote in the early part of the fourteenth century. Hi^ 
 life was prefixed to all the early editions of these fables, 
 and was republished as late as 1727 by Archdeacon 
 Croxall as the introduction to his edition ot ^Esop. 
 This life by Planudes contains, however, so small an 
 amount of truth, and is so full of absurd pictures of the 
 grotesque deformity of -^sop, of wondrous apocryphal 
 stories, of lying legends, and gross anachronisms, that it 
 is now universally condemned as false, puerile, and 
 unauthentic.'* It is given up in the present day, by 
 general consent, as unworthy of the slightest credit. 
 
 * M. Bayle thus characterises this Life of ysop by Planudes, 
 "Tous les habiles gens conviennent que c'est un roman, et que les 
 absurditcs grossieres qui Ton y trouve le rendent indigne de toute 
 creance. "Dictionnaire Historique. Art Esopc. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGH 
 Ihe Lion and the Mouse 31 
 
 Wolf and the Crane 33 
 
 Cock and the Jewel -35 
 
 Hare and the Tortoise ...... 37 
 
 Dog and the Shadow 39 
 
 Fawn and his Mother ...... 41 
 
 Dog in the Manger . ... . 47 
 
 Frogs asking for a King ...... 53 
 
 Horse and Groom ........ 55 
 
 Mischievous Dog . 59 
 
 Sick Stag 61 
 
 Vain Jackdaw ........ 63 
 
 Ox and the Frog . . . . . . -65 
 
 Vine and the Goat ....... 69 
 
 Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk . . . -74 
 
 Stag in the Ox-stall . . .... 78 
 
 Eagle and the Arrow . , . . . . .81 
 
 One-eyed Doe . . ... . . . 83 
 
 Wolf and the House-Dog 87 
 
 Old Hound 89 
 
 Fox and the Woodcutter 93 
 
 Wolf and the Lion 95 
 
 Hares and the Frogs -97 
 
 Camel and the A.rab IOI 
 
 Cat and the Mice . . 103 
 
 Lion, the Bear, and the Fox ..... 107 
 Fox and the Leopard .109 
 
xxx List of Illustrations. 
 
 The Bull and the Goat P IU 
 
 Hare and the Hound . 113 
 
 Fox and the Hedgehog 119 
 
 Mule f 12-7 
 
 Crow and the Pitcher 125 
 
 The Hart and the Vine 127 
 
 The Kid and the Wolf I29 
 
 The Thief and the House- Dog . . . . .133 
 Fox and the Lion . 135 
 
 Wolf and the Shepherd 137 
 
 Lark and her Young Ones . . . . 139 
 
 Ass and the Wolf . . . . , . . .- 141 
 
 Fox and the Mask . . . . . . 143 
 
 Lion and the Three Bulls ...... 145 
 
 Town Mouse and the Country Moube . . . 147 
 
 Wolf and the Horse . . . . . . .151 
 
 Quack Frog 153 
 
 Ass in the Lion's Skin . . . . . . .159 
 
 Dove and the Crow ....... 161 
 
 Eagle and the Jackdaw . . . . . . 1 63 
 
 Dogs and the Hides . . 167 
 
 Lion and the Fox 171 
 
 Ass and the Charger . . 176 
 
THE 
 
 FABLES OF ^ESOP. 
 
 THE LION AND THE MOUSE. 
 
 A LION was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running 
 over his face. Rising up in anger, he caught him and 
 was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously 
 entreated, saying : " If you would only spare my life, 
 I would be sure to repay your kindness." The Lion 
 laughed and let him go. It happened shortly after this 
 that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound 
 
3-^ The Fables of 
 
 him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, re- 
 cognizing his roar, came up, and gnawed the rope with 
 his teeth, and setting him free, exc'aimed : " You ridi 
 culed the idea of my ever being able to help you, not 
 expecting to receive from me any repayment of your 
 favour; but now you know that it is possible for even a 
 Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion." 
 
 THE IVOLF AND THE LAMB. 
 
 A WOLF meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, 
 resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find 
 some plea, which should justify to the Lamb himself his 
 right to eat 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 milk is both food and 
 drink to me." On which the Wolf seized him, and ate 
 him up, saying, " WeU ! I won't remain supperless, even 
 though you refute every one of my 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 they 
 lived on, to give them such beautiful voices. They 
 replied, "The dew." The Ass resolved that he would 
 only live upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger. 
 
THE WOLF AND THE CRANE. 
 
 A WOLF, having a bone stuck in his throat, hired a 
 Crane, for a large sum, to put her head into his throat, and 
 draw out the bone. When the Crane had extracted the 
 bone, and demanded the promised payment, the Wolf, 
 grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed : " Why, you 
 have surely already a sufficient recompense, in having 
 been permitted to draw out your head in safety from the 
 mouth and jaws of a wolf." 
 
 In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be 
 thankful if you escape injury for your pains. 
 
 
 
34 The Fables of 
 
 THE FA THER AND HIS SONS. 
 
 A FATHER had a family of sons who were perpetually 
 quarrelling among themselves. When he failed to heal 
 their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to 
 give them a practical illustration of the evils of dis 
 union ; and for this purpose he one day told them to 
 bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, 
 he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them 
 in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. 
 They each tried with all their strength, and were not 
 able to do it. He next unclosed the faggot, and took 
 the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them 
 into their hands, on which they broke them easily. He 
 then addressed them in these words : " My sons, if you 
 are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you 
 will be as this faggot, uninjured by all the attempts of 
 your enemies ; but if you are divided among yourselves, 
 you will be broken as easily as these sticks." 
 
 THE BAT AND THE WEASELS. 
 
 A BAT falling upon the ground was caught by a Weasel, 
 of whom he earnestly besought his life. The Weasel re 
 fused, saying, that he was by nature the enemy of all 
 birds. The Bat assured him that he was not a bird, but 
 a mouse, and thus saved his life. Shortly afterwards the 
 Bat again fell on the ground, and was caught by another 
 Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. 
 The Weasel said that he had a special hostility to mice. 
 The Bat assured him that he was not a mouse, but a 
 bat ; and thus a second time escaped. 
 
 It is wise to turn circumsf^res to good account. 
 
THE COCK AND THE JEWEL. 
 
 A COCK, scratching for food for himself and his hens, 
 found a precious stone ; on which he said : " If your 
 ouner had found thee, and not I, he would have taken 
 thee up, and have set thee in thy first estate ; but I have 
 found thee for no purpose. 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 an end to the dispute by 
 saying : " Your feathers are all very well in the spring, 
 but mine protect me against the winter." 
 Fine weather friends are not worth much. 
 
3$ The Fables of 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF THE LION. 
 
 THE bea.sts of the field and forest had a Lion as their 
 king. He was neither wrathful, cruel, nor tyrannical, but 
 just and gentle as a king could be. He made during his 
 reign a royal proclamation for a general assembly of all 
 the birds and beasts, and drew up conditions for an uni 
 versal league, in which the Wolf and the Lamb, the 
 Panther and the Kid, the Tiger and the Stag, the Dog and 
 the Hare, should live together in perfect peace and amity. 
 The Hare said, " Oh, how I have longed to see this day, 
 in which the weak shall take their place with impunity by 
 the side of the strong." ______ 
 
 THE TRA VELLER AND HIS DOG. 
 
 A TRAVELLER, about to set out on his journey, saw his 
 Dog stand at the door stretching himself. He asked 
 him sharply : " What do you stand gaping there for ? 
 Everything is ready but you; so come with me instantly." 
 The Dog, wagging his tail, replied : " O, master ! I am 
 quite ready ; it is you for whom I am waiting." 
 
 The loiterer often imputes delay to his more active 
 friend. 
 
 THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER. 
 
 THE Ants were employing a fine winter's day in drying 
 grain collected in the summer time. A Grasshopper, 
 perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged 
 for a little food. The Ants enquired of him, " Why did 
 you not treasure up food during the summer? " He re 
 plied, " I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in 
 singing." They then said in derision : " If you were 
 foolish enough to sing 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. The latter, laughing, said : " Though 
 you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." 
 The Hare, deeming her assertion to be simply impossible, 
 assented to the proposal ; and they agreed that the Fox 
 should choose the course, and fix the goal. On the day 
 appointed for the race they started together. The 
 Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with 
 a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. 
 The Hare, trusting to his native swiftness, cared little 
 about the race, and lyiug down by the wayside, fell fast 
 asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he 
 could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and wa c , 
 comfoitably dozing after her fatigue. 
 
38 The Fables of A? sop. 
 
 THE CHARCOAL-BURNER AND THE FULLER. 
 
 A CHARCOAL-BURNER carried on his trade in his own 
 house. One day he met a friend, a Fuller, and entreated 
 him to come and live with him, saying, that they should 
 be far better neighbours, and that their housekeeping ex 
 penses would be lessened. The fuller replied, "The 
 arrangement is impossible as far as I am concerned, for 
 whatever I should whiten, you would immediately blacken 
 again with your charcoal.'' 
 Like will draw like. 
 
 THE BOY HUNTING LOCUSTS. 
 
 A BOY was hunting for locusts. He had caught a goodly 
 aumber, when he saw a Scorpion, and, mistaking him for 
 a locust, reached out his hand to take him. The Scorpion, 
 showing his sting, said : " Jf you had but touched me, 
 my friend, you would have lost me, and all your locusts 
 oo 1" 
 
 THE FISHERMAN PIPING. 
 
 A FISHERMAN skilled in music took his flute and his 
 acts to the sea-shore. Standing on a projecting rock he 
 played several tunes, in the hope that the fish, 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 aside his 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 most perverse creatures, when I piped 
 you would not dance, but now that I have ceased 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, saw his own shadow in the water, and 
 took it for that of another Dog, with a piece of meat 
 double his own in size. He therefore let go his own, 
 and fiercely attacked 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 WAGGONER. 
 
 A CARTER was driving a waggon along a country lane, 
 when the wheels sank down deep into a rut. The rustic 
 driver, stupefied and aghast, stood looking at the waggon, 
 
40 The Fables of 
 
 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 to the wheels, my 
 man. Goad on your bullocks, and never more pray to 
 me for help, until you have done your best to help your 
 self, or depend upon it you will henceforth pray in vain." 
 Self-help is the best help. 
 
 THE MOLE AND HJS MOTPIER. 
 
 A MOLE, a creature blind from its birth, once said to his 
 mother : "I am sure that I can see, mother ! " In the 
 desire to prove to him his mistake, his mother placed 
 before him a few grains of frankincense, and asked, 
 " What is it ? " The young Mole said, " It is a pebble." 
 His mother exclaimed : " My son, I am afraid that you 
 are not only blind, but that you have lost your sense of 
 smell." 
 
 THE HERDSMAN AND THE LOST BULL. 
 
 A HERDSMAN tending kine in a forest, lost a Bull calf 
 from the fold. After a long and fruitless search, he made 
 a vow that, if he could only discover the thief 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 he ascended 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 I could only find out who had 
 robbed me ; but now that I have discovered the thief, I 
 would willingly add a full-grown Bull to the Calf I have 
 lost, if I may only secure mv own escape from him in 
 safety." 
 
FA WN 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, too, your horns as a defence ; why, then, 
 Mother ! are you always in such a terrible fright of the 
 hounds ?" She smiled, and said : " I know full well, my 
 son, that all you say is true. I have the advantages you 
 mention, but yet when I hear only the bark of a single 
 dog I feel ready to faint, and fly away as 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 mutual protection, went out into the 
 
42 The Fables of sEsop. 
 
 forest to hunt. They had not proceeded far, when they 
 met a Lion. The Fox, seeing the imminency of the 
 danger, approached the Lion, and promised to contrive 
 for him the capture of the Ass, if he would pledge his 
 word that his own life should not be endangered. On 
 his assuring him that he would not injure him, the Fox 
 led the Ass to a deep pit, and contrived that he should 
 fall into it. The Lion seeing that the Ass was secured, 
 immediately clutched the Fox, and then attacked the Ass 
 at his leisure. 
 
 THE FLIES AND THE HONEY POT. 
 
 A JAR of Honey having been upset in a housekeeper's 
 room, a number of flies were attracted by its sweetness, 
 and placing their feet in it, ate it 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, they ex 
 claimed, " O foolish creatures that we are, for the sake of 
 a little pleasure we have destroyed ourselves." 
 Pleasure bought with pains, hurts. 
 
 THE LIONESS. 
 
 A CONTROVERSY prevailed among the beasts of the field, 
 as to which of the animals deserved the most credit for 
 producing the greatest number of whelps at a birth. 
 They rushed clamorously into the presence of the Lioness 
 and demanded of her the settlement of the dispute, 
 " And you," they said, " how many sons have you at a 
 birth ? " The Lioness laughed at them, and said : 
 " Why ! I have only one ; but that one is altogether a 
 thorough-bred Lion." 
 
 The value is in the worth, not in the number. 
 
The Fables of SEsop. 43 
 
 THE FARMER AND THE SNAKE. 
 
 A FARMER found in the winter time a Snake stiff and 
 frozen with cold. He had compassion on it, and taking 
 it up placed it in his bosom. The Snake on being 
 thawed by the warmth quickly revived, when, resuming 
 its natural instincts, he bit his benefactor, inflicting on 
 him a mortal wound. The Farmer said with his latest 
 breath, " I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel ! " 
 The greatest benefits will not bind the ungrateful. 
 
 THE MAN AND THE LION. 
 
 A MAN and a lion travelled together through the forest. 
 They soon began to boast of their respective superiority 
 to each other in strength and prowess. As they were dis 
 puting, they passed a statue, carved in stone, which re 
 presented " a Lion strangled by a Man." The traveller 
 pointed to it and said : " See there ! How strong we are, 
 and how we prevail over even the king of beasts." The 
 Lion replied : " That statue was made by one of you men. 
 If we Lions knew how to erect statues, 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 neighbouring hedge lifted up 
 its voice, and said in a boastful tone : " Pray, my dear 
 friends, in my presence at least cease from such vain 
 disputings." 
 
44 The Fables of ^Esop. 
 
 THE FARMER AND THE STORK. 4 
 
 A FARMER placed nets on his newly-sown plough lands, 
 and caught a quantity of Cranes, which came to pick up 
 his seed. With them he trapped a Stork also. The 
 Stork having his leg fractured by the net, earnestly be 
 sought the Farmer to spare his life. "Pray, save me, 
 Master/' he said, u and let me go free this once. My 
 broken limb should excite your pity. Besides, I am no 
 Crane, I am a Stork, a bird of excellent character ; and 
 see how I love and slave for my father and mother. Look 
 too, at my feathers, they are not the least like to those of 
 a Crane." The Farmer laughed aloud, and said, " It may 
 be all as you say ; I only know this, I have taken you 
 with these robbers, the Cranes, and you must die in their 
 company." 
 
 Birds of a feather flock together. 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN IN LABOUR. 
 
 A MOUNTAIN was once greatly agitated. Loud groans 
 and noises were heard ; and crowds of people came from 
 all parts to see what was the matter. While they were 
 assembled in anxious expectation of some terrible cala 
 mity, out came a Mouse. 
 
 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 was the most tender in his regard 
 for man, for he had such respect for him, that he would 
 not even touch his dead body." A Fox hearing these 
 words said with a smile to the Bear, "Oh ! that you would 
 eat the dead and not the living." 
 
Ttie Fables of A? sop. 45 
 
 THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE. 
 A TORTOISE, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the 
 sea-birds of her hard fate, that no one would teach her 
 to fly. An Eagle hovering near, heard her lamentation, 
 and demanded what reward she would give him, if he 
 would take her aloft, and float her in the air. " I will 
 give you," she said, "all the riches of the Red Sea." " I 
 will teach you to fly then," said the Eagle ; and taking 
 her up in his talons, he carried her almost to the clouds, 
 when suddenly letting her go, she fell on a lofty 
 mountain, and dashed her shell to pieces. The Tortoise 
 exclaimed in the moment of death : " I have deserved 
 my present fate ; for what had I to do with wings and 
 clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the 
 earth?" 
 
 If men had all they wished, they would be often 
 ruined. 
 
 THE FOX AND THE GOAT. 
 
 A Fox having fallen into a deep well, was detained a 
 prisoner there, as he could find no means of escape. A 
 Goat, overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and, 
 seeing the Fox, enquired if the water was good. The 
 Fox, concealing his sad plight under a merry guise, in 
 dulged in a lavish praise of the water, saying it was 
 beyond measure excellent, and encouraged him to de 
 scend. The Goat, mindful only of his thirst, thought 
 lessly jumped down, when just as he quenched his thirst, 
 the Fox informed him of the difficulty they were both in, 
 and suggested a scheme for their common escape. " If," 
 said he, "you will place your fore-feet upon the wall, and 
 bend your head, I will run up your back and escape, and 
 will help you out afterwards." On the Goat readily as- 
 
46 The Fables of 
 
 senting to this second proposal, the Fox leapt upon his 
 back, and steadying himself with the Goat's horns, 
 reached in safety the mouth of the well, when he imme 
 diately made off as fast as he could. The Goat upbraided 
 him with the breach of his bargain, when he turned round 
 and cried out : " Yon foolish old fellow ! If you had as 
 many brains in your head as you have hairs in your 
 beard, you would never have gone down before you had 
 inspected the way up, nor have exposed yourself to dan 
 gers from which 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 
 a like beauty of plumage. Supposing that his splendid 
 white colour arose from his washing in the water in which 
 he swam, the Raven left the altars in the neighbourhood 
 of which he picked up his living, and took up his abode 
 in the lakes and pools. But cleansing his feathers as 
 often as he would, he could not change their colour, 
 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 a sign-board. Not supposing it to 
 be only a picture, she flew towards it with a loud whirr, 
 and unwittingly dashed against the sign-board and jarred 
 herself terribly. Having broken her wings by the blow, 
 she fell to the ground, and was caught by one of the 
 bystanders. 
 
 Zeal should not outrun discretion. 
 
THE DOG IN THE MANGER. 
 
 A DOG lay in a manger, and by his growl ing and snapping 
 prevented the oxen from eating the hay which had been 
 placed for them. " What a selfish Dog ! " said one of 
 them to his companions j " he cannot eat the hay him 
 self, and yet refuses to allow those to eat who can." 
 
 7 HE OXEN AND THE AXLE-TREES. 
 
 A HEAVY waggon was being dragged along a country lane 
 by a team of oxen. The axle-trees groaned and creaked 
 terribly : when the oxen turning round, thus addressed 
 the wheels. " Hullo there ! why do you make so much 
 noise ? We bear all the labour, and we, not you, ought 
 to cry out." 
 
 Those who suffer most cry out the least. 
 
4$ The Fables of 
 
 THE FARMER AND THE CRANES. 
 SOME Cranes made their feeding grounds on some plough 
 lands newly sown with wheat. For a long time the 
 Farmer, brandishing an empty^ sling, chased them away 
 by the terror he inspired ; but when the birds found that 
 the sling was only swung in the 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. They at once forsook his plough-lands, 
 and cried to each other, " It is time for us to be off to 
 Liliput : for this man is no longer content to scare us, 
 but begins to show us in earnest what he can do." 
 If words suffice not, blows must follow. 
 
 THE SICK LION. 
 
 A LION being unable from old age and infirmities to 
 provide himself with food by force, resolved to do so by 
 artifice. He betook himself to his den, and lying down 
 there, pretended to be sick, taking care that his sickness 
 should be publicly known. The beasts expressed their 
 sorrow, and came one by one to his den to visit him, 
 when the Lion devoured them. After many of the beasts 
 had thus disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick, and 
 presenting himself to the Lion, stood on the outside of 
 the cave, at a respectful distance, and asked of him how 
 he did; to whom he replied, ' I am very middling, but 
 why do you stand without? pray enter within to talk 
 with me." The Fox replied, " No, thank you, I notice 
 that there are many prints of feet entering your cave, but 
 1 see no trace of any returning." 
 
 He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes ol 
 others. 
 
The Fables of jEsop. ' ^ 
 
 THE BEAR AND THE TWO TRAVELLERS. 
 
 Two men were travelling together, when a Bear suddenly 
 met them on their path. One of them climbed up 
 quickly into a tree, and concealed himself in the branches. 
 The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on 
 ihe ground, and when the Bear came up and felt him 
 with his enout, 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 he was quite gone the 
 other traveller descended from the tree, and accosting 
 his friend, jocularly inquired " what it was the Bear had 
 whispered in his ear ? " He replied, " He gave me this 
 advice : Never travel with a friend who deserts you at 
 the approach of danger." 
 
 Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends. 
 
 THE FOX WHO HAD LOST ///.9 TAIL. 
 
 A Fox caught in a trap, escaped with the loss of his 
 " brush." Henceforth feeling his life a burden from the 
 shame and ridicule to which he was exposed, he schemed 
 to bring all the other Foxes into a like condition with 
 himself, that in the common Joss he might the better 
 conceal his own deprivation. He assembled a good 
 many Foxes, and publicly advised them to cut off their 
 tails, saying "that they would not only look much 
 better without them, but that they would get rid of the 
 weight of the brush, which was a very great incon 
 venience." One of them interrupting him said, " If you 
 had not yourself los 4 , your tail, my friend, you would not 
 
 thus counsel us." 
 
 c 
 
5O The Fables of 
 
 THE CAT AND THE COCK. 
 
 A CAT caught a Cock, and took counsel with himself 
 how he might find a reasonable excuse for eating him. 
 He accused him as being a nuisance to men, by crowing 
 in the night time, and not permitting them to sleep. 
 The Cock defended himself by saying, that he did this 
 for the benefit of men, that they might rise betimes for 
 their labours. The Cat replied, "Although you abound 
 in specious apologies, I shall not 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 nature 
 by his habit, that so he might get food without stint. 
 Encased in the skin of a sheep, he pastured with the 
 flock, beguiling the shepherd by his artifice. In the 
 evening he was shut up by the shepherd in the fold ; the 
 gate was closed, and the entrance made thoroughly secure. 
 The shepherd coming into the fold during the night to 
 provide food for the morrow, caught up the Wolf, instead 
 of a sheep, and killed him with his knife in the fold. 
 Harm seek, harm find. 
 
 THE GOAT AND THE GOATHERD. 
 A GOATHERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to 
 his flock. He whistled and sounded his horn in vain ; 
 the straggler paid no attention to the summons. At last 
 the Goatherd threw a stone, and breaking its horn be 
 sought the Goat not to tell his master. The Goat replied, 
 " Why, you silly fellow, the horn will speak though I be 
 silent." 
 
 Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hidden, 
 
The Fables of 
 THE BOASTING TRAVELLER. 
 
