Æsop's fables in words of one syllable — Background and Themes

Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_; those in bold are surrounded by tildes, ~like this~. Mid-paragraph illustrations were moved to adjoin their related fable.

IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE.

NEW YORK: A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER.

COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO.

_All rights reserved._

THE BOY AND THE WOLF 9

THE WAR HORSE AND THE ASS 10

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES 10

THE FLY AND THE MOTH 11

THE LYNX AND THE MOLE 11

THE CHILD AND THE BROOK 12

THE MICE, THE CAT, AND THE BELL 13

THE BEAR IN THE WOOD 13

THE OLD FOX AND HER YOUNG ONE 14

THE SQUEAK OF A PIG 15

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB 15

THE GNAT AND THE BULL 18

THE DOVES AND THE MOUSE 18

THE COCK AND THE GEM 19

THE OAK AND THE REED 20

THE KID AND THE WOLF 20

THE FOX WHO HAD LOST HIS TAIL 22

THE MAN AND THE APE 24

THE MAN AND HIS LIVE STOCK 25

THE FROGS AND THE BULLS 25

THE MAN, HIS SON, AND HIS ASS 26

THE FOX AND THE CRANE 28

THE OLD HEN AND HER YOUNG ONES 29

THE BOY AND THE HORN BOOK 30

THE ASS WITH A LOAD OF SALT 31

THE WOLF AND THE HOUSE DOG 31

THE STAG IN THE LAKE 32

THE MAN, THE FOX, AND THE BEAR 33

THE FOX AND THE CROW 34

THE BOOR AND THE STAG 34

THE CAT, THE MOUSE, AND THE COCK 35

THE DOG WHO WAS HUNG 37

THE BIRDS, THE BEASTS, AND THE BAT 38

THE BOY AND THE NUTS 38

THE APE AND HER YOUNG ONES 39

THE HORSE, THE WOLF, AND THE FOX 39

THE LARK AND HER YOUNG ONES 40

THE KITE, THE SOW, AND THE CAT 41

THE MAN AND THE PERCH 43

THE ROSE AND THE CLAY 44

THE OX AND THE CALF 44

THE WOLVES AND THE SHEEP 45

THE COCK, THE FOX, AND THE SPRINGE 45

THE KID AND THE WOLF 46

THE ASS AND THE LAMB 46

THE BEES AND THE SNAIL 47

THE OLD DAME AND HER MAIDS 48

THE TWO GOATS ON THE BRIDGE 48

THE AX AND THE TREES 49

THE DOG AND THE THIEF 49

THE FLY AND THE ANT 50

THE WOLF, AND THE FOX IN THE WELL 52

THE CAT AND THE MICE 52

THE GOOSE WITH THE GOLD EGG 54

THE FOX AND THE STORK 55

THE HART AND THE VINE 56

THE DAW AND THE JAY 56

THE OWLS AND THE WREN 57

THE LEAP AT RHODES 58

THE DOG IN THE OX’S STALL 59

THE NURSE AND THE WOLF 60

THE OLD BLIND DAME 60

THE COCK, THE DOG, AND THE FOX 61

THE BOAR AND THE HORSE 62

THE FROG, THE MOUSE, AND THE HAWK 63

THE WOLF IN A SHEEP’S SKIN 70

THE DOG WHO WENT OUT TO SUP 70

THE JUDGE AND THE POOR MAN 64

THE STAG IN THE OX’S STALL 65

THE GOAT, AND THE FOX IN THE WELL 66

THE APE, THE WOLF, AND THE FOX 66

THE FOX AND THE CAT 67

THE MULES AND THE THIEVES 68

THE WIND AND THE SUN 71

THE BLIND MAN AND THE LAME MAN 72

THE MAN, THE HORSE, AND THE ASS 72

THE HOG, OX, COW, DOG, AND SHEEP 74

THE DRUM AND THE VASE 75

THE FROGS AND THEIR KING 76

THE STAG, THE CROW, AND THE WOLF 78

THE HAWK, THE ROOKS, AND THE CAT 80

THE COCK AND THE FOX 81

THE WOLF AND THE STORK 82

THE JAY AND THE OWL 83

THE NURSE AND THE SNAKE 83

THE LARK AND THE FINCH 84

THE DOVE AND THE ANT 84

THE MAID AND HER MILK PAIL 85

THE HARE AND HER FRIENDS 86

THE ASS AND THE LAP DOG 87

THE BOY AND THE WOLF.

