| 01/01/year | THE LION AND THE FROG. A lion heard a frog croaking loudly and turned towards the sound, thinking that this must be the sound of some huge beast. After a while, the lion saw the frog come up out of the swamp. He went over to the frog and as he crushed him underfoot, the lion said, 'No one should be worried about a sound before the thing itself has been examined.' (Text - Image) 
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| 01/02/year | THE MOUSE AND THE OYSTER. An omnivorous, gluttonous mouse was creeping through the house when he noticed an oyster with its mouth wide open, so he bit into the false flesh of the oyster's wet beard. Suddenly the door to the oyster's house slammed shut in a painful clasp. The mouse was enclosed in a prison with no hope of escape: he himself had closed the door to the tomb of his own suicide. (Text - Image)
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| 01/03/year | THE MAN BITTEN BY THE DOG. A man who had just been badly bitten by a dog was looking for someone who could heal his wound. He ran into someone who told him, 'Here is what you need to do: let the blood from your wound drip onto a piece of bread and then feed the bread to the dog who bit you. If you do that, your wound will be cured.' The man who had been bitten by the dog replied, 'But if I do that, every single dog in the city will want to bite me!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/04/year | THE FOX, THE WOLF AND THE LIONS. There was a wolf who had grown so much stouter than his fellow wolves that they started calling him 'Lion.' This honour was not enough to satisfy the foolish wolf, so he left the pack and began to consort with the lions instead. A fox made fun of him and said, 'I hope that I never get such an inflated idea of myself as you now have of yourself: you may seem like a lion to the wolves, but when the lions take your measure, you'll go back to being nothing but a wolf!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/05/year | The Hare and the Hound. A HOUND started a Hare from his lair, but after a long run, gave up the chase. A goat-herd seeing him stop, mocked him, saying 'The little one is the best runner of the two.' The Hound replied, 'You do not see the difference between us: I was only running for a dinner, but he for his life.' (Text - Image)
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| 01/06/year | THE PARTRIDGE AND THE ROOSTERS. A man who kept roosters also bought himself a partridge and let it loose to live among his other birds. When the roosters pecked at the partridge and chased him away, the partridge became very dejected, thinking that the roosters were attacking him because he was an outsider. After a little while, however, the partridge saw the roosters fighting and attacking one another. The partridge then put aside his grief and said, 'Well, I am certainly not going to grieve over this any longer, now that I see the way they fight with one another. (Text - Image)
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| 01/07/year | THE SEAGULL AND THE KITE. A seagull swallowed a fish and ruptured his throat. When a kite saw the seagull lying dead on the beach, he remarked, 'It serves you right! You were born to fly in the air and instead you lived your life on the sea.' (Text - Image)
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| 01/08/year | THE HUNTER AND THE HORSEMAN. There was a hunter who had caught a hare and was carrying it home. As he went along his way, he met a man on horseback who asked him for the hare, pretending that he wanted to buy it. As soon as he got the hare from the hunter, the horseman immediately took off at a gallop. The hunter began to pursue the horseman thinking that he might catch up with him. When the horseman finally disappeared into the distance, the hunter reluctantly said, 'Go ahead then! That hare is my gift to you.' (Text - Image)
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| 01/09/year | The Lamp. A LAMP, soaked with too much oil and flaring brightly, boasted that it gave more light than the sun. Then a sudden puff of wind arose, and the Lamp was immediately extinguished. Its owner lit it again, and said: 'Boast no more, but henceforth be content to give thy light in silence. Know that not even the stars need to be relit' (Text - Image)
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| 01/10/year | The Prophet. A WIZARD, sitting in the marketplace, was telling the fortunes of the passers-by when a person ran up in great haste, and announced to him that the doors of his house had been broken open and that all his goods were being stolen. He sighed heavily and hastened away as fast as he could run. A neighbor saw him running and said, 'Oh! you fellow there! you say you can foretell the fortunes of others; how is it you did not foresee your own?' (Text - Image)
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| 01/11/year | THE FROG AND THE OX. There was once a frog who noticed an ox standing in the meadow. The frog was seized by a jealous desire to equal the ox in size so she puffed herself up, inflating her wrinkled skin. She then asked her children if she was now bigger than the ox. They said that she was not. Once again she filled herself full of air, straining even harder than before, and asked her children which of the two of them was bigger. 'The ox is bigger,' said her children. The frog was finally so indignant that she tried even harder to puff herself up, but her body exploded and she fell down dead. (Text - Image)
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| 01/12/year | THE SNAKE AND THE CRAB. A snake and a crab had become friends and were living together. The crab had a straightforward character and he urged the snake to change his wicked ways but the snake refused to follow the crab's good advice. So the crab kept an eye on the snake and when he found him sleeping he grabbed the snake by the neck and squeezed him to death between his claws. As he was dying, the snake stretched out straight. The crab then remarked, 'Hey, if you had been this straightforward to begin with, I would not have had to punish you for your crooked behaviour!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/13/year | THE PATIENT AND HIS SYMPTOMS. The doctor asked his patient, 'How are you feeling?' The patient said, 'Woe is me! I'm shivering all over, which has me very worried.' The doctor assured the patient that this was actually a good sign. The next time the doctor asked the patient how he was doing, the man replied, 'I feel awful: I'm suffering from a high fever which has me confined to bed.' Again the doctor said that this was a positive symptom. Finally a member of the man's family asked, 'How are you doing, my dear brother? I hope you get well soon!' The man replied, 'I'm dying of positive symptoms!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/14/year | THE DOLPHINS AND THE WHALES. The dolphins were always at war with the whales. A crab came forward to mediate between them, as if someone without any public reputation could bring about a peace between warring kings! (Text - Image)
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| 01/15/year | THE KITE AND THE PARTRIDGES. One day the kite happened to consider his wings and feet and talons. 'Indeed,' he exclaimed, 'Am I not just as well armed as the hawk and the falcon? Look at what wings and what feet and what talons I have! Why shouldn't I go catch some partridges?' The kite knew a place where he could find many partridges so he went there and launched his attack: he seized one partridge with his beak, another with his wings, and one more in each foot. But the kite couldn't keep hold of that many partridges, so in the end he had none. Hence the saying: Seize all, lose all. From then on, the kite never tried to hunt wild birds again. (Text - Image)
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| 01/16/year | THE DOG AND HIS BELL. There was a dog who used to sneak up and bite people. His master forged a bell for the dog and tied it onto him so that everyone would know when he was coming. The dog then paraded about the marketplace, shaking his bell back and forth. An old dog said to him, 'You wretched creature! Why are you so proud of yourself? This is not a decoration for bravery or good behaviour. You are shamefully beating the drum of your own evil deeds!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/17/year | THE DAUGHTER AND THE HIRED MOURNERS. There was a rich man who had two daughters, but one of his daughters died. He hired some women to do the mourning and they let loose a whole chorus of weeping. The other daughter remarked to her mother, 'We are surely wretched women if we cannot come up with a lament for our own loss, while these women, who are not even members of the family, beat their breasts and grieve so deeply.' The mother replied, 'Don't be surprised, my child: they do it for the money!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/18/year | THE MAIDS AND THE ROOSTER. A hard-working widow woman had some maid servants whom she would rouse up for work at the sound of the cockcrow when it was still dark outside. The maids were burdened with endless tasks, so they decided it would be a good idea to kill the household rooster since it was the rooster who made their mistress get them up while it was still dark. Yet after they had killed the rooster, their desperate situation grew even worse: now that the mistress was no longer able to tell the hour by the rooster, she woke the maids up even earlier than before. (Text - Image)
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| 01/19/year | THE EARTHWORM AND THE SNAKE. An earthworm saw a snake stretched out and envied his length. The earthworm wanted to be as long as that snake, so he lay down beside the snake and tried to extend himself. The worm stretched and stretched until he accidentally split into pieces. (Text - Image)
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| 01/20/year | THE BEAUTY CONTEST OF THE BIRDS. A beauty contest was held and all the birds went to be judged by Zeus. Hermes fixed the appointed day and the birds flocked to the rivers and ponds where they shed their shabby feathers and preened their finer ones. The jackdaw, however, had no natural advantages to commend his appearance, so he decorated himself with the feathers that had been cast aside by the other birds. The owl alone recognized her own feathers and took them away from the jackdaw, and she incited the other birds to do the same. When the jackdaw had been stripped bare by everyone, he went before the judgment of Zeus naked. (Text - Image)
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| 01/21/year | THE SHEPHERD AND THE HONEYBEES. Some honeybees were making honey in the hollow of an oak tree. A shepherd discovered the bees' work and attempted to carry away some of the honey. The honeybees flew all around him, stinging the man with their stings. In the end the shepherd exclaimed, 'I give up! I don't need the honey if it means dealing with the bees.' (Text - Image)
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| 01/22/year | THE GOAT AND THE VINE. The vine was covered with clusters of grapes and its shoots were as vigorous as its fruit. A goat began to eat the vine, indulging his outrageous appetite. He had already wreaked havoc on the fresh shoots when the vine said to him, 'You will pay for this outrage! The time will soon come when you will be sent as a holy victim to be sacrificed, and I myself will be the one to supply the wine for the libation!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/23/year | The Sparrow and the Hare. A HARE pounced upon by an eagle sobbed very much and uttered cries like a child. A Sparrow upbraided her and said, 'Where now is thy remarkable swiftness of foot? Why were your feet so slow?' While the Sparrow was thus speaking, a hawk suddenly seized him and killed him. The Hare was comforted in her death, and expiring said, 'Ah! you who so lately, when you supposed yourself safe, exulted over my calamity, have now reason to deplore a similar misfortune.' (Text - Image)
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| 01/24/year | The Oak and the Woodcutters. THE WOODCUTTER cut down a Mountain Oak and split it in pieces, making wedges of its own branches for dividing the trunk. The Oak said with a sigh, 'I do not care about the blows of the axe aimed at my roots, but I do grieve at being torn in pieces by these wedges made from my own branches.' (Text - Image)
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| 01/25/year | THE LIONESS AND THE WILD BOAR. A bull found a lion lying asleep and gored him with his horns until he was dead. The lion's mother showed up and wept bitterly over her son. When the wild boar saw the mother lion lamenting, he stood at a safe distance and said, 'Oh, how many people are also weeping at this very moment because their sons have been killed by you lions!' (Text - Image)
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| 01/26/year | THE SHE-GOAT, THE KID AND THE WOLF. A goat had given birth to a young kid. In order to protect her unsuspecting offspring, the mother warned the kid not to open the door, as she knew that there were many wild beasts prowling about the sheepfold. Having issued her warning, the mother goat then went away. Next, the wolf arrived at the door, imitating the mother goat's voice. When he heard the voice, the kid replied, 'I hear my mother's voice, but I know you are a liar and no friend of mine! By disguising yourself with my mother's voice, you think will be able to drink my blood and eat my flesh.' (Text - Image)
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| 01/27/year | The Bitch and Her Whelps. A BITCH, ready to whelp, earnestly begged a shepherd for a place where she might litter. When her request was granted, she besought permission to rear her puppies in the same spot. The shepherd again consented. But at last the Bitch, protected by the bodyguard of her Whelps, who had now grown up and were able to defend themselves, asserted her exclusive right to the place and would not permit the shepherd to approach. (Text - Image)
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| 01/28/year | THE WEASEL AND THE FILE. A weasel went into a blacksmith's shop and there she came across an iron file. She began to lick the file with delight, scraping her tongue in a mad effort to overpower the instrument of iron. The weasel's tongue started to bleed, making her even happier; the taste of blood made her think she was actually devouring the file. So the weasel kept on licking until her tongue was completely gone. (Text - Image)
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| 01/29/year | THE MOON AND HER MOTHER. The Moon once begged her Mother to make her a gown. "How can I?" replied she; "there's no fitting your figure. At one time you're a New Moon, and at another you're a Full Moon; and between whiles you're neither one nor the other." (Text - Image)
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| 01/30/year | THE DEER AND HER FRIENDS. A deer had fallen ill and was resting on the grassy plain. When the other animals came to see her, they ate up all the grass in her pasture. As a result, when the deer recovered from her illness, she ended up dying since her pasture had come to an end. (Text - Image)
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| 01/31/year | THE CROW AND ATHENA. The crow was making a sacrifice to Athena and invited a dog to the feast. The dog said to her, 'Why do you foolishly squander these sacrifices? The goddess clearly hates you so much that she has taken away all credibility from your omens.' The crow answered, 'That is all the more reason for me to sacrifice to her: I hope she will change her attitude towards me!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/01/year | The Wolves and the Sheep. 'WHY SHOULD there always be this fear and slaughter between us?' said the Wolves to the Sheep. 'Those evil-disposed Dogs have much to answer for. They always bark whenever we approach you and attack us before we have done any harm. If you would only dismiss them from your heels, there might soon be treaties of peace and reconciliation between us.' The Sheep, poor silly creatures, were easily beguiled and dismissed the Dogs, whereupon the Wolves destroyed the unguarded flock at their own pleasure. (Text - Image)
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| 02/02/year | THE ASTRONOMER AND THE THRACIAN WOMAN. When Thales the astronomer was gazing up at the sky, he fell into a pit. A Thracian slave woman, who was both wise and witty, is said to have made fun of him for being eager to know what was happening over his head while failing to notice what was right there at his feet. (Text - Image)