 A MAN who had travelled in foreign lands, boasted very 
 much, on returning to his own country, of the -many 
 wonderful and heroic things he had done in the different 
 places he had visited. Among other things, he said that 
 when he was at Rhodes he had leaped to such a distance 
 that no man of his day could leap anywhere near him 
 and as to that, there were in Rhodes many persons who 
 saw him do it, and whom he could call as witnesses. 
 One of the bystanders interrupting him, said, " Now, my 
 good man, if this be all true there is no need of witnesses. 
 Suppose this to be Rhodes; and now for your leap." 
 
 THE LION IN LOVE. 
 
 A LION demanded the daughter of a woodcutter in mar 
 riage. The Father, unwilling to grant, and yet afraid to 
 refuse his request, hit upon this expedient to rid himself 
 of his importunities. He expressed his willingness to 
 accept him as the suitor of his daughter on one condition ; 
 that he should allow him to extract his teeth, and cut off 
 his claws, as his daughter was fearfully afraid of both. 
 The Lion cheerfully assented to the proposal : when how 
 ever he next repealed 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 took and buried in a hole dug in the 
 ground by the side of an old wall, and went daily to 
 look at it. One of his workmen, observing 'his frequent 
 visits to the snot, watched his movements, discovered 
 
, 2 The Fables of 
 
 the secret of the hidden treasure, and digging down, 
 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 
 neighbour, seeing him overcome with grief, and learning 
 the cause, said, " Pray do not grieve so ; but go ami 
 take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that 
 the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the 
 same service ; for when the gold was there, you had it 
 not, as you did not make the slightest use of it." 
 
 THE PORKER, THE SHEEP, AND THE GO A T. 
 
 A YOUNG Pig was shut up in a fold-yard with a Goat and 
 a Sheep. On one occasion the shepherd laid hold of him, 
 when he grunted, and squeaked, and resisted violently. 
 The Sheep and the Goat complained of his distressing 
 cries, and said, " He often handles us, and we do not cry 
 out." To this he replied, " Your handling 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 he could possibly hold, but when he 
 endeavoured to pull out his hand, he was prevented from 
 doing so by the neck of the pitcher. Unwilling to lose 
 his filberts, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst 
 into tears, and bitterly lamented his disappointment. A 
 bystander said to him, " Be satisfied with half the quan 
 tity, 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 Jupiter entreating for a King. He, per 
 ceiving their simplicity, case down a huge log into the 
 lake. The Frogs, terrified at the splash occasioned by 
 its fall, hid themselves in the depths of the pool. But 
 no sooner did they see that the huge log continued mo 
 tionless, than they swam again to the top of the water, 
 dismissed their fears, and came so to despise it as to 
 climb up, and to squat upon it. After some time they 
 began to think themselves ill-treated in the appointment 
 of so inert a Ruler, and sent a second deputation to 
 Jupiter to pray that he would set over them another 
 sovereign. He then gave them an Eel to govern them. 
 When the Frogs discovered his easy good-nature, they 
 yet a third time sent to Jupiter to beg that he would 
 
54 The Fables of ^Esop. 
 
 once more choose for them another King. Jupiter, dis 
 pleased at their complaints, sent a Heron, who preyed 
 upon the Frogs day by day till there were none left to 
 jroak upon the lake. 
 
 THE LABOURER AND THE SNAKE. 
 A SNAKE, having made his hole close to the porch of a 
 cottage, inflicted a severe bite on the Cottager's infant 
 son, of which he died, to the great grief of his parents. 
 Ths father resolved to kill the Snake, and the next day. 
 on its coming out of its hole for food, took up his axe ; 
 but, making too much haste to hit him as he wriggled 
 away, missed his head, and cut off only the end of his 
 tail. After some time the Cottager, afraid lest the Snake 
 should bite him also, endeavoured to make peace, and 
 placed some bread and salt in his hole. The Snake, 
 slightly hissing, said : " There can henceforth be no 
 peace between us ; for whenever I see you I shall re 
 member the loss of my tail, 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 
 asleen in his den. A Mouse ran over his mane and ears, 
 and woke him from his slumbers. He rose up and shook 
 himself in great wrath, and searched every corner of his 
 den to find the Mouse. A Fox seeing him, said : "A 
 fine Lion you are, to be frightened of a Mouse." " 'Tis 
 not the Mouse I fear," said the Lion ; " I resent his 
 familiarity and ill-breeding." 
 
 Little liberties are great offences. 
 
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 should groom me less, and feed me 
 more." 
 
 Honesty is the best policy. 
 
 THE ASS AND THE MULE. 
 
 A MULETEER set forth on a journey, driving before him 
 an Ass and a Mule, both well laden. The Ass, as long 
 as he travelled along the plain, carried his load with ease; 
 but when he begun to ascend the steep path of the 
 mountain, he felt his load to be more than he could 
 
$6 The Fables oj 
 
 bear. He entreated his companion to relieve him of a 
 small portion, that he might carry home the rest; but 
 the Mule paid no attention to the request. The Ass 
 shortly afterwards fell down dead under his burden. The 
 Muleteer, not knowing what else to do in so wild a 
 region, placed upon the Mule the load carried by the 
 Ass in addition to his own, and at the top of all placed 
 the hide of the Ass, after he had flayed him. The Mule, 
 groaning beneath his heavy burden, said thus to himself, 
 " I am treated according to my 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 LAP-DOG. 
 
 A MAN had an Ass, and a Maltese Lap-dog, a very 
 great beauty. The Ass was left in a stable, and had 
 plenty of oats and hay to eat, just as any other Ass 
 would. The Lap-dog knew many tricks, and was a 
 great favourite with his master, who often fondled him ; 
 and seldom went out to dine or to sup without bringing 
 him home some tid-bit to eat, when he frisked and jumped 
 about him in a manner pleasant to see. The Ass, on the 
 contrary, had much work to do, in grinding the corn- 
 mill, and in carrying wood from the forest or burdens 
 from the farm. He often lamented his own hard fate, 
 and contrasted it with the luxury and idleness of the 
 Lap-dog, till at last one day he broke his cords and 
 halter, and galloped into his master's house, kicking up 
 his heels without measure, and frisking and fawning as 
 well as he could. He next tried to jump about his 
 master as he had seen the Lap-dog do, but he broke the 
 table, and smashed all the dishes upon it to atoms. He 
 
The Fables of Alsop. 5; 
 
 then attempted to lick his master, and jumped upon his 
 back. The servants 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 clubs, and cuffs. The Ass, as he reiurned to his 
 stall beaten nearly to death, thus lamented : " I have 
 brought it all on myself ! Why could I not have been 
 contented to labour with my companions, and not wish 
 to be idle all the day like ihat useless little Lap-dog ! " 
 
 THE OXEN AND THE BUTCHERS. 
 
 THE Oxen once on a time sought to destroy the 
 Butchers, who practised a trade destructive to their race. 
 They assembled on a certain day to carry out their 
 purpose, and sharpened their horns for the contest. One 
 of them, an exceedingly old one (for many a field had he 
 ploughed), thus spoke : " These Butchers, it is true, 
 slaughter us, but they do so with skilful hands, and with 
 no unnecessary pain. If we get rid of them, we shall fall 
 into the hands of unskilful 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 WOLF. 
 
 A SHEPHERD-BOY, who watched a flock of sheep near a 
 tillage, brought out the villagers three or four times by 
 crying out, "Wolf! Wolf!" and when his neighbours 
 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 an agony of terror : 
 
5$ The Fables of 
 
 " 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, took it easily, and 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 beagn to pelt 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 is sport to you, is death to us." 
 
 THE SALT MERCHANT AND HJS ASS. 
 A PEDLAR, dealing in salt, drove his Ass to the sea-shore 
 to buy salt. His road home lay across a stream, in pass 
 ing which his Ass, making a false step, fell by accident 
 into the water, and rose up again with his load consider 
 ably lighter, as the water melted the salt. The Pedlar 
 retraced his steps, and refilled his panniers with a larger 
 quantity of salt than before. When he came again to the 
 stream, the Ass fell down on purpose in the same spot, 
 and, regaining his feet with the weight of his load much 
 diminished, brayed triumphantly as if he had obtained 
 what he desired. The Pedlar 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 play 
 ing the knave, when he reached the stream, fell down on 
 purpos?, when the sponges becoming swollen with the 
 water, his load was very greatly increased ; and thus his 
 trick recoiled on himself in fitting to his back a doubled 
 burden. 
 
THE MISCHIEVOUS DOG. 
 
 A DOG used to run up quietly to the heels of everyone he 
 met, and to bite them without notice. His master sus 
 pended a bell about his neck, that he might give notice 
 of his presence wherever he went. The Dog grew proud 
 of his bell, and went tinkling it all over the market-place. 
 An old hound said to him : " Why do you make such an 
 exhibition of yourself? That bell that you carry is not, 
 believe me, any order of merit, but, on the contrary, a 
 mark of disgrace, a public notice to all men to avoid 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 wild goats mingled among them, 
 
00 The Fables of 
 
 and shut them up together with his own for the night. 
 On the morrow it snowed very hard, so that he could 
 not take the herd to their usual feeding-places, but was 
 obliged to keep them in the fold. He gave his own 
 goats just sufficient food to keep them alive, but fed the 
 strangers more abundantly, in the hope of enticing them 
 to stay with him, and of making them his own. When 
 the thaw set in, he led them all out to feed, and the wild 
 goats scampered away as fast as they could to the moun 
 tains. The Goatherd taxed them with their ingratitude 
 in leaving him, when during the storm he had taken more 
 care of them than of his own herd. One of them turn 
 ing about said to him, "That is the very reason why 
 we are so cautious ; for if you yesterday treated us better 
 than the Goats you have had so long, it is plain also that 
 if others 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 grey, 
 courted two women at the same time. One of them 
 was young ; and the other well advanced in years. The 
 elder 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, was equally zealous in removing 
 every grey hair she could find. Thus it came to pass, 
 that between them both he very soon found that he had 
 rot a hair left on his 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 companions came in great numbers to 
 inquire after his health, and each one ht Iped himself to a 
 share of the food which had been placed for his use ; so 
 that he died, not from 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, " Although it pains me so much, I 
 did but touch it ever so gently." " That was just it," 
 said his mother, " which caused it to sting you. The next 
 time you touch a Nettle, ^rasp it boldly, and it will be as 
 so r t as silk to your hand, and not in the least hurt you." 
 Whatever you do, do with all your might. 
 
62 The Fables of 
 
 THE ASTRONOMER. 
 
 AN Astronomer used to go out of a night to observe t\.^ 
 stars. One evening, as he wandered through the suburbs 
 with his whole attention fixed on the sky, he fell un 
 awares into a deep well. While he lamented and be 
 wailed his sores and bruises, and cried loudly for help, 
 a neighbour ran to the well, and learning what had 
 happened, said : " Hark ye, old fellow, why, in strivirg 
 to pry into what is in heaven, do you no* manage to ste 
 what is on earth ? " 
 
 THE WOL VES AND THE SHEEP. 
 " WHY should there always be this internecine and im 
 placable warfare between us ? " said the Wolves to the 
 Sheep. "Those evil-disposed Dogs have much to 
 answer for. They always bark whenever we approach 
 you, and attack us before we have done any harm. If 
 you would only dismiss them from your heels, there 
 might soon be treaties of peace and of reconciliation 
 between us." The Sheep, poor silly creatures ! were 
 easily beguiled, and dismissed the Dogs. The Wolves 
 destroyed the unguarded flock at their own pleasure. 
 
 THE CA'2 AND THE BIRDS. 
 
 A CAT, hearing that the Birds in a certain aviary were 
 ailing, . dressed himself up as a physician, and, taking 
 with him his cane and the instruments becoming his 
 profession, went to the aviary, knocked at the door, and 
 inquired of the inmates how they all did, saying that ii 
 they were ill, he would be happy to prescribe for them 
 and cure them. They replied, " We are all very well, 
 and shall continue so, if you will only be good enough 
 to go away, and leave us as we are." 
 
THE VAIN JA CKDA W. 
 
 JUPITER determined, it is said, to create a sovereign 
 over the birds ; and made proclamation that, on a cer 
 tain day, they should all present themselves before him, 
 when he would himself choose the most beautiful 
 among them to be king. The Jackdaw, knowing his 
 own ugliness, searched through the woods and fields, 
 and collected the feathers which had fallen from the 
 wings of his companions, and stuck them in all parts 
 of his body, hoping thereby to make himself the most 
 beautiful of all. When the appointed day arrived, and 
 the birds had assembled before Jupiter, the Jackdaw 
 also made his appearance in his many-feathered finery. 
 On Jupiter proposing to make him king, on account of 
 the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly pro 
 tested, and each plucking from him his own leathers, 
 the Jackdaw was again nothing but a Jackdaw. 
 
64 The Fables of AZsop. 
 
 THE KID AND THE WOLF. 
 
 A KID standing on the roof of a house, out of harm's 
 way, saw a Wolf passing by : and 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 which thou 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 heal them, and made this bargain with him 
 in the presence of witnesses : that if he should cure her 
 blindness, he should receive from her a sum of money ; 
 but if her infirmity remained, she should give him nothing. 
 This agreement being entered into, the Physician, time 
 after time, applied his salve to her eyes, and on every 
 visit taking something away, stole by little and little all 
 her property : and when he had got all she had, he healed 
 her, and demanded the promised payment. The old 
 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 still refused, 
 summoned her before the Archons. The old woman 
 standing up in the Court thus spoke : " This man here 
 speaks the truth in what he says ; for I did promise to 
 give him a sum of money, if I should recover my sight : 
 but if I continued blind, I was to give him nothing. 
 Now he declares ' that I am healed/ I on the contrary 
 affirm ' that I am still blind ; ' for when I lost the use of 
 my eyes, I saw in my house various chattels and valuable 
 goods : but now, though he swears 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 them to death. The mother 
 coming up, and missing one of her sons, inquired of his 
 brothers what had become of him. " He is dead, dear 
 mother ; for just now a very huge beast with four great 
 feet came to the pool, and crushed him to death with his 
 cloven heel." The Frog, puffing herself out, inquired, 
 " if the beast was as big as that in size." " Cease, 
 mother, to puff yourself out," said her son, "and do not 
 be angry ; for you would, I assure you, sooner burst than 
 successfully imitate the hugeness of that monster." 
 
66 The Fables of 
 
 THE FARMER AND HIS SONS. 
 
 A FARMER being on the point of death, wished to insure 
 from his sons the same attention to his farm as he had 
 himself given it. He called them to his bedside, and 
 said, " My sons, there is agreat treasure hidden in one of 
 my vineyards." The sons after his death took their 
 spades and mattocks, and carefully dug over every 
 portion of their land. They found no treasure, but the 
 vines repaid their labour by an extraordinary and super 
 abundant crop. 
 
 THE HEIFER AND THE OX. 
 
 A HEIFER saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plough, 
 and tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate 
 in being compelled to labour. Shortly afterwards, at the 
 harvest home, the owner released the Ox from his yoke, 
 but bound the Heifer with cords, and led her away to 
 the altar to be slain in honour of the festival. The Ox 
 saw what was being done, and said with a- smile to the 
 Heifer : " For this you were allowed to live in idleness, 
 because you were presently to be sacrificed." 
 
 THE FIGHTING COCKS AND THE EAGLE. 
 Two Game Cocks were fiercely fighting for the mastery 
 of the farm-yard. One at last put the other to flight. The 
 vanquished Cock skulked away and hid himself in a quiet 
 corner. The conqueror, flying up to a high wall, flapped 
 his wings and crowed exultingly with all his might. An 
 Eagle sailing through the air pounced upon him, and 
 carried him off in his talons. The vanquished Cock 
 immediately came out of his corner, and ruled henceforth 
 with undisputed mastery, 
 
 Pride goes before destruction. 
 
The Fabfes of ALsop. 67 
 
 THE CHARGER AND THE MILLER. 
 A CHARGER, feeling the infirmities of age, betook him to 
 a mill instead of going out to battle. But when he was 
 compelled to grind instead of serving in the wars, he 
 bewailed his change of fortune, and called to mind his 
 former state, saying, " Ah ! Miller, I had indeed to go 
 campaigning before, but I was barbed from counter to 
 tail, and a man went along to groom me ; and now, I 
 cannot tell what ailed me to prefer the mill before the 
 battle." "Forbear," said the Miller to him, "harping 
 on what you were of yore, for it is the common lot of 
 mortals 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 by his performance that thej 
 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 place where it was, said " that she had 
 found a store, but had not used it, but had kept it for 
 him as a treasure trove of his kingdom, and counselled 
 him to lay hold of it." The Monkey approached care 
 lessly, and was caught in the trap ; and on his accusing 
 the Fox of purposely leading him into the snare, she 
 replied, " O Monkey, and are you, with such a mind as 
 yours, going to be King over the Beasts ? " 
 
 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 
 
 A HORSE Soldier took the utmost pains with his charger. 
 As long as the war lasted, he looked upon him as his 
 fellow-helper in all emergencies, and fed him carefully 
 with hay and corn. When the war was over, he only 
 
68 The Fables of jEsop. 
 
 allowed him chaff to eat, and made him carry heavy loads 
 of wood, and subjected him to much slavish drudgery 
 and ill-treatment. War, however, being again proclaimed, 
 and the trumpet summoning him to his standard, the 
 soldier put on his charger its military trappings, and 
 mounted, being clad in his heavy coat of mail. The 
 Horse fell down straightway under the weight, no longer 
 equal to the burden, and said to his master, " You must 
 now e'en go to the war on foot, for you have transformed 
 me from a Horse into an Ass ; and how can you expect 
 that I can again 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 be perpetually engaged in ad 
 ministering to your wants, while you do nothing but take 
 your rest, and enjoy yourself in luxury and self-indul 
 gence?" The members carried out their resolve, and 
 refused their assistance to the Body. The whole Body 
 quickly became debilitated, and the hands, feet, mouth, 
 and eyes, when too late, repented of their folly. 
 
 THE WIDOW AND HER LITTLE MAIDENS. 
 A WIDOW woman, fond of cleaning, had two little maidens 
 to wait on her. She was in the habit of waking them 
 early in the morning, at cockcrow. The maidens being 
 aggrieved by such excessive labour, resolved to kill the 
 cock who roused their mistress so early. When they had 
 done this, they found that they had only prepared for 
 themselves greater troubles, for their mistress, no longer 
 hearing the 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 ten 
 drils and its leaves. The Vine addressed him, and said : 
 " Why do you thus injure me without a cause, and crop 
 my leaves ? Is there no young grass left ? But I shall 
 not have to wait long for my just revenge ; for if you now 
 should crop my leaves, and cut me down to my root, I 
 shall provide the wine to pour over you when you are led 
 as a victim to the sacrifice." 
 
 JUPITER AND THE MONKEY, 
 
 JUPITER issued a proclamation to all the beasts of the 
 forest, and promised a royal reward to the one whose 
 offspring should be deemed the handsomest The Mon- 
 
70 TJic Fables of sEsop. 
 
 key came with the rest, and presented, with all a mother's 
 tenderness, a flat-nosed, hairless, ill-featured young Mon 
 key as a candidate for the promised reward. A general 
 laugh saluted her on the presentation of her son. She 
 resolutely 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, the dearest, hand 
 somest, and most beautiful of all." 
 
 THE HA WK, THE KITE, AND THE PIGEONS. 
 THE Pigeons, terrified by the appearance of a Kite, 
 called upon the Hawk to defend 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 day, than 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 warfare with 
 each other. When the battle was at its height, a Sprat 
 lifted its head out of the waves, and said that he would 
 reconcile their differences, if they would accept him as 
 an umpire. One of the Dolphins replied, " We would 
 far rather be destroyed in our battle with each other, than 
 admit any interference from you in our affairs." 
 
 THE SWALLOW, THE SERPENT, AND THE COURT 
 
 OF JUSTICE. 
 
 A SWALLOW, returning from abroad, and ever fond of 
 dwelling with men, built herself a nest in the wall cf a 
 Court of Justice, and there hatched seven young birds. 
 
The Fables of ^sop. fi 
 
 A Serpent gliding past the nest, from its hole in the wall, 
 ate up the young unfledged nestlings. The Swallow, 
 finding her nest empty, lamented greatly, and exclaimed : 
 " Woe to me a stranger ! that in this place where all 
 others' 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 the other of brass. The Earthen 
 Pot said to the Brass Pot, " Pray keep at a distance, and 
 do not come near me ; for if you touch me ever so 
 slightly, I shall be broken 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 awhile taught it to steal lambs 
 from the neighbouring flocks. The Wolf having shown 
 himself an apt pupil, said to the Shepherd, " Since you 
 have taught me to steal, you must keep a sharp look-out, 
 or you will lose sorie of your own flock." 
 
 THE CRAB AND ITS MOTHER. 
 
 A CRAB said to her son, " Why do you walk so onesided, 
 my child ? It is far more becoming to go straightfor 
 ward." The young Crab replied : " Quite true, dear 
 mother ; and if you will show me the straight way, I will 
 promise to walk in it." The mother tried in vain, and 
 submitted without remonstrance to the reproof of her 
 child. 
 
 Example is more powerful than precept 
 
72 The Fabtes of 
 
 THE FATHER AND HIS TWO DAUGHTERS. 
 A MAN had two daughters, the one married to a gardener, 
 and the other to a tile-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, " All things are prospering with me, and I have only 
 one wish, that there may be a heavy fall of rain, in order 
 that the plants may be well watered." Not long after he 
 went to the daughter who had married the tile-maker, and 
 likewise inquired of her how she fared ; she replied, " I 
 want for nothing, and have only one 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 for rain, 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 school-fellows, 
 and took it home to his mother. She not only abstained 
 from beating him, but encouraged him. He next time 
 stole a cloak and brought it to her, when she yet further 
 commended him. The Youth, advanced to man's estate, 
 proceeded to steal things of greater value. At last he 
 was taken in the very act, and having his hands bound 
 behind him, was led away to the place of public execu 
 tion. His mother followed in the crowd and violently 
 beat her breast in sorrow, whereon the young man 
 said, " I wish to say something to my mother in her ear." 
 She came close to him, when he quickly seized her ear 
 with his teeth and bit it off. The mother upbraided him 
 as an unnatural child, whereon he replied, " Ah ! if you 
 had beaten me, when I first stole and brought to you that 
 
The Fables of A^sop. 73 
 
 lesson-book, I should not have come to this, 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 the faggots into the city for sale one day, 
 being very wearied with his long journey, he sat down 
 by the wayside, and, throwing down his load, besought 
 " Death " to come. " Death " immediately appeared, in 
 answer to his summons, and asked for what reason he 
 had called him. The old man 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 
 ijseful for nothing at all ; while I am everywhere used for 
 roofs and houses." The Bramble made answer : " You, 
 poor creature, if you would only call to mind the axes 
 and saws which are about to 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 &THIOP. 
 