A boy, who kept watch on a flock of sheep, was heard from time to time to call out, “The Wolf! The Wolf!” in mere sport. Scores of times, in this way, had he drawn the men in the fields from their work. But when they found it was a joke, they made up their minds that, should the boy call “Wolf” once more, they would not stir to help him. The wolf, at last, did come. “The Wolf! The Wolf!” shrieks out the boy, in great fear, but none will now heed his cries, and the wolf kills the boy, that he may feast on the sheep.

One knows not how to trust those who speak lies, though they may tell one the truth.

Some boys were at play at the edge of a pond, and, as their game was “ducks and drakes,” they had to throw stones with as much force as they could, to the great harm of some poor frogs in the pool. At length one of them, who was more brave than the rest, put his head out of the pond and said, “Oh, dear young sirs, stop, I pray you, for what is sport to you is death to us!”

THE WAR HORSE AND THE ASS.

A fine horse broke loose from his stall, and as he ran down the road with a loud, shrill neigh, he met an ass with a load on his back, to whom he said, in a proud tone, that if he did not make way for him, he would kick him with his heels, and tread him in the dust. The poor ass held his peace, and made room for him as fast as he could. In course of time the horse went to the wars, and was shot in the eye, which so spoilt his good looks, that he was sent to work on the farm. Stript of all his pomp, he was met by the ass, who said to him. “Ha! is it you? Your state is now as low as mine. I thought your pride would have a fall some day!”

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES.

One hot day a fox saw some grapes which hung on a wall, and he took a spring to seize them, but made too short a bound; so then he leapt with all his might, but could not quite reach them; and each jump he took was still too short. There hung the fine ripe grapes, but not for him. Then, as he found he could not get at them, he said, “It is not worth my while to try, for the grapes are sour.”

They who can not as they will, must will as they can.

THE FLY AND THE MOTH.

A fly, one night, stood on the rim of a pot of jam, and as he could not turn from so rare a feast, he went down the jar that he might reach the fruit; but found to his cost that he stuck fast like a bird caught with lime. A moth that flew by, chid him thus: “It serves thee right! How couldst thou think that such legs and wings as thine, would be safe in a pot of jam?” By and by the moth saw a lamp in the same room, and flew in the light of it, but at last his sight grew dim, he sprang up to the flame, and was burnt to death. “What!” says the fly, who saw him, “How is this? You love to play with fire! You who took me to task for so small a crime as a taste for jam!”

We tax our friends with faults, but see not our own.

THE LYNX AND THE MOLE.

A lynx by chance met a mole at the foot of a mound. “Ah, poor wretch!” said the lynx, “what a life is yours! Shut up in the cold, damp ground, you see no light, nor feel the warmth of the sun, for you do but move from mine to mine. If you could but see me as I vault by your dark mound with limbs so free, and my sight--ah! my sight--so keen, you would die of grief at your dull life. Would that I could change it for you, my friend!” “I thank you for your kind wish,” said the mole; “but I need not your help, nor do I feel so dull as you think, for I was bred and born in the ground, and all my days have been spent here. I have my dear young ones round me, and more than all, I am safe. My eyes are small, it is true, but that has made my ears sharp, and if they serve me well now, I hear a sound which seems to come from where you stand, and it tells of a foe.” Just then up rode some men from the hunt, who thrust a spear through the heart of the poor lynx, and he fell dead; but the mole went safe back to her hole in the bank, and said, when she got there, “Home is home for all that.”