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| 02/03/year | THE BOASTFUL MULE. A mule once happened to be eating the food of idleness in his manger. Feeling his oats, so to speak, he burst into a run, whinnying and shaking his head to and fro. 'My mother is a horse,' he shouted, 'and I am no worse at racing than she is!' But suddenly he drew to a halt and hung his head in shame, remembering that his father was only a donkey. (Text - Image)
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| 02/04/year | The Fox and the Crow. A CROW having stolen a bit of meat, perched in a tree and held it in her beak. A Fox, seeing this, longed to possess the meat himself, and by a wily stratagem succeeded. 'How handsome is the Crow,' he exclaimed, in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her complexion! Oh, if her voice were only equal to her beauty, she would deservedly be considered the Queen of Birds!' This he said deceitfully; but the Crow, anxious to refute the reflection cast upon her voice, set up a loud caw and dropped the flesh. The Fox quickly picked it up, and thus addressed the Crow: 'My good Crow, your voice is right enough, but your wit is wanting.' (Text - Image)
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| 02/05/year | SOCRATES AND HIS FRIENDS. Socrates had erected for himself a very modest house - and I myself would even be willing to die as Socrates died if I could achieve an equal fame, yes, I would be willing to suffer the same public disapproval if I too could be vindicated after death! Anyway, just as you would expect on such an occasion, one of his neighbours had to ask, 'Why is it, Socrates, that someone like you would build himself such a tiny little house?' 'Ah,' said Socrates, 'if only I could fill it with true friends!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/06/year | THE DEER AND HIS MOTHER. The deer was being lectured by his mother, 'Why do you act this way, my child? You have been naturally endowed with horns, and you are powerfully built, so I cannot understand why you run away at the approach of the dogs.' That is what the mother said. Then, when she heard the sound of the hunting dogs in the distance, she again urged her child to stand firm while she herself took off at a run. (Text - Image)
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| 02/07/year | THE MOUSE IN THE POT. A mouse fell into a pot of broth which had no lid. As he was choking on the grease and gasping for breath he said, 'Well, I have had my fill of eating and drinking and I have stuffed myself with all kinds of fine food: the time has now come for me to die!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/08/year | THE CRANE AND THE PEACOCK. The peacock kept waving his golden feathers back and forth while he argued with the grey-winged crane. The crane finally exclaimed, 'You may make fun of the colour of my wings, but I can rise on them up to the stars and high into the sky. You, on the other hand, can only flap those gilded feathers of yours down there on the ground, just like a rooster. You are never seen soaring up high in the sky!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/09/year | WAR AND HIS BRIDE. The gods were getting married. One after another, they all got hitched, until finally it was time for War to draw his lot, the last of the bachelors. Hubris, or Reckless Pride, became his wife, since she was the only one left without a husband. They say War loved Hubris with such abandon that he still follows her everywhere she goes. So do not ever allow Hubris to come upon the nations or cities of mankind, smiling fondly at the crowds, because War will be coming right behind her. (Text - Image)
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| 02/10/year | THE BEAR AND THE FOX. The bear boasted that he was exceptionally fond of mankind since, as he explained, bears don't pull dead people's bodies to pieces. The fox remarked, 'I'd prefer that you mangled the dead ones, if you'd leave the living alone!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/11/year | The Fir-Tree and the Bramble. A FIR-TREE said boastingly to the Bramble, 'You are useful for nothing at all; while I am everywhere used for roofs and houses.' The Bramble answered: 'You poor creature, if you would only call to mind the axes and saws which are about to hew you down, you would have reason to wish that you had grown up a Bramble, not a Fir-Tree.' (Text - Image)
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| 02/12/year | The Image of Mercury and the Carpenter. A VERY POOR MAN, a Carpenter by trade, had a wooden image of Mercury, before which he made offerings day by day, and begged the idol to make him rich, but in spite of his entreaties he became poorer and poorer. At last, being very angry, he took his image down from its pedestal and dashed it against the wall. When its head was knocked off, out came a stream of gold, which the Carpenter quickly picked up and said, 'Well, I think thou art altogether contradictory and unreasonable; for when I paid you honor, I reaped no benefits: but now that I maltreat you I am loaded with an abundance of riches.' (Text - Image)
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| 02/13/year | THE BAT AND THE SONGBIRD. A songbird was hanging in a cage in a window. A bat flew up and asked the songbird why she sang at night but was silent during the day. The songbird said that she had her reasons: it was while she had been singing once during the day that she had been captured. This had taught her a lesson, and she had vowed that she would sing only at night. The bat remarked, 'But there is no need for that now, when it won't do you any good: you should have been on your guard before you were captured!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/14/year | The Belly and the Members. THE MEMBERS of the Body rebelled against the Belly, and said, 'Why should we be perpetually engaged in administering to your wants, while you do nothing but take your rest, and enjoy yourself in luxury and self-indulgence?' The Members carried out their resolve and refused their assistance to the Belly. The whole Body quickly became debilitated, and the hands, feet, mouth, and eyes, when too late, repented of their folly. (Text - Image)
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| 02/15/year | The Cat and the Cock. A CAT caught a Cock, and pondered how he might find a reasonable excuse for eating him. He accused him of being a nuisance to men by crowing in the nighttime and not permitting them to sleep. The Cock defended himself by saying that he did this for the benefit of men, that they might rise in time for their labors. The Cat replied, 'Although you abound in specious apologies, I shall not remain supperless'; and he made a meal of him. (Text - Image)
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| 02/16/year | THE EAGLE AND THE LION AS PARTNERS. An eagle flew up to a lion and asked him to be his partner. 'I don't see why not,' replied the lion. 'But first you must give me your long wing-feathers as a pledge that you will keep your promise. How will I be able to trust you as a friend if you do not stay here with me?' (Text - Image)
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| 02/17/year | The Cat and Venus. A CAT fell in love with a handsome young man, and entreated Venus to change her into the form of a woman. Venus consented to her request and transformed her into a beautiful damsel, so that the youth saw her and loved her, and took her home as his bride. While the two were reclining in their chamber, Venus wishing to discover if the Cat in her change of shape had also altered her habits of life, let down a mouse in the middle of the room. The Cat, quite forgetting her present condition, started up from the couch and pursued the mouse, wishing to eat it. Venus was much disappointed and again caused her to return to her former shape. (Text - Image)
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| 02/18/year | THE OXEN AND THE BUTCHER. There were once some oxen who had decided to destroy all the butchers since their very profession was hostile to oxen. They banded together and sharpened their horns in preparation for the coming battle. Among them was a very elderly ox who had plowed a great deal of earth in his day. This ox said to the others, 'The butchers slaughter us with experienced hands and they kill us without unnecessary torment, but if we fall into the hands of men who lack this skill, then we will die twice over -- and there will always be someone to slaughter us, even if we get rid of the butchers!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/19/year | THE SNAKE AND THE THORN BUSH. There was a grapevine next to a river, and a thorn bush had been planted as a fence around the vine. When the river rose, the thorn bush was swept away by the water, and a snake who had entwined himself in the thorns was also carried away. When someone saw the snake riding on the thorn bush, he said, 'A wicked ship, and worthy of its sailor!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/20/year | The Shepherd and the Sheep. A SHEPHERD driving his Sheep to a wood, saw an oak of unusual size full of acorns, and spreading his cloak under the branches, he climbed up into the tree and shook them down. The Sheep eating the acorns inadvertently frayed and tore the cloak. When the Shepherd came down and saw what was done, he said, 'O you most ungrateful creatures! You provide wool to make garments for all other men, but you destroy the clothes of him who feeds you.' (Text - Image)
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| 02/21/year | THE BALD MEN AND THE COMB. A bald man happened to find a comb lying in the street. Another man who also had no hair on his head accosted him and said, 'Hey, you must share whatever you've found!' The first man showed him the loot and said, 'The will of the gods is on our side, but fate must have a grudge against us: as the saying goes, we've found lumps of coal, not gold!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/22/year | THE OLD WOMAN AND THE WINE JAR. An old woman saw a wine jar that had been drained empty, but the lees of the exquisite wine still sent forth a pleasant odour from the noble vessel. The woman greedily imbibed the smell, deeply inhaling through both nostrils, and said, 'Oh sweet spirits, I do declare, how excellent you must once have been to have left behind such fine remains!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/23/year | THE DONKEY WHO CARRIED THE GOD. A man had placed a carved image on his donkey and was leading him along. Many people bowed down when they met them along the way. The donkey grew arrogant, thinking that the country folk were bowing down before him, so he began to leap and prance. As he did so, the donkey almost threw the image of the god from his back. The donkey's master beat him with a stick and said, 'You are a donkey carrying a god on your back, but that does not mean you deserve to be worshipped as a god!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/24/year | The Frogs' Complaint Against the Sun. ONCE UPON A TIME, when the Sun announced his intention to take a wife, the Frogs lifted up their voices in clamor to the sky. Jupiter, disturbed by the noise of their croaking, inquired the cause of their complaint. One of them said, 'The Sun, now while he is single, parches up the marsh, and compels us to die miserably in our arid homes. What will be our future condition if he should beget other suns?' (Text - Image)
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| 02/25/year | THE LARK AND HER CREST. Aesop says that the crested lark was the first bird to be created, even before Gaia, the Earth. As a result, when the lark's father became sick and died, there was no earth to bury him in. On the fifth day that his body had been lying there, the frustrated lark, not knowing what else to do, buried her father in her own head. (Text - Image)
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| 02/26/year | THE BLACK MAN IN THE RIVER. Someone saw a black man from India washing himself in a river and said to him, 'You better keep still and not stir up the mud in the water, or you are never going to turn that body of yours white!' (Text - Image)
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| 02/27/year | THE MERCHANT AND THE RAVENS. Some merchants were making a journey when they happened to meet a raven who was blind in one eye. The travellers halted and one of them said that the sign given to them by the raven meant that they should turn back home. Another member of the company protested, 'But how can such a bird predict what is going to happen to us, when he couldn't even predict the loss of his own eye in time to take preventive measures?' (Text - Image)
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| 02/28/year | HERMES AND THE DOSE OF INTELLIGENCE. After Zeus had fashioned the human race, he ordered Hermes to give them intelligence. Hermes divided intelligence into equal portions and then applied it to each person. The result was that short people became wise, since they were more completely suffused with the standard dose of intelligence, while the tall people turned out stupid, since the potion that was poured into their bodies did not even reach as high as their knees. (Text - Image)
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| 02/29/year | THE FOX AND THE MASK. A fox happened to find a mask used for performing tragedies and, after turning it this way and that several times, she remarked, 'So full of beauty, so lacking in brains!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/01/year | APOLLO AND THE SNAKE. A creeping snake who had been stepped on by many people made his way to the temple of Apollo and went inside. Apollo immediately explained to the snake, 'If you had simply killed the first person who stepped on you, no one would ever have dared to step on you again!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/02/year | The Two Travelers and the Axe. TWO MEN were journeying together. One of them picked up an axe that lay upon the path, and said, 'I have found an axe.' 'Nay, my friend,' replied the other, 'do not say 'I,' but 'We' have found an axe.' They had not gone far before they saw the owner of the axe pursuing them, and he who had picked up the axe said, 'We are undone.' 'Nay,' replied the other, 'keep to your first mode of speech, my friend; what you thought right then, think right now. Say 'I,' not 'We' are undone.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/03/year | Truth and the Traveler. A WAYFARING MAN, traveling in the desert, met a woman standing alone and terribly dejected. He inquired of her, 'Who art thou?' 'My name is Truth,' she replied. 'And for what cause,' he asked, 'have you left the city to dwell alone here in the wilderness?' She made answer, 'Because in former times, falsehood was with few, but is now with all men.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/04/year | THE FOX, THE LAMB AND THE DOG. A fox entered a flock of sheep, seized one of the suckling lambs and pretended to kiss it. A dog asked the fox what she was doing. 'I'm hugging and playing with the lamb,' said the fox. The dog replied, 'Well, you better let go of that lamb, or I'll play the dogs' game with you!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/05/year | THE BOYS AND THE FROGS. Some mischievous Boys were playing on the edge of a pond, and, catching sight of some Frogs swimming about in the shallow water, they began to amuse themselves by pelting them with stones, and they killed several of them. At last one of the Frogs put his head out of the water and said, "Oh, stop! stop! I beg of you: what is sport to you is death to us." (Text - Image)
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| 03/06/year | THE DOGS AND THE CROCODILES. Legend has it that when dogs drink from the Nile they do so on the run to avoid being caught by the crocodiles. So when a certain dog started to lap some water as he ran, a crocodile said, 'Drink as much as you want, take your time, don't be afraid!' The dog then said to the crocodile, 'By god, I would do just that, if I didn't already know that you have a craving for my flesh!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/07/year | The Wild Boar and the Fox. A WILD BOAR stood under a tree and rubbed his tusks against the trunk. A Fox passing by asked him why he thus sharpened his teeth when there was no danger threatening from either huntsman or hound. He replied, 'I do it advisedly; for it would never do to have to sharpen my weapons just at the time I ought to be using them.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/08/year | The Lion and the Three Bulls. THREE BULLS for a long time pastured together. A Lion lay in ambush in the hope of making them his prey, but was afraid to attack them while they kept together. Having at last by guileful speeches succeeded in separating them, he attacked them without fear as they fed alone, and feasted on them one by one at his own leisure. (Text - Image)