 THE purchaser of a black servant was persuaded that the 
 colour of his skin arose from dirt contracted through the 
 neglect of his former masters. On bringing him home he 
 resorted to every means of cleaning, and subjected him 
 to incessant scrubbings. He caught a severe cold, but 
 he never changed his colour nor complexion. 
 What's bred in the bone will stick to the flesh. 
 
fHE MOUSE, THE FROG, AND THE HAWK. 
 A MOUSE who always lived on the land, by an unlucky 
 chance formed an intimate acquaintance 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 the mea 
 dow where they were accustomed to find their food. 
 After this, he gradually led him towards the pool in 
 which he lived, until he reached the very brink, when 
 suddenly jumping in he dragged the Mouse with him. 
 The Frog enjoyed the water amazingly, and swam croak 
 ing about, as if he had done a meritorious action. The 
 unhappy Mouse was soon suffocated with the water, and 
 his dead body floated about on the surface, tied to the 
 foot of the Frog. A Hawk observed it, and, pouncing 
 upon it with his talons, carried it up aloft. The Frog 
 
The Fables of ALsof 75 
 
 being still fastened to the leg of 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 a great haul of fish. He 
 managed by a skilful handling of his net to retain all the 
 large fish, and to draw them to the shore ; but he could 
 not prevent the smaller 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 to fetch 
 some water from a stream flowing close beside him. 
 "For," he said, " if you 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 me provide 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 wine, and which still retained the frag 
 rant smell of its former contents. She greedily placed it 
 several times to her nose, and drawing it backwards and 
 forwards said, " O most delicious ! How nice must the 
 wine itself have been, when it leaves behind in the very 
 vessel which contained it so sweet a perfume !" 
 The memory of a <o<3 deed lives. 
 
7$ The Fables of AZsop. 
 
 THE MAN BITTEN BY A DOG. 
 
 A MAN who had been bitten by a Dog, went about in 
 quest of some one who might heal him. A friend meet 
 ing him, and learning what he wanted, said, " If you 
 would 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 bitten laughed 
 at this advice, and said, " Why ? If I should do so, it 
 would be as if I should pray 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 a Fisherman, bringing home a basket 
 well laden with fish. The Huntsman wished to have the 
 fish ; and their owner experienced an equal longing for 
 the contents of the game-bag. They quickly agreed to 
 exchange the produce of their day's sport. Each was so 
 veil pleased with his bargain, that they made for some 
 time the same exchange day after day. A neighbour 
 said to them, " If you go on in this way, you will soon 
 destroy, by frequent use, the pleasure of your exchange, 
 and each will again wish to retain the fruits of his OWP 
 sport." 
 
 Abstain and enjoy. 
 
 THE FOX AND THE CROW. 
 
 A CROW having stolen a bit of flesh, perched in a tree, 
 and held it in her beak. A Fox seeing her, longed to 
 possess himself of the flesh : and by a wily stratagem sue- 
 
The Fables of jEsop. /? 
 
 ceeded. " How handsome is the Crow," he exclaimed, 
 " in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her 
 complexion ! Oh, if her voice were only equal to her 
 beauty, she would deservedly be considered the Queen oi 
 Birds !" This he said deceitfully; but the Crow, anxious 
 to refute the reflection cast upon her voice, 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, but your wit is wanting/ 1 
 
 THE WIDOW AND THE SHEEP. 
 A CERTAIN poor Widow had one solitary Sheep. At 
 shearing time, wishing to take his fleece, and to avoid 
 expense, she sheared him herself, but used the shears 
 so unskilfully, that with the fleece she sheared the flesh. 
 The Sheep, writhing with pain, said, " Why do you hurt 
 me so, Mistress ? What weight can my blood add to the 
 wool ? If you want my flesh, there is the butcher, who 
 will kill me in a trice ; but if you want my fleece and 
 wool, there is the shearer, who will shear and not hurt me." 
 The least outlay is not always the greatest gain. 
 
 THE PLA YFUL ASS. 
 
 AN Ass climbed up to the roof of a building, and, frisk 
 ing about there, broke in the tiling. The owner went up 
 after him, and quickly drove him down, beating him 
 severely with a thick wooden cudgel. The Ass said, 
 " Why, I saw the Monkey do this very thing yesterday, 
 and you all laughed heartily, as if it afforded you very 
 great amusement." 
 
 Those who do not know their right place must be 
 taught it. 
 
THE STAG IN THE OX-STALL. 
 
 A STAG, hardly pressed by the hounds, and blind through 
 fear to the danger he was running into, took shelter in a 
 farm-yard, and hid himself in a shed among the oxen. An 
 Ox gave him this kindly warning : " O unhappy creature ! 
 why should you thus, of your own accord, incur destruc 
 tion, and trust yourself in the house of your enemy?" 
 The Stag replied : " Do you only suffer me, friend, to stay 
 where I am, and I will undertake to find some favourable 
 opportunity of effecting my escape." At the approach of 
 the evening the herdsman came to feed his cattle, but did 
 not see the Stag ; and even the farm-bailiff, with several 
 labourers, passed through the shed, and failed to notice 
 him. The Stag, congratulating himself on his safety, 
 began to express his sincere thanks to the Oxen who had 
 kindly afforded him help in the hour of need. One of 
 
The Fables of ssop. 79 
 
 them again answered him : " We indeed wish you well, 
 but the danger is not over. There is one other yet to 
 pass through the shed, who has as it were a hundred eyes, 
 and until he has come and gone, your life is still in peril." 
 At that moment the master himself entered, and having 
 had to complain that his oxen had not been properly fed, 
 he went up to their racks, and cried out : " Why is there 
 such a scarcity of fodder? There is not half enough 
 straw for them to lie on. Those lazy fellows have not 
 even swept the cobwebs away." While he thus examined 
 everything in turn, he spied the tips of the antlers of the 
 Stag peeping, out of the straw. Then summoning his 
 labourers, 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 a House-dog, taught to watch the house. 
 When he returned home after a good day's sport, he 
 always gave the House-dog a large share of his spoil. 
 The Hound feeling much aggrieved at this, reproached 
 his companion, saying, " It is very hard to have all this 
 labour, while you, who do not assist in the chase, luxu 
 riate on the fruits of my exertions." The House-dog 
 replied, "Do not blame me, my friend, but find fault 
 with the master, who has not taught me to labour, but to 
 depend for subsistence on the labour 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, that they 
 might capture the beasts of the forest with the greater 
 
8o The Fables of sE 
 
 ease. The Lion agreed to assist the Wild Ass with his 
 strength, while the Wild Ass gave the Lion the benefit of 
 his greater speed. When they had taken as many beasts 
 as their necessities required, the Lion undertook to dis 
 tribute the prey, and for this purpose divided it into 
 three shares. " I will take the first share," he said, " be 
 cause I am King : and the 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 
 resign it to me, and set off as fast as you can." 
 Might makes right. 
 
 THE LION AND THE DOLPHIN. 
 
 A LION roaming by the sea-shore, saw a Dolphin lift 
 up its head out of the waves, and asked him to contract 
 an alliance with him ; saying that of all the animals they 
 ought to be the best friends, since the one was the king 
 of beasts on the earth, and the other was the sovereign 
 ruler of all the inhabitants of the ocean. The Dolphin 
 gladly consented to this request. Not long afterwards 
 the Lion had a combat with a wild bull, and called on 
 the Dolphin to help him. The Dolphin, though quite 
 willing to give him assistance, was unable to do so, as 
 he could not by any means reach the land. The Lion 
 abused him as a traitor. The Dolphin replied, " Nay, 
 my friend, blame not me, but Nature, which, while giving 
 me the sovereignty of the sea, has quite denied me the 
 power of living upon the land." 
 
THE EAGLE AND THE ARROW. 
 AN Eagle sat on a lofty rock, watching the movements 
 of a Hare, whom he sought to make his prey. An 
 archer who saw him from a place of concealment, took 
 an accurate aim, and wounded him mortally. The 
 Eagle gave one look at the arrow that had entered his 
 heart, and saw in that single glance that its feathers had 
 been furnished by himself. "It is a double grief to 
 me," he exclaimed, " that I should perish by an arrow 
 feathered from my own wings." 
 
 A consciousness of misfortunes arising from a man's 
 own misconduct aggravates their bitterness. 
 
 THE SICK KITE. 
 
 A KITE, sick unto death, said to his mother: "O 
 Mother ' do not mourn, but at once invoke the gods 
 
82 The Fables of 
 
 that my life may be prolonged." She replied, " Alas ! 
 my son, which of the gods do you think will pity you? 
 Is there one whom you have not outraged by niching 
 from their very altars a part of the sacrifice offered up to 
 them?" 
 
 We must make friends in p; osperity^ if we would have 
 their help in adverbity. 
 
 THE LION AND THE BOAR. 
 
 ON a summer day, when the great heat induced a 
 general thirst, a Lion and a Boar came at the same 
 moment to a small well to drink. They fiercely dis 
 puted which of them should drink first, and were soon 
 engaged in the agonies of a mortal combat. On their 
 stopping on a sudden to take breath for the fiercer 
 renewal of the strife, they saw some Vultures waiting 
 in the distance to feast on the one which should fall 
 first. They at once made up their quarrel, saying, " It 
 is better for us to make friends, than to become the food 
 of Crdvvs or Vultures." 
 
 THE MICE IN COUNCIL. 
 
 THE Mice summoned a council to decide how they 
 might best dev se means for obtaining notice of the 
 approach ^of their great enemy the Cat. Among the 
 many plans devired, the one that found most favour 
 was the proposal to tie a bell to the neck of the Cat, 
 that the Mice being warned by the sound of the tink 
 ling 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 of an eye, was accustomed to graze as 
 near to the edge of the cliff as she possibly could, in 
 the hope of securing her greater safety. She turned 
 her sound eye towards the land, that she might get the 
 earliest tidings of the approach of hunter or hound, and 
 her injured eye towards the sea, from whence she enter. 
 tained no anticipation of danger. Some boatmen sail 
 ing by, saw her, and taking a successful aim, mortally 
 wounded her. Yielding up her breath, she gasped forth 
 this lament : " O wrotche ' creature that I am I to take 
 sucn precaution against tne lana, and after all to find 
 this sea-shore, to which I had come for safety, so much 
 more perilous." 
 
 THE MICE AND THE WEASELS. 
 THE Weasels and the Mice waged a perpetual warfare 
 with each other, in which much blood was shed. The 
 
84 The Fables of A? sop. 
 
 Weasels were always the victors. The Mice thought 
 that the cause of their frequent defeats was, that they 
 had not leaders set apart from the general army to 
 command them, and that they were exposed to dangers 
 from want of discipline. They chose therefore such 
 mice as were most renowned for their family descent, 
 strength, and counsel, as well as most noted for their 
 courage in the fight, that they might marshal them in 
 battle array, and form them into troops, regiments, 
 and battalions. When all this was done, and the army 
 disciplined, and the herald Mouse had duly proclaimed 
 war by challenging the Weasels, the newly chosen 
 generals bound their heads with straws, that they might 
 be more conspicuous to all their troops. Scarcely had 
 the battle commenced, when a great rout overwhelmed 
 the Mice, who scampered off as fast as they could to 
 their holes. The generals not being able to get in on 
 account of the ornaments on their heads, were all cap 
 tured and eaten by the Weasels. 
 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 calm and smooth, and longed 
 to make a voyage with a view to traffic. He sold all 
 his flock, and invested it in a cargo of dates and set 
 sail. But a very great tempest coming on, and the 
 ship being in danger of sinking, he threw all his mer 
 chandise overheard, and hardly escaped with his life 
 in the empty ship. Not long afterwards, on some one 
 passing by, and observing the unruffled calm of the sea, 
 he interrupted him and said, "Belike it is again in want 
 of dates, and therefore looks quiet." 
 
The Fables of Alsop. 85 
 
 THE ASS, THE COCK, AND THE LION. 
 AN Ass and a Cock were in a straw-yard together, when 
 a Lion, desperate from hunger, approached the spot, 
 lie 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 observing his trepi 
 dation 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 the Lion 
 turning about v ^eized 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 when we flov\ into your tides 
 so potable and sweet, you work in us such a change, 
 and make us salt and unfit to drink?" The Sea, per 
 ceiving that they intended to threw the blame on him, 
 said, "Pray cease to flow into me, and then you will 
 not be made briny." 
 
 Some find fault with those things by which they are 
 chiefly benefited. 
 
 THE WILD BOAR AND THE FOX. 
 A WILD BOAR stood under a tree, and rubbed his tusks 
 against the trunk. A Fox passing by, asked him why 
 he thus sharpened his teeth when there was no danger 
 threatening from either huntsman or hound. He replied, 
 " I do it advisedly ; for it would never do to have to 
 sharpen my weapons just at the time I ought to be using 
 them." 
 
 To be well prepared for war is the best guarantee of 
 peace. 
 
86 The Fables of jEsop. 
 
 THE MILKWOMAN AND HER PAIL. 
 A FARMER'S daughter was carrying her pail of milk 
 from the field to the farm-house, 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, will produce two hundred and fifty chickens. 
 The chickens will become ready for the market when 
 poultry will fetch the highest price ; so that by the end 
 of the year I shall have money enough from the per 
 quisites that will fall to my share, to buy a new gown. 
 In this dress I will go to the Christmas junketings, 
 when all the young fellows will propose to me, but I 
 will toss my head, and refuse them every one." At this 
 moment she tossed her head in unison with her thoughts, 
 when down fell the Milk-pail to the 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, to present to Jupiter some honey 
 fresh from her combs. Jupiter, delighted with the 
 offering of honey, promised to give whatever she should 
 ask. She therefore besought him saying, " Give me, I 
 pray thee, a sting, that if any mortal shall approach to 
 take my honey, I may kill him." Jupiter was much 
 displeased, for he loved much the race of man; but 
 could not refuse the request on account of his promise. 
 He thus answered the Bee : " You shall have your 
 request; but it will be at the peril of your own life. 
 For if you use your sting, it shall remain in the wound 
 you make, and then you will die from the loss of it." 
 Evil wishes, like chickens, come home to roost. 
 
THE WOLF AND THE HOUSE-DOG. 
 A WOLF, meeting with a big well-fed Mastiff having 
 a wocden collar about his neck, inquired of him who 
 it was that fed him so well, and yet compelled him 
 to drag that heavy log about wherever he went. " The 
 master," he replied. Then said the Wolf: li May no 
 friend of mine ever be in such a plight ; for the weight 
 of this chain is enough to spoil the appetite." 
 
 THE THREE TRADESMEN. 
 
 A GREAT city was besieged, and its inhabitants were 
 called together to consider the best means of protect 
 ing it from the enemy. A Bricklayer present earnestly 
 recommended bricks, as affording the best materials 
 
88 The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 for an effectual resistance. A Carpenter with equal 
 energy proposed timber, as providing a preferable 
 method of defence. Upon which a Currier stood up, 
 ind said, "Sirs, I differ from you altogether: 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 be placed in one of its 
 Temples. The crowd as he passed a'ong made lowly 
 prostration before the Image. The Ass, thinking that 
 they bowed their heads in token of respect for himself, 
 bristled up with pride and gave himself airs, and re 
 fused to move another step. The driver seeing him 
 thus stop, laid his whip lustily about his shoulders, and 
 said, " O you perverse dull-head ! it is not yet come 
 to this, that men pay worship to an Ass." 
 
 They are not wise who take 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 killed his sheep, and then his goats, 
 for the maintenance of his household. The storm still 
 continuing, he was obliged to slaughter his yoke oxen 
 for food. On seeing this, his Dogs took counsel toge 
 ther, and said, "It is time for us to be otY: for if the 
 master spare not his oxen, who work for his gain, how 
 can we expect him to spare us ?" 
 
 He is not to be trusted as a friend who illtreats hi', 
 own family. 
 
THE OLD HOUND. 
 
 A HOUXD, who in the days of his youth and strengtl 
 had never yielded to any beast of the forest, encoiin 
 tered in his old age a boar in the chase. He seized 
 him boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold 
 because of the decay of his teeth, so that the boar 
 escaped. His master, quickly coming up, was very 
 Tiuch 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 
 not help mine infirmities. I rather deserve to be 
 praised for what I have been, than to be blamed for 
 what I im." 
 
90 The Fables of 
 
 THE TWO TRA VELLERS AND THE AXE. 
 Two men were journeying together in each other's 
 company. One of them picked up an axe that lay 
 upon the 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 they saw the owner of the axe pursuing them, 
 when 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' are 
 undone." 
 
 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 at the point of death. A 
 Boar rushed upon him, and avenged with a stroke of 
 his tusks a long-remembered injury. Shortly afterwards 
 the Bull with his horns gored him as if he were an 
 enemy. When the Ass saw that the huge beast could 
 be assailed with impunity, he let drive at his forehead 
 with his heels. The expiring Lion said, " I have re 
 luctantly brooked the insults of the brave, but to be 
 compelled to endure contumely from thee, a disgrace 
 to Nature, is indeed .to die a double death/'' 
 
 THE WOLF AND THE SHEPHERDS. 
 A WOLF passing by, saw some Shepherds in a hut 
 eating for their dinner a haunch of mutton. Approach 
 ing them, he said, "What a clamour you would raise if 
 T were to do as you are doing ! " 
 
The Fables of sEsop. 9 1 
 
 THE SEASIDE TRAVELLERS. 
 
 SOME travellers, journeying along the sea-shore, climbed 
 to the summit of a tall cliff, and from thence looking 
 over the sea, saw in the distance what they thought 
 was a large ship, and waited in the hope of seeing it 
 enter the harbour. But as the object on which they 
 looked was driven by the wind nearer to the shore, they 
 found that it could at the most be a small boat, and not 
 a ship. When however it reached the beach, they dis 
 covered that it was only a large fagot of sticks, and one 
 of them said to his companions, " We have waited for 
 no purpose, for after all there is nothing to see but a 
 fagot." 
 
 Our mere anticipations of life outrun its realities. 
 
 THE ASS AND HIS SHADOW. 
 
 A TRAVELLER hired an Ass to convey him to a distant 
 place. The day being intensely hot, and the sun 
 shining in its strength, the traveller stopped to rest, 
 and sought shelter from the heat under the Shadow oi 
 the Ass. As this afforded only protection for one, 
 and as the traveller and the owner of the Ass both 
 claimed it, a violent dispute arose between them as to 
 which of them had the right to it. The owner main 
 tained that he had let the Ass only, and not his 
 Shadow. The traveller asserted that he had, with the 
 hire of the Ass, hired his Shadow also. The quarrel 
 proceeded from words to blows, and while the men 
 fought the Ass galloped off. 
 
 In quarrelling about the shadow we often lose the 
 substance. 
 
92 The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 THE ASS AND HIS MASTERS. 
 
 AN Ass belonging to a herb-seller, who gave him too 
 little food and too much work, made a petition to 
 Jupiter that he would release him from his present 
 service, and provide him with another master. Jupiter, 
 after warning him that he would repent his request, 
 caused him to be sold to a tile-maker. Shortly after 
 wards, finding that he had heavier loads to carry, and 
 harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for another 
 change of master. Jupiter, telling him that it should 
 be the last time that he could grant his request, 
 ordained that he should be sold to a tanner. The 
 Ass finding that he had fallen into worse hands, and 
 noting his master's occupation, said, groaning : "It 
 would have been better .for me to have been either 
 starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the 
 other of my former masters, than to have been bought 
 by my present owner, who will even after 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. For this purpose he assumed 
 the character of a man, and visited in this disguise a 
 Sculptor's studio. Having looked at various statues, 
 he demanded the price of two figures of Jupiter and 
 of Juno. When the sum at which they were valued 
 was named, he pointed to a figure of himself, saying 
 to the Sculptor, " You will certainly want much more 
 for this, as it is the statue of the Messenger of the 
 Gods, and the author of all your gain." The Sculptor 
 replied. " Well, if you will buy these, I'll fling you that 
 into the bargain." 
 
THE FOX AND THE WOOD-CUTTER. 
 A Fox running before the hounds, came across a Wood 
 cutter felling an oak, and besought him to show him a 
 safe hiding-place. The Wood-cutter advised him to 
 take shelter in his own hut. The Fox crept in, and 
 hid himself in a corner. The huntsman came up, with 
 his hounds, in a few minutes, and inquired of the Wood 
 cutter if he had seen the Fox. He declared that he 
 had not seen him, and yet pointed, all the time he was 
 speaking, to the hut where the Fox lay hid. The 
 huntsman took no notice of the signs, but, believing 
 his word, hastened forward in the chase. As soon as 
 they were well away, the Fox departed without taking 
 any notice of the Wood-cutter : whereon he called to 
 
94 The Fables of 
 
 him, and reproached him, saying, "You ungrateful 
 fellow, you owe your life to me, and yet you leave 
 me without a word of thanks." The Fox replied, 
 " Indeed, I should have thanked you fervently, if your 
 deeds had been as good as your words, and if your 
 hands had not been traitors to your speech.". 
 
 THE OAK AND THE REEDS. 
 
 A VERY large Oak was uprooted by the wind, and 
 thrown across a stream. It fell among some Reeds, 
 which it thus addressed : " I wonder how you, who are 
 so light and weak, are not entirely crushed by these 
 strong winds." They replied, "You fight and contend 
 with the wind, and consequently you are destroyed; 
 while we on ;he contrary bend before the least breath 
 of air, and therefore remain unbroken, and escape." 
 Stoop to conquer. 
 
 THE LION IN A FARMYARD. 
 
 A LION entered a farm-yard. The farmer, wishing to 
 catch him, shut the gate. The Lion, when he found 
 that he could not escape, flew upon the sheep, and 
 killed them, and then attacked the oxen. The farmer, 
 beginning to be alarmed for his own saiety, opened 
 the gate, when the Lion got off as fast as he could. 
 On his departure the farmer grievously lamented the 
 destruction of his sheep and oxen ; when his wife, who 
 had been a spectator ot all that took place, said, " On 
 my word, you are rightly served; for how could you 
 for a moment think of shutting up a Lion along with 
 you in the farm-yard, when you know that you shake 
 in your shoes if you only hear his roar at ever so great 
 a distance?" 
 
7 HE WOLF AND THE LION. 
 
 A WOLF having stolen a lamb from a fold, was carrying 
 him off to his lair. A Lion met him in the path, and, 
 seizing the lamb, took it from him. The Wolf, standing 
 at a safe distance, exclaimed, " You have unrighteously 
 taken that which was mine from me." The Lion 
 jeeringly replied, "It was righteously yours, eh? the 
 gift of a friend?" 
 
 THE BIRDCATCHER, THE PARTRIDGE, AND 
 THE COCK. 
 