What the eye sees not, the heart rues not.

Though the fox runs, the chick has wings.

THE CHILD AND THE BROOK.

An old man who saw a child stand for a long time by the side of a stream, said, “My boy, why do you gaze so long on this brook?” “Sir,” said the child, “I stay here to wait till the stream has run off, for then I shall pass with dry feet.” “Nay,” quoth the old man, “you might stay out your life, and yet not do that, for this brook will run on as long as time. And as you wend your way through life, you will find this out. If you go with the stream, you will get to the sea; but if you do not go with the stream, you will have to wade.”

THE MICE, THE CAT, AND THE BELL.

Once on a time some mice were in such great dread of a cat, that they did not dare to stir day or night lest she should kill them. At this rate they thought they should starve, so they all met to talk of the best thing for them to do. While they thus sat in great doubt, a pert young mouse rose and said, “I have thought of a good plan, and that is to tie a bell to the cat’s neck, which would ring at each step she takes, and let us know when she comes near.” This bright speech brought hope with it, and made the mice jump for joy. Then a grave old mouse, who till now had been quite mute, rose and said, “I have heard that you ‘hold a wolf by the ears’ and that you ‘put salt on the bird’s tail,’ but what shall we do to bell the cat?”

Safe bind, safe find.

THE BEAR IN THE WOOD.

Two men had to pass through a thick wood, and one of them said, “Should we fall in with wild beasts, I will come to your help, if you will do the same by me.” “So be it,” said his friend, and off they set. They had not gone far when a bear made a rush out of the wood. The man who had made the good rule for them to act on, got up a tree to hide, and his poor friend was put to his wits’ end to save his life, so he fell flat on the ground, held his breath, and lay quite still, that the bear might think he was dead. The huge beast came close up to him, and felt him with his snout, but as he took him for a dead man, did him no harm. When the bear was gone, and all was safe, the man came down from the tree, and with a smile, said, “What did the bear tell you when he put his snout so close up to your ear?” “Well,” said his friend, “what he told me was this--‘Have a care of that rogue up the tree, and for the time to come put no trust in him!’”

Prove thy friend ere thou have need of him.

THE OLD FOX AND HER YOUNG ONE.

An old fox and her young one found their way to a yard where hens were kept, and one by one they put them all to death. It was the wish of the young fox to eat them all then and there, but his dam said, “We have had great luck, yet we must not spend all our stock at once, but put some by, and come for it when we want it.” “Don’t preach to me,” said the pert young fox, “the fowls will not keep sweet a day, so I shall eat as much as I can now, for when the men on the farm see what we have done, they will, of course, look out for us.” The young fox then ate such a meal that it was all he could do to crawl to his hole, and in less than an hour he was dead. The old fox came back to the hoard, and was caught by the men, who had lain in wait to kill her. “Ah!” said she, with her last breath, “each age hath its fault; each bean its black; each day its night; each weal its woe!”

A man, well known for his wit, said he could show a trick which had not yet been seen. So he took his stand on a stage, and, with his head thrust down, he gave out a sound like the squeak of a pig. This he did so well, that all thought he had brought a young pig in his cloak; but though a search was made, they did not find one. A rough man from a farm, who had come to look on, said, “Faith, I can do this as well as he.” So the next night they were both to try their skill. A great crowd came to see them, and the men went on the stage. The first man gave his squeak, which brought a roar of praise, as it had done the first night. The boor’s turn then came, and he had a real young pig in his cloak; but though he made it squeak by a hard pinch on the ear, all gave the palm to the first man, and sent the boor off the stage with a loud hiss.

Give a man luck, and you may throw him in the sea.

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.