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| 03/09/year | THE BULL AND THE CALF. A bull was struggling to squeeze his horns through a narrow entryway, scarcely able to get inside his stable. A young calf then took it upon himself to tell the bull which way he should turn his head. 'Hush,' said the bull, 'I've known how to do this since before you were born!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/10/year | THE TRAVELLER AND HERMES. A traveller who needed to make a long journey vowed that if he found anything, he would give half of it to Hermes. When he came across a bag full of dates and almonds he grabbed the bag and ate the almonds and dates. He then placed the pits of the dates and the shells of the almonds upon an altar and said 'You have what was promised you, O Hermes: I have saved the outsides and the insides for you!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/11/year | The Wolf and the Goat. A WOLF saw a Goat feeding at the summit of a steep precipice, where he had no chance of reaching her. He called to her and earnestly begged her to come lower down, lest she fall by some mishap; and he added that the meadows lay where he was standing, and that the herbage was most tender. She replied, 'No, my friend, it is not for the pasture that you invite me, but for yourself, who are in want of food.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/12/year | The Trees Under the Protection of the Gods. THE GODS, according to an ancient legend, made choice of certain trees to be under their special protection. Jupiter chose the oak, Venus the myrtle, Apollo the laurel, Cybele the pine, and Hercules the poplar. Minerva, wondering why they had preferred trees not yielding fruit, inquired the reason for their choice. Jupiter replied, 'It is lest we should seem to covet the honor for the fruit.' But said Minerva, 'Let anyone say what he will the olive is more dear to me on account of its fruit.' Then said Jupiter, 'My daughter, you are rightly called wise; for unless what we do is useful, the glory of it is vain.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/13/year | The Spendthrift and the Swallow. A YOUNG MAN, a great spendthrift, had run through all his patrimony and had but one good cloak left. One day he happened to see a Swallow, which had appeared before its season, skimming along a pool and twittering gaily. He supposed that summer had come, and went and sold his cloak. Not many days later, winter set in again with renewed frost and cold. When he found the unfortunate Swallow lifeless on the ground, he said, 'Unhappy bird! what have you done? By thus appearing before the springtime you have not only killed yourself, but you have wrought my destruction also.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/14/year | THE WOLF, THE RAVEN AND THE RAM. A wolf once saw a raven sitting on a ram. The wolf sighed deeply and said, 'That raven is a happy fellow, born under a lucky star! Wherever he sits, whatever he says, whatever he does, nobody criticizes him in any way. But if I were to clamber up on a ram like that, anyone who saw me would start shouting and hurry to chase me away -- as if they had the ram's best interests at heart!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/15/year | THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE. The hare laughed at the tortoise's feet but the tortoise declared, 'I will beat you in a race!' The hare replied, 'Those are just words. Race with me, and you'll see! Who will mark out the track and serve as our umpire?' 'The fox,' replied the tortoise, 'since she is honest and highly intelligent.' When the time for the race had been decided upon, the tortoise did not delay, but immediately took off down the race course. The hare, however, lay down to take a nap, confident in the speed of his feet. Then, when the hare eventually made his way to the finish line, he found that the tortoise had already won. (Text - Image)
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| 03/16/year | THE VIPER AND THE FILE. A viper entered a blacksmith's workshop and bit the file, testing it to see if this was something she could eat. The file protested fiercely, 'You fool! Why are you trying to wound me with your teeth, when I am able to gnaw through every sort of iron?' (Text - Image)
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| 03/17/year | THE ROOSTER AND THE CATS. There was a rooster who employed cats as his litter bearers. When the fox saw the rooster being proudly carried about in this way, she said to him, 'I advise you to beware of treachery: if you look into the faces of those cats, you will realize that they are not bearing a burden -- they are carting off loot!' Afterwards, when the pack of cats began to grow hungry, they tore their lord to pieces and divided his remains amongst themselves. (Text - Image)
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| 03/18/year | HERMES AND THE EARTH. When Zeus had fashioned man and woman, he ordered Hermes to take them to Gaia, the Earth, and to show them how to obtain food by digging in the ground. At first, the Earth refused to cooperate in Hermes' mission. Hermes then compelled her, saying that Zeus had ordered her to do so. Earth replied, 'Then let them dig as much as they like, but they will pay for it with groans and tears!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/19/year | ZEUS AND THE SNAKE. Zeus was getting married and all the animals brought gifts to the wedding. The snake also came creeping along, holding a rose in his mouth. When Zeus saw him, he said, 'I am willing to take gifts from all the other animals, even when they carry them in their feet, but from your mouth, I will take nothing.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/20/year | THE DOG AND THE REEDS. There was a dog who wanted to do his business right on top of a clump of bulrushes but one of the reeds poked the dog's behind. The dog backed off and began to bark at the reeds. The reed said, 'I would rather have you bark at me from a distance than have you dirty me up close!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/21/year | The Kites and the Swans. TEE KITES of olden times, as well as the Swans, had the privilege of song. But having heard the neigh of the horse, they were so enchanted with the sound, that they tried to imitate it; and, in trying to neigh, they forgot how to sing. (Text - Image)
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| 03/22/year | The Eagle and His Captor. AN EAGLE was once captured by a man, who immediately clipped his wings and put him into his poultry-yard with the other birds, at which treatment the Eagle was weighed down with grief. Later, another neighbor purchased him and allowed his feathers to grow again. The Eagle took flight, and pouncing upon a hare, brought it at once as an offering to his benefactor. A Fox, seeing this, exclaimed, 'Do not cultivate the favor of this man, but of your former owner, lest he should again hunt for you and deprive you a second time of your wings.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/23/year | THE FOX, THE DONKEY AND THE LION SKIN. A donkey put on the skin of a lion and went around frightening all the animals. The donkey saw a fox and tried to frighten her too, but she had heard his voice first, so she said to the donkey, 'You can be sure that I too would have been afraid, if I had not already heard the sound of your bray.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/24/year | The Shepherd's Boy and the Wolf. A SHEPHERD-BOY, who watched a flock of sheep near a village, brought out the villagers three or four times by crying out, 'Wolf! Wolf!' and when his neighbors came to help him, laughed at them for their pains. The Wolf, however, did truly come at last. The Shepherd-boy, now really alarmed, shouted in an agony of terror: 'Pray, do come and help me; the Wolf is killing the sheep'; but no one paid any heed to his cries, nor rendered any assistance. The Wolf, having no cause of fear, at his leisure lacerated or destroyed the whole flock. (Text - Image)
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| 03/25/year | THE MAN, THE FLEA AND HERACLES. A flea once jumped up onto a man's foot and sat there. The man called upon Heracles to aid him in his struggle. When the flea finally jumped off, the man groaned and said, 'O Heracles, if you refused to help me to defeat this flea, how will you exert yourself on my behalf against more powerful enemies?' (Text - Image)
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| 03/26/year | THE CAMEL AND THE ELEPHANT. The dumb beasts wanted to elect a king from amongst their ranks. The camel and the elephant were the two leading candidates because of their size and their strength. The monkey, however, argued that they were both unqualified. 'The camel cannot rule us because she doesn't have the guts to fight against those who step out of line,' said the monkey, 'and there is also a potential danger if the elephant is king: how will he defend us from the little pigs?' (Text - Image)
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| 03/27/year | THE FISHERMAN AND HIS PIPE. There was once a fisherman who saw some fish in the sea and played on his pipe, expecting them to come out onto the land. When his hopes proved false, he took a net and used it instead, and in this way he was able to haul in a huge catch of fish. As the fish were all leaping about, the fisherman remarked, 'I say, enough of your dancing, since you refused to dance when I played my pipe for you before!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/28/year | The Boy Hunting Locusts. A BOY was hunting for locusts. He had caught a goodly number, when he saw a Scorpion, and mistaking him for a locust, reached out his hand to take him. The Scorpion, showing his sting, said: If you had but touched me, my friend, you would have lost me, and all your locusts too!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/29/year | HERMES AND THE DOG. There was a four-cornered statue of Hermes by the side of the road, with a heap of stones piled at its base. A dog approached the statue and said to it, 'To begin with, Hermes, I salute you! And now I am going to anoint you, since I cannot let a god go by without anointing him, much less a god of the athletes.' Hermes said to the dog, 'If you can just leave the oil alone and not pee on me, I shall be grateful enough; you do not need to honour me in any other way!' (Text - Image)
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| 03/30/year | The She-Goats and Their Beards. THE SHE-GOATS having obtained a beard by request to Jupiter, the He-Goats were sorely displeased and made complaint that the females equaled them in dignity. 'Allow them,' said Jupiter, 'to enjoy an empty honor and to assume the badge of your nobler sex, so long as they are not your equals in strength or courage.' (Text - Image)
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| 03/31/year | THE PEACOCK ELECTED KING OF THE BIRDS. There were once some birds who gathered together for a group assembly and debated amongst themselves who was best suited to rule. The peacock said to the other birds, 'The kingship suits me best, since I am remarkably beautiful and in the prime of life.' While the rest of the birds were satisfied with the peacock, the raven made his way into their midst and protested, 'Tell me, if you become king, what is going to happen when the eagle attacks us: are you strong enough to rescue us from his assault?' (Text - Image)
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| 04/01/year | THE TRAVELLERS AND THE PLANE TREE. Around noon on a summer's day, some travellers who were exhausted by the heat caught sight of a plane tree. They went and lay down in the shade of the tree in order to rest. Looking up at the tree, they remarked to one another that the plane tree produced no fruit and was therefore useless to mankind. The plane tree interrupted them and said, 'What ungrateful people you are! You denounce my uselessness and lack of fruit at the very moment in which you are enjoying my kindness!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/02/year | THE FOX AND THE MAN COUNTING THE WAVES. Aesop tells this story. A certain man was sitting on the beach counting the waves as they broke against the shore. When he lost count of the waves he got angry and frustrated. A sly fox then approached the man and said, 'Good sir, what is the point of getting angry about the waves that have already gone by? You need to just put them out of your mind and pick up counting again where you left off!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/03/year | THE OLIVE TREE AND THE FIG TREE. When a fig tree lost all her leaves during the winter, a nearby olive tree made fun of her nakedness. 'In both winter and summer,' the olive tree said, 'I am beautifully adorned with leaves, ever green with new life, whereas your beauty lasts only as long as the summer.' While the olive tree was boasting, a thunderbolt suddenly fell from the sky and burned her to cinders, while the fig tree stood there safe and sound. (Text - Image)
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| 04/04/year | THE DONKEY AND THE OX. A man had just one ox so he yoked the ox together with a donkey and started to plow. It was a humiliating arrangement, but unavoidable. When the work was finished and the man was about to unyoke them, the donkey asked the ox, 'Who do you think is going to carry the old man's tools on his back?' The ox said to the donkey, 'The same one who always carries them!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/05/year | The Ass and the Old Shepherd. A SHEPHERD, watching his Ass feeding in a meadow, was alarmed all of a sudden by the cries of the enemy. He appealed to the Ass to fly with him, lest they should both be captured, but the animal lazily replied, 'Why should I, pray? Do you think it likely the conqueror will place on me two sets of panniers?' 'No,' rejoined the Shepherd. 'Then,' said the Ass, 'as long as I carry the panniers, what matters it to me whom I serve?' (Text - Image)
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| 04/06/year | THE SHEPHERD AND THE SEA. There was a shepherd tending his flocks in a place beside the sea. When he saw that the sea was calm and mild, he decided that he wanted to make a voyage. He sold his flocks and bought some dates which he loaded onto a ship. He then set sail, but a fierce storm blew up and capsized the ship. The shepherd lost everything and barely managed to get to shore. Later on, when the sea had grown calm again, the shepherd saw a man on the beach praising the sea for her tranquillity. The shepherd remarked, 'That's just because she's after your dates!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/07/year | THE CROW AND THE WATER JAR. A thirsty crow noticed a huge jar and saw that at the very bottom there was a little bit of water. For a long time the crow tried to spill the water out so that it would run over the ground and allow her to satisfy her tremendous thirst. After exerting herself for some time in vain, the crow grew frustrated and applied all her cunning with unexpected ingenuity: as she tossed little stones into the jar, the water rose of its own accord until she was able to take a drink. (Text - Image)
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| 04/08/year | THE FOX AND THE HARE IN THE WELL. A thirsty hare had gone done into a well to drink the water. He took a good long drink, and when he wanted to get back out again, he found himself trapped with no means of escape. It was a very discouraging situation. A fox then arrived on the scene and when she found the hare she said to him, 'You have made a very serious mistake indeed: you should have first decided on a way to get out and only then gone down into the well!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/09/year | THE TRAVELLERS AND THE CROW. The crow was jealous of the raven's power to reveal signs to mankind by means of omens, since the raven was always being consulted to find out what was going to happen. When the crow saw some travellers passing by, she flew up into a tree and perched there, squawking loudly. The men turned towards the sound in alarm, but then one of them said, 'Hey, let's go! It's just a crow, whose squawking doesn't mean a thing.' (Text - Image)