 A BIRDCATCHER was about to sit down to a dinner of 
 herbs, when a friend unexpectedly came in. The bird- 
 trap was quite empty, as he had caught nothing. He 
 
96 The Fables of 
 
 proceeded to kill a pied Partridge, which he had tamed 
 for a decoy. He entreated thus earnestly for his life : 
 " What would you do without me when next you spread 
 your nets? Who would chirp you to sleep, or call for 
 you the covey of answering birds?" The Birdcatcher 
 spared his life, and determined to pick out a fine young 
 Cock just attaining to his comb. He thus expostulated 
 in piteous tones from his perch : " If you kill me, who 
 will announce to you the appearance of the dawn? 
 Who will wake you to your daily tasks? or tell you 
 when it is time to visit the bi/d-trap in the morning?" 
 He replied, " What you say is true. You are a capital 
 bird at telling the time of day. But I and the friend 
 who has come in must 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 away by the rush of the 
 stream, was on the point of being drowned. A Dove, 
 sitting on a tree overhanging the water, plucked a leaf, 
 and let it fall into the stream close to her. The Ant, 
 climbing on to it, floated in safety to the bank. Shortly 
 afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, 
 and laid his lime-twigs for the Dove, which sat in the 
 branches. The Ant, perceiving his design, stung him 
 in the foot. He suddenly threw down the twigs, and 
 thereupon made the Dove take wing. 
 
 The grateful heart will always find opportunities to 
 show its gratitude. 
 
THE HARES AN L> THE FROGS. 
 
 THE Hares, oppressed with a sense of their own ex 
 ceeding timidity, and weary of the perpetual alarm to 
 which they were exposed, with one accord determined 
 to put an end to themselves and their troubles, by 
 jumping from a lofty precipice into a deep lake below. 
 As they scampered off in a very numerous body to 
 carry out their resolve, the Frogs lying on the banks 
 of the lake heard the noise of their feet, and rushed 
 helter-skelter to the deep water for safety. On seeing 
 the rapid disappearance of the Frogs, one of the Hares 
 cried out to his companions: "Stay, my friends, do 
 
 G 
 
9^ The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 not do as you intended; for you now see that other 
 creatures who yet live are more timorous than our 
 selves." 
 
 THE MONKEY AND THE FISHERMEN. 
 A MONKEY perched upon a lofty tree saw some Fisher 
 men casting their nets into a river, and narrowly 
 watched their proceedings. The Fishermen after a 
 while gave over fishing, and, on going home to dinner, 
 left their nets upon the bank. The Monkey, who is 
 the most imitative of animals, descended from the 
 tree-top, and endeavoured to do as they had done. 
 Having handled the net, he threw it into the river, but 
 became entangled in the meshes. When drowning, he 
 said to himself, " I am rightly served ; for what business 
 had I who had never handled a net to try and catch 
 nsh?" 
 
 THE SWAN AND THE GOOSE. 
 
 A CERTAIN rich man bought in the market a Goose and 
 a Swan. He fed the one for his table, and kept the 
 other for the sake of its song. When the time came for 
 killing the Goose, the cook went to take him at night, 
 when it was dark, and he was not able to distinguish 
 one bird from the other, and he caught the Swan instead 
 of the Goose. The Swan, threatened with death, burst 
 forth into song, and thus made himself known by his 
 voice, and preserved his life by his melody. 
 A word in season is most precious. 
 
 THE DOE AND THE LION. 
 
 A DOE hard pressed by hunters entered a cave for 
 shelter which belonged to a Lion. The Lion concealed 
 
The Fables of sEsop. 99 
 
 himself on seeing her approach; but, when she was 
 safe within the cave, 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 wild beast !" 
 
 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 small fish as the result of 
 his day's labour. The fish, panting convulsively, thus 
 entreated for his life : " O Sir, what good can I be to 
 you, and how little am I worth ? I am not yet come 
 to my full size. Pray spare my life, and put me back 
 into 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." The 
 fisherman replied, " I should indeed be a very simple 
 fellow, if, for the chance of 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 man felling oaks in the forest 
 if he had seen any marks of his footsteps, or if he 
 knew where his lair was. " I will," he said, " at once 
 show you the Lion himself." The Hunter, turning very 
 pale, and chattering with his teeth from fear, replied, 
 " No, thank you. I did not ask that ; it is his track 
 only I am in search of, not the Lion himself." 
 The hero is brave in deeds as well as words. 
 
The Fables o 
 
 THE SWOLLEN FOX. 
 
 A Fox, very much famished, seeing some bread and 
 meat left by shepherds in the hollow of an oak, crept 
 into the hole and made a hearty meal. When he 
 finished, he was so full that he was not able to get 
 out, and began to groan and lament very sadly. 
 Another Fox passing by, heard his cries, and coming 
 up, inquired the cause of his complaining. On learning 
 what had happened, he said to him, " Ah, you will have 
 to remain there, my friend, until you become such as 
 you were when you crept in, and then you will easily 
 get out" _ 
 
 THE TWO FROGS. 
 
 Two FROGS dwelt in the same pool. The pool being 
 dried up under the summer's heat, they left it, and set 
 out together for another home. As they went along 
 they chanced to pass a deep well, amply supplied with 
 water, on seeing which one of the Frogs said to the 
 other, "Let us descend and make our abode in this 
 well: it will furnish us with shelter and food." The 
 other replied with greater caution, " But suppose the 
 water should fail us, how can we get out again from so 
 great a depth?" 
 
 Do nothing without a regard to the consequences. 
 
 THE LAMP. 
 
 A LAMP soaked with too much oil, and flaring very 
 much, boasted that it gave more light than the sun. A 
 sudden puff of wind arising, it was immediately excin- 
 guished. Its owner lit it again, and said : " Boast no 
 more, but henceforth be content to give thy light in 
 silence. Know that not even the stars need to be relit." 
 
THE CAMEL AND THE ARAB. 
 AN Arab Camel-driver having completed the lading 
 of his Camel, asked him which he would like best, to 
 go up hill or down hill. The poor beast replied, not 
 without a touch of reason : " Why do you ask me ? Is 
 it that the level way through the desert is closed?" 
 
 THE MILLER, HIS SON, AND THEIR ASS. 
 A MILLER and his son were driving their Ass to a 
 neighbouring fair to sell him. They had not gone far 
 when they met with a troop of women collected round 
 a well, talking and laughing. " Look there," cried one 
 of them, " did you ever see such fellows, to be trudging 
 along the road on foot when they might ride ? " The 
 eld man hearing this quickly made his son mount the 
 Ass, and continued to walk along merrily by his side. 
 Presently they came up to a group of old men in 
 earnest debate. " There," said one of them, " it proves 
 what I was a-saying. What respect is shown to old 
 age in these days? Do you see that idle lad riding 
 
102 The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 while his old father has to walk ? Get Jown, you young 
 scapegrace, and let the old man rest his weary limbs." 
 "Upon this the old man made his son dismount, and 
 got up himself. In this manner they had not pro 
 ceeded far when they met a company of women and 
 children : " Why, you lazy old fellow," cried several 
 tongues at once, " how can you ride upon the beast, 
 while that poor little lad there can hardly keep pace 
 by the side of you ?" The good-natured Miller imme 
 diately took up his son beside him. They had now 
 almost reached the town. 
 
 " Pray, honest friend," said a cifizen, " is that Ass 
 your own?" "Yes," says the old man. " O, one 
 would not have thought so," said the other, " by the 
 way you load him. Why, you two fellows are better 
 able to carry the poor beast than he 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 by the help of a pole endeavoured 
 to carry him on their shoulders over a bridge near the 
 entrance of the town. This entertaining sight brought 
 the people in crowds to laugh at it ; till the Ass, not 
 liking the noise, nor ihe strange handling that he was 
 subject to, broke the cords that bound him, and, 
 tumbling off the pole, fell into the river. Upon this, 
 the old man, vexed and ashamed, made the best of 
 his way home again, convinced that by endeavouring 
 to please everybody he had pleased nobody, and lost 
 his Ass into the bargain. 
 
THE CAT AND THE MICE. 
 
 A CERTAIN house was overran with Mice. A Cat 
 discovering this, made her way into it, and began to 
 catch and eat them one by one. The Mice being con- 
 tinually devoured, kept themselves close in their holes. 
 The Cat, no longer able to get at them, perceived that 
 she must tempt them forth by some device. For this 
 purpose she jumped upon a peg, and suspending her 
 self from it, pretended to be dead. One of the Mice, 
 peeping stealthily out, saw her, and said, "Ah, my 
 good madam, even though you should turn into a 
 meal-bag, we will not come near you." 
 
104 The Fables of jEsop. 
 
 THE MOUSE AND THE BULI- 
 
 A BULL was bitten by a Mouse, and, pained by the 
 wound, tried to capture him. The Mouse first reached 
 his hole in safety, and the Bull dug into the walls with 
 his horns, until wearied, crouching down, he slept by 
 the hole. The Mouse peeping out, crept furtively up 
 his flank, and, again biting him, retreated to his hole. 
 The Bull rising up, and not knowing what to do, was 
 sadly perplexed. The Mouse murmured forth, " The 
 great do not always prevail. There are times when the 
 small and lowly are the strongest to do mischief." 
 
 THE DOG AND THE COOK. 
 
 A RICH man gave a great feast, to which he invited 
 many friends and acquaintances. His dog availed him 
 self of the occasion to invite a stranger dog, a friend 
 of his, saying, "My master gives a feast; you will 
 have unusually good cheer; come and sup with me 
 to-night." The Dog thus invited went at the hour 
 appointed, and seeing the preparations for so grand an 
 entertainment, said, in the joy of his heart, "How 
 glad I am that I came ! I do not often get such a 
 chance as this*. I will take care and eat enough to 
 kst me both to-day and to-morrow." While he thus 
 congratulated himself, and wagged his tail, as if he 
 would convey a sense of his pleasure to his friend, 
 the Cook saw him moving about among his dishes, 
 and, seizing him by his fore and hind paws, bundled 
 him without ceremony 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 up to him, and inquired how he had 
 
The Fables of ^Esop. 105 
 
 enjoyed his supper. He replied, " Why, to tell you 
 the truth, I drank so much wine that I remember 
 nothing. I do not know how I got out of the house." 
 Uninvited guests seldom meet a welcome. 
 
 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. On arriving at home they proceeded to kill 
 the Cock, who thus pleaded for his life : " Pray spare 
 me; I am very serviceable to men. I wake them up 
 in the night to their work." " That is the very reason 
 why we must the more kill you," they replied; "for 
 when you wake your neighbours, you entirely put an 
 end to our business." 
 
 The safeguards of virtue are hateful to the evil 
 disposed. 
 
 THE DANCING MONKEYS. 
 
 A PRINCE had some Monkeys trained to dance. Being 
 naturally great mimics of men's actions, they showed 
 themselves most apt pupils ; and, when arrayed in their 
 rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as any of 
 the courtiers. The spectacle was often repeated with 
 great applause, till on one occasion a courtier, bent 
 on mischief, took from his pocket a handful o/ nuts, 
 and threw them upon the stage. The Monkeys at the 
 sight of the nuts forgot their dancing, and became (as 
 indeed they were) Monkeys* instead of actors, and 
 pulling off their masks, and tearing their robes, they 
 fought with one another for the nuts. The dancing 
 spectacle thus came to an end, amidst the laughter 
 and ridicule of the audience. 
 
106 The Fables of 
 
 THE FARMER AND THE FOX. 
 
 A FARMER, having a long spite against a Fox foi 
 robbing his poultry yard, caught him at last, and, 
 being determined to take an ample revenge, tied some 
 tow well soaked in oil to his tail, and set it on fire. 
 The Fox by a strange fatality rushed to the fields of 
 the Farmer who had captured him. It was the time 
 of the wheat harvest ; but the Farmer reaped nothing 
 that year, and returned home grieving sorely. 
 
 THE TRA VELLER AND FORTUNE. 
 A TRAVELLER, wearied with a long journey, lay down 
 overcome with fatigue on the very brink of a deep 
 well. Being within an inch of falling into the water, 
 Dame Fortune, it is said, appeared to him, and waking 
 him from his slumber, thus addressed him : " Good 
 Sir, pray wake up ; for had you fallen into the well, 
 the blame will be thrown on me, and I shall get an 
 ill name among mortals; for I find that men are sure 
 to impute their calamities to me, however much by 
 their own folly they have really brought them on 
 themselves." 
 
 Every one is more or less master of his own fate. 
 
 THE SEA-GULL AND THE KITE. 
 A SEA-GULL having bolted down too large a fish, burst 
 its deep gul'et-bag, and lay down on the shore to die. 
 A Kite seeing him, exclaimed : " You richly deserve 
 your fate ; for a bird of the air has no business to seek 
 its food from the sea." 
 
 Every man should be content to mind his own 
 business. 
 
THE LION, THE BEAR, AND THE FOX. 
 A LION and a Bear seized upon a kid at the same 
 moment, and fought fiercely for its possession. When 
 they had fearfully lacerated each other, and were faint 
 from the long combat, they lay down exhausted with 
 fatigue. A Fox, who had gone round them at a dis 
 tance several times, saw them both stretched on the 
 ground, and the Kid lying untouched in the middle, 
 ran in between them, and seizing the Kid, scampered 
 off as fast as he could. The Lion and the Bear saw 
 him, but not being able to get up, said, " Woe betide 
 us, that we should have fought and belaboured ourselves 
 tmly to serve the turn of a Fox I" 
 
 It sometimes happens that one man has all the toil, 
 and another all the profit 
 
io8 The Fables of 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHER, THE ANTS, AND MERCURY. 
 A PHILOSOPHER witnessed from the shore the ship 
 wreck of a vessel, of which the crew and passengers 
 were all drowned. He inveighed against the injustice 
 of Providence, which would for the sake of one criminal 
 perchance sailing in the ship allow so many innocent 
 persons to perish. As he was indulging in these 
 reflections, he found himself surrounded by a whole 
 army of Ants, near to whose nest he was standing. 
 One of them climbed up and stung him, and he imme 
 diately trampled them all to death with his foot. Mer 
 cury presented himself, and striking the Philosopher 
 with his wand, said, " And are you indeed to make 
 yourself a judge of the dealings of Providence, who 
 hast thyself in a similar manner treated these poor 
 Ants?" 
 
 THE PEASANT AND THE EAGLE. 
 
 A PEASANT found an Eagle captured in a trap, and, 
 much admiring the bird, set him free. The Eagle did 
 not prove ungrateful to his deliverer, for seeing him 
 sit under a wall, which was not safe, he flew towards 
 him, and snatched off with his talons a bundle resting 
 on his head, and on his rising to pursue him he let 
 the bundle fall again. The Peasant taking it up, and 
 returning to the same place, found the wall under 
 which he had been sitting fallen to the ground; and 
 he much marvelled at the requital made him by the 
 Eagle for the service he had rendered him. 
 
V 
 
 THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD. 
 
 THE Fox and the Leopard disputed which was the 
 more beautiful of the two. The Leopard exhibited 
 one by one the various spots which decorated his skin. 
 The 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 on 
 her form. He was just in the act of seizing her, when 
 a fine young Hart trotted by, and he left the Hare to 
 follow him. The Hare, scared by the noise, awoke, 
 and scudded away. The Lion was not able after a 
 long chase to catch the Hart, and returned to feed 
 upon the Hare. On finding that the Hare also had 
 run off, he said, "I am rightly served, for having let 
 go the food that I had in my hand for the chance of 
 obtaining more." 
 
i 10 The Fables o 
 
 THE IMAGE OF MERCURY AND THE CARPENTER. 
 A VERY poor man, a Carpenter by trade, had a wooden 
 image of Mercury, before which he made offerings day 
 by day, and entreated the idol to make him rich : but 
 in spite of his entreaties he became poorer and poorer. 
 At last, being very wroth, he took his image down from 
 its pedestal, and dashed it against the wall : when its 
 head being knocked off, out came a stream of gold, 
 which th? Carpenter quickly picked up, and said, 
 "Well, I think thou art altogether contradictory and 
 unreasonable; for when I paid you honour, I reaped 
 no benefits : but now that I maltreat you I am loaded 
 with an abundance 01 riches." 
 
 THE LIOA, THE FOX, AND THE ASS. 
 
 THE Lion, the Fox, and the Ass entered into an agree 
 ment to assist each other in the chase. Having secured 
 a large booty, the Lion, on their return from the torest, 
 asked the Ass to allot his due portion to each ot the 
 three partners in the treaty. The Ass carefully divided 
 the spoil into three equal shares, and modestly requested 
 the two others to make the first choice. The Lion, 
 bursting out into a great rage, devoured the Ass. Then 
 he requested the Fox to do him the favour to make a 
 division. The Fox accumulated all that they had killed 
 into one large heap, and left to himself the smallest 
 possible morsel. The Lion said, " Who has taught you, 
 my very excellent fellow, the art ot division? You are 
 perfect to a fraction." He replied, " I learnt it horn the 
 Ass, by witnessing his fate." 
 
 Happy is the man who learns from the misiortunes oi 
 others. 
 
THE BULL AND THE GOAT 
 
 A BULL, escaping from a Lion, entered a cave, which 
 some shepherds had lately occupied. A He-goat was 
 left in it, who sharply attacked him with his horns. 
 The Bull quietly addressed him " Butt away as much 
 as you will. I have no fear of you, but of the Lion. 
 Let that monster once go, and I will 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. 
 
i 1 2 The Fables of sEsop. 
 
 THE BALD KNIGHT. 
 
 A BALD Knight, who wore a wig, went out to hunt 
 A sudden puff of wind blew off his hat and wig, at 
 which a loud laugh rang forth from his companions. 
 He pulled up his horse, and with great glee joined in 
 the joke by saying, " What marvel that hairs which are 
 not mine should fly from me, when they have forsaken 
 even the man that owns them : with whom, too, they 
 were born 1" 
 
 THE OAKS AND JUPITER. 
 
 THE Oaks presei ted a complaint to Jupiter, saying, 
 " We bear for no purpose the burden of life, as of all 
 the trees that grow we are the most continually in peril 
 of the axe." Jupiter made answer, " You have only to 
 thank yourselves for the misfortunes to which you are 
 exposed : for if you did not make such excellent pillars 
 and posts, and prove yourselves so serviceable to the 
 carpenters and the farmers, the axe would not so fre 
 quently be laid to your roots." 
 
 THE MONKEYS AND THEIR MOTHER. 
 THE Monkey, it is said, has two young ones at a birth. 
 The mother fondles one, and nurtures it with the greatest 
 affection and care; but hates and neglects the other. 
 It happened once on a time that the young one which 
 was caressed and loved was smothered by the too great 
 affection of the mother, while the despised one was 
 nurtured and reared in spite of the neglect to which it 
 was exposed. 
 
 The best intentions will not always ensure success* 
 
THE HARE AND THE HOUND. 
 
 A HOUND having started a Hare from his form, after 
 a long run, gave up the chase. A Goat-herd seeing 
 him stop, mocked him, saying, "The little one is the 
 best runner of the two.'- The Hound replied,, <x You 
 do not see the difference between us : 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 a wolf with them, when 
 his Dog perceiving the wolf, said, " Master, how can 
 you expect the sheep to be safe if you admit a wolf 
 into the fold?" 
 
* 14 The Fables of JEsop. 
 
 THE OAK AND 7'HE WOOD-CUTTERS. 
 
 THE Wood-cutters cut down a Mountain Oak, split it 
 in pieces, making wedges of its own branches for 
 dividing the trunk, and for saving their labour. The 
 Oak said with a sigh, "I do not care about the blows 
 of the axe aimed at my roots, but I do grieve at being 
 torn 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 unceasingly with his stings wounded him to 
 death. The Snake, being in great torment, and not 
 knowing how to rid himself of his enemy, or to scare 
 him away, saw a waggon heavily laden with wood, and 
 went and purposely placed his head under the wheels, 
 and said, " I and my enemy shall thus perish together." 
 
 THE PEACOCK AND THE CRANE. 
 
 A PEACOCK spreading its gorgeous tail mocked a Crane 
 that passed by, ridiculing the ashen hue of its plumage, 
 and saying, "I am robed, like a king, in gold and 
 purple, and all the colours of the rainbow; while you 
 have not a bit of colour on your wings." " True/ 1 
 replied the Crane ; " but I soar to the heights of heaven, 
 and lift up my voice to the stars, while you walk below, 
 like a cock, among the birds of the dunghill." 
 Fine feathers don't make fine birds. 
 
The Fables of AZsop. 1 1 5 
 
 THE KEN AND THE GOLDEN EGGS. 
 A COTTAGER and his wife had a Hen, which laid every 
 day a golden egg. They supposed that it must con 
 tain a great lump of gold in its inside, and killed it in 
 order that they might get it, when to their surprise they 
 found that the Hen differed in no respect from their 
 other hens. The foolish pair, thus hoping to become 
 rich all at once, deprived themselves of the gain ol 
 which they were day by day assured. 
 
 THE ASS AND THE FROGS. 
 
 AN Ass, carrying a load of wood, passed through a 
 pond. As he was crossing through the water he lost 
 his footing, and stumbled and fell, and not being able 
 to rise on account of his load, he groaned heavily. 
 Some Frogs frequenting the pool heard his lamentation, 
 and said, " What would you do if you had to live here 
 always 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 large misfortunes. 
 
 THE CROW AND RAVEN. 
 
 A CROW was very jealous of the Raven, because he 
 was considered a bird of good omen, and always 
 attracted the attention of men, as indicating by his 
 flight the good or evil course of future events. Seeing 
 some travellers approaching, she flew up into a tree, 
 and perching herself on one of the branches, cawed as 
 loudly as she could. The travellers turned towards the 
 sound, and wondered what it boded, when one of them 
 
Ii6 The Fabies of 
 
 said to his companion, " Let us proceed on our journey, 
 my friend, for it is only the caw of a crow, and her cry, 
 you know, is no omen." 
 
 Those who assume a character which does not belong 
 to them, only make themselves ridiculous. 
 
 THE TREES AND THE AXE. 
 
 A MAN came into a torest, and made a petition to the 
 Trees to provide him a handle for his axe. The Trees 
 consented to his request, and gave him a young ash- 
 tree. No sooner had the man fitted from it a new 
 handle to his axe, than he began to use it, and quickly 
 felled with his strokes the noblest giants of the forest. 
 An old oak, lamenting when too late the destruction of 
 his companions, said to a neighbouring cedar, "The 
 first step has lost us all. If we had not given up the 
 rights of the ash, we might yet have retained our own 
 privileges, and have stood for ages." 
 
 THE WOLVES AND THE SHEEP-DOGS. 
 THE Wolves thus addressed the Sheep-dogs : " Why 
 should you, who are like us in so many things, not be 
 entirely of one mind with us, and live with us as 
 brothers should? We differ from you in one point 
 only. We live in freedom, but you bow down to, and 
 slave for, Finn; who, in return for your services, flog 
 you with whips, and put collars on your necks. They 
 make you also guard their sheep, and while they eat 
 the mutton throw only the bones to you. If you will 
 be persuaded by us, you will give us the sheep, and 
 we will enjoy them in common, till we all are surfeited." 
 