One hot day a wolf came to quench his thirst at a clear brook that ran down the side of a hill. By chance a young lamb stood there. The wolf had a wish to eat her, but felt some qualms, so for a plea he made out that the lamb was his foe. “Stand off from the banks, sir,” said he, “for as you tread them you stir mud in the stream, and all I can get to drink is thick and foul.” The young lamb said, in a mild tone, that she did not see how that could be the case, as the brook ran down hill to her from the spot where he stood. “But,” said the wolf, “how dare you drink of it at all, till I have had my fill?” Then the poor lamb told him that as yet her dam’s milk was both food and drink to her. “Be that as it may,” said the wolf, “you are a bad lamb; for last year I heard that you spoke ill of me and all my race.” “Last year! dread sir,” quoth the lamb, “why, I have not yet been shorn, and at the time you name I was not born.” The wolf, who found it was of no use to tell lies, fell in a great rage, and as he came up to the lamb, he said, “All you sheep have the same dull kind of face, and how is one to know which is which? If it was not you, it was your dam, and that’s all the same thing, so I shall not let you go from here.” He then flew at the poor meek lamb, and made a meal of her.

A poor man, in a storm of wind and rain, came to a great house to beg for alms, and was sent off with cross words. But he went back, and said, “May I but ask to dry my clothes at your fire, for I am wet with rain?” This the maids thought would not cost them much, so they let him come in. He then told the cook that if she would but give him a pan, and let him fill it from the pump, he would make some stone broth. This kind of dish was so new to the cook, that she let him make it. The man then got a stone from the road, and put it in the pan. The cook gave him some salt, peas, mint, thyme, and all the scraps of meat that she could spare, to throw in. Thus the poor man made a rich mess, and the cook said, “Well done! you have made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear; and it just shows that ‘they who crave for food will break through stone walls.’”

Where there’s a will there’s a way.

THE GNAT AND THE BULL.

Once on a time a poor gnat sat on the horn of a bull, and said, “I have made free to rest on the tip of your horn; but if my weight is at all too much for you, pray say so, and I will move off.” “I think you are more nice than wise,” said the bull. “To tell you the truth, I did not know when you sat down, so I shall not miss you when you think fit to rise up.” At this the bull gave his head a toss, and put the gnat to death with his tongue.

It is a dull bird that points out her own nest.

THE DOVES AND THE MOUSE.

A man who sold doves in the East threw down some grains of rice in a wood, and flung a net on the top of them in such a way that it could not be seen in the grass, and then hid close by to watch. Soon the king of the wild doves, “Smooth Neck” by name, flew up to the spot with his train, and said, “Whence can all these grains of rice come? Let it be seen to. Eat them not yet.” But the doves, drawn by greed, set to work to pick them up, and they were all caught in the net. “Ha!” said Smooth Neck, “I thought this might be the work of a foe. You would not wait, as I told you to do, and this has come of it. Hark to the plan which I have in hand. We know that small things may work out great ends, and that huge beasts may be bound with straws made firm in a thick rope. Now, all put out your strength at once, take up the net, and fly off.” This they did, and the man who had set the snare was much struck to see his net borne off in the air by the birds. “This is well,” said one of the doves, “but what are we to do now, with these toils on our feet?” Smooth Neck said, “We are in an ill plight, but Gold Fur, the wise king of the mice, may help us.” So he went in search of Gold Fur’s hole, which had scores of small doors that led to it, deep down in the ground. The good mouse came out to meet them, and when he had heard their tale, he said, “As long as my teeth do not break, I will gnaw the nets for you.” So with his sharp teeth he cut the snare, and set them all free. Then, with great joy, the king of the doves bent low his smooth neck to him, and said, “How much we owe to you! Think of us as your slaves for life; for a friend in need is the best friend of all.”

THE COCK AND THE GEM.

A cock came down from his roost at break of day, and set up a loud, shrill crow; he then went to work to scratch the ground in search of food for the hens. By and by, what should he turn up but a bright gem. He gave it a kick and said, “Ha! you are a fine thing, no doubt; but, to my mind, one good grain of wheat is worth all the gems in the world.”

Do not cast pearls to swine.

THE OAK AND THE REED.