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| 04/10/year | ZEUS AND THE JAR OF GOOD THINGS. Zeus gathered all the useful things together in a jar and put a lid on it. He then left the jar in human hands. But man had no self-control and he wanted to know what was in that jar, so he pushed the lid aside, letting those things go back to the abode of the gods. So all the good things flew away, soaring high above the earth, and Hope was the only thing left. When the lid was put back on the jar, Hope was kept inside. That is why Hope alone is still found among the people, promising that she will bestow on each of us the good things that have gone away. (Text - Image)
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| 04/11/year | THE MAN, THE MARE AND THE FOAL. A man was riding a pregnant mare and she gave birth to her foal while they were still on the road. The new-born foal followed directly behind his mother but soon became unsteady on his feet. The foal then said to the man, 'Look, you can see that I am very small and not strong enough to travel. If you leave me here, I am sure to die. But if you carry me away from here back to your home and bring me up, then later on, when I am grown, I shall let you ride me.' (Text - Image)
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| 04/12/year | ZEUS AND THE DONKEYS. The donkeys were tired of being burdened with burdens and labouring all the days of their lives, so they sent ambassadors to Zeus, asking him to release them from their toil. Zeus, wanting to show them that they had asked for something impossible, said that their suffering would come to an end on the day when they pissed a river. The donkeys took him seriously and to this day whenever donkeys see where another donkey has pissed, they come to a halt and piss in the same place. (Text - Image)
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| 04/13/year | THE STORK AND THE CRANES. The cranes were making trouble for the farmer by snatching the seed he had scattered on the ground. There was a stork who associated with the cranes and lived together with them although he never did any harm to the farmer. When the farmer was fed up with the damage being done to his crops, he prepared a snare and captured the stork together with the cranes. Thus the stork was actually held accountable for crimes he had never committed. (Text - Image)
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| 04/14/year | THE EAGLE AND THE FOX. The eagle befriended the fox but he later devoured the fox's pups. Since she had no power over the eagle, the fox prayed to the gods for justice. Then one day when a sacrifice was burning upon an altar, the eagle flew down and grabbed the sizzling meat to carry it off to his chicks. The meat was so hot that as soon as the chicks ate it, they died. (Text - Image)
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| 04/15/year | HERMES AND THE COBBLERS. Zeus ordered Hermes to instill a dose of deceit in every craftsman. With a pestle and mortar, Hermes ground the drug into a fine powder and after dividing it into equal portions he began to apply it to each of the craftsmen. In the end, only the cobbler was left and a great deal of the drug was still left over, so Hermes poured the entire contents of the mortar onto the cobbler. As a result, all craftsmen are liars, but cobblers are the worst of all. (Text - Image)
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| 04/16/year | 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. (Text - Image)
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| 04/17/year | THE FARMER, THE WASPS AND THE PARTRIDGES. There were once some wasps and some partridges who were terribly thirsty, so they went to a farmer to ask him for a drink. In return for the water, the partridges promised that they would dig around his vines so that they would produce excellent grapes, while the wasps would stand guard over the vines, driving away thieves by stinging them. The farmer said to them, 'But look, I have these two oxen, who do everything for me without making bargains. It is better for me to give the water to them, not to you.' (Text - Image)
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| 04/18/year | The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox. A LION and a Bear seized a Kid at the same moment, and fought fiercely for its possession. When they had fearfully lacerated each other and were faint from the long combat, they lay down exhausted with fatigue. A Fox, who had gone round them at a distance several times, saw them both stretched on the ground with the Kid lying untouched in the middle. He ran in between them, and seizing the Kid scampered off as fast as he could. The Lion and the Bear saw him, but not being able to get up, said, 'Woe be to us, that we should have fought and belabored ourselves only to serve the turn of a Fox.' (Text - Image)
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| 04/19/year | THE WOMAN IN LABOUR. After her months of pregnancy had passed, a woman about to deliver her child was lying on the ground, moaning and weeping. Her husband urged her to rest her body on the bed, so that she might better relieve herself of nature's burden, but the woman refused and said, 'I hardly think that my trouble could come to an end in the very place where it was first conceived!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/20/year | The Hunter and the Woodman. A HUNTER, not very bold, was searching for the tracks of a Lion. He asked a man felling oaks in the forest if he had seen any marks of his footsteps or knew where his lair was. 'I will,' said the man, 'at once show you the Lion himself.' The Hunter, turning very pale and chattering with his teeth from fear, replied, 'No, thank you. I did not ask that; it is his track only I am in search of, not the Lion himself.' (Text - Image)
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| 04/21/year | The Horse and the Ass. A HORSE, proud of his fine trappings, met an Ass on the highway. The Ass, being heavily laden, moved slowly out of the way. 'Hardly,' said the Horse, 'can I resist kicking you with my heels.' The Ass held his peace, and made only a silent appeal to] the justice of the gods. Not long afterwards the Horse, having become broken-winded, was sent by his owner to the farm. The Ass, seeing him drawing a dungcart, thus derided him: 'Where, O boaster, are now all thy gay trappings, thou who are thyself reduced to the condition you so lately treated with contempt?' (Text - Image)
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| 04/22/year | FATHER AND SONS. A certain man had several Sons who were always quarrelling with one another, and, try as he might, he could not get them to live together in harmony. So he determined to convince them of their folly by the following means. Bidding them fetch a bundle of sticks, he invited each in turn to break it across his knee. All tried and all failed: and then he undid the bundle, and handed them the sticks one by one, when they had no difficulty at all in breaking them. "There, my boys," said he, "united you will be more than a match for your enemies: but if you quarrel and separate, your weakness will put you at the mercy of those who attack you." (Text - Image)
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| 04/23/year | THE ANT, THE PIGEON AND THE BIRD-CATCHER. An ant was thirsty and went down to a spring expecting to take a drink of water, but instead he found himself in danger of drowning. A pigeon snapped off a leaf from a nearby tree and threw it to the ant so that he could save himself by climbing up onto the leaf. Meanwhile, a bird catcher showed up and prepared his limed reeds, intending to capture the pigeon. The ant then bit the bird catcher on the foot which caused the bird catcher to shake his limed reeds, warning the pigeon who flew off to safety. (Text - Image)
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| 04/24/year | The Bowman and Lion. A VERY SKILLFUL BOWMAN went to the mountains in search of game, but all the beasts of the forest fled at his approach. The Lion alone challenged him to combat. The Bowman immediately shot out an arrow and said to the Lion: 'I send thee my messenger, that from him thou mayest learn what I myself shall be when I assail thee.' The wounded Lion rushed away in great fear, and when a Fox who had seen it all happen told him to be of good courage and not to back off at the first attack he replied: 'You counsel me in vain; for if he sends so fearful a messenger, how shall I abide the attack of the man himself?' (Text - Image)
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| 04/25/year | The Bald Man and the Fly. A FLY bit the bare head of a Bald Man who, endeavoring to destroy it, gave himself a heavy slap. Escaping, the Fly said mockingly, 'You who have wished to revenge, even with death, the Prick of a tiny insect, see what you have done to yourself to add insult to injury?' The Bald Man replied, 'I can easily make peace with myself, because I know there was no intention to hurt. But you, an ill-favored and contemptible insect who delights in sucking human blood, I wish that I could have killed you even if I had incurred a heavier penalty.' (Text - Image)
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| 04/26/year | The Flea and the Ox. A FLEA thus questioned an Ox: 'What ails you, that being so huge and strong, you submit to the wrongs you receive from men and slave for them day by day, while I, being so small a creature, mercilessly feed on their flesh and drink their blood without stint?' The Ox replied: 'I do not wish to be ungrateful, for I am loved and well cared for by men, and they often pat my head and shoulders.' 'Woe's me!' said the flea; 'this very patting which you like, whenever it happens to me, brings with it my inevitable destruction.' (Text - Image)
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| 04/27/year | THE COWARD AND THE RAVENS. A coward was leaving on his way to war. Some ravens cawed at him, so he put his weapons down and stood still. Then he took up his arms once more and proceeded on his way, but the ravens cawed at him again. The coward stopped and finally said, 'Squawk at me as long as you want: you are still not going to get a bite out of my flesh!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/28/year | THE MAN AND THE GOLDEN EGGS. A man had a hen that laid a golden egg for him each and every day. The man was not satisfied with this daily profit, and instead he foolishly grasped for more. Expecting to find a treasure inside, the man slaughtered the hen. When he found that the hen did not have a treasure inside her after all, he remarked to himself, 'While chasing after hopes of a treasure, I lost the profit I held in my hands!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/29/year | THE SHEEP, THE GOAT AND THE SOW. A man had rounded up a sow, a goat and a sheep from his farm. While the donkey carried them all to the city, the goat and the sheep settled down quietly, but the sow's screams bothered their chauffeur, so the donkey said to the sow, 'Why on earth can't you go along quietly like the others?' The sow replied, 'The goat is being brought here for her milk, the sheep for his wool, but for me this is a matter of life and death!' (Text - Image)
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| 04/30/year | The Charger and the Miller. A CHARGER, feeling the infirmities of age, was sent to work in a mill instead of going out to battle. But when he was compelled to grind instead of serving in the wars, he bewailed his change of fortune and called to mind his former state, saying, 'Ah! Miller, I had indeed to go campaigning before, but I was barbed from counter to tail, and a man went along to groom me; and now I cannot understand what ailed me to prefer the mill before the battle.' 'Forbear,' said the Miller to him, 'harping on what was of yore, for it is the common lot of mortals to sustain the ups and downs of fortune.' (Text - Image)
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| 05/01/year | ZEUS AND APOLLO. As he made a distant shot with his bow and arrow, Apollo said to the gods, 'No one can shoot farther than I, not even Zeus.' Zeus played along and agreed to a contest. Hermes shook the lots in the helmet of Ares. The lot fell to Apollo, who went first, flexing the golden bowstring and swiftly letting loose an arrow which landed inside the Garden of the Hesperides. Zeus then covered the same distance in a single stride and stood there asking, 'Where should I shoot my arrow, son? There's nowhere for me to stand.' So it was that Zeus won the archery contest without even taking a shot. (Text - Image)
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| 05/02/year | THE DOG, THE SOW AND APHRODITE. A sow and a dog were viciously arguing with one another. The sow, for her part, swore by Aphrodite that she would tear the dog to pieces with her teeth. The dog replied ironically, 'Yes indeed, you do well to swear by Aphrodite! It's clear just how much she loves you, since she absolutely forbids anyone who has tasted your filthy flesh to enter her temple.' The sow retorted, 'This is even more evidence of the goddess's love for me, since she turns away anyone who has slain or mistreated me in any way. As for you, you just smell bad, dead or alive!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/03/year | THE DOVE AND THE CROW. A dove who lived in a certain dovecote was boasting about the number of children she had given birth to. The crow heard her and said, 'Stop your bragging! The more children you have, the greater the slavery you bring into the world!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/04/year | THE CAMEL AND THE PYRRHIC DANCE. While he was out carousing, the owner of a camel ordered her to dance to the music of bronze cymbals and flutes. The camel refused and said 'I am lucky just to walk down the road without being laughed at: dancing the Pyrrhic is out of the question!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/05/year | The Dog and the Oyster. A DOG, used to eating eggs, saw an Oyster and, opening his mouth to its widest extent, swallowed it down with the utmost relish, supposing it to be an egg. Soon afterwards suffering great pain in his stomach, he said, 'I deserve all this torment, for my folly in thinking that everything round must be an egg.' (Text - Image)
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| 05/06/year | HERACLES AND THE DRIVER. An ox-driver was bringing his wagon from town and it fell into a steep ditch. The man should have pitched in and helped, but instead he stood there and did nothing, praying to Heracles, who was the only one of the gods whom he really honoured and revered. The god appeared to the man and said, 'Grab hold of the wheels and goad the oxen: pray to the gods only when you're making some effort on your own behalf; otherwise, your prayers are wasted!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/07/year | THE MAN AND THE SWORD. A traveller was walking along and found a sword lying in the road. He said to the sword, 'Who lost you?' The weapon replied, 'One man has lost me, but I have caused the loss of many a man!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/08/year | The Laborer and the Snake. A SNAKE, having made his hole close to the porch of a cottage, inflicted a mortal bite on the Cottager's infant son. Grieving over his loss, the Father resolved to kill the Snake. The next day, when it came out of its hole for food, he took up his axe, but by swinging too hastily, missed its head and cut off only the end of its tail. After some time the Cottager, afraid that the Snake would bite him also, endeavored to make peace, and placed some bread and salt in the hole. The Snake, slightly hissing, said: 'There can henceforth be no peace between us; for whenever I see you I shall remember the loss of my tail, and whenever you see me you will be thinking of the death of your son.' (Text - Image)
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| 05/09/year | THE STAG, THE HORSE AND THE MAN. There was a horse who was the sole owner of a meadow. Then a stag came and wreaked havoc in the meadow. The horse wanted to get revenge, so he asked a certain man if he would help him carry out a vendetta against the stag. The man agreed, provided that the horse took the bit in his mouth so that the man could ride him, wielding his javelin. The horse consented, and the man climbed on his back but instead of getting his revenge, the horse simply became a slave to the man. (Text - Image)
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| 05/10/year | THE FISHERMEN AND THE TUNA FISH. Some fishermen had gone out fishing, and when they had struggled for a long time but had not managed to catch anything, they became very downcast and prepared to turn back. All of a sudden a tuna fish who was being chased by some bigger fish leaped into their boat. The men seized the tuna fish and went home rejoicing. (Text - Image)