The Fables of ^Esop. 117 
 
 The Dogs listened favourably to these proposals, and, 
 entering the den of the Wolves, they were set. upon and 
 torn to pieces. 
 
 THE BULL, THE LIONESS, AND THE WILD-BOAR 
 HUNTER. 
 
 A BULL finding a lion's cub asleep gored him to de th 
 with his horns. The Lioness came up, and bitterly 
 lamented the death of her whelp. A Wild-boar Hunter 
 seeing her distress, stood afar off, and said to her, 
 " Think how many men there are who have reason to 
 lament the loss of their children, whose deaths have 
 been caused by you." 
 
 THE BOWMAN AND LION. 
 
 A VERY skilful Bowman went to the mountains in 
 search of game. All the beasts of the forest fled at his 
 approach. The Lion alone challenged him to combat. 
 The Bowman immediately let fly an arrow, and said to 
 the Lion : " I send thee my messenger, that from him 
 thou mayest learn what I myself shall be when I assail 
 thee." The Lion , thus wounded, rushed away in great 
 fear, and on a Fox exhorting him to be of good courage, 
 and not to run away at the first attack, he replied : 
 "You counsel me in vain; for if he sends so fearful a 
 messenger, how shall I abide the attack of the man 
 himself?" 
 
 A man who can strike from a distance is no pleasant 
 neighbour. 
 
LJ8 The Fables of jEsop. 
 
 THE CAMEL. 
 
 WHEN man first saw the Camel, he was so frightened 
 at his vast size that he fled away. After a time, per 
 ceiving the meekness and gentleness of his temper, he 
 summoned courage enough to approach him. Soon 
 afterwards, observing that he was an animal altogether 
 deficient in spirit, he assumed such boldness as to put a 
 bridle in his mouth, and to set a child to drive him. 
 Use serves to overcome dread. 
 
 THE CRAB AND THE FOX. 
 
 A CRAB, forsaking the sea- shore, chose a neighbouring 
 green meadow as its feeding ground. A Fox came 
 across him, and being very much famished ate him up. 
 Just as he was on the point of being eaten he said 
 " I well deserve my fate ; for what business had I on 
 the land, when by my nature and habits I am only 
 adapted for the sea ? " 
 
 Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness. 
 
 THE ASS AND THE OLD SHEPHERD. 
 A SHEPHERD watched his Ass feeding in a meadow. 
 Being alarmed x on a sudden by the cries of the enemy, 
 he appealed to the Ass to fly with him, lest they should 
 both be captured. He lazily replied, " Why should I, 
 pray ? Do you 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 their master. 
 
THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG. 
 A Fox swimming across a rapid river was carried by the 
 force of the current into a very deep ravine, where he 
 lay for a long time very much braised and sick, and 
 unable to move. A swarm of hungry blood-sucking flies 
 settled upon him. A Hedgehog passing by com 
 passionated his sufferings, and inquired if he should 
 drive away the flies that were tormenting him. " By no 
 means," replied the Fox ; " pray do not molest them." 
 " How is this ? " said the Hedgehog ; " do you not want 
 to be rid of them?" " No," returned the Fox; "for 
 these flies which you see are full of blood, and sting me 
 but little, and if you rid me of these which are already 
 satiated, others more hungry will come in their place, 
 and will drink up all the blood I have left." 
 
1 20 The Fables of 
 
 THE WOMAN AND HER HEN. 
 
 A WOMAN possessed a Hen that gave her an egg every 
 day. She often thought with herself how she might 
 obtain two eggs daily instead of one, and at last, to gain 
 her purpose, determined to give the Hen a double 
 allowance of barley. From that day the Hen became 
 fat and sleek, and never once laid another egg. 
 Covetousness overreacheth itself. 
 
 THE KITES AND THE SWANS. 
 
 THE Kites of old time had, equally with the Swans, the 
 privilege of song. But having 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 to sing. 
 
 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 hill-side, pursued 
 her for some distance : at one time biting her with his 
 teeth as if he would take her life, and at another time 
 fawning upon her, as if in play with another dog. The 
 Hare said to him, " I wish you would act sincerely by 
 me, and show yourself in your true colours. If you are 
 a friend, why do you bite me so hard ? if an enemy, why 
 do you fawn on me ? " 
 
 They are no friends whom you know not whether to 
 trust or to distrust. 
 
The Fables of sEsop. 121 
 
 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 ye 
 were, and \vith whom ye were fighting." 
 
 Count ihe ctst before you commit yourselves. 
 
 THE BULL AND THE CALF. 
 
 A BULL was striving with all his might to squeeze him 
 self through a narrow passage which led to his stall. A 
 young Calf came up, and offered to go before and show 
 him the way by which he could manage to pass. "Save 
 yourself the trouble," said the Bull; "I knew that way 
 long before you were born." 
 
 THE STAG, THE WOLF, AND THE SHEEP. 
 A STAG a^ked a Sheep to lend him a measure of wheat, 
 and said that the Wolf would be his surety. The Sheep, 
 fearing some fraud was intended, excused herself, 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 be able 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 E^gle had made her nest at the top of a lofty oak. 
 A Cat, having found a convenient hole, kittened in the 
 middle of the trunk ; and a Wild Sow, with her young, 
 had taken shelter in a hollow at its foot. The Cat 
 resolved to destroy by her arts this chance-made colony. 
 
122 The babies of 
 
 To carry out her design, she climbed to the nest of the 
 Eagle, and said, " Destruction is preparing for you, and 
 for me too, unfortunately. The Wild Sow, whom you 
 may see daily digging up the earth, wishes to uproot the 
 oak, that she may on its fall seize our families as food 
 for her young." Having thus deprived the Eagle of her 
 senses through terror, she crept down to the cave of the 
 Sow, and said, " Your children are in great danger ; for 
 as soon as you shall go out with your litter to find food, 
 the Eagle is prepared to pounce upon one of your little 
 pigs." Having instilled these fears into the Sow, she 
 went and pretended to hide herself in the hollow of the 
 tree. When night came she went forth with silent foot 
 and obtained food for herself and her kittens ; but, 
 feigning to be afraid, she kept a look-out 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 they each, with their families, perished from 
 hunger, and afforded an ample provision to the Cat and 
 rur kittens. 
 
 THE WOLF AND THE FOX. 
 
 A VERY large and strong Wolf was born among the 
 wolves, who exceeded all his fellow-wolves in strength, 
 size, and swiftness, so that they gave him, with unani 
 mous consent, the name of "Lion." The Wolf, with 
 a want of sense proportioned to his enormous size, 
 thought that they gave him this name in earnest, and, 
 leaving his own race, consorted exclusively with the 
 lions. An old sly Fox, seeing this, said, " May I never 
 make myself so ridiculous as you do in your pride and 
 self-conceit ; for you really show like a lion among 
 wolves, whereas in a herd of lions you are a wolf," 
 
THE MULE. 
 
 A MULE, frolicsome from want of work and from over 
 much corn, galloped about in a very extravagant manner, 
 and said to himself: "My father surely was a high- 
 mettled racer, and I am his own child in speed and 
 spirit." On the next day, being driven a long journey, 
 and feeling very wearied, he exclaimed in a disconsolate 
 tone : " I must have made a mistake ; my father, after 
 all, could have been only an ass." 
 
 THE PROPHET. 
 
 A WIZARD, sitting in the market-place, told the fortunes 
 of the passers-by. A person ran up in great haste, and 
 announced to him that the doors of his house had been 
 
i 2 4 The Fables of slLsop. 
 
 broken open, and that all his goods were being stolen. 
 He sighed heavily, and hastened away as fast as he could 
 run. A neighbour saw him running, and said, " Oh ! 
 you fellow there ! you say you can foretell the fortunes 
 of others; how is it you did not foresee your own?" 
 
 THE TWO FROCS. 
 
 Two Frogs were neighbours. The one inhabited a 
 deep pond, far removed from public view; the other 
 lived in a gully containing little water, and traversed 
 by a country road. He that lived in the pond warned 
 his friend, and entreated him to change his residence, 
 and to come and live with him, saying that he would 
 enjoy greater safety from danger and more abundant 
 food. The other refused, saying that he felt it so 
 very hard to remove from a place to which he had 
 become accustomed, A few days afterwards a heavy 
 wagon passed through the gully, and crushed him to 
 death under its wheels. 
 
 A wilful 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 the throes of a deadly conflict. The Serpent 
 had the advantage, and was about to strangle the bird. 
 A countryman saw them, and running up, loosed the 
 coil of the Serpent, and let the Eagle go free. The 
 Serpent, irritated at the escape of his prey, let fly his 
 poison, and injected it into the drinking horn of the 
 countryman. The rustic, ignorant of his danger, was 
 about to drink, when the Eagle struck his hand with 
 his wing, and, seizing the drinking horn in his talons 
 carried it up aloft. 
 
THE CROW AND THE PITCHER. 
 A CROW perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and, 
 hoping to find water, flew to it with great delight 
 When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it 
 contained so little water that he could not possibly 
 get at it. He tried everything he could think of to 
 reach the watei, but all his efforts were in vain. At 
 last he collected as many stones as he could carry, 
 and dropped them one by one with his beak into the 
 pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach, 
 
 thus saved his life. 
 Necessity is the mother of invention, 
 
126 The Fables of 
 
 THE THIEF AND THE INNKEEPER. 
 A THIEF hired a room in a tavern, and stayed some 
 days, in the hope of stealing something which should 
 enable him to pay his reckoning. When he had waited 
 some days in vain, he saw the Innkeeper dressed in a 
 new and handsome coat, and sitting before his door. 
 The Thief sat down beside him, and talked with him. 
 As the conversation began to flag, the Thief yawned 
 terribly, and at the same time howled like a wolf. The 
 Innkeeper said, "Why do you howl so fearfully?" 
 " I will tell you," said the Thief: "but first let me ask 
 you to hold my clothes, for I wish to leave them in 
 your hands. 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 rny crimes, or for any 
 other cause ; but this I do know, that when I yawn for 
 the third time, I actually turn into a wolf, and attack 
 men." With this speech he commenced a second fit of 
 yawning, and again howled as a wolf, as he did at first. 
 The Innkeeper hearing his tale, and, believing what he 
 said, became greatly alarmed, and rising from his seat, 
 attempted to run away. The Thief laid hold of his 
 coat, and entreated him to stop, saying, "Pray wait, sir, 
 and hold my clothes, or I shall tear them to pieces in 
 my fury, when I turn into a wolf." At the same moment 
 he yawned the third time, and set up a howl like a wolf. 
 The Innkeeper, frightened lest he should be attacked, left 
 lis new coat in his hand, and ran as fast as he could 
 into the inn for safety. The Thief made off with his new 
 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 a Vine. The huntsmen, in their 
 haste, overshot the place of his concealment ; when the 
 Hart, supposing all danger to have passed, began to 
 nibble the tendrils of the Vine. One of the huntsmen, 
 attracted by the rustling of the leaves, looked back, and, 
 seeing the Hart, shot an arrow from his bow, and killed 
 it. The Hart, at the point of death, groaned out these 
 words, " I am rightly served ; for I ought not to have 
 maltreated the Vine that saved me." 
 
 THE GNA T AND THE LION. 
 
 A GNAT came and said to a Lion, " I do not the least 
 fear you, nor are you stronger than I am. For in what 
 does your strength consist ? You can scratch with your 
 
The Fables of 
 
 claws, and bite with your teeth so can a woman in her 
 quarrels. I repeat that I am altogether more powerful 
 than you ; and if you doubt it, let us fight and see who 
 will conquer." The Gnat, having sounded his horn, 
 fastened itself upon the Lion, and stung him on the 
 nostrils and the parts of the face devoid of hair. The 
 Lion, trying to crush him, tore himself with his claws, 
 until he punished himself severely. The Gnat thus 
 prevailed over the Lion, and, buzzing about in a song ot 
 triumph, flew away. But shortly afterwards he became 
 entangled in the meshes of a cobweb, and was eaten by 
 a spider. He greatly lamented his fate, saying, " Woe is 
 me ! that I, who can wage war successfully with the 
 hugest beasts, should perish myself from this spider, the 
 most inconsiderable of insects ! " 
 
 THE FOX AND THE GRAPES. 
 
 A FAMISHED Fox saw some clusters of ripe black grapes 
 hanging from a treliised vine. She resorted to all her 
 tricks to get at them, but wearied herself in vain, for 
 she could not reach them. At last she turned away, 
 beguiling herself of her disappointment 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. The passers-by broke its 
 branches with stones and sticks for the sake of the nuts. 
 The Walnut-tree piteously exc'aimed, " O widened me ! 
 that those whom I cheer with my fruit should repay me 
 with these painful requitals 1 " 
 
THE KTD AND THE WOLF. 
 
 A KID, returning without protection from the pasture, 
 was pursued by a Wolf. He turned round, and said to 
 the Wolf : " I know, friend Wolf, that I must be your 
 prey; but before I die, I would ask of you one favour, 
 that you will play me a tune, to which I may dance." 
 The Wolf complied, and while he was piping, and the 
 Kid was dancing, the hounds, hearing the sound, came 
 up, and, issuing forth, gave chase to the Wolf. The 
 Wolf, turning to the Kid, said, " It is just what 1 
 deserve ; for I, who am only a butcher, should not have 
 turned piper to please you/' 
 
 j 
 
130 The Fables of 
 
 THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN. 
 A SAILOR, bound on a long voyage, took with him a 
 Monkey to amus.e him while on shipboard. As he sailed 
 off the coast of Greece, a violent tempest arose, in 
 which the ship was wrecked, and he, his Monkey, and 
 all the crew were obliged to swim for their lives. A 
 Dolphin saw the Monkey contending with the waves, 
 and supposing him to be a man (whom he is always said 
 to befriend), came and placed himself under him, to 
 convey him on his back in safety to the shore. When 
 the Dolphin arrived with his burden in sight of land not 
 far from Athens, he demanded of the Monkey if he were 
 an Athenian, who replied that he was, and that he was 
 descended from one of the most noble families in that 
 city. He then inquired if he knew the Piraeus (the 
 famous harbour of Athens). The Monkey, supposing 
 that a man was meant, answered, that he knew him very 
 well, and that he was an intimate friend. The Dolphin, 
 indignant at these falsehoods, dipped the Monkey under 
 the water, and drowned him. 
 
 THE HORSE AND THE STAG. 
 
 THE Horse had the plain entirely to himself. A Stag 
 intruded into his domain, and shared his pasture. The 
 .Horse desiring to revenge himself on the stranger, re 
 quested a man, if he were willing, to help him in punishing 
 the Stag. The man replied that, if the Horse would 
 receive a bit in his mouth, and agree to carry him, 
 lie would contrive effectual weapons against the Stag. 
 The Horse consented, and allowed the man to mount 
 him. From that hour he found that, instead of obtaining 
 revenge on the Stag, he had enslaved himseh to the 
 service of man. 
 
The Fables of ^Esop. 13* 
 
 THE JACKDAW AND THE DOVES. 
 A. JACKDAW, seeing some Doves in a cote abundantly 
 provided with food, painting himself white, joined 
 himself to them, that he might share their plentiful 
 maintenance. The Uoves as long as he was silent, 
 supposing him to be one of themselves, admitted him to 
 their cote; but when, one day forgetting himself, he 
 began to chatter, they, discovering his true character, 
 drove him forth, pecking him with their beaks. Failing 
 to obtain food among the Doves, he betook himself 
 again to the Jackdaws. They too, not recognizing him 
 on account of his colour, expelled him from living with 
 them. So desiring two objects, he obtained neither. 
 
 THE FOX AND THE MONKEY. 
 
 A Fox and a Monkey were travelling together on the 
 same road. As they journeyed, they passed through a 
 cemetery full of monuments. "All these monuments 
 which you see," said the Monkfey, "are erected in 
 honour of my ancestors, who were in their day freed - 
 men, and citizens of great renown." The Fox replied, 
 "You have chosen a most appropriate subject for your 
 falsehoods, as I am sure none of your ancestors will be 
 able to contradict you." 
 
 A false tale often betrays itsel 
 
 THE MAN AND HIS WIFE. 
 
 A MAN had a Wife who made herself hated by all the 
 members of his household. He wished to find out if she 
 had the same effect on the persons in her father's house. 
 He therefore made some excuse to send her home on a 
 visit to her father. After a short time she returned, 
 
132 The Fables of 
 
 when he inquired how she had got on, and how the 
 servants had treated her. She replied, " The neatherds 
 and shepherds cast on me looks of aversion." He said, 
 " O Wife, if you were disliked by those who go out early 
 in the morning with their flocks, and return late in the 
 evening, what must have been felt towards you by those 
 with whom you passed the whole of the 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 and protection from Man. He received 
 them kindly, lighted a fire, and warmed them. He made 
 the Horse free of his oats, gave the Ox abundance of hay, 
 and fed the Dog with meat from his own table. Grateful 
 for these favours, they determined to repay him to the 
 best of their ability. They divided for this purpose the 
 term of his life between them, and each endowed one 
 portion of it with the qualities which chiefly characterised 
 himself. The Horse chose his earliest years, and endowed 
 them with his own attributes: hence every man in his 
 youth is impetuous, headstrong, and obstinate in main 
 taining his own opinion. The Ox took under his patron 
 age the next term of life, and therefore man in his middle 
 age is fond of work, devoted to labour, and resolute to 
 amass wealth, and to husband his resources. The end of 
 life was reserved to the Dog, wherefore the old man is 
 often snappish, irritable, hard to please, and selfish, tole 
 rant only of his own household, but averse to strangers, 
 and to all who do not administer to his comfort or to his 
 necessities. 
 
THE THIEF AND THE HOUSE-DOG. 
 A THIEF came in the night to break into a house. He 
 brought with him several slices of meat, that he might 
 pacify the House-dog, so that he should not alarm his 
 master by barking. As the Thief threw him the pieces of 
 meat, the Dog said, "If you think to stop my mouth, you 
 will be greatly mistaken. This sudden kindness at your 
 hands will only make me more watchful, lest under these 
 unexpected favours to myself, you have some private ends 
 to accomplish for, your own benefit, and for my master's 
 injury." 
 
r J4 The Fables of 
 
 THE APES AND THE TWO TRA VELLERS. 
 Two men, one of whom always spoke the truth and the 
 other told nothing but lies, were travelling together, and 
 by chance came to the land of Apes. One of the Apes 
 who had raised himself to be king, commande 1 them to 
 be laid hold of, and brought before him, that he might 
 know what was said of him among men. He ordered at 
 the same time that all the Apes should be arranged in a 
 long row on his right hand and on his left, and that a 
 throne should be p'aced for him, as was the custom 
 among men. After these preparations he signified his 
 will that the two men should be brought before him, 
 and greeted them with this salutation : " What sort of a 
 king do I seem to you to be, O strangers? ' The lying 
 Traveller replied, "You seern to me a most mighty 
 king." " And what is your estimate of those you see 
 around me ? " " These," he made answer, " are worthy 
 companions of yourself, fit at least to be ambassadors 
 and leaders of armies." The Ape and all his court, 
 gratified with the lie, commanded a handsome present to 
 be given to the flatterer. On this the truthful Traveller 
 thought within himself, " If so great a reward be given 
 for a lie, with what gift may not I be rewarded, if, accord 
 ing to my custom, I shall tell the truth ? " The Ape 
 quickly turned to him. " And pray how do I and these 
 my friends around me seem to you?" "Thou art," he 
 said, " a most excellent Ape, and all these thy com 
 panions after thy example are excellent Apes too." The 
 King of the Apes, enraged at hearing these truths, gave 
 him over to the teeth and claws of his companions. 
 

 THE FOX AND THE LION. 
 
 A Fox who had never yet seen a Lion, when he fell in 
 with him by a certain chance for the first time in the 
 forest, was so frightened that he was near dying with fear. 
 On his meeting with him for the second time, he was still 
 much alarmed, but not to the same extent as at first. On 
 seeing him the third time, he so increased in boldness 
 that he went up to him, and commenced a familiar con 
 versation with him. 
 
 Acquaintance softens prejudices. 
 
 THE WEASEL AND THE MICE. 
 
 A WEASEL, inactive from age and infirmities, was not able 
 to catch mice as he once did. He therefore rolled him 
 self in flour and lay down in a dark corner. A Mouse, 
 
1 36 The Fables of 
 
 supposing him to be food,Jeapt upon him, and, being in 
 Stantly caught, was squeezed to death. Another perished 
 in a similar manner, and then a third, and still others 
 after them. A very old Mouse, who had escaped full 
 many a trap and snare, observing from a safe distance the 
 trick of his crafty foe, said, " Ah ! you that lie there, may 
 you prosper just in the same proportion as you are what 
 you pretend to be !" 
 
 THE BOY BA THING. 
 
 A BOY bathing in a river was in danger of being 
 drowned. He called out to a traveller, passing by, for 
 help. The traveller, instead of holding out a helping 
 hand, stood 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 every ear with his song, he no sooner 
 opened his mouth than he became a laughing-stock to all 
 who heard him. The Goddess, to console him, said, 
 " But you far excel in beauty and in size. The splendour 
 of the emerald shines in your neck, and you unfold a tail 
 gorgeous with painted plumage." " But for what purpose 
 have I," said the bird, " this dumb beauty so long as I 
 am surpassed in song?" " The lot of each," replied Juno, 
 " has been assigned by the will of the Fates to thee, 
 beauty ; to the eagle, strength ; to the nightingale, song ; 
 to the raven, favourable, and to the crow, unfavourable 
 auguries. These are all contented 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 injure one of them. The Shepherd 
 at first stood on his guard against him, as against an 
 tnemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements. 
 But when the Wolf, day after day, kept in the company 
 of the sheep, and did not make the slightest effort to 
 seize them, the Shepherd began to look upon him as a 
 guardian of his flock rather than as a plotter of evil 
 against it ; and when occasion called him one day into 
 the city, he left the sheep entirely in his charge. The 
 Wolf, now that he had the opportunity, fell upon the 
 sheep, and destroyed the greater part of the flock. The 
 Shepherd on his return, finding his flock destroyed, ex 
 claimed : " I have been rightly served ; why did I trust 
 my sheep to a wolf?" 
 
i 3 8 The Fables of 
 
 THE HARES AND 7 HE LIONS. 
 
 THE Hares harangued the 'assembly, and argued that all 
 should be on an equality. The Lions made this reply : 
 " Your words, O Hares ! are good ; but they lack both 
 claws and teeth such as we have." 
 
 THE SELLER OF IMAGES. 
 
