Aesop's Fables — Aesop

Aesop's Fables

Aesop · License: Public domain · Source

• A FAMISHED FOX saw some clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from a trellised 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, hiding her disappointment and saying: "The Grapes are sour, and not ripe as I thought." ¶509
• Straws show how the wind blows. ¶512
• The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox ¶517
• The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse ¶525
• The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape ¶527
• A WOLF accused a Fox of theft, but the Fox entirely denied the charge. An Ape undertook to adjudge the matter between them. When each had fully stated his case the Ape announced 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." ¶528
• The dishonest, if they act honestly, get no credit. ¶529
• A FOX entered the house of an actor and, rummaging through all his properties, came upon a Mask, an admirable 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 lacks brains." ¶542
• THE GEESE and the Cranes were feeding in the same meadow, when 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. ¶544
• Evil tendencies are shown in early life. ¶547
• SOME DOGS, finding the skin of a lion, began to tear it in pieces with their teeth. A Fox, seeing them, said, "If this lion were alive, you would soon find out that his claws were stronger than your teeth." ¶549
• It is easy to kick a man that is down. ¶550
• Men of evil reputation, when they perform a good deed, fail to get credit for it. ¶555
• The Wasps, the Partridges, and the Farmer ¶558
• Persuasion is better than Force. ¶564
• The Gamecocks and the Partridge ¶567
• A FROG once upon a time came forth from his home in the marsh and proclaimed 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, when you are unable to heal your own lame gait and wrinkled skin?" ¶570
• The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox ¶571
• The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat ¶577
• The Spendthrift and the Swallow ¶579
• 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 mischance which has befallen me." ¶582
• A DOVE shut up in a cage was boasting of the large number of 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." ¶596
• Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva, and Momus ¶603
• A man is known by the company he keeps. ¶611
• EVERY MAN, according to an ancient legend, is born into the world with two bags suspended from his neck all bag in front full of his neighbors' faults, and a large bag behind filled with his own faults. Hence it is that men are quick to see the faults of others, and yet are often blind to their own failings. ¶613
• What is most truly valuable is often underrated. ¶616
• Youth's first duty is reverence to parents. ¶621
• 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." ¶623
• Some men are of more consequence in their own eyes than in the eyes of their neighbors. ¶624
• SOME DOGS famished with hunger saw a number of cowhides steeping in a river. Not being able to reach them, they agreed to drink up the river, but it happened that they burst themselves with drinking long before they reached the hides. ¶628

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