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| 05/11/year | The Dog's House. IN THE WINTERTIME, a Dog curled up in as small a space as possible on account of the cold, determined to make himself a house. However when the summer returned again, he lay asleep stretched at his full length and appeared to himself to be of a great size. Now he considered that it would be neither an easy nor a necessary work to make himself such a house as would accommodate him. (Text - Image)
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| 05/12/year | ZEUS AND THE CAMEL. When the camel saw another animal's horns, she begged Zeus to give her horns too. Zeus was angry at the camel's greediness, so he cropped her ears instead. (Text - Image)
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| 05/13/year | The Horse and Groom. A GROOM used to spend whole days in currycombing and rubbing down his Horse, but at the same time stole his oats and sold them for his own profit. 'Alas!' said the Horse, 'if you really wish me to be in good condition, you should groom me less, and feed me more.' (Text - Image)
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| 05/14/year | THE SOW AND THE WOLF. A pregnant sow lay on the ground, groaning with the pangs of labour. A wolf came running up and offered his assistance, saying that he could play the role of midwife. The sow, however, recognized the deception lurking in the wicked wolf's conniving mind and she rejected his suspicious offer. 'It is enough for me,' said the sow, 'if you will just keep your distance!' If that sow had entrusted herself to the treacherous wolf, she would have wept with the pain of childbirth while bewailing her own demise. (Text - Image)
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| 05/15/year | The Fowler and the Viper. A FOWLER, taking his bird-lime and his twigs, went out to catch birds. Seeing a thrush sitting upon a tree, he wished to take it, and fitting his twigs to a proper length, watched intently, having his whole thoughts directed towards the sky. While thus looking upwards, he unknowingly trod upon a Viper asleep just before his feet. The Viper, turning about, stung him, and falling into a swoon, the man said to himself, 'Woe is me! That while I purposed to hunt another, I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death.' (Text - Image)
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| 05/16/year | The Ass and the Grasshopper. AN ASS having heard some Grasshoppers chirping, was highly enchanted; and, desiring to possess the same charms of melody, demanded what sort of food they lived on to give them such beautiful voices. They replied, 'The dew.' The Ass resolved that he would live only upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger. (Text - Image)
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| 05/17/year | THE BEAVER AND HIS TESTICLES. There is an animal whose name in English is 'beaver' (although those garrulous Greeks -- so proud of their endless supply of words! -- call him castor, which is also the name of a god). It is said that when the beaver is being chased by dogs and realizes that he cannot outrun them, he bites off his testicles, since he knows that this is what he is hunted for. I suppose there is some kind of superhuman understanding that prompts the beaver to act this way, for as soon as the hunter lays his hands on that magical medicine, he abandons the chase and calls off his dogs. (Text - Image)
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| 05/18/year | THE DONKEY AND THE WILD BOAR. A donkey happened to run into a wild boar and greeted him, 'Good day, brother.' The boar was indignant and, spurning the donkey's salutation, he demanded to know how the donkey could make such an outrageous claim. The donkey extended his prick and said, 'Even if you deny that you have anything in common with me, this certainly seems to have a great deal in common with your snout.' Although he wanted to launch an attack that would be worthy of his breeding, the boar checked his rage and said, 'I could easily avenge myself, but I don't want to sully myself with the blood of this worthless coward!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/19/year | THE FROG AND THE MOUSE. A mouse asked a frog to help her get across the river. The frog tied the mouse's front leg to her own back leg using a piece of string and they swam out to the middle of the stream. The frog then turned traitor and plunged down into the water, dragging the mouse along with her. The mouse's dead body floated up to the surface and was drifting along when a kite flew by and noticed something he could snatch. When he grabbed the mouse he also carried off her friend the frog. Thus the treacherous frog who had betrayed the mouse's life was likewise killed and eaten. (Text - Image)
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| 05/20/year | THE EAGLE AND THE ARROW. An archer aimed at an eagle and let loose an arrow. The eagle was struck and as he turned and looked at the shaft which was tipped with his own feathers, he said, 'Many are betrayed by the very things that they themselves have wrought.' (Text - Image)
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| 05/21/year | The Fox and the Lion. 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.' (Text - Image)
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| 05/22/year | The Doe and the Lion. A DOE hard pressed by hunters sought refuge in a cave belonging to a Lion. The Lion concealed himself on seeing her approach, but when she was safe within the cave, sprang upon her and tore her to pieces. 'Woe is me,' exclaimed the Doe, 'who have escaped from man, only to throw myself into the mouth of a wild beast?' (Text - Image)
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| 05/23/year | THE LIZARD AND THE SNAKE. A lizard happened to be looking the other way when a snake grabbed her from behind. The snake then opened his gaping maw to swallow the lizard but the lizard grabbed a little twig that was lying near by and blocked the snake's greedy mouth with this clever obstacle, holding the twig turned firmly sideways between her teeth. The snake thus failed to capture his quarry and the lizard got away. (Text - Image)
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| 05/24/year | The Fox and the Monkey. A MONKEY once danced in an assembly of the Beasts, and so pleased them all by his performance that they elected him their King. A Fox, envying him the honor, discovered a piece of meat lying in a trap, and leading the Monkey to the place where it was, said that she had found a store, but had not used it, she had kept it for him as treasure trove of his kingdom, and counseled him to lay hold of it. The Monkey approached carelessly and was caught in the trap; and on his accusing the Fox of purposely leading him into the snare, she replied, 'O Monkey, and are you, with such a mind as yours, going to be King over the Beasts?' (Text - Image)
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| 05/25/year | THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF CUBS. A shepherd found some wolf cubs and he brought them up, thinking that the fully grown wolves would both guard his flock and steal other people's sheep to bring back to his sheepfold. But when the cubs grew up, the first thing they did was to destroy the man's own flock. The man groaned and said, 'It serves me right! Why didn't I kill them when they were little?' (Text - Image)
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| 05/26/year | THE TWO HYENAS. They say that the hyena has a double nature: for a period of time the hyena is male, and then later on she is female. The story goes that when a male hyena was treating a female badly, she said to him, 'Listen here: remember how things used to be, and don't forget that I will be a male hyena the next time around!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/27/year | THE FOX AND THE LION. The fox had never seen a lion before, so when she happened to met the lion for the first time she all but died of fright. The second time she saw him, she was still afraid, but not as much as before. The third time, the fox was bold enough to go right up to the lion and speak to him. (Text - Image)
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| 05/28/year | The Goat and the Ass. A MAN once kept a Goat and an Ass. The Goat, envying the Ass on account of his greater abundance of food, said, 'How shamefully you are treated: at one time grinding in the mill, and at another carrying heavy burdens'; and he further advised him to pretend to be epileptic and fall into a ditch and so obtain rest. The Ass listened to his words, and falling into a ditch, was very much bruised. His master, sending for a leech, asked his advice. He bade him pour upon the wounds the lungs of a Goat. They at once killed the Goat, and so healed the Ass. (Text - Image)
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| 05/29/year | THE SNAKE AND THE WASP. A wasp landed on the head of a snake and began to harass him, stinging him again and again. As he was suffering from terrible pain but couldn't get rid of his enemy, the snake crawled into the road and looked for an oncoming wagon. He then put his head under the wheel as he said, 'I die together with my enemy!' (Text - Image)
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| 05/30/year | OPPORTUNITY. Running swiftly, balancing on the razor's edge, bald but with a lock of hair on his forehead, he wears no clothes; if you grasp him from the front, you might be able to hold him, but once he has moved on not even Jupiter himself can pull him back: this is a symbol of Opportunity, the brief moment in which things are possible. (Text - Image)
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| 05/31/year | The Tortoise and the Eagle. A TORTOISE, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the sea-birds of her hard fate, that no one would teach her to fly. An Eagle, hovering near, heard her lamentation and demanded what reward she would give him if he would take her aloft and float her in the air. 'I will give you,' she said, 'all the riches of the Red Sea.' 'I will teach you to fly then,' said the Eagle; and taking her up in his talons he carried her almost to the clouds suddenly he let her go, and she fell on a lofty mountain, dashing her shell to pieces. The Tortoise exclaimed in the moment of death: 'I have deserved my present fate; for what had I to do with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the earth?' (Text - Image)
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| 06/01/year | THE BIRD CATCHER AND THE PARTRIDGE. A bird catcher had captured a partridge and was ready to strangle her right there on the spot. The partridge wanted to save her life so she pleaded with the bird catcher and said, 'If you release me from this snare, I will lure many partridges here and bring them to you.' The bird catcher was made even more angry by this and he killed the partridge immediately. (Text - Image)
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| 06/02/year | The Crow and the Sheep. A TROUBLESOME CROW seated herself on the back of a Sheep. The Sheep, much against his will, carried her backward and forward for a long time, and at last said, 'If you had treated a dog in this way, you would have had your deserts from his sharp teeth.' To this the Crow replied, 'I despise the weak and yield to the strong. I know whom I may bully and whom I must flatter; and I thus prolong my life to a good old age.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/03/year | THE ROSE AND THE AMARANTH. An amaranth plant, whose flower never fades, had sprung up next to a rosebush. The amaranth said, 'What a delightful flower you are! You are desired by the gods and mortals alike. I congratulate you on your beauty and your fragrance.' The rose said, 'O amaranth, everlasting flower, I live for only a brief time and even if no one plucks me, I die, while you are able to blossom and bloom with eternal youth!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/04/year | THE HUNTING DOG AND THE WATCH DOG. There was a man who had two dogs. He taught one to hunt and the other to be a watchdog. Whenever the hunting dog caught something, the watchdog would also share in the spoils. This made the hunting dog angry at the watchdog, since he had to work for everything he had while the watchdog lived off the fruits of his labour without doing anything. The watchdog retorted, 'Don't blame me! It's our master's fault. Since he didn't teach me how to work, I only know how to eat the food that others earn.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/05/year | THE MAN AND THE INSECT. A cicada saw that a man was trying to capture him, so he said, 'Why don't you go and hunt those birds instead? They would actually be useful to you! You don't stand to gain anything by catching me.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/06/year | DEMADES AND THE ATHENIANS. The orator Demades was trying to address his Athenian audience. When he failed to get their attention, he asked if he might tell them an Aesop's fable. The audience agreed, so Demades began his story. 'The goddess Demeter, a swallow, and an eel were walking together down the road. When they reached a river, the swallow flew up in the air and the eel jumped into the water.' Demades then fell silent. The audience asked, 'And what about the goddess Demeter?' 'As for Demeter,' Demades replied, 'she is angry at all of you for preferring Aesop's fables to politics!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/07/year | ZEUS AND THE GOOD THINGS. The Good Things were too weak to defend themselves from the Bad Things, so the Bad Things drove them off to heaven. The Good Things then asked Zeus how they could reach mankind. Zeus told them that they should not go together all at once, only one at a time. This is why people are constantly besieged by Bad Things, since they are nearby, while Good Things come more rarely, since they must descend to us from heaven one by one. (Text - Image)
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| 06/08/year | The Farmer and the Snake. ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom. The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal wound. 'Oh,' cried the Farmer with his last breath, 'I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/09/year | THE DOCTOR AT THE FUNERAL. As a doctor was following the funeral cortege of one of his relatives, he remarked to the mourners in the procession that the man would not have died if he had stopped drinking wine and used an enema. Someone in the crowd then said to the doctor, 'Hey! This is hardly the time to offer such advice, when it can't do him any good. You should have given him the advice when he still could have used it!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/10/year | THE BOASTFUL ATHLETE. There was a man who had been away on a journey and had then come back home. He strutted about town, talking loudly and at great length about the brave deeds he had accomplished in the various lands he had visited. In Rhodes, the man said, he had jumped such a long jump that no man alive could equal it, and he claimed that there were witnesses who could back up his story. A bystander then remarked, 'Alright! If you're telling the truth, here is your Rhodes: go on and jump!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/11/year | THE BEAR AND THE CRABS. Whenever the bear cannot find food in the woods, he runs down to the rocky shore and, grabbing hold of a rock, he gradually lowers his hairy legs into the water. As soon as some crabs have caught hold of his fur, he leaps up onto dry land and shakes off these spoils from the sea. The bear then feasts on the food he has cleverly collected all over his legs. (Text - Image)
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| 06/12/year | THE FARMER AND HIS SONS. A farmer who was about to die wanted his sons to be knowledgeable about the farm, so he summoned them and said, 'My children, there is a treasure buried in one of my vineyards.' After he died, his sons took plows and mattocks and dug up the entire farm. They did not find any treasure, but the vineyard paid them back with a greatly increased harvest. (Text - Image)
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| 06/13/year | THE FARMERS, THE DONKEY AND THE LION SKIN. A donkey wanted to appear to be a lion. Since he could not change his nature, he tried to realize his dreams by a change of costume, and like a lion he wreaked havoc on the fruits of the farmers' labour. But when a gust of wind blew up, it stripped the lion bare of his disguise. As soon as the farmers whose crops he had eaten saw that he was just a donkey, they came and clubbed him to death. (Text - Image)
