The Project Gutenberg EBook of Aesop's Fables, by Aesop

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Aesop's Fables

Author: Aesop

Posting Date: December 18, 2011 [EBook #28] Release Date: March 8, 1992 Last Updated: March 15, 2002

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AESOP'S FABLES ***

AESOP'S FABLES (82 Fables)

From The PaperLess Readers Club, Houston (713) 977-9505 (BBS)
                               Voice/Fax (713) 977-1719

1-21 22-42
  The Cock and the Pearl The Frog and the Ox
  The Wolf and the Lamb Androcles
  The Dog and the Shadow The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts
  The Lion's Share The Hart and the Hunter
  The Wolf and the Crane The Serpent and the File
  The Man and the Serpent The Man and the Wood
  The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse The Dog and the Wolf
  The Fox and the Crow The Belly and the Members
  The Sick Lion The Hart in the Ox-Stall
  The Ass and the Lapdog The Fox and the Grapes
  The Lion and the Mouse The Horse, Hunter, and Stag
  The Swallow and the Other Birds The Peacock and Juno
  The Frogs Desiring a King The Fox and the Lion
  The Mountains in Labour The Lion and the Statue
  The Hares and the Frogs The Ant and the Grasshopper
  The Wolf and the Kid The Tree and the Reed
  The Woodman and the Serpent The Fox and the Cat
  The Bald Man and the Fly The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
  The Fox and the Stork The Dog in the Manger
  The Fox and the Mask The Man and the Wooden God
  The Jay and the Peacock The Fisher

43-62 63-82
  The Shepherd's Boy The Miser and His Gold
  The Young Thief and His Mother The Fox and the Mosquitoes
  The Man and His Two Wives The Fox Without a Tail
  The Nurse and the Wolf The One-Eyed Doe
  The Tortoise and the Birds Belling the Cat
  The Two Crabs The Hare and the Tortoise
  The Ass in the Lion's Skin The Old Man and Death
  The Two Fellows and the Bear The Hare With Many Friends
  The Two Pots The Lion in Love
  The Four Oxen and the Lion The Bundle of Sticks
  The Fisher and the Little Fish The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts
  Avaricious and Envious The Ass's Brains
  The Crow and the Pitcher The Eagle and the Arrow
  The Man and the Satyr The Milkmaid and Her Pail
  The Goose With the Golden Eggs The Cat-Maiden
  The Labourer and the Nightingale The Horse and the Ass
  The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner
  The Wind and the Sun The Buffoon and the Countryman
  Hercules and the Waggoner The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar
  The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey The Fox and the Goat

Aesop's Fables

The Cock and the Pearl

A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw. "Ho! ho!" quoth he, "that's for me," and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had been lost in the yard? "You may be a treasure," quoth Master Cock, "to men that prize you, but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls."

Precious things are for those that can prize them.

The Wolf and the Lamb

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. "There's my supper," thought he, "if only I can find some excuse to seize it." Then he called out to the Lamb, "How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?"

"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old."

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was
your father;" and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb
and
 .WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA
 .ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out
 ."Any excuse will serve a tyrant."

The Dog and the Shadow

It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never seen more.

Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.

The Lion's Share

The Lion went once a-hunting along with the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till at last they surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then came the question how the spoil should be divided. "Quarter me this Stag," roared the Lion; so the other animals skinned it and cut it into four parts. Then the Lion took his stand in front of the carcass and pronounced judgment: The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts; the second is mine as arbiter; another share comes to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of you will dare to lay a paw upon it."

"Humph," grumbled the Fox as he walked away with his tail between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl ."You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil."

The Wolf and the Crane

A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in his throat, and ran up and down groaning and groaning and seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to induce every one he met to remove the bone. "I would give anything," said he, "if you would take it out." At last the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to