Aesop
Aesop is an ancient Greek story teller born in 620 BC.
1. The Wolf and the Lamb
Wolf, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to
find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's 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." Upon which the Wolf seized him and ate him up, saying, "Well! Iwon't remain supper-
less, even though you refute every one of my imputations." The tyrant will always find a pretext
for his tyranny.
2. The Lion and the Mouse
A LION was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily, 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 him by
ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came gnawed the rope with his teeth, and
set him free, exclaiming, "You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, expecting to
receive from me any repayment of your favor; I now you know that it is possible for even a
Mouse to con benefits on a Lion."
3. The Father and His Sons
A FATHER had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he
failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical
illustration of the evils of disunion; 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 tried with all their strength, and were not
able to do it. He next opened the faggot, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put
them into his sons' hands, upon which they broke 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."
4. The Ants and the Grasshopper
THE ANTS were spending a fine winter's day drying grain collected in the summertime. A
Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants
inquired of him, "Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?" He replied, "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."
5. 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
immediately let go of 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.
6. The Hare and the Tortoise
A HARE one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing:
"Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." The Hare, believing 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 the two 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, lying 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 was comfortably dozing after her
fatigue. Slow but steady wins the race.
7. The Dog in the Manger
A DOG lay in a manger, and by his growling 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;
"he cannot eat the hay himself, and yet refuses to allow those to eat who can."