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| 06/14/year | THE WIDOW AND HER HEN. There was a widow who had a hen that laid one egg each and every day. The woman then began to feed the hen more lavishly, thinking that if the hen ate more grain she would lay two eggs. The hen got so fat from eating all the food that she stopped laying eggs entirely. (Text - Image)
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| 06/15/year | Mercury and the Sculptor. MERCURY ONCE DETERMINED to learn in what esteem he was held among mortals. For this purpose he assumed the character of a man and visited in this disguise a Sculptor's studio having looked at various statues, he demanded the price of two figures of Jupiter and Juno. When the sum at which they were valued was named, he pointed to a figure of himself, saying to the Sculptor, 'You will certainly want much more for this, as it is the statue of the Messenger of the Gods, and author of all your gain.' The Sculptor replied, 'Well, if you will buy these, I'll fling you that into the bargain.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/16/year | The Walnut-Tree. A WALNUT TREE standing by the roadside bore an abundant crop of fruit. For the sake of the nuts, the passers-by broke its branches with stones and sticks. The Walnut-Tree piteously exclaimed, 'O wretched me! that those whom I cheer with my fruit should repay me with these painful requitals!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/17/year | The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons. THE PIGEONS, terrified by the appearance of a Kite, called upon the Hawk to defend them. He at once consented. When they had admitted him into the cote, they found that he made more havoc and slew a larger number of them in one day than the Kite could pounce upon in a whole year. (Text - Image)
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| 06/18/year | THE TWO ROOSTERS AND THE EAGLE. Two roosters were fighting with one another. The loser hid himself away in a corner, while the rooster who had won the battle flew up on top of the house and flapped his wings, crowing about his victory. An eagle then swooped down and carried the rooster away. (Text - Image)
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| 06/19/year | The Flea and the Man. A MAN, very much annoyed with a Flea, caught him at last, and said, 'Who are you who dare to feed on my limbs, and to cost me so much trouble in catching you?' The Flea replied, 'O my dear sir, pray spare my life, and destroy me not, for I cannot possibly do you much harm.' The Man, laughing, replied, 'Now you shall certainly die by mine own hands, for no evil, whether it be small or large, ought to be tolerated.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/20/year | The Wolf and the Horse. A WOLF coming out of a field of oats met a Horse and thus addressed him: 'I would advise you to go into that field. It is full of fine oats, which I have left untouched for you, as you are a friend whom I would love to hear enjoying good eating.' The Horse replied, 'If oats had been the food of wolves, you would never have indulged your ears at the cost of your belly.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/21/year | THE CAT AND THE HEN. There was a hen who was not feeling well. The cat bent over her and said, 'How are you? Is there anything you need? I will bring you whatever you want; please just take care of yourself.' 'I'll live,' said the hen, 'if you will just go away!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/22/year | THE FOX AND THE CROCODILE. The fox and the crocodile were disputing about their pedigrees. The crocodile was proudly enumerating the eminent qualities of his ancestors, and when he said that they had been the highest ranking athletic officials, the fox remarked, 'My dear sir, even if you had not mentioned it, the mere condition of your skin is evidence enough that you have suffered long years of athletic sports out of doors in the sun!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/23/year | THE ONAGER, THE DONKEY AND THE DRIVER. An onager saw a donkey standing in the sunshine. The onager approached the donkey and congratulated him on his good physical condition and excellent diet. Later on, the onager saw that same donkey bearing a load on his back and being harried by a driver who was beating the donkey from behind with a club. The onager then declared, 'Well, I am certainly not going to admire your good fortune any longer, seeing as you pay such a high price for your prosperity!' (Text - Image)
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| 06/24/year | AESOP AND THE ATHLETE. Aesop, that wise man from Phrygia, once saw a winning athlete who was making extravagant boasts, so he asked whether the man's opponent had been more powerfully built. The athlete replied, 'Watch what you're saying! I was much stronger than he was.' 'You fool!' said Aesop. 'What kind of prize do you deserve if you were the stronger athlete and simply triumphed over an inferior opponent? You might have earned my grudging admiration if your opponent had in fact been superior to you in strength, so that you had to defeat him by means of your exceptional athletic prowess.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/25/year | ZEUS AND THE POTSHERDS. Zeus ordered Hermes to write down people's sins and wicked deeds on potsherds and to pile them in a designated box, so that Zeus could then peruse them and exact a penalty from each person as appropriate. Given that the potsherds are all piled up one on top of the other until the moment that Zeus examines them, he gets to some of them quite soon while others have to wait. It is therefore no surprise that there are wicked people who commit a crime in haste but who are not punished until much later. (Text - Image)
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| 06/26/year | The Quack Frog. 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?' (Text - Image)
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| 06/27/year | 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.' (Text - Image)
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| 06/28/year | The Sick Kite. A KITE, sick unto death, said to his mother: 'O Mother! do not mourn, but at once invoke the gods that my life may be prolonged.' She replied, 'Alas! my son, which of the gods do you think will pity you? Is there one whom you have not outraged by filching from their very altars a part of the sacrifice offered up to them?' (Text - Image)
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| 06/29/year | THE OSTRICH. War broke out between all the beasts and the birds. When the ostrich was captured, she fooled both sides by being both a bird and a beast: she showed the birds her head, and the beasts her feet. (Text - Image)
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| 06/30/year | THE BEES AND THE BEEKEEPER. A thief got into a beekeeper's property when its owner was away and stole the honeycombs. When the owner came back and saw that the beehives were empty, he stood there puzzling over what had happened. The bees then came back from their pastures and when they found the beekeeper there, they attacked him fiercely with their stings. The beekeeper said to the bees, 'You wretched creatures! You let the man who stole your honeycombs get away with impunity while you direct your rage at me, the very person who takes care of you!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/01/year | THE LION AND THE FARMER. A lion entered a farmer's yard and the farmer, wanting to capture the lion, shut the outer gate. The lion, unable to get out, first devoured all the sheep and then turned his attention to the cattle. The farmer became afraid for his own safety so he opened the door. After the lion had gone away, the farmer's wife saw the farmer groaning and said to him, 'It serves you right! Why did you want to shut yourself up with the sort of creature you should run away from even at a distance?' (Text - Image)
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| 07/02/year | The Bald Knight. A BALD KNIGHT, who wore a wig, went out to hunt. A sudden puff of wind blew off his hat and wig, at which a loud laugh rang forth from his companions. He pulled up his horse, and with great glee joined in the joke by saying, 'What a marvel it is that hairs which are not mine should fly from me, when they have forsaken even the man on whose head they grew.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/03/year | JUPITER AND THE TWO SACKS. Jupiter has given us two sacks to carry. One sack, which is filled with our own faults, is slung across our back, while the other sack, heavy with the faults of others, is tied around our necks. This is the reason why we are blind to our own bad habits but still quick to criticize others for their mistakes. (Text - Image)
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| 07/04/year | THE RAVEN AND THE SNAKE. A raven who was looking for food noticed a snake stretched out asleep in the sun. The raven jumped on the snake and grabbed it, but the snake then twisted back around and bit him. As he was dying, the raven said, 'What a fool I was! The windfall I found has turned out to be fatal!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/05/year | The Goat and the Goatherd. A GOATHERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to his flock. He whistled and sounded his horn in vain; the straggler paid no attention to the summons. At last the Goatherd threw a stone, and breaking its horn, begged the Goat not to tell his master. The Goat replied, 'Why, you silly fellow, the horn will speak though I be silent.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/06/year | The Two Pots. A RIVER carried down in its stream two Pots, one made of earthenware and the other of brass. The Earthen Pot said to the Brass Pot, 'Pray keep at a distance and do not come near me, for if you touch me ever so slightly, I shall be broken in pieces, and besides, I by no means wish to come near you.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/07/year | 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 st 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.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/08/year | THE SOW AND THE LIONESS. The story goes that a sow who had delivered a whole litter of piglets loudly accosted a lioness, 'How many children do you breed?' asked the sow. 'I breed only one,' said the lioness, 'but he is very well bred!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/09/year | THE BIRD-CATCHER AND THE LARK. A bird-catcher had set up his snare for the birds. A lark observed these preparations and asked the bird-catcher what he was doing. The man said to the lark that he was founding a city. The man then moved away from the snare. The bird, believing what the man had said, approached and ate some of the bait. Then, without realizing it, he was trapped in the snare. As the bird-catcher ran up and grabbed hold of the lark, the bird said to him, 'Look here, if this is the sort of city you are founding, you won't find many inhabitants for it!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/10/year | HERMES, THE SCULPTOR AND HIS DREAM. A sculptor was selling a white marble statue of Hermes which two men wanted to buy: one of them, whose son had just died, wanted it for the tombstone, while the other was a craftsman who wanted to consecrate the statue to the god himself. It was getting late, and the sculptor had not yet sold the statue. He agreed that he would show the statue again to the men when they came back the next morning. In his sleep, the sculptor saw Hermes himself standing at the Gate of Dreams. The god spoke to him and said, 'Well, my fate hangs in the balance: it is up to you whether I will become a dead man or a god!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/11/year | THE LIONS AND THE HARES. THE HARES harangued the assembly, and argued that all should be equal. The Lions made this reply: 'Your words, O Hares! Are good; but they lack both claws and teeth such as we have.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/12/year | THE CROW AND THE BOASTFUL SWALLOW. The swallow boasted to the crow, 'I am a fair young maiden and the daughter of the King of Athens!' The swallow then proceeded to tell the story of Tereus and how she had been raped by him and how he had cut out her tongue. The crow said to her, 'If you talk so much with your tongue cut out, what would you do if it had been left intact!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/13/year | THE RAVEN AND THE BIRDS. The raven pretended that it was his birthday and invited the birds to a party. Once the birds were inside, he locked the door and began to kill them one by one. (Text - Image)
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| 07/14/year | THE MONKEY AND THE FOX. A monkey asked a fox to give him a part of her tail so that he could respectably cover up his bare behind. The malicious fox said in reply, 'Even if my tail grew longer than it is now, I would sooner drag it through filth and thorns than share even the smallest part of it with you!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/15/year | THE DOG-CATCHER AND THE DOG. A man saw a dog walking by and threw him some bits of food. The dog then said to the man, 'O man, keep away from me! All your well-wishing warns me to be even more on my guard.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/16/year | THE CAT AND THE BIRDS. The cat pretended that it was his birthday and invited the birds to a party. When the birds had come in, the cat seized the opportunity: he shut the doors of his house and proceeded to devour the birds one after another. (Text - Image)
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| 07/17/year | THE CHARCOAL BURNER AND THE FULLER. A charcoal burner who lived in a certain house decided it would be a good idea to live together with a fuller who had moved in next door. But the fuller told him, 'How on earth would I be able to carry on with my work? I am afraid that whatever I washed white, you would cover with soot!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/18/year | The Ass and the Horse. AN ASS besought a Horse to spare him a small portion of his feed. 'Yes,' said the Horse; 'if any remains out of what I am now eating I will give it you for the sake of my own superior dignity, and if you will come when I reach my own stall in the evening, I will give you a little sack full of barley.' The Ass replied, 'Thank you. But I can't think that you, who refuse me a little matter now. will by and by confer on me a greater benefit.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/19/year | THE GNAT AND THE BULL. When a gnat had challenged a bull to see who was the stronger of the two, all the people came to watch the show. Then the little gnat said to the bull, 'It's enough for me that you have accepted my challenge. This makes me your equal: you yourself have admitted as much!' The gnat then rose into the air on his light wings and sported for the crowd, ignoring the threats of the bull. If the bull had been mindful of his own mighty bulk, he would have dismissed this opponent as beneath contempt and the impertinent creature would not have had anything to boast about. (Text - Image)
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| 07/20/year | THE SHEEP, THE STAG AND THE WOLF. A stag asked the sheep to loan him a peck of wheat, with the wolf vouching for his good credit. The sheep, however, saw that there was trouble ahead, so she said, 'The wolf always just takes what he wants and vanishes, while you are the sort who turns tail and runs. How can I hope to find either of you when it comes time to collect?' (Text - Image)
