Fables and Fairy Tales

Aesop's Fables

The One-Eyed Doe Belling the Cat The Hare and the Tortoise The Old Man and Death The Hare With Many Friends The Lion in Love The Bundle of Sticks The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts The Ass's Brains

The Eagle and the Arrow The Milkmaid and Her Pail The Cat-Maiden The Horse and the Ass The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner The Buffoon and the Countryman The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar The Fox and the Goat

The One-Eyed Doe


A Doe had had the misfortune to lose one of her eyes, and
could not see any one approaching her on that side.  So to avoid
any danger she always used to feed on a high cliff near the sea,
with her sound eye looking towards the land.  By this means she
could see whenever the hunters approached her on land, and often
escaped by this means.  But the hunters found out that she was
blind of one eye, and hiring a boat rowed under the cliff where
she used to feed and shot her from the sea.  "Ah," cried she with
her dying voice,

"You cannot escape your fate."



  Belling the Cat


Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what
measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat.
Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got
up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet
the case.  "You will all agree," said he, "that our chief danger
consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy
approaches us.  Now, if we could receive some signal of her
approach, we could easily escape from her.  I venture, therefore,
to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon
round the neck of the Cat.  By this means we should always know
when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the
neighbourhood."

This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse
got up and said: "That is all very well, but who is to bell the
Cat?"  The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke.  Then the
old mouse said:

"It is easy to propose impossible remedies."



  The Hare and the Tortoise


The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other
animals.  "I have never yet been beaten," said he, "when I put
forth my full speed.  I challenge any one here to race with me."

The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."

"That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you
all the way."

"Keep your boasting till you've beaten," answered the
Tortoise.  "Shall we race?"

So a course was fixed and a start was made.  The Hare darted
almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his
contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap.  The Tortoise
plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap,
he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run
up in time to save the race.  Then said the Tortoise:

"Plodding wins the race."



  The Old Man and Death


An old labourer, bent double with age and toil, was gathering
sticks in a forest.  At last he grew so tired and hopeless that he
threw down the bundle of sticks, and cried out: "I cannot bear
this life any longer.  Ah, I wish Death would only come and take
me!"

As he spoke, Death, a grisly skeleton, appeared and said to
him: "What wouldst thou, Mortal?  I heard thee call me."

"Please, sir," replied the woodcutter, "would you kindly help
me to lift this faggot of sticks on to my shoulder?"

We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.



  The Hare With Many Friends


A Hare was very popular with the other beasts who all claimed
to be her friends.  But one day she heard the hounds approaching
and hoped to escape them by the aid of her many Friends.  So, she
went to the horse, and asked him to carry her away from the hounds
on his back.  But he declined, stating that he had important work
to do for his master.  "He felt sure," he said, "that all her
other friends would come to her assistance."  She then applied to
the bull, and hoped that he would repel the hounds with his horns.
The bull replied: "I am very sorry, but I have an appointment with
a lady; but I feel sure that our friend the goat will do what you
want."  The goat, however, feared that his back might do her some
harm if he took her upon it.  The ram, he felt sure, was the
proper friend to apply to.  So she went to the ram and told him
the case.  The ram replied: "Another time, my dear friend.  I do
not like to interfere on the present occasion, as hounds have been
known to eat sheep as well as hares."  The Hare then applied, as a
last hope, to the calf, who regretted that he was unable to help
her, as he did not like to take the responsibility upon himself,
as so many older persons than himself had declined the task.  By
this time the hounds were quite near, and the Hare took to her
heels and luckily escaped.

He that has many friends, has no friends.



  The Lion in Love


A Lion once fell in love with a beautiful maiden and proposed
marriage to her parents.  The old people did not know what to say.
They did not like to give their daughter to the Lion, yet they did
not wish to enrage the King of Beasts.  At last the father said:
"We feel highly honoured by your Majesty's proposal, but you see
our daughter is a tender young thing, and we fear that in the
vehemence of your affection you might possibly do her some injury.
Might I venture to suggest that your Majesty should have your
claws removed, and your teeth extracted, then we would gladly
consider your proposal again."  The Lion was so much in love that
he had his claws trimmed and his big teeth taken out.  But when he
came again to the parents of the young girl they simply laughed in
his face, and bade him do his worst.

Love can tame the wildest.



  The Bundle of Sticks


An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him
to give them some parting advice.  He ordered his servants to
bring in a faggot of sticks, and said to his eldest son: "Break
it."  The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was
unable to break the Bundle.  The other sons also tried, but none
of them was successful.  "Untie the faggots," said the father,
"and each of you take a stick."  When they had done so, he called
out to them: "Now, break," and each stick was easily broken.  "You
see my meaning," said their father.

Union gives strength.



  The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts


The Lion once gave out that he was sick unto death and
summoned the animals to come and hear his last Will and Testament.
So the Goat came to the Lion's cave, and stopped there listening
for a long time.  Then a Sheep went in, and before she came out a
Calf came up to receive the last wishes of the Lord of the Beasts.
But soon the Lion seemed to recover, and came to the mouth of his
cave, and saw the Fox, who had been waiting outside for some time.
"Why do you not come to pay your respects to me?" said the Lion to
the Fox.

"I beg your Majesty's pardon," said the Fox, "but I noticed
the track of the animals that have already come to you; and while
I see many hoof-marks going in, I see none coming out.  Till the
animals that have entered your cave come out again I prefer to
remain in the open air."