 A CERTAIN man made a wooden image of Mercury, and 
 offered it for sale. When no one appeared willing to 
 buy it, in order that he might attract purchasers, he cried 
 out that he had the statue to sell of a benefactor, who be 
 stowed wealth and helped to heap up riches. One of the 
 bystanders said to him, " My good fellow, why do you 
 sell him, being such a one as you describe, when you may 
 yourself enjoy the good things he has to give?" "Why," 
 he replied, " I am in want of immediate help, 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, was seen by a Hawk who, being 
 in want of food, made a swoop down, and seized him. 
 The Nightingale, about to lose his life, earnestly besought 
 the Hawk to let him go, saying that he was not big 
 enough to satisfy the hunger of a Hawk, who, if he 
 wanted 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 to my hand, 
 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. The brood had almost grown to their 
 proper strength, and attained the use of their wings and 
 the full plumage of their feathers, when the owner of the 
 field, overlooking his crop, now quite ripe, said, "The 
 time is come when I must send to all my neighbours to 
 help me with my harvest." One of the young Larks heard 
 his speech, and related it to his mother, inquiring of her 
 to what place they should move for safety. " There is 
 no occasion to move yet, my son," she replied ; " the man 
 who only sends to his friends to help him with his harvest 
 is not really in earnest." The owner of the field again came 
 
The Fables of 
 
 a few days later, and saw the wheat shedding the grain 
 from excess of ripeness, and said, " I will come myselt" 
 to-morrow with my labourers, and with as many reapers 
 as I can hire, and will get in the harvest/' The Lark on 
 hearing these words said to her brood, "It is time now to 
 be off, my little ones, for the man is in earnest this time; 
 he no longer trusts to 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 nightfall they took shelter in a thick wood. 
 The Cock, flying up, perched himself on the branches of 
 a tree, while the Dog found a bed beneath in the hollow 
 trunk. When the morning dawned, the Cock, as usual, 
 crowed very loudly several times. A Fox hearing the 
 sound, and wishing to make a breakfast on him, came 
 and stood under the branches, saying how earnestly he 
 desired to make the acquaintance of the owner of so 
 magnificent a voice. The Cock, suspecting his civilities, 
 said : " Sir, I wish you would do me the favour to go 
 round to the hollow trunk below me, and wake up my 
 porter, that he may open the door, and let you in." On 
 the Fox approaching the tree, the Dog sprang out and 
 caught him, and tore him in pieces. 
 
 THE GEESE AND THE CRANES. 
 THE Geese and the Cranes fed in the same meadow. A 
 birdcatcher came to ensnare them in his nets. The 
 Cranes being light of wing, fled away at his approach ; 
 while the Geese, being slower of flight and heavier in 
 their bodies, were captured. 
 
THE ASS AND THE WOLF. 
 
 AN Ass, feeding in a meadow, saw a Wolf approaching to 
 seize him, and immediately pretended to be lame. The 
 Wolf, coming up, inquired the cause of his lameness. The 
 Ass said, that passing through a hedge he trod with his 
 foot upon a sharp thorn, and requested the Wolf to pull 
 it out, lest when he supped on him it should injure his 
 throat. The Wolf consenting, and lifting up the foot, 
 and giving his whole mind to the discovery of the thorn, 
 the Ass with his heels kicked his teeth into his mouth, 
 and galloped away. The Wolf, being thus fearfully 
 mauled, said, " I am rightly served, for why did I attempt 
 the art of healing, when my father only taught me the 
 trade of a butcher?' 
 
'42 The Fables 
 
 THE GOAT AND THE ASS. 
 
 A MAN once kept a Goat and an Ass. The Goat envy 
 ing the Ass on account of his greater abundance of food, 
 said, " How shamefully you are treated : at one time 
 grinding in the mill, and at another carrying heavy 
 burdens j " and he further advised him that he should 
 pretend to be epileptic, and fall into a ditch and so 
 obtain rest. The Ass gave credence to his words, and 
 falling into a ditch, was very much bruised. His master, 
 sending for a leech, asked his advice. He bade him 
 pour upon the wounds the lights of a Goat. They at 
 once killed the Goat, and so healed the Ass. 
 
 THE LION AND THE BULL. 
 
 A LION, greatly desirous to capture a Bull, and yet 
 afraid to attack him, on account of his great size, resorted 
 to a trick to ensure his destruction. He approached 
 him and said, " I have slain a fine sheep, my friend ; 
 and if you will come home and partake of him with me, 
 I shall be delighted to have your company." The Lion 
 said this in the hope that, as the Bull was in the act of 
 reclining to eat, he might attack him to advantage, and 
 make his meal on him. The Bull, however, on his 
 approach to his den, saw the huge spits and giant cal 
 drons, and no sign whatever of the sheep, and, without 
 saying a word, quietly took his departure. The Lion 
 inquired why he went off so abruptly, without a word of 
 salutation to his host, who had not given him any cause 
 of offence. "I have reasons enough," said the Bull. 
 " I see no indication whatever of your having slaughtered 
 a sheep, while I do see. very plainly, every preparation 
 foi your dining 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 admir 
 able imitation of a human head. He placed his paws on 
 it, and said, " What a beautiful head ! yet it is of no 
 value, as it entirely wants brains." 
 
 THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE OWL. 
 
 AN Owl, accustomed to feed at night and to sleep during 
 the day, was greatly disturbed by the noise of a Grass 
 hopper, and earnestly besought her to leave off chirping. 
 The Grasshopper refused to desist, and chirped louder 
 and louder the more the Owl entreated. The Owl, when 
 she saw that she could get no redress, and that her words 
 were despised, attacked the chatterer by a stratagem. 
 " Since I cannot sleep," she said, " on account of your 
 
144 The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 song, which, believe me, is sweet as the lyre of Apollo, I 
 shall indulge myself in drinking some nectar which Pallas 
 lately gave me. If you do not dislike it, come to me, 
 and we will drink it together." The Grasshopper, who 
 was at once thirsty and pleased with the praise of her 
 voice, eagerly flew up. The Owl, coming forth from her 
 hollow, seized her, and put her to death. 
 
 THE FOWLER AND THE VIPER. 
 A FOWLER, taking his bird-lime and his twigs, went out 
 to catch birds. Seeing a thrush sitting upon a tree, he 
 wished to take it, and fitting his twigs to a proper length, 
 he watched intently, having his whole thoughts directed 
 towards the sky. While thus looking upwards, he 
 unawares trod upon a Viper asleep just before his feet. 
 The Viper, turning towards him, stung him ; and he, 
 falling into a swoon, said to himself, " Woe is me ! 
 that while I proposed to hunt another, am 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 being heavily laden moved slowly 
 out of the way. " Hardly," said the Horse, " can I 
 resist kicking you with my heels." The Ass held his 
 peace, and made only a silent appeal to the justice of 
 the gods. Not long afterwards the Horse, having become 
 broken-winded, was sent by his owner to the farm. The 
 Ass seeing him drawing a dung-cart, thus derided him : 
 " Where, O boaster, are now all thy gay trappings, thou 
 who art thyself reduced to the condition you so lately 
 treated with contempt?'' 
 
N ^ 
 
 THE LION AND THE THREE BULLS. 
 THREE Bulls for a long time pastured together. A Lion 
 lay in ambush in the hope of making them his prey, but 
 was afraid to attack them whilst they kept together. 
 Having at last by guileful speeches succeeded hi sepa 
 rating them, he attacked them without fear, as they fed 
 alone, and feasted on them one by one at his 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 not a chance of reaching her. 
 He called to her and earnestly besought her to come 
 
1 46 The Fables of Aisop. 
 
 lower down, lest she should by some mishap get a fall; 
 and he added that the meadows lay where he was 
 standing, and that the herbage was most tender. She 
 replied, " No, my friend, it is not me that you invite to 
 the pasture, but vou yourself are in 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 ) our neck with 
 my sting." The Draught-mule replied, " I do not heed 
 your threats ; I only care for him who sits above you, 
 and who quickens my pace with his whip, or holds 
 me back with the reins. Away, therefore, with your 
 insolence, for I know well 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 draught of fish. 
 When they had dragged the'r nets to the shore they 
 found but few fish, and that the nets were full of sand 
 and stones, and they were beyond measure cast down- 
 not so much at the disappointment which had befallen 
 them, as because they had formed such very different 
 expectations. One of their company, an old man, said, 
 " Let us cease lamenting, my mates, for, as it seems to 
 me, sorrow is always the twin sister of joy ; and it was 
 only to be looked for that we, who just now were 
 over-rejoiced, should next have something to make us 
 sad." 
 
THE TOWN MOUSE AND 7 HE COUNTRY MOUSE. 
 A COUNTRY Mouse invited a Town Mouse, an intimate 
 friend, to pay him a visit, and partake of his country 
 fare. As they were on the -bare plough-lands, eating 
 their wheat-stalks and roots pulle<l up from the hedge 
 row, the Town Mouse said to his friend, " You live here 
 the life of the ants : while in my house is the horn of 
 plenty. I am surrounded with every luxury, and if you 
 will come with me, as I much wish you would, you shall 
 have an ample share of my dainties." The Country 
 Mouse was easily persuaded, and returned to town with 
 his friend. On his arrival the Town Mouse p'aced 
 before him bread, barley, beans, dried figs, honey, 
 raisins, and, last of all, brought a dainty piece of cheese 
 from a bnsket. The Country Mousr, being much 
 delighted at the sight of such good cheer, expressed his 
 
148 The Fables of 
 
 satisfaction in warm terms, and lamented his own hard 
 fate. Just as they were beginning to eat, some one 
 opened the door, and they both ran off squeaking as fast 
 as they could to a hole so narrow that two could only 
 find room in it by squeezing. They had scarcely again 
 begun their repast when some one else entered to take 
 something out of a cupboard, on which the two Mice, 
 more frightened than before, ran away and hid them 
 selves. At last the Country Mouse, almost famished, 
 thus addressed his friend : " Although you have prepared 
 for me so dainty a feast, I must leave you to enjoy it by 
 yourself. It is surrounded by too many dangers to 
 please me. I prefer my bare plough-lands and roots 
 from the hedge-row, so that I only can live in safety, 
 and without fear." 
 
 THE WOLF, THE FOX, AND THE APE. 
 A WOLF accused a Fox of theft, but he entirely denied 
 the charge. An Ape undertook to adjudge the matter 
 between them. When each had fully stated his case, the 
 Ape pronounced this sentence : " I do not think you, 
 Wolf, ever lost what you 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 
 tame to a Farmer and besought him to give them 
 some water to drink. They promised amply to repay 
 Lim the favour which they asked. The Partridges 
 declared that they would dig around his vines, and make 
 them produce finer grapes. The Wasps said that they 
 
The PLibl's of AZsop. 14^ 
 
 would keep guard and drive off thieves with their stings. 
 The Farmer, interrupting them, said : " I have already 
 two oxen, who, without making any promises, do all 
 these things. It is surely better for me to give the water 
 to them than to you." 
 
 THE BROTHER AND THE SISTER. 
 
 A FATHER had one son and one daughter; the former 
 remarkable for his good looks, the latter for her extra 
 ordinary ugliness. While they were playing one day as 
 children, they happened by chance to look together 
 into a mirror that was placed on their mother's chair. 
 The boy congratulated himself on his good looks ; 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 on herself. She ran off 
 to her father, to be avenged, in her turn, on her Brother, 
 and spitefully accused him of having, as a boy, made 
 use of that which belonged only to girls. The father 
 embraced them both, and bestowing his kisses and 
 affection impartially on each, said : " I wish you both 
 every day to look into the mirror : you, my son, that 
 you may not spoil your beauty by evil conduct; and you, 
 my daughter, that you may make .up for your want of 
 beauty by your virtues." 
 
 THE DOGS AND THE FOX. 
 
 SOME Dogs, finding the skin of a lion, began to tear it in 
 pieces wiih their teeth. A Fox, seeing them, said, " If 
 this lion were alive, you would soon find out that his claws 
 vere stronger than your teeth. " 
 
 It is easy to kick a man that is down 
 
1 50 The Fables of SEsop. 
 
 THE BLIND MAN AND THE WHELP. 
 A BLIND Man was accustomed to distinguish different 
 animals by touching them with his hands. The whelp of 
 a Wolf was brought him, with a request that he would 
 feel it, and say what it was. He felt it, and being in 
 doubt, said : " I do not quite know whether it is the cub 
 of a Fox, or the whelp of a Wolf; but this I know full 
 well, that it would not be safe to admit him to the sheep- 
 foki." 
 
 Evil tendencies are shown in early life. 
 
 THE COBBLER TURNED DOCTOR. 
 A COBBLER unable to make a living by his trade, rendered 
 desperate by poverty, began to practise medicine in a town 
 in which he was not known. He sold a drug, pretending 
 that it was an antido f e to all poisons, and obtained a great 
 name for himself by long-winded puffs and advertise 
 ments. He happened to fall sick himself of a serious 
 illness, on which the Governor of the town determined to 
 test his skill. For this purpose he called for a cup, and 
 while filling it with water, pretended to mix poison with 
 the Cobbler's antidote, and commanded him to 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 the stupid 
 clamours of the crowd. The Governor called a public 
 assembly, and thus addressed the citizens : " Of what 
 folly have you been guilty? You have not hesitated to 
 entrust your heads to a man whom no one could employ 
 to make even the shoes for their feet." 
 

 THE WOLF AND THE HORSE. 
 
 A WOLF coming out of a field of oats met with a Horse, 
 and thus addressed him : " I would advise you to go into 
 that field. It is full of capital oats, which I have left un 
 touched for you, as you are a friend the very sound oi 
 whose teeth it will be a pleasure to me to hear." The 
 Horse replied, "If oats had been the food of wolves, you 
 would 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 for it. 
 
152 The Fables of SEsop. 
 
 THE TWO MEN WHO WERE ENEMIES. 
 Two Men, deadly enemies to each other, sailed in the 
 same vessel Determined to keep as far apart as possible, 
 the one seated himself in the stern, and the other in the 
 prow of the ship. A violent storm having arisen, and the 
 vessel being in great danger of sinking, the cne in the 
 stern inquired of the pilot which of the two ends of the 
 ship would go down first. On his replying that he sup 
 posed it would be the prow, then said the Man, " Death 
 would not be grievous to me, if I could only see my 
 Enemy die before me." 
 
 THE GAME-COCKS AND THE PARTRIDGE. 
 A MAN had two Game-cocks in his poultry-yard. One 
 day by chance he fell in with a tame Partridge for sale. 
 He purchased it, and brought it home that it might be 
 reared with his Game-cocks. On its being put into the 
 poultry-yard they struck at it, and followed it about, so 
 that the Partridge was grievously troubled in mind, and 
 supposed that he was thus evilly treated because he was 
 a stranger. Not long afterwards he saw the Cocks fight 
 ing together, and not separating before one had well 
 beaten the other. He then said to himself, " I shall no 
 longer distress myself at being struck at by these Game 
 cocks, when I see that they cannot even refrain from 
 quarrelling with each other." 
 
 THE FOX AND THE LION. 
 
 A Fox saw a Lion confined in a cage, and, standing 
 near him, bitterly reviled him. The Lion said to the 
 Fox, "It is not thou who revilest me; but this mis 
 chance which has befallen me." 
 
THE QUACK FROG. 
 
 A FROG once on a time came forth from his home in 
 the marsh, and made proclamation to all the beasts 
 that he was* a learned physician, skilled in the use of 
 drugs, and able to heal all diseases. A Fox asked 
 him, " How can you pretend to prescribe for others, 
 who 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 their king, except the Fox. The 
 Wolf, therefore, thinking that he had a capital oppor- 
 
154 The Fables of 
 
 tunity, accused the Fox to the Lion for not paying 
 any respect to him who rnd the rule over them all, 
 and for not coming to visit him. At that very moment 
 the Fox came in, and heard these last words of the 
 Wolf. The Lion roaring out in a rage against him, he 
 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, who have travelled from 
 place to place in every direction, and have sought and 
 learnt from the physicians the means of healing you ? ; ' 
 The Lion commanded him immediately to tell him 
 the cure, when he replied, "You must flay a wolf alive, 
 and 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 
 your master not to ill, but to good, will/' 
 
 THE DOG'S HOUSE. 
 
 A DOG, in the winter time, rolled together and coiled 
 up in as small a space as possible on account of die 
 cold, deiermined to make himself a house. When the 
 summer returned again he lay asleep, stretched at his 
 full length, and appeared to himself to be of a great 
 size, and considered that it would be neither an easy nur 
 a necessary \\ork to make himself such a house as 
 would accommodate him. 
 
 . THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN. 
 The North Wind and the Sun disputed 4 which was the 
 most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared 
 the victor, who could first strip a wayfaring man of his 
 clothes. The North Wind first tried his power, and 
 
The Fables cf ALsop. 155 
 
 Ue\v with all his might : but the keener became his 
 blasts, .the closer the Traveller wrapped his cloak 
 around him ; till at last, resigning all hope of victory, 
 he called upon the Sun to see \\hat he could do. The 
 Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth. The 
 Traveller no sooner felt his gen-al rays than he took 
 off one garment after another, and at last, fairly over 
 come with heat, undressed, and bathtd in a stream that 
 1 ; y 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 offer some frankincense at his 
 shrine. Being rescued from his danger, he forgot his 
 promise. Shortly afterwards, on being again caught in 
 a second snare, passing by Apollo he made the same 
 promise to offer frankincense to Mercury, when he 
 appeared, and said to him, " O thou most base fellow! 
 how can I believe thee, who hast disowned and 
 wronged thy former patron?" 
 
 77JE FOX AND THE CRANE. 
 
 A Fox invitcii a Crane to supper, and provided nothing 
 for his entertainment but some soup made of pulse, and 
 poured out into a broad flat stone dish. The soup fell 
 out of the long bill of the Crane at every mouthful, and 
 his vexation at not being able to eat afforded the Fox 
 most intense amusement. The Crane, in his turn, 
 asked the Fox to sup with him, and set before her a 
 llugori, with a long narrow mouth, so that he could 
 easily insert his neck, and enjoy its contents at his 
 
IS 6 The Fables of sEsop. 
 
 leisure; while the Fox, unable even to taste it, met 
 
 with a fitting requital, after the fashion of her own 
 
 hospitality. 
 
 THE WOLF AND THE LION. 
 
 A WOLF, roaming by the mountain side, saw his own 
 shadow, as the sun was setting, become greatly extended 
 and magnified, and he said to himself, " Why should I, 
 being of such an immense size, and extending nearly 
 an acre in length, be afraid of the Lion ? 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 killed him. He 
 exclaimed with a too late repentance, " Wretched me 1 
 this over-estimation of myself is the cause of my 
 destruction/' 
 
 THE BIRDS, THE BEASTS, AND THE BAT. 
 THE Birds waged war with the Beasts, and each party 
 were by turns the conquerors. A Bat, tearing the 
 uncertain issues of the fight, always betook himself to 
 that side which was the strongest. When peace was 
 proclaimed, his deceitful conduct was apparent to both 
 the combatants. Therefore being condemned by each 
 for his treachery, he was driven forth from the light of 
 day, and henceforth concealed himself in dark hiding- 
 places, flying always alone and at night. 
 
 THE SPEND! HRIF7 AND THE SWALLOW. 
 A YOUNG man, a great spendthrift, had run through all 
 his patrimony, and had but one good cloak left. He 
 happened to see a Swallow, which had appeared before 
 
The Fables of Aisop. 157 
 
 its season, skimming along a pool and twittering gaily. 
 He supposed that sumjner had come, and went and 
 sold his cloak. Not many days after, the winder "having 
 set in again with renewed frost and cold, he found the 
 unfortunate Swallow lifeless on the ground ; and said, 
 " Unhappy bird ! what have you done ? By thus 
 appearing before the spring-time you have not only 
 killed yourself, but you have wrought my destruction 
 also." 
 
 THE CRUMPETER TAKEN PRISONER. 
 A TRUMPETER, bravely leading on the soldiers, was 
 captured by the enemy. He cried out to his captors, 
 " Pray spare me, and do not take my life without cause 
 or without inquiry. I have not slain a single man of 
 your troop. I ha.ve no arms, and carry nothing but 
 this one brass trumpet." "That is the very reason for 
 which you should be put to death," they said ; " for, 
 while you do not fight yourself, your trumpet stirs up all 
 the others to battle." 
 
 THE OWL AND THE BIRDS. 
 
 AN Owl, in her wisdom, counselled the Birds, when 
 the acorn first began to sprout, to pull it up by all 
 means out of the ground, and not to allow it to grow, 
 because it would produce the mistletoe, from which an 
 irremediable poison, the bird lime, would be extracted, 
 by which they would be captured. The Owl next 
 advised them to pluck up the seed of the flax, which 
 men had sown, as it was a plant which boded no good 
 to them. And, lastly, the Owl, seeing an archer 
 approach, predicted that this man, being on foot, 
 
158 The Fables of 
 
 would contrive darts armed with feathers, which should 
 fly faster than the wings of the Birds themselves. 
 The Birds gave no credence to these warning words, 
 but considered the Owl to be beside herself, and said 
 that she was mad. But afterwards, finding her words 
 were true, they wondered at her knowledge, and deemed 
 her to be the wisest of birds. Hence it is that when she 
 appears they resort to her as knowing all things; while 
 she no longer gives them advice, but in solitude laments 
 their past folly. 
 
 fHE GOODS AND THE ILLS. 
 
 ALL the Goods were once driven out by the Ills from 
 that common share which ' they each had in the affairs 
 of mankind; for the Ills by reason of their numbers 
 had prevailed to possess the earth. The Goods wafted 
 themselves to heaven, and asked for a righteous ven 
 geance on thtir persecutors. They entreated Jupiter 
 that they might no longer be associated wiih the //&, 
 as they had nothing in common, and could not live 
 together, but were engaged in unceasing warfare, and 
 that an indissoluble law might be laid down, for their 
 future protection. Jupiter granted their request, and 
 decreed that henceforth the Ills should visit the earth 
 in company with each other, but that the Goods should 
 one by one enter the habitations of men. Hence it 
 arises that Ills abound, for they come not one by one, 
 but in troops, and by no means singly : while the Goods 
 proceed from Jupiter, and are given, not alike to all, 
 !)Uv singly, and separately; and one by one to those 
 who are able to discern them. 
 
THE ASS IN THE LIOWS SKIN. 
 
 AN Ass, having put on the Lion's skin, roamed about 
 in the .forest, and amused himself by frightening all the 
 foolish animals he met with in his wanderings. At 
 last meeting a Fox, he tried to frighten him also, but 
 the Fox no sooner heard the sound of his voice, than 
 he exclaimed, " I might possibly have been frightened 
 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 a child. A Sparrow upbraided 
 her, and said, " Where now is thy remarkable swiftness 
 of foot? Why were your feet so slow?" While the 
 Sparrow was thus speaking, a hawk seized him on a 
 
160 The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 sudden, 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 yourself reason to deplore a similar 
 misfortune." 
 
 THE FLEA AND THE OX. 
 
 A FLEA thus questioned the Ox : " What ails you, that, 
 being so huge and strong, you submit to the wrongs 
 you receive from men, and thus slave for them day by 
 day; while I, being so small a creature, mercilessly 
 feed on their flesh, and drink their blood without 
 stint ?" The Ox replied : *' I do not wish to be un 
 grateful ; for I am loved and well cared for by men, 
 and they often pat my head and shoulders/' "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 try him before he bought him. 
 He took the Ass home, and put him in the straw-yard 
 with his other Asses, upon which he left all the others, 
 and joined himself at once to the most idle and the 
 greatest eater of them all. The man put a haltxr on 
 him, and led him back to his owner; and on his 
 inquiring how, in so short a time, he could have made 
 a trial. of him, " I do not need," he answered, "a trial ; 
 I know that he will be just such another as the one 
 whom of all the rest 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 the young ones which she had hatched. A 
 Crow hearing her, said : " My good friend, cease from 
 this unseasonable boasting. The larger the number of 
 your family, the greater your cause of sorrow, in seeing 
 them shut up in this prison-house/ 1 
 
 THE MAN AND THE SATYR. 
 
 A MAN and a Satyr once poured out libations together 
 in token of a bond of alliance being formed between 
 them. One very cold wintry day, as they talked 
 
1 62 The Fables of 
 
 together, the Man put his fingers to his mouth and 
 blew on them. On the Satyr inquiring the reason ot 
 this, he told him that he did it to warm his hands, 
 they were so cold. Later on in the day they sat 
 down to eat, the food prepared being quite scalding. 
 The Man raised one of the dishes a little towards his 
 mouth and blew in it. On the Satyr again inquiring 
 the reason of this, he said th".t he did it to cool the 
 meat, it was so hot. " I can no longer consider you 
 as a friend," said the 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 first bull by Neptune, and the 
 first house by Minerva. On the completion of their 
 labours, a dispute arose as to which had made the most 
 perfect work. They agreed to appoint Momus as judge, 
 and to abide by his decision. Momus, however, being 
 very envious of the handicraft of each, found fault with 
 all. He first blamed the work of Neptune, because he 
 had not made the horns of the bull below his eyes, that 
 he might better see where to strike. He then con 
 demned the work of Jupiter, because he had not placed 
 the heart of man on the outside, that everyone might 
 read the thoughts of the evil disposed, and take pre 
 cautions against the intended mischief. And, lastly, he 
 inveighed against Minerva, because she had not con 
 trived iron wheels in the foundation of her house, that 
 its inhabitants might more easily remove if a neighbour 
 should prove unpleasant. Jupiter, indignant at such 
 inveterate fault-finding, drove him from his office of 
 judge, and expelled him from the mansions of Olympus. 
 
THE EAGLE AND THE JACKDAW. 
 AN Eagle flying down from his eyrie on a lofty rock, 
 seized upon a lamb, and carried him aloft in his talons. 
 A Jackdaw, who witnessed the capture of the lamb, 
 was stirred with envy, and determined to emulate the 
 strength and flight of the Eagle. He flew round with 
 a great whirr of his wings, and settled upon a large 
 ram, with the intention of carrying him off, but his 
 claws becoming entangled in his fleece he was not 
 able to release himself, although he fluttered with his 
 feathers as much as he could. The shepherd, seeing 
 what had happened, ran up and caught him. He at 
 
1 64 The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 once clipped his 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 a Daw ; but he will have it that he is 
 an Eagle." 
 
 THE EAGLE AND THE FOX. 
 
 AN Eagle and a Fox formed an intimate friendship, 
 and decided to live near each other. The Eagle built 
 her nest in the branches of a tall tree, while the Fox 
 crept into the underwood and there produced her young. 
 Not long after they had agreed upon this plan, when 
 the Fox was ranging for food, the Eagle, being in want 
 of provision for her young ones, swooped down and 
 seized upon one of the little cubs, and feasted herself 
 and brood. The Fox on her return, discovering what 
 had happened, was less grieved for the death of her 
 young than for her inability to avenge them. A just 
 retribution, however, quickly fell upon the Eagle. 
 While hovering near an altar, on which some villagers 
 were sacrificing a goat, she suddenly seized a piece of 
 the flesh, and carried with it to her nest a burning 
 cinder. A strong breeze soon fanned the spark into a 
 flame, and the eaglets, as yet unfledged and helpless, 
 were roasted in their nest and dropped down dead at 
 the bottom of the tree. The Fox gobbled them up in 
 the sight of the Eagle. 
 
 THE TWO BAGS. 
 
 EVERY man, according to an ancient legend, is born 
 into the world with- two bags suspended from his 
 nec k a small bag in front full of his neighbours' 
 faults, and a large bag behind filled with his own 
 
The Fables of ^Esop. 165 
 
 faults. Hence it is that men are quick to see 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 of a 
 shepherd a place where she might litter. On her 
 request being granted, she again besought permission 
 to rear her puppies in the same spot. The shepherd 
 again consented. But at last the Bitch, protected with 
 the body-guard of her Whelps, who had now grown 
 up, and were able to defend themselves, asserted her 
 exclusive right to the place, and would not permit the 
 shepherd to approach. 
 
 THE STAG AT THE POOL. 
 
 A STAG overpowered by heat came to a spring to drink. 
 Seeing his own shadow reflected 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 was thus contemplating himself, 
 a Lion appeared at the pool and crouched to spring 
 upon him. The Stag immediately betook himself to 
 flight : and exerting his utmost speed, as long as the 
 plain was smooth and open, kept himself with ease 
 at a safe distance from the Lion. But entering a 
 wood he became entangled by his horns: and the 
 Lion quickly came up with him and caught him. 
 When too late he thus reproached himself: "Woe is 
 me ! How have I deceived myself! These feet which 
 would have saved me I despised, and I gloried in these 
 antlers which have proved my destruction." 
 
 What is most truly valuable is often underrated. 
 
106 The Fables of 
 
 THE LARK BURYING ITS FATHER. 
 THE Lark (according to an ancient legend) was created 
 before the earth itself : and when her father died by a 
 fell disease, as there was no earth, she could find for 
 him no place of burial. She let him lie uninterred for 
 five days, and on the sixth day, being in perplexity, she 
 buried him in her own head. Hence she obtained her 
 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 was about to fly off, he made a 
 buzzing noise, and inquired of the Bull if he would like 
 him to go. The Bull replied, " I did not know you 
 had come, and I shall not miss you when you go away." 
 Some men are of more consequence in their own 
 eyes than in the eyes of their neighbours. 
 
 THE MONKEY AND THE CAMEL. 
 THE beasts of the forest gave a splendid entertainment, 
 at which the Monkey stood up and danced. Having 
 vastly delighted the assembly, he sat down amidst 
 universal applause. The Camel, envious of the praises 
 bestowed on the Monkey, and desirous to divert to 
 himself the favour of the guests, proposed to stand 
 up in his turn, and dance for their amusement. He 
 moved about in so utterly ridiculous a manner, that 
 the Beasts in a fit of indignation set upon him with 
 dubs, 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 some cow 
 hides steeping in a river. Not being able to reach 
 them, they agreed to drink up the river: but it fell 
 out that they burst themselves with drinking long 
 before they reached the hides. 
 
 Attempt not impossibilities. 
 
 THE JACKDAW AND THE FOX. 
 A HALF-FAMISHED Jackdaw seated himself on a fig. 
 tree, which had produced some fruit 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, said to him, " You are 
 indeed, sir, sadly deceiving yourself; you are indulging 
 a hope strong enough to cheat you, but which will 
 never reward you with enjoyment" 
 
1 68 The Fables of 
 
 MERCURY AND THE WORKMEN. 
 
 A. WORKMAN, felling wood by the side of a river, let 
 his axe drop by accident into a deep pool. Being thus 
 deprived of the means of his livelihood, he sat down 
 on the bank, and lamented his hard fate. Mercury 
 appeared, and demanded the cause of his tears. He 
 told him his misfortune, when Mercury plunged into 
 the stream, and, bringing up a golden axe, inquired if 
 that were the one he had lost. On his saying that it 
 was not his, Mercury disappeared beneath the water 
 a second time, and returned with a silver axe in his 
 hand, and again demanded of the Workman " if it were 
 his." On the Workman saying it was not, he dived 
 into the pool for the third time, and brought up the 
 axe that had been lost. On the Workman claiming it, 
 and expressing his joy at its recovery, Mercury, pleased 
 with his honesty, gave him the golden and the silver 
 axes in addition to his own. 
 
 The Workman, on his return to his house, related to 
 his companions all that had happened. One of them at 
 once resolved to try whether he could not also secure 
 the same good fortune to himself. He ran to the river, 
 and threw his axe on purpose into the pool at the same 
 place, and sat down on the bank to weep. Mercury 
 appeared to him just as he hoped he would; and 
 having learned the cause of his grief, plunged into the 
 stream, and brought up a golden axe, and inquired it 
 he had lost it. The Workman seized it greedily, and 
 declared that of a truth it was the very same axe that 
 he had lost. Mercury, displeased at his knavery, not 
 only took away the golden axe, but refused to recover 
 for him the axe he had thrown into the pool. 
 
The Fables of AZsop. 169 
 
 THE PEASANT AND THE APPLE-TREE. 
 A PEASANT had in his garden an Apple-tree, which 
 bore no fruit, but only served as a harbour for the 
 sparrows and grasshoppers. He resolved to cut it 
 down, and, taking his axe in his hand, made a bold 
 stroke at its roots. The grasshoppers and sparrows 
 entreated him not to cut down the tree that sheltered 
 them, but to spare it, and they would sing to him and 
 lighten his labours. He paid no attention to their 
 request, but gave the tree a second and a third blow 
 with Ms 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 as sacred, took great care of it. 
 Self interest alone moves some men. 
 
 THE TWO SOLDIERS AND THE ROBBER. 
 Two Soldiers travelling together, were set upon by a 
 Robber. The one fled away; the other stood his 
 ground, and defended himself with his stout right 
 hand. The Robber being slain, the timid companion 
 runs up and draws his sword, and then, throwing back 
 his travelling cloak, says, "I'll at him, and I'll take 
 care he shall learn whom he has attacked." On this 
 he who had fought with the Robber made answer, " I 
 only wish that you had helped me just now, even if it 
 had been only with those words, for I should have 
 been the more encouraged, believing them to be true ; 
 but now put up your sword in its sheath and hold 
 your equally useless tongue, till you can deceive others 
 who do not know you. I, indeed, who have expe 
 rienced with what speed you run away, know light well 
 that no dependence can be placed on /our valour.'* 
 
The Fables of 
 
 THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP. 
 
 A SHEPHERD driving his Sheep to a wood, saw an oak 
 of unusual size, full of acorns, and, spreading his cloak 
 under the branches, he climbed up into the tree, and 
 shook down the acorns. The Sheep eating the acorns, 
 inadvertently frayed and tore the cloak. The Shep 
 herd coming down, and seeing what was done, said, 
 " O you most ungrateful creatures ! you provide wool 
 to make garments for all other men, but y^u destroy 
 the clothes of him who feeds you. 
 
 THE TREES UNDER THE PROTECTION OP 
 THE GODS. 
 
 THE Gods, according to an ancient legend, made choice 
 of certain trees to be under their special protection. 
 Jupiter chose the oak, Venus the myrtle, Apollo the 
 laurel, Cybele the pine, and Hercules the poplar. 
 Minerva, wondering why they had preferred trees not 
 yielding fruit, inquired the reason of their choice. 
 Jupiter replied, "It is lest we should seem to covet 
 the honour for the fruit." But said Minerva, " Let any 
 one say what he will, the olive is more dear to me on 
 account of its fruit." Then said Jupiter, "My daughter, 
 you are rightly 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 
 uit him ; on which he called loudly upon Hercules for 
 help. The Flea a second time hopped upon his foot, 
 when 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 
 pretence of becoming his servant. Each undertook 
 his proper duty in accordance with his own nature and 
 powers. The Fox discovered and pointed out the 
 prey, the Lion sprung on it, and seized it. The Fox 
 soon became jealous of the Lion carrying off the 
 Lion's share, and said that he would no longer find 
 out the prey, but would capture it on his own account. 
 The next day he attempted to snatch a lamb from 
 the fold, but fell himself a prey to the huntsmen and 
 hounds. 
 
The Fables of 
 
 TRUTH AND THE TRA VELLER. 
 
 A WAYFARING Man, travelling in the desert, met a 
 woman standing alone and terribly dejected. He 
 inquired of her, "Who art thou?" " My name is 
 Truth," she replied. " And for what cause," he asked, 
 " have you left the city, to dwell alone here in the 
 wilderness?" She made answer, "Because in former 
 times falsehood was with few, but is now with all men, 
 whether you would hear or speak." 
 
 THE MANSLAYER. 
 
 A MAN committed a murder, and was pursued by the 
 relations of the man whom he murdered. On his 
 reaching the river Nile he saw a Lion on its bank, and 
 being fearfully afraid, climbed up a tree. He found 
 a serpent in the upper branches of the tree, and again 
 being greatly alarmed, he threw himself into the river, 
 when a crocodile caught him and ate him. Thus the 
 earth, the air, and the water, 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 to their mutual advantage. 
 The Lion replied, " I have no objection, but you must 
 excuse me for requiring you to find surety for your 
 good faith ; for how can I trust any one as a friend, 
 who is able to fly away from his bargain whenever he 
 pleases?'' 
 
 Try before you trust 
 
The Fables of ssop. 173 
 
 THE ASS AND HIS DRIVER. 
 
 AN .Ass being driven along the high road, suddenly 
 started off, and bolted to the brink of a deep precipice. 
 When he was in the act of throwing himself over, his 
 owner, seizing him by the tail, endeavoured to pull 
 him back. The Ass, persisting in his effort, the man 
 let him go and said, " Conquer : but conquer to your 
 
 THE THRUSH AND THE FOWLER. 
 A THRUSH was feeding on a myrtle-tree, and did not 
 move from it, on account of the deliciousness of its 
 berries. A Fowler observing her staying so long in 
 one spot, having well birdlimed his reeds, caught her. 
 The Thrush, being at the point of death, exclaimed, 
 " O foolish creature that I am ! For the sake of a little 
 pleasant food 1 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 he passed the door of a cottage 
 built in the forest, he heard a Mother say to her child, 
 " Be quiet, or I will throw you out of the window, and 
 the Wolf shall eat you." The Wolf sat all day waiting 
 at the door. In the evening he heard the same woman, 
 fondling her child and saying : " He is quiet now, and 
 if the Wolf should come, we will kill him." The Wolf, 
 hearing these words, went home, gaping with cold and 
 hunger. On his reaching his den, Mistress Wolf in 
 quired of him why he returned wearied and supperless, 
 so contrary to his wont. He replied : " Why, forsooth 1 
 because I gave credence to the words of a woman !" 
 
174 The Fables of dSsop. 
 
 THE HEN AND THE SWALLOW. 
 
 A HEN finding the eggs of a viper, and carefully 
 keeping them warm, nourished them into life. A 
 Swallow observing what she had done, said, "You 
 silly creature ! why have you hatched these vipers, 
 which, when they shall have grown, will inflict injury 
 on all, beginning with youiself?" 
 
 THE ROSE AND THE AMARANTH. 
 AN Amaranth planted in a garden near a Rose-tree 
 thus addressed it : " What a lovely flower is the Rose, 
 a favourite alike with Gods and with men. I envy 
 you your beauty and your perfume." The Rose re 
 plied, " I indeed, dear Amaranth, flourish but for a 
 brief season ! If no cruel hand pluck me from my 
 stem, yet I must perish by an early doom. But thou 
 art immortal, and dost never fade, but bloomest for 
 ever in renewed youth." 
 
 THE TRAVELLERS AND THE PLANE-TREE. 
 Two Travellers, worn out by the heat of the summer's 
 sun, laid themselves down at noon under the wide- 
 spreading branches of a Plane-tree. As they rested 
 under its shade, one of the Travellers said to the 
 other, " What a singularly useless tree 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, while receiving benefits 
 from me, and resting under my shade, dare to describe 
 me as useless, and unprofitable?" 
 Some men despise their best blessings. 
 
The Fables of At sop. 175 
 
 THE ASS AND THE HORSE. 
 
 AN Ass besought a Horse to spare him a small portion 
 of his feed. " Yes," said he ; " if any remains out of 
 what I am now eating I will give it you, for the sake of 
 my own superior dignity ; and if you will come when 
 I shall reach my own stall in the evening, I will give 
 you a little sack full of barley." The Ass replied: 
 " Thank you. I can't think that you, who refuse me a 
 little matter now, 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, much against his will, carried 
 her backward and forward for a long time, and at last 
 said, "If you had treated a dog in this way, you would 
 have had your deserts from his sharp teeth." To this 
 the Crow replied, " I despise the weak, and yield to the 
 strong. I know whom I may bully, and whom I must 
 flatter ; and I thus prolong my life to a good old age." 
 
 THE FOX AND THE BRAMBLE. 
 
 A Fox, mounting a hedge, when he was about to fall 
 caught hold of a Bramble. Having pricked and 
 grievously torn the soles of his feet, he accused the 
 Bramble, because, when he had fled to her for assist 
 ance, 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 
 on me, 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 provided for, while he himself had scarcely 
 enough to eat, nor even that without hard work. But 
 when war broke out, and the heavy armed soldier 
 mounted the Horse, and riding him to the charge, 
 rushed into the very midst of the enemy, and the 
 Horse, being wounded, fell dead on the battle-field ; 
 then the Ass, seeing all these things, changed his 
 mind, and commiserated the Horse. 
 
 THE LION, JUPITER, AND THE ELEPHANT. 
 THE Lion wearied Jupiter with his frequent complaints. 
 " It is true," he said, " O Jupiter ! that I am gigantic 
 in strength, handsome in shape, and powerful in attack. 
 I have jaws well provided with teeth, and feet furnished 
 with claws, and I lord it over all the beasts of the 
 
The Fables of ALsop. 
 
 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 the attributes which I 
 possess myself, and your courage never fails you 
 except in this one instance." On this the Lion 
 groaned and lamented very much, and reproached 
 himself with his cowardice, and wished that he might 
 die. As these thoughts passed through his mind, he 
 met an Elephant, and came near to hold a conversation 
 with him. After a time he observed that the Elephant 
 shook his ears very often, and he inquired what was 
 the matter, and why his ears moved with such a tremor 
 every now and then. Just at that moment a Gnat 
 settled on the head of the Elephant, and he replied, 
 "Do you see that little buzzing insect? If it enters 
 my ear, my fate is sealed. I ohould die presently." 
 The Lion said, "Well, since, so huge a beast is afraid 
 of a tiny gnat, I will no more complain, nor wish 
 myself dead. I find myself, even as I am, better off 
 than the Elephant, in that very same degree that a 
 Cock is greater than a Gnat." 
 
 THE DOG AND THE OYSTER. 
 
 A DOG, used to eating eggs, saw an Oyster; and 
 opening his mouth to its widest extent, 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 all this torment, for my 
 folly in thinking that everything round must be an egg." 
 They who act without sufficient thought will often 
 fall into unsuspected danger. 
 
 M 
 
178 The Fables of 
 
 THE MULES AND THE ROBBERS. 
 
 Two Mules well laden with packs were trudging along. 
 One carried panniers filled with money, the other sacks 
 weighted with grain. The Mule carrying the treasure 
 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. His companion followed 
 with quiet and easy step. All on a sudden Robbers 
 rushed from their hiding-places upon them, and in the 
 scuffle with their owners, wounded with a sword the 
 Mule carrying the treasure, which they greedily seized 
 upon, while they took no notice of the grain. The 
 Mule which had been robbed and wounded, bewailed 
 his misfortunes. The other replied, " I am indeed glad 
 that I was thought 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 Wolf called out to him and said, 
 "The Priest will slay you in sacrifice, if he should 
 catch you," on which the Lamb replied, " It would be 
 better for me to be sacrificed in the Temple, than to be 
 eaten by you. 5 ' 
 
 THE PARTRIDGE AND THE FOWLER. 
 
 A FOWLER caught a Partridge, and was about to kill 
 it. The Partridge earnestly besought him to spare his 
 life, saying, "Pray, master, permit me to live, and I 
 will entice many Partridges to you in recompense for 
 your mercy to me." The Fowler replied, " T shall now 
 
The Fables of Aisop. 1 79 
 
 with the less scruple take your life : because you are 
 willing 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 are you who dare to feed on 
 my limbs, and to cost me so much trouble in catching 
 you?" 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 
 you shall certainly die by mine own hands, for no evil, 
 whether it be small or large, 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 smell of the tan-yard, he 
 pressed his neighbour to go away. The Tanner put 
 off his departure from time to time, saying that he 
 would remove soon. But as he still continued to stay, 
 it came to pass, as time went on, the rich man became 
 accustomed to the smell, and feeling no manner of 
 inconvenience, made no further complaints. 
 
 THE VIPER AND THE FILL. 
 
 A VIPER entering the workshop of a smith, sought 
 from the tools the means of satisfying his hunger. He 
 more particularly addressed himself to a File, and asked 
 of him the favour of a meal. The File replied, " You 
 must indeed be a simple-minded fellow if you expect to 
 get anything from me, who am accustomed to take from 
 every one, and never to give anything in return.'' 
 The covetous are poor givers. 
 
1 80 The Fables of 
 
 THE LION AND THE SHEPHERD. 
 A LION, roaming through a forest, trod upon a thorn, 
 and soon after came up towards a Shepherd, and 
 fawned upon him, wagging his tail, as if he would say, 
 "I am a. suppliant, and seek your aid." The Shepherd 
 boldly examined, and discovered the thorn, and placing 
 his foot upon his lap, pulled it out and relieved the 
 Lion of his pain, who returned into the forest. Some 
 time after, the Shepherd being imprisoned on a false 
 accusation, is condemned " to be cast to the Lions," 
 as the punishment of his imputed crime. The Lion, 
 on being released from his cage, recognizes the Shep 
 herd as the man who healed him, and, instead of 
 attacking him, approaches and places his foot upon his 
 lap. The King, as soon as he heard the tale, ordered 
 the Lion to be set free again in the forest, and the Shep 
 herd 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 that he himself could obtain 
 the same honours. He went to Jupiter, and besought 
 him to give him horns. Jupiter, vexed at his request, 
 because he was not satisfied with his size and strength 
 of body, and desired yet more, not only refused to 
 give 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 threw sticks at him, and 
 pelted him with stones, while some of them, moved with 
 
The Fables of sEsop. \ g \ 
 
 coiijpassion 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, not dreaming of 
 any danger, but supposing that on the morrow they 
 should find him dead. The Panther, however, when he 
 nad recruited his feeble strength, freed himself with a 
 sudden bound from the pit, and hastened home with 
 rapid steps to his den. After a few days he came forth 
 and slaughtered the cattle, and, killing the Shepherds 
 who had attacked him, raged with angry fury. Then 
 they who had spared his life, fearing for their safety 
 surrendered to him their flocks, and begged only for 
 their lives ; ?o whom the Panther made this reply : " I 
 remember alike those who sought my life with stones, 
 and those who gave me food lay aside, therefore, your 
 fears. I return as an enemy only to those who injured 
 
 THE EAGLE AND THE KITE. 
 
 AN Eagle, overwhelmed with sorrow, sat upon the 
 branches of a tree, in company with a Kite. " Why," 
 said the Kite, " do I see you with such a rueful look ?" 
 " I seek," she replied, " for 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 
 you able to secure the means of living by your plunder?" 
 " Well, I have often caught and 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 off, and bring me back the ostrich 
 you promised me." The Kite, soaring aloft into the 
 air, brought back the shabbiest possible mouse, and 
 stinking from the length of time it had lain about the 
 
1 82 The Fables of 
 
 fields. " Is this," said the Eagle, " the faithful fulfilment 
 of your promise to me?" The Kite replied, "That I 
 might attain to your royal hand, there is nothing that I 
 would not have promised, however much I knew that I 
 must fail in the performance." 
 
 THE EAGLE AND HIS CAPTOR. 
 
 AN Eagle was once captured by a man, who at once 
 clipped his wings, and put him into his poultry yard 
 with the other birds ; at which treatment the Eagle was 
 weighed down with grief. Another neighbour having 
 purchased him, suffered his 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 propitiate 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 who had one only son, fond of martial exer 
 cises, had a dream in which he was warned that 
 his son would be killed by a lion. Afraid lest the 
 dream should prove true, he built for his son a pleasant 
 palace, and adorned its walls for his amusement with 
 all kinds of animals of the size of life, among which 
 was the picture of a lion. When the young Prince 
 saw this, his grief at being thus confined burst out 
 afresh, and, standing near the lion, he thus spoke : 
 " O you most detestable of animals ? through a lying 
 dream of my father's, which he saw in his sleep, I am 
 shut up on your account in this palace as if I had 
 
The Fables of A? sop. 183 
 
 been a girl-, what shall I now do to you?" With these 
 words he stretched out his hands toward a thorn-tree, 
 meaning to cut a stick from its branches that he might 
 beat the lion, when one of its' sharp prickles pierced 
 his finger, and caused great pain and inflammation, so 
 that the young Prince fell down in a fainting fit. A 
 violent fever suddenly set in, from which he died not 
 many days after. 
 
 We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to 
 escape them. 
 
 THE CAT AND VENUS. 
 
 A CAP fell in love with a handsome young man, and 
 entreated Venus that she would change her into the 
 form of a woman. Venus consented to her request, 
 and transformed her into a beautiful damsel, so that 
 the youth saw her, and loved her, and took her home 
 as his bride. While they were reclining in their 
 chamber, Venus, wishing to discover if the Cat in 
 her change of shape had also altered her habits of 
 life, let down a mouse in the middle of the room. She, 
 quite forgetting her present condition, started up from 
 the couch, and pursued the mouse, wishing to eat it. 
 Venus, much disappointed, again caused her to return 
 to her former shape. 
 Nature exceeds nurture. 
 
 THE EAGLE AND THE BEETLE. 
 THE Eagle and the Beetle were at enmity together, 
 and they destroyed one another's nests. The Eagle 
 gave the first provocation in seizing upon and in 
 eating the young ones of the Beetle. The Beetle 
 
*84 The Fables of 
 
 got by stealth at the Eagle's eggs, and rolled them 
 out of the nest, and followed the Eagle even into the 
 presence of Jupiter. On the Eagle making his com 
 plaint, Jupiter ordered him to make his nest in his lap; 
 and while Jupiter had the eggs in his lap, the Beetle 
 came flying about him, and Jupiter rising up unawares, 
 to drive him away from his head, threw down the eggs, 
 and broke them. 
 
 The weak often revenge themselves on those who use 
 them ill, even though they be the more powerful. 
 
 THE SHE-GOATS AND THEIR BEARDS. 
 
 THE She-goats having obtained by request from Jupiter 
 the favour of a beard, the He-goats, sorely displeased, 
 made complaint that the females equalled them in 
 dignity. " Suffer them/' said Jupiter, " to enjoy an 
 empty honour, and to assume the badge of your 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 in outside appearances. 
 
 THE BALD MAN AND THE FLY. 
 
 A FLY bit the bare head of a Bald Man, who, endea 
 vouring to destroy it, gave himself a heavy slap. Then 
 said the Fly mockingly, "You who have wished to 
 revenge, even with death, the prick of a tiny insect, 
 what will you do to yourself, who have added insult 
 to injury?" The Bald Man replied, "I can easily 
 make peace with myself, because I know there was no 
 intention to hurt. But you, an ill-favoured and con- 
 
The Fables of ^Esop. 185 
 
 temptible insect, who delight in sucking human blood. 
 I wish that I could have killed you, even if I had 
 incurred a heavier penalty." 
 
 THE SHIPWRECKED MAN AND THE / EA. 
 A SHIPWRECKED Man, having been cast upon a certain 
 shore, slept after his buffetings with the deep. After 
 a while waking up, when he looked upon the sea, he 
 loaded it with reproaches that, enticing men with the 
 calmness of its looks, when it had induced them to 
 plough its waters, it grew rough and destroyed them 
 utterly. The Sea, assuming the form of a woman, 
 replied to him : " Blame not me, my good sir, but the 
 winds, for I am by my own nature as calm and firm 
 even as this earth ; but the winds falling on me on a 
 sudden, create these waves, and lash me into fury." 
 
 THE BUFFOON AND THE COUNTRYMAN. 
 A RICH nobleman once opened the theatres without 
 charge to the people, and gave a public notice that he 
 would handsomely reward any person who should 
 invent a new amusement for the occasion. Various 
 public performers contended for the prize. Among 
 them came a Buffoon well known among the populace 
 for his jokes, and said that he had a kind of enter 
 tainment which had never been brought out on any 
 stage before. This report being spread about made a 
 great stir in the place, and the theatre was crowded 
 in every part. The Buffoon appeared alone upon the 
 boards, without any apparatus or confederates, and 
 the very sense of expectation caused an intense silence. 
 The Buffoon suddenly bent his head towards his bosom 
 
1 86 The Fables of 
 
 and imitated the squeaking of a little pig so admirably 
 with his voice that the audience declared that he had 
 a porker under his cloak, and demanded that it should 
 !be shaken out. When that was done, and yet nothing 
 was found, they cheered the actor, and loaded him with 
 the loudest applause. A Countryman in the crowd, 
 observing all that had passed, said, "So help me, 
 Hercules, he shall not beat me at that trick!" 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 assembled in the 
 theatre; but now partiality for their favourite actoi 
 very generally prevailed, and the audience came rathei 
 to ridicule the Countryman than to see the spectacle. 
 Both of the performers, however, appeared on the 
 stage. The Buffoon grunted and squeaked away first, 
 and obtained, as on the preceding day, the applause 
 and cheers of the spectators. Next the Countryman 
 commenced, and pretending that he concealed a little 
 pig beneath his clothes (which in truth he did, but not 
 suspected of the audience), contrived to lay hold of and 
 to pull his ear, when he began to squeak, and to express 
 in his pain the actual cry of the pig. The crowd, how 
 ever, cried out with one consent that the Buffoon had 
 given a far more exact imitation, and clamoured for the 
 Countryman to be kicked out of the theatre. On this 
 the rustic produced the little pig from his cloak, and 
 showed by the most positive proof the greatness of 
 their mistake. " Look here," he said, " this shows what 
 sort of judges you are." 
 
The Fables of sEsop. 187 
 
 THE CROW AND THE SERPENT. 
 
 A CROW, in great want of food, saw a Serpent asleep in 
 a sunny nook, and flying down, greedily seized him. 
 The Serpent turning about, bit the Crow with a mortal 
 wound ; the Crow in the agony of death exclaimed : 
 H O unhappy me ! who have found in that which 1 
 deemed a happy windfall the source of my destruction." 
 
 THE HUNTER AND THE HORSEMAN 
 
 A CERTAIN Hunter having snared a hare, placed it upon 
 his shoulders, and set out homewards. He met on his 
 way with a man on horseback who begged the hare of 
 him, under the pretence of purchasing it. The Horse 
 man having got the hare, rode off as fast as he could. 
 The Hunter ran after him, as if he was sure of over 
 taking him. The Horseman, however, increasing more 
 and more the distance between them, the Hunter, 
 sorely against his will, called out to him, and said, 
 " Get along 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 year round, the Fig-tree changed its 
 leaves with the seasons. A shower of snow fell upon 
 them, and, finding the Olive full of foliage, it settled 
 upon its branches, and, breaking them down with its 
 weight, at once despoiled it of its beauty and killed the 
 tree ; but finding the Fig-tree denuded of leaves, it fell 
 t'-irough to the ground, and did not injure it at all. 
 
I 8 The Fables of 
 
 THE FROGS 1 COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SUN. 
 ONCE upon a time, when the Sun announced his in ten 
 tion to take a wife, the Frogs lifted up their voices in 
 clamour to the sky. Jupiter, disturbed by the noise oi 
 their croaking, inquired the cause of their complaint. 
 One of them said, "The Sun, now while he is single, 
 parches up the marsh, and compels us to die miserably 
 in our arid homes ; what will be our future condition if 
 he should beget other suns?" 
 
 THE BRAZIER AND HIS DOG. 
 
 A BRAZIER had a little Dog, which was a great favourite 
 with his master, and his constant companion. While he 
 hammered away at his metals, the Dog slept; but when, 
 on the other hand, he went to dinner, and began to eat, 
 the Dog woke up, and wagged his tail, as if he would 
 ask for a share of his meal. His master one day, pre 
 tending to be angry, and shaking his stick at him, said, 
 "You wretched little sluggard ! what shall I do to you? 
 While I am hammering on the anvil, you sleep en the 
 mat ; and when I begin to eat after my toil, you wake 
 up, and wag your tail for food. Do you not know that 
 labour is the source of every blessing, and that none 
 but those who work are entitled to eat ?** 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PREFACE 
 LIFE OF 
 
 PACK 
 V. 
 
 Ant and Dove 
 
 Ants and Grasshopper.... 
 Apes and Two Trav. 1 rs 
 
 Ass and Charger 
 
 Ass and Driver 
 
 Ass and Frogs 
 
 Ass and Grasshopper .... 
 
 Ass and his Masters 
 
 Ass and his Purchaser .... 
 
 Ass and his Shadow 
 
 Ass and Horse 
 
 Ass and Lap- Dog 
 
 Ass and Mule 
 
 Ass and Old Shepheui 
 
 Ass and Wolf 
 
 Ass carrying Image 
 
 Ass, Cock, and Lion .... 
 
 Ass, Fox, and Lion 
 
 Ass in the Lior's Skin.... 
 Astronomer ., 
 
 73 
 96 
 
 36 
 134 
 176 
 
 173 
 H5 
 
 32 
 70 
 
 1 60 
 91 
 
 175 
 56 
 55 
 
 116 
 
 141 
 83 
 85 
 4i 
 
 159 
 62 
 
 Bald Man and /jy 184 
 
 Bald Knight 112 
 
 Bat and Weasels 34 
 
 Bear and Fox 44 
 
 Pear and Two Traveller... 49 
 
 Bee and Jupiter 86 
 
 Belly and Members 68 
 
 Birdcatcher, Partridge, and 
 
 Cock 95 
 
 Birds, Beasts, and Bat 156 
 
 Bitch and her Whelps 166 
 
 Blind Man and Whelp 150 
 
 Boasting Traveller 51 
 
 Bowman and Lion 117 
 
 Boy and Filberts 52 
 
 Boy and Nettles 61 
 
 Boy bathing 136 
 
 Boy hunting Locusts 38 
 
 Boys and Frogs 58 
 
 Brazier and his Dog 188 
 
 Brother and Sister 149 
 
 Buffoon and Countryman... 185 
 
 Bull and Calf 121 
 
 Bull and Goat 111 
 
 Bull, Lioness, and Wild- 
 Boar Hunter 117 
 
 Camel 118 
 
 Camel and Arab 101 
 
 Camel and Jupiter 180 
 
 Catand Birds 62 
 
 Cat and Cock 50 
 
 Cat and Mice 103 
 
 Cat and Venus 183 
 
 Cobbler turned Doctor 150 
 
 Cock and Jewel 35 
 
 Charcoal Burner and Fuller 38 
 
 Charger and Miller 67 
 
 Crab and Fox 118 
 
 Crab and its Mother... 71 
 
 Crow and Mercury 155 
 
 Crow and Pitcher 125 
 
 Crow and Raven 115 
 
 Crow and Serpent 187 
 
190 
 
 Index. 
 
 Crow and Sheep 175 
 
 Dancing Monkeys 105 
 
 Doe and Lion 9^ 
 
 Dog and Cook 104 
 
 Dog and Hare 120 
 
 Dog and Oyster 177 
 
 Dog and Shadow ... 39 
 
 Dog, Cock, and Fox 140 
 
 Dog in Manger 47 
 
 Dogs and Fox 149 
 
 Dogs and Hides 167 
 
 Dog's House 154 
 
 Dolphins, Whales,aud Sprat 70 
 
 Dove and Crow 161 
 
 Eagle and Arrow 81 
 
 Eagle and Beetle 183 
 
 Eagle and Captor 180 
 
 Eagle and Fox 164 
 
 Eagle and Jackdaw 163 
 
 Eagle and Kite 181 
 
 Eagle, Cat, and Wild Sow. 121 
 
 Farmer and Cranes 48 
 
 Farmer and Fox 106 
 
 Farmer and Snake 43 
 
 Farmer and his Sons . ... 66 
 
 Farmer and Stork 44 
 
 Father and his Sons 34 
 
 Father and Two Daughters 72 
 
 Fawn and his Mother 41 
 
 Fighting Cocks and Eagle. 66 
 
 Fir Tree and Bramble 73 
 
 Fisherman and his Nets ... 75 
 
 Fisherman and Little Fish. 99 
 
 Fisherman Piping 38 
 
 Fishermen 146 
 
 Flea and Man 179 
 
 Flea and Ox 160 
 
 Flea and Wrestler 170 
 
 Flies and Honey-Pot 42 
 
 Fly and the Draught-Mule. 146 
 
 Fowler and Viper 144 
 
 Fox and Bramble 175 
 
 Fox and Crane 155 
 
 Fox and Crow '*, 76 
 
 Fox and Goat 
 
 Fox and Grapes 128 
 
 Fox and Hedgehog 119 
 
 Fox and Leopard 109 
 
 Fox and Lion 135 
 
 Fox and Lion 152 
 
 Fox and Mask 143 
 
 Fox and Monkey 67 
 
 Fox and Monkey 131 
 
 Fox and Woodcutter 93 
 
 Fox who had lost his Tail. 49 
 
 Frogs asking for a King ... 53 
 Frogs' complaint against 
 
 Sun. 1 188 
 
 Game Cocks and Partridge 152 
 
 Geese and Cranes 140 
 
 Gnat and Bull 166 
 
 Gnat and Lion 127 
 
 Goat and Ass 142 
 
 Goat and Goatherd 50 
 
 Goatherd and Wild Goats. 59 
 
 Goods and Ills 158 
 
 Grasshopper and Owl 143 
 
 Hare and Hound 113 
 
 Hare and Tortoise 37 
 
 Hares and Foxes 121 
 
 Hares and Frogs 97 
 
 Hares and Lions 138 
 
 Hartand Vine 127 
 
 Hawk and Nightingale ... 138 
 
 Hawk, Kite, and Pigeons 70 
 
 Heifer and Ox 66 
 
 Hen and Golden Eggs 115 
 
 Hen and Swallow 174 
 
 Hercules and Waggoner ... 39 
 
 Herdsman and lost Bull ... 40 
 
 Horse and Ass 144 
 
 Horse and Groom 55 
 
 Horse and his Rider 67 
 
 Horse and Stag 30 
 
 Hunter and Horseman 187 
 
 Hunter and Woodman 99 
 
 Huntsman and Fisherman 76 
 
 Image of Mercury anH Car 
 penter no 
 
 Jackdaw and Doveb ..... 131 
 
Index*. 
 
 Jackdaw and Fox.... 167 
 
 Jupiter and Monkey 69 
 
 Jupiter-, Neptune, Minerva, 
 
 and Momus 162 
 
 Kid and Wolf . . 64 
 
 Kid and Wolf .' 129 
 
 Kingdom of the Lion 36 
 
 King's Son and PaintedLion 182 
 
 Kites and Swans 120 
 
 Labourer and Snake 54 
 
 Lamb and Wolf 178 
 
 Lamp 100 
 
 Lark and' her Young Ones . 139 
 
 Lark burying its Father ... 1 66 
 
 Lion and Boar 82 
 
 Lion and Bull 142 
 
 Lion and Dolphin 80 
 
 Lion and Eagle .. 172 
 
 Lion and Fox 171 
 
 Lion and Hare 109 
 
 Lion and Mouse 31 
 
 Lion and Shepherd 180 
 
 Lion and Three Bulls 145 
 
 Lion, Hear, and Fox 107 
 
 Lion, Fox, and Ass no 
 
 Lion in a Farm-yard 94 
 
 Lion in Love 51 
 
 Lion, Jupiter, and Elephant 176 
 
 Lion, Mouse, and Fox 54. 
 
 Lion, Wolf, and Fox 153 
 
 Lioness 42 
 
 Man and his Two Sweet 
 hearts 60 
 
 Man and his Wife 131 
 
 Man and Lion 43 
 
 Man and Satyr 161 
 
 Man bitten by a Dog 76 
 
 Man, Horse, Ox, and Dog. 132 
 
 Manslayer 172 
 
 Master and his Dogs 88 
 
 Mercury and Sculptor 92 
 
 Mercury and Workmen ... 1 68 
 
 Mice and Weasels 83 
 
 Mice in Council 82 
 
 woman and her Pail... 86 
 
 Miller, "h'is 'Son, and their 
 
 Ass .... 101 
 
 Mischievous Dog 59 
 
 M iser 51 
 
 Mole and his Mother 40 
 
 Monkey and Camel 166 
 
 Monkey and Dolphin 130 
 
 Monkey and Fishermen ... 98 
 
 Monkeys and their Mother 112 
 
 Motherand Wolf 173 
 
 Mountain in Labour 44 
 
 Mouse and Bull 104 
 
 Mouse, Frog, and Hawk .. 74 
 
 Mule 123 
 
 Mules and Robbers 178 
 
 North Wind and Sun 
 
 154 
 
 Oak and Reeds 94 
 
 Oak and Woodcutters 114 
 
 Oaks and Jupiter 112 
 
 Old Hound 89 
 
 Old Lion 90 
 
 Old Man and Death 73 
 
 Old Woman and Physician 64 
 
 Old Woman and Wine-jar. 75 
 
 Olive-tree and Fig- 'roc ... 187 
 
 One-eyed Doe 83 
 
 Owl and Birds 157 
 
 Ox and Frog 65 
 
 Oxen and Axle-trees 47 
 
 Oxen and Butchers 57 
 
 Panther and Shepherds .. 180 
 
 Partridge and Fowler 178 
 
 Peacock and Crane 114 
 
 Peacock and Juno 136 
 
 Peasant and Apple-tree ... 169 
 
 Peasant and Eagle 1 08 
 
 Philosopher, Ants, and 
 
 Mercury 108 
 
 Playful Ass 77 
 
 Pomegranate, Apple-tree, 
 
 and Bramble 43 
 
 Porker, Sheep, and Goat 52 
 
 Prophet 123 
 
 Quack Frog ... 153 
 
Index. 
 
 Raven and Swan 46 
 
 Rich Man and Tanner 179 
 
 Rivers and Sea .. 85 
 
 Rose and Amaranth 174 
 
 Salt Merchant and his Ass 58 
 
 Sea-gull and Kite 106 
 
 Seaside Travellers 91 
 
 Seller of Images 138 
 
 Serpent and Eagle 124 
 
 She-goats and their Beards 184 
 
 Shepherd and Dog 113 
 
 Shepherd and Sea 84 
 
 Shepherd and Sheep 170 
 
 Shepherd and Wolf 71 
 
 Shepherd's Bey and Wolf... 57 
 
 Shipwrecked Man and Sea 185 
 
 Sick Kite 81 
 
 Sick Lion 48 
 
 Sick Stag 61 
 
 Sparrow and Hare 159 
 
 Spendthrift and SwalloA- .. 156 
 
 Stag at the Pool 105 
 
 Stag in the Ox-stall 78 
 
 Stag, Wolf, and Sheep 121 
 
 Swallow and Crow 35 
 
 Swallow, Serpent, and 
 
 Court of Justice 70 
 
 Swan and Goose 98 
 
 Swollen Fox 100 
 
 Thief and his Mother 72 
 
 Thief and House-Dog 133 
 
 Thief and Innkeeper 126 
 
 Thieves and Cock 105 
 
 Thirsty Pigeon 46 
 
 Three Tradesmen 87 
 
 Thrush and Fowler 173 
 
 Tortoise and Eagle 45 
 
 Town Mouse and Country 
 
 Mouse 147 
 
 Traveller and Fortune 106 
 
 Traveller and his Dog 36 
 
 Travellers and Plane-tree... 174 
 
 Trees and Axe 116 
 
 Trees under protection of 
 
 Gods 170 
 
 Trumpeter taken Prisoner 157 
 
 Truth and Traveller 172 
 
 Two Bags 164 
 
 Two Dogs 79 
 
 Two Frogs 100 
 
 Two Frogs 124 
 
 Two Men who were Enenves 152 
 
 Two Pots 71 
 
 Two Soldiers and Robber. i6q 
 
 Two Travellers and Axe.. 90 
 
 Vain Jackdaw ... 63 
 
 Vine and Goat 69 
 
 Viper and File 179 
 
 Walnut-tree 128 
 
 Wasp and Snake 114 
 
 Wasps, Partridges, and 
 
 Farmer 148 
 
 Weasel and the Mice 135 
 
 Widow and Little Maidens 68 
 
 Widow and Sheep 77 
 
 Wild Ass and Lion 79 
 
 Wild Boar and Fox 85 
 
 Wolf and Crane 33 
 
 Wolf and Fox 122 
 
 Wolf and Goat 145 
 
 Wolf and Horse 151 
 
 Wolf and House-dog 87 
 
 Wolf and Lamb 32 
 
 Wolf and Lion 95 
 
 Wolf and Lion ... 156 
 
 Wolf and Sheep 75 
 
 Wolf and Shepherd 137 
 
 Wolf and Shepherds 90 
 
 Wolf, Fox, and Ape 148 
 
 Wolf in Sheep's Clothing... 50 
 
 Wolves and Sheep 62 
 
 Wolves and Sheep-dogs ... 116 
 
 Woman and her Hen 120