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| 07/21/year | The Kid and the Wolf. A KID, returning without protection from the pasture, was pursued by a Wolf. Seeing he could not escape, he turned round, and said: 'I know, friend Wolf, that I must be your prey, but before I die I would ask of you one favor you will play me a tune to which I may dance.' The Wolf complied, and while he was piping and the Kid was dancing, some hounds hearing the sound ran up and began chasing the Wolf. Turning to the Kid, he said, 'It is just what I deserve; for I, who am only a butcher, should not have turned piper to please you.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/22/year | The Man and His Wife. A MAN had a Wife who made herself hated by all the members of his household. Wishing to find out if she had the same effect on the persons in her father's house, he made some excuse to send her home on a visit to her father. After a short time she returned, and when he inquired how she had got on and how the servants had treated her, she replied, 'The herdsmen and shepherds cast on me looks of aversion.' He said, 'O Wife, if you were disliked by those who go out early in the morning with their flocks and return late in the evening, what must have been felt towards you by those with whom you passed the whole day!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/23/year | AESOP AND THE WRITER. A man had read to Aesop selections from a badly written work in which he stupidly boasted at length about what a great writer he was. The man wanted to know what Aesop thought, so the writer said to him, 'Surely you do not think I have too high an opinion of myself? My confidence in my own genius is not misplaced, is it?' 'Not at all,' said Aesop, who was utterly exhausted by the writer's wretched book. 'I think it is a very good idea for you to praise yourself, given that no one else is ever likely to do so!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/24/year | THE CRAB ON DRY LAND. A crab came up from out of the sea and was looking for food on the land. A hungry fox saw the crab, ran up, and grabbed him. As he was about to be eaten, the crab exclaimed, 'It serves me right! I am a creature of the sea but I wanted to live on dry land.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/25/year | THE HUNTER AND THE WOLF. A certain hunter saw a wolf attacking a flock and tearing to pieces as many of the sheep as he could. The hunter skilfully hunted down the wolf and set his dogs on him. Then he shouted at the wolf, 'O you terrible beast, where is that former strength of yours? You cannot even withstand the attack of these dogs!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/26/year | THE JACKDAW AND THE EAGLE. There was a jackdaw who saw an eagle carry away a lamb from the flock. The jackdaw then wanted to do the very same thing himself. He spied a ram amidst the flock and tried to carry it off, but his talons got tangled in the wool. The shepherd then came and struck him on the head and killed him. (Text - Image)
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| 07/27/year | The Mouse and the Bull. A BULL was bitten by a Mouse and, angered by the wound, tried to capture him. But the Mouse reached his hole in safety. Though the Bull dug into the walls with his horns, he tired before he could rout out the Mouse, and crouching down, went to sleep outside the hole. The Mouse peeped out, crept furtively up his flank, and again biting him, retreated to his hole. The Bull rising up, and not knowing what to do, was sadly perplexed. At which the Mouse said, 'The great do not always prevail. There are times when the small and lowly are the strongest to do mischief.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/28/year | THE LION AND THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER. A lion who had fallen in love with a young woman went to the woman's father to ask for her hand in marriage. The father was afraid to refuse the lion's offer, but asked him first to have his teeth and claws taken out; otherwise the lion could only arouse his daughter's terror. The lion was so in love with the woman that he agreed to the bargain. When the lion came back and approached the farmer, now naked and defenceless, the farmer clubbed him to death. (Text - Image)
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| 07/29/year | JUPITER AND THE FOX. Jupiter had turned the fox into the likeness of a human being and had seated her on the throne as his queen. But when the fox happened to notice a beetle creeping out from its hole, she leaped up and began chasing this familiar object of prey. The gods laughed at the fox as she ran, while the great father of the gods blushed and renounced his relations with the fox. As he chased her out of the chamber, Jupiter said, 'Live the life you deserve, since you clearly are not worthy of my favours!' (Text - Image)
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| 07/30/year | The Playful Ass. AN ASS climbed up to the roof of a building, and frisking about there, broke in the tiling. The owner went up after him and quickly drove him down, beating him severely with a thick wooden cudgel. The Ass said, 'Why, I saw the Monkey do this very thing yesterday, and you all laughed heartily, as if it afforded you very great amusement.' (Text - Image)
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| 07/31/year | ZEUS AND THE ANT. Long ago, the creature who is today an ant used to be a man who was always busy farming. Still, he was not satisfied with the results of his own labour, so he would steal from his neighbours' crops. Zeus became angry at his greedy behaviour and turned him into the animal that now has the name of 'ant.' Yet even though the man changed his shape, he did not change his habits, and even now he goes around the fields gathering the fruits of other people's labour, storing them up for himself. (Text - Image)
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| 08/01/year | The Shepherd and the Dog. A SHEPHERD penning his sheep in the fold for the night was about to shut up a wolf with them, when his Dog perceiving the wolf said, 'Master, how can you expect the sheep to be safe if you admit a wolf into the fold?' (Text - Image)
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| 08/02/year | THE DOG AND THE TREASURE. While digging up dead people's bones, a dog uncovered a treasure. This outraged the spirits of the dead, and the dog was punished for his sacrilege by being stricken with a desire for wealth. Thus, while the dog stood there guarding the treasure, he took no thought for food and wasted away from starvation. A vulture perched above him is rumoured to have said, 'O you dog, you deserve to die, since all of a sudden you began to crave the wealth of a king even though you were conceived in the gutter and were raised on a dungheap!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/03/year | THE WOLF AND THE DONKEY. The wolf paid a visit to the ailing donkey. He began to touch the donkey's body and to ask him in what part of his body he felt the greatest pain. The donkey answered, 'Wherever you touch me!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/04/year | THE BUTCHER AND THE DOG. A dog went into a butcher's shop and stole the heart of some animal. The butcher turned around and said to him, 'You haven't stolen my heart; indeed, I have taken heart from this lesson! So if you ever come back in here again, I will give you the reward you deserve for this act of robbery!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/05/year | THE DOG AND THE BLACKSMITHS. There was a dog living in the house of some blacksmiths. When the blacksmiths were working, the dog would go to sleep, but when they sat down to a meal he would wake up and approach his masters in a friendly fashion. The blacksmiths said to the dog, 'How is that you sleep undisturbed when our heaviest hammers are clanging away, but you are immediately awakened by the slightest sound of our teeth chewing?' (Text - Image)
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| 08/06/year | THE DONKEY AND THE FROGS. A donkey was carrying a load of wood across a swamp when he slipped and fell into the water. Unable to get up, the donkey began to weep and moan. When the frogs who lived in the swamp heard the donkey complaining, they said, 'Hey you! What would you do if you had to spend as much time here as we do, given that you make such a fuss about having fallen in for just a few minutes?' (Text - Image)
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| 08/07/year | HERCULES AND PLUTUS. Thanks to his excellent qualities, Hercules was received into heaven. He saluted the gods who came to congratulate him one after another, but when he was approached by Plutus, the god of wealth and the son of Fortune, Hercules turned his eyes aside. Father Jupiter asked him why he did this. Hercules answered, 'I hate the god of riches: he is a friend to the wicked who corrupts the entire world by throwing his money around!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/08/year | THE BLACKSMITHS AND THE MOUSE. A mouse was carrying away the corpse of another mouse who had died of starvation. The blacksmiths stood there and laughed when they saw this. The mouse who was still among the living addressed the blacksmiths through his plentiful tears, 'Shame on you: you cannot even manage to sustain a single mouse!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/09/year | THE FOX, THE MOON AND THE RIVER. A fox was out walking one night next to a river. She saw the light of the moon reflected in the water and mistook it for a piece of cheese. The fox started to lap at the water, thinking that if she could drink up all the water, she would find the cheese in the dry riverbed. The fox lapped and lapped at the water until finally she choked and died. (Text - Image)
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| 08/10/year | The Cock and the Jewel. A COCK, scratching for food for himself and his hens, found a precious stone and exclaimed: 'If your owner had found thee, and not I, he would have taken thee up, and have set thee in thy first estate; but I have found thee for no purpose. I would rather have one barleycorn than all the jewels in the world.' (Text - Image)
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| 08/11/year | THE MUSICIAN AT HOME. There was once a musician who had no talent whatsoever but he played his lyre in a room that had thick plaster upon the walls so when he heard the echoing sound, he concluded that he must be an excellent musician indeed. Puffed up with pride, he decided to perform on the stage. But when he made his debut at the theatre, his performance was so dreadful that the audience threw stones at him, driving him off the stage. (Text - Image)
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| 08/12/year | THE WITCH ON TRIAL. There was a witch who claimed to be able to perform magic ceremonies to avert divine wrath. She was often employed for such purposes and earned a considerable profit in this line of work. Certain people then accused her of sacrilege. The woman was arrested and condemned to death. As they were leading her away, someone saw her and said, 'You claimed to be able to turn aside the anger of the gods, so why weren't you able to ward off the plans of mere mortals?' (Text - Image)
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| 08/13/year | The Kingdom of the Lion. THE BEASTS of the field and forest had a Lion as their king. He was neither wrathful, cruel, nor tyrannical, but just and gentle as a king could be. During his reign he made a royal proclamation for a general assembly of all the birds and beasts, and drew up conditions for a universal league, in which the Wolf and the Lamb, the Panther and the Kid, the Tiger and the Stag, the Dog and the Hare, should live together in perfect peace and amity. The Hare said, 'Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place with impunity by the side of the strong.' And after the Hare said this, he ran for his life. (Text - Image)
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| 08/14/year | THE DONKEY, THE ONAGER AND THE LION. An onager saw a donkey labouring under a heavy load and he made fun of the donkey's enslavement. 'Lucky me!' said the onager. 'I am free from bondage and do not have to work for anyone else, since I have grass near at hand on the hillsides, while you rely on someone else to feed you, forever oppressed by slavery and its blows!' At that very moment a lion happened to appear on the scene. He did not come near the donkey since the donkey's driver was standing beside him. The onager, however, was all alone, so the lion attacked and devoured him. (Text - Image)
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| 08/15/year | THE POOR MAN AND DEATH. A poor man was carrying a load of wood on his shoulders. After a while he was feeling faint, so he sat down by the side of the road. Putting aside his burden, he bitterly called out to Death, summoning Death with the words 'O Death!' Death immediately showed up and said to the man, 'Why have you summoned me?' The man said, 'Oh, just to have you help me pick this burden up off the ground!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/16/year | The Fisherman and the Little Fish. A FISHERMAN who lived on the produce of his nets, one day caught a single small Fish as the result of his day's labor. The Fish, panting convulsively, thus entreated for his life: 'O Sir, what good can I be to you, and how little am I worth? I am not yet come to my full size. Pray spare my life, and put me back into the sea. I shall soon become a large fish fit for the tables of the rich, and then you can catch me again, and make a handsome profit of me.' The Fisherman replied, 'I should indeed be a very simple fellow if, for the chance of a greater uncertain profit, I were to forego my present certain gain.' (Text - Image)
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| 08/17/year | THE SHEPHERD AND THE LION. A shepherd had lost one of his sheep and begged the god for help. The man vowed that if he succeeded in finding the sheep, he would offer up another sheep to the god as a sacrifice. As he wandered about, he saw the carcass of the missing sheep chewed to pieces by a lion, and then the man began to pray, 'O god, if I can just escape the threat of this wild animal, I will offer up yet another sheep as ransom for my life!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/18/year | THE AX AND THE TREES. When a man had made an axe, he asked the trees to give him a handle made of the hardest wood. The other trees selected the wood of the wild olive. The man took the handle and fitted it to his axe. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he began to chop down the trees' mighty branches and trunks, taking whatever he wanted. The oak tree then said to the ash, 'It serves us right, since we gave our enemy the handle he asked for!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/19/year | The Swallow and the Crow. THE SWALLOW and the Crow had a contention about their plumage. The Crow put an end to the dispute by saying, 'Your feathers are all very well in the spring, but mine protect me against the winter.' (Text - Image)
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| 08/20/year | DIOGENES AND THE BALD MAN. A bald man insulted Diogenes the Cynic and Diogenes replied, 'Far be it from me to make insults! But I do want to compliment your hair for having abandoned such a worthless head.' (Text - Image)
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| 08/21/year | The Old Lion. A LION, worn out with years and powerless from disease, lay on the ground at the point of death. A Boar rushed upon him, and avenged with a stroke of his tusks a long-remembered injury. Shortly afterwards the Bull with his horns gored him as if he were an enemy. When the Ass saw that the huge beast could be assailed with impunity, he let drive at his forehead with his heels. The expiring Lion said, 'I have reluctantly brooked the insults of the brave, but to be compelled to endure such treatment from thee, a disgrace to Nature, is indeed to die a double death.' (Text - Image)
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| 08/22/year | ZEUS AND THE TORTOISE. Zeus invited all the animals to his wedding. The tortoise alone was absent, and Zeus did not know why, so he asked the tortoise her reason for not having come to the feast. The tortoise said, 'Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.' Zeus got angry at the tortoise and ordered her to carry her house with her wherever she went. (Text - Image)
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| 08/23/year | The Hawk and the Nightingale. A NIGHTINGALE, sitting aloft upon an oak and singing according to his wont, was seen by a Hawk who, being in need of food, swooped down and seized him. The Nightingale, about to lose his life, earnestly begged the Hawk to let him go, saying that he was not big enough to satisfy the hunger of a Hawk who, if he wanted food, ought to pursue the larger birds. The Hawk, interrupting him, said: 'I should indeed have lost my senses if I should let go food ready in my hand, for the sake of pursuing birds which are not yet even within sight.' (Text - Image)
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| 08/24/year | The Mice in Council. THE MICE summoned a council to decide how they might best devise means of warning themselves of the approach of their great enemy the Cat. Among the many plans suggested, the one that found most favor was the proposal to tie a bell to the neck of the Cat, so that the Mice, being warned by the sound of the tinkling, might run away and hide themselves in their holes at his approach. But when the Mice further debated who among them should thus 'bell the Cat,' there was no one found to do it. (Text - Image)
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| 08/25/year | THE GODDESS FORTUNE AND THE MAN BY THE WELL. A workman had thoughtlessly fallen asleep one night next to a well. While he slept, he seemed to hear the voice of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, as she stood there beside him. 'Hey you,' the goddess said, 'you'd better wake up! I am afraid that if you fall into the well, I will be the one that people blame, giving me a bad reputation. In general, people blame me for everything that happens to them, including the unfortunate events and tumbles for which a person really has only himself to blame.' (Text - Image)
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| 08/26/year | THE MAN AND THE ORACLE. A wicked man had gone to visit Apollo in Delphi, wanting to test the god. He took a sparrow in one hand, concealing it with his cloak, and then stood by the oracle and inquired of the god, 'Apollo, the thing that I am carrying in my hand: is it living, or is it dead?' The man planned to show the sparrow alive if the god said 'dead,' and if the god said 'living,' he would strangle the sparrow immediately and present the dead bird. But the god recognized the man's evil purpose, and said, 'Listen, do whatever you want: it is entirely up to you whether you will show me something living or dead!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/27/year | THE SNAIL AND THE MIRROR. A snail found a mirror and when she saw how brightly he shone, she fell in love with him. She quickly climbed up onto the mirror's round surface and began to lick him. The snail clearly was no good for the mirror and only besmirched his lustrous radiance with filth and slime. A monkey then found the mirror after it had been dirtied by the snail, and remarked, 'That's what happens when you let someone like that walk all over you!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/28/year | THE RIVERS AND THE SEA. The rivers came together in order to make a complaint against the sea. They told her, 'Why is it that we come to you with waters that are sweet and fit to drink, but you change them into something salty and undrinkable?' In response to the rivers' criticism, the sea replied, 'Don't come, and you won't get salty!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/29/year | The Fox and the Crane. A FOX invited a Crane to supper and provided nothing for his entertainment but some soup made of pulse, which was poured out onto a broad flat stone dish. The soup fell out of the long bill of the Crane at every mouthful, and his vexation at not being able to eat afforded the Fox much amusement. The Crane, in his turn, asked the Fox to sup with him, and set before her a flagon with a long narrow mouth, so that he could easily insert his neck and enjoy its contents at his leisure. The Fox, unable even to taste it, met with a fitting requital, after the fashion of her own hospitality. (Text - Image)
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| 08/30/year | THE PIG, THE DONKEY AND THE BARLEY. There was a man who had vowed that he would sacrifice a pig in honour of Hercules if the god agreed to rescue him from danger. When the man fulfilled his vow and sacrificed the pig, he then ordered that the pig's leftover barley be given to the donkey. The donkey, however, refused to touch it. 'This is the kind of food that would normally arouse my appetite,' said the horse, 'but not when it is the result of the previous diner having had his throat cut!' (Text - Image)
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| 08/31/year | The Camel. WHEN MAN first saw the Camel, he was so frightened at his vast size that he ran away. After a time, perceiving the meekness and gentleness of the beast's temper, he summoned courage enough to approach him. Soon afterwards, observing that he was an animal altogether deficient in spirit, he assumed such boldness as to put a bridle in his mouth, and to let a child drive him. (Text - Image)
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| 09/01/year | PROMETHEUS AND THE TEARS. This is also something that Aesop said. The clay which Prometheus used when he fashioned man was not mixed with water but with tears. Therefore, one should not try to dispense entirely with tears, since they are inevitable. (Text - Image)
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| 09/02/year | THE OAK TREE AND THE REED. A reed got into an argument with an oak tree. The oak tree marvelled at her own strength, boasting that she could stand her own in a battle against the winds. Meanwhile, she condemned the reed for being weak, since he was naturally inclined to yield to every breeze. The wind then began to blow very fiercely. The oak tree was torn up by her roots and toppled over, while the reed was left bent but unharmed. (Text - Image)
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| 09/03/year | The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail. A FOX caught in a trap escaped, but in so doing lost his tail. Thereafter, feeling his life a burden from the shame and ridicule to which he was exposed, he schemed to convince all the other Foxes that being tailless was much more attractive, thus making up for his own deprivation. He assembled a good many Foxes and publicly advised them to cut off their tails, saying that they would not only look much better without them, but that they would get rid of the weight of the brush, which was a very great inconvenience. One of them interrupting him said, 'If you had not yourself lost your tail, my friend, you would not thus counsel us.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/04/year | THE DEER AND THE VINE. A deer who was being pursued by hunters hid under a grapevine. When the hunters had passed by, she turned her head and began to eat the leaves of the vine. One of the hunters turned and when he saw the deer, he hurled his javelin and struck her. As she was dying, the deer groaned to herself, 'It serves me right, since I injured the vine that saved me!' (Text - Image)
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| 09/05/year | The Weasel and the Mice. A WEASEL, inactive from age and infirmities, was not able to catch mice as he once did. He therefore rolled himself in flour and lay down in a dark corner. A Mouse, supposing him to be food, leaped upon him, and was instantly caught and squeezed to death. Another perished in a similar manner, and then a third, and still others after them. A very old Mouse, who had escaped many a trap and snare, observed from a safe distance the trick of his crafty foe and said, 'Ah! you that lie there, may you prosper just in the same proportion as you are what you pretend to be!' (Text - Image)
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| 09/06/year | THE SICK MAN AND HIS WIFE. A poor man had taken ill and was in very bad shape. When the doctors had given up hope, since he didn't have anything he could pay with, the man called upon the gods and vowed “O you great and radiant divinities, if you restore my health, I will bring a hundred oxen to you as a sacrifice.” His wife then asked him, “Where are you going to get a hundred oxen from, if you get well?” The man said to her, “And do you suppose I am going to ever get out of this bed so that the gods will be able to demand payment?” (Text - Image)
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| 09/07/year | The Hares and the Frogs. THE HARES, oppressed by their own exceeding timidity and weary of the perpetual alarm to which they were exposed, with one accord determined to put an end to themselves and their troubles by jumping from a lofty precipice into a deep lake below. As they scampered off in large numbers to carry out their resolve, the Frogs lying on the banks of the lake heard the noise of their feet and rushed helter-skelter to the deep water for safety. On seeing the rapid disappearance of the Frogs, one of the Hares cried out to his companions: 'Stay, my friends, do not do as you intended; for you now see that there are creatures who are still more timid than ourselves.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/08/year | The Ass and the Wolf. AN ASS feeding in a meadow saw a Wolf approaching to seize him, and immediately pretended to be lame. The Wolf, coming up, inquired the cause of his lameness. The Ass replied that passing through a hedge he had trod with his foot upon a sharp thorn. He requested that the Wolf pull it out, lest when he ate him it should injure his throat. The Wolf consented and lifted up the foot, and was giving his whole mind to the discovery of the thorn, when the Ass, with his heels, kicked his teeth into his mouth and galloped away. The Wolf, being thus fearfully mauled, said, 'I am rightly served, for why did I attempt the art of healing, when my father only taught me the trade of a butcher?' (Text - Image)
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| 09/09/year | The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat. THE BIRDS waged war with the Beasts, and each were by turns the conquerors. A Bat, fearing the uncertain issues of the fight, always fought on the side which he felt was the strongest. When peace was proclaimed, his deceitful conduct was apparent to both combatants. Therefore being condemned by each for his treachery, he was driven forth from the light of day, and henceforth concealed himself in dark hiding-places, flying always alone and at night. (Text - Image)
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| 09/10/year | AESOP AND THE BITCH. It was evening, and Aesop was on his way home from a dinner when a drunken bitch made so bold as to start barking at him. Aesop then said to her, 'Bitch, bitch, if you had any intelligence at all, you would trade in that wicked tongue of yours and buy some wheat instead!' (Text - Image)
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| 09/11/year | The Fox and the Leopard. THE FOX and the Leopard disputed which was the more beautiful of the two. The Leopard exhibited one by one the various spots which decorated his skin. But the Fox, interrupting him, said, 'And how much more beautiful than you am I, who am decorated, not in body, but in mind.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/12/year | THE FOX AND THE GRAPES. Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine. Although she leaped with all her strength, she couldn't manage to reach the grapes. As she went away, the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/13/year | THE MURDERER AND THE MULBERRY TREE. A robber had murdered someone along the road. When the bystanders began to chase him, he dropped the bloody corpse and ran away. Some travellers coming from the opposite direction asked the man how he had stained his hands. The man said that he had just climbed down from a mulberry tree, but as he was speaking, his pursuers caught up with him. They seized the murderer and crucified him on a mulberry tree. The tree said to him, 'It does not trouble me at all to assist in your execution, since you tried to smear me with the murder that you yourself committed!' (Text - Image)
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| 09/14/year | The Man and the Satyr. A MAN and a Satyr once drank together in token of a bond of alliance being formed between them. One very cold wintry day, as they talked, the Man put his fingers to his mouth and blew on them. When the Satyr asked the reason for this, he told him that he did it to warm his hands because they were so cold. Later on in the day they sat down to eat, and the food prepared was quite scalding. The Man raised one of the dishes a little towards his mouth and blew in it. When the Satyr again inquired the reason, he said that he did it to cool the meat, which was too hot. 'I can no longer consider you as a friend,' said the Satyr, 'a fellow who with the same breath blows hot and cold.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/15/year | THE WOLF AND THE DOG IN PURSUIT. As he chased after a wolf, the dog capered with pleasure at how quickly he was able to run, revelling in his own strength. In fact, the dog actually imagined that the wolf was running away from him because of his superior prowess. But then the wolf turned around and said to the dog, 'I am not running away from you! I'm just afraid of being chased down by your master.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/16/year | THE JACKDAW AND THE RAVENS. There was a jackdaw who was bigger than the other jackdaws. Scorning his fellows, he joined the company of the ravens, having decided to spend his life as a member of their flock. The ravens, however, did not recognize the voice of this bird or his appearance, so they attacked him and drove him away. Rejected by the ravens, he went back again to the jackdaws. But the jackdaws were angry about his presumptuous behaviour and refused to accept him. The final result was that the jackdaw had nowhere to go. (Text - Image)
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| 09/17/year | THE WOLF AND THE RAVEN. A donkey who had a sore on his back was grazing in a meadow. A raven alighted on his back and began to peck at the wound, while the donkey brayed and reared up on his hind legs in pain. The donkey's driver, meanwhile, stood off at a distance and laughed. A wolf who was passing by saw the whole thing and said to himself, 'How unfairly we wolves are treated! When people so much as catch a glimpse of us, they drive us away, but when someone like that raven makes his move, everyone just smiles at him.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/18/year | The Fox and the Bramble. A FOX was mounting a hedge when he lost his footing and caught hold of a Bramble to save himself. Having pricked and grievously tom the soles of his feet, he accused the Bramble because, when he had fled to her for assistance, she had used him worse than the hedge itself. The Bramble, interrupting him, said, 'But you really must have been out of your senses to fasten yourself on me, who am myself always accustomed to fasten upon others.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/19/year | The Old Hound. A HOUND, who in the days of his youth and strength had never yielded to any beast of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar in the chase. He seized him boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold because of the decay of his teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly coming up, was very much disappointed, and fiercely abused the dog. The Hound looked up and said, 'It was not my fault. master: my spirit was as good as ever, but I could not help my infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised for what I have been, than to be blamed for what I am.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/20/year | The Wolf and the Sheep. A WOLF, sorely wounded and bitten by dogs, lay sick and maimed in his lair. Being in want of food, he called to a Sheep who was passing, and asked him to fetch some water from a stream flowing close beside him. 'For,' he said, 'if you will bring me drink, I will find means to provide myself with meat.' 'Yes,' said the Sheep, 'if I should bring you the draught, you would doubtless make me provide the meat also.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/21/year | The Thirsty Pigeon. A PIGEON, oppressed by excessive thirst, saw a goblet of water painted on a signboard. Not supposing it to be only a picture, she flew towards it with a loud whir and unwittingly dashed against the signboard, jarring herself terribly. Having broken her wings by the blow, she fell to the ground, and was caught by one of the bystanders. (Text - Image)
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| 09/22/year | THE MAN AND THE STATUE OF HERMES. A man fashioned a Hermes out of wood and carried it to the market to put it up for sale but no customers approached him. In order to attract some buyers the man began to shout that he was selling a wish-fulfilling god who brought profit to its owner. 'Hey you,' someone said, 'why are you putting such a thing up for sale, instead of enjoying its benefits yourself?' The man answered, 'I am in need of some immediate benefits, but this god happens to take his time when distributing profits!' (Text - Image)
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| 09/23/year | THE DONKEY AND THE WOLVES. There was a wolf who ruled over the other wolves and decreed that whatever they might catch while hunting would be kept in common and divided equally by the whole pack. A donkey who happened to be passing by remarked, 'What a fine idea from the mind of a wolf! But how is it that yesterday I ran into you and saw you hiding your quarry away in your lair?' Put to