It is easier to get into the enemy's toils than out again.



  The Ass's Brains


The Lion and the Fox went hunting together.  The Lion, on the
advice of the Fox, sent a message to the Ass, proposing to make an
alliance between their two families.  The Ass came to the place of
meeting, overjoyed at the prospect of a royal alliance.  But when
he came there the Lion simply pounced on the Ass, and said to the
Fox: "Here is our dinner for to-day.  Watch you here while I go
and have a nap.  Woe betide you if you touch my prey."  The Lion
went away and the Fox waited; but finding that his master did not
return, ventured to take out the brains of the Ass and ate them
up.  When the Lion came back he soon noticed the absence of the
brains, and asked the Fox in a terrible voice: "What have you done
with the brains?"

"Brains, your Majesty! it had none, or it would never have
fallen into your trap."

Wit has always an answer ready.



  The Eagle and the Arrow


An Eagle was soaring through the air when suddenly it heard
the whizz of an Arrow, and felt itself wounded to death.  Slowly
it fluttered down to the earth, with its life-blood pouring out of
it.  Looking down upon the Arrow with which it had been pierced,
it found that the shaft of the Arrow had been feathered with one
of its own plumes.  "Alas!" it cried, as it died,

"We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction."



  The Milkmaid and Her Pail


Patty the Milkmaid was going to market carrying her milk in a
Pail on her head.  As she went along she began calculating what
she would do with the money she would get for the milk.  "I'll buy
some fowls from Farmer Brown," said she, "and they will lay eggs
each morning, which I will sell to the parson's wife.  With the
money that I get from the sale of these eggs I'll buy myself a new
dimity frock and a chip hat; and when I go to market, won't all
the young men come up and speak to me!  Polly Shaw will be that
jealous; but I don't care.  I shall just look at her and toss my
head like this.  As she spoke she tossed her head back, the Pail
fell off it, and all the milk was spilt.  So she had to go home
and tell her mother what had occurred.

"Ah, my child," said the mother,

"Do not count your chickens before they are hatched."



  The Cat-Maiden


The gods were once disputing whether it was possible for a
living being to change its nature.  Jupiter said "Yes," but Venus
said "No."  So, to try the question, Jupiter turned a Cat into a
Maiden, and gave her to a young man for a wife.  The wedding was
duly performed and the young couple sat down to the wedding-feast.
"See," said Jupiter, to Venus, "how becomingly she behaves.  Who
could tell that yesterday she was but a Cat?  Surely her nature is
changed?"

"Wait a minute," replied Venus, and let loose a mouse into the
room.  No sooner did the bride see this than she jumped up from
her seat and tried to pounce upon the mouse.  "Ah, you see," said
Venus,

"Nature will out."



  The Horse and the Ass


A Horse and an Ass were travelling together, the Horse
prancing along in its fine trappings, the Ass carrying with
difficulty the heavy weight in its panniers.  "I wish I were you,"
sighed the Ass; "nothing to do and well fed, and all that fine
harness upon you."  Next day, however, there was a great battle,
and the Horse was wounded to death in the final charge of the day.
His friend, the Ass, happened to pass by shortly afterwards and
found him on the point of death.  "I was wrong," said the Ass:

"Better humble security than gilded danger."



  The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner


A Trumpeter during a battle ventured too near the enemy and
was captured by them.  They were about to proceed to put him to
death when he begged them to hear his plea for mercy.  "I do not
fight," said he, "and indeed carry no weapon; I only blow this
trumpet, and surely that cannot harm you; then why should you kill
me?"

"You may not fight yourself," said the others, "but you
encourage and guide your men to the fight."

Words may be deeds.



  The Buffoon and the Countryman


At a country fair there was a Buffoon who made all the people
laugh by imitating the cries of various animals.  He finished off
by squeaking so like a pig that the spectators thought that he had
a porker concealed about him.  But a Countryman who stood by said:
"Call that a pig s squeak!  Nothing like it.  You give me till
tomorrow and I will show you what it's like."  The audience
laughed, but next day, sure enough, the Countryman appeared on the
stage, and putting his head down squealed so hideously that the
spectators hissed and threw stones at him to make him stop.  "You
fools!" he cried, "see what you have been hissing," and held up a
little pig whose ear he had been pinching to make him utter the
squeals.

Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing.



  The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar


You must know that sometimes old women like a glass of wine.
One of this sort once found a Wine-jar lying in the road, and
eagerly went up to it hoping to find it full.  But when she took
it up she found that all the wine had been drunk out of it.  Still
she took a long sniff at the mouth of the Jar.  "Ah," she cried,

"What memories cling 'round the instruments of our pleasure."



  The Fox and the Goat


By an unlucky chance a Fox fell into a deep well from which he
could not get out.  A Goat passed by shortly afterwards, and asked
the Fox what he was doing down there.  "Oh, have you not heard?"
said the Fox; "there is going to be a great drought, so I jumped
down here in order to be sure to have water by me.  Why don't you
come down too?"  The Goat thought well of this advice, and jumped
down into the well.  But the Fox immediately jumped on her back,
and by putting his foot on her long horns managed to jump up to
the edge of the well.  "Good-bye, friend," said the Fox, "remember
next time,

"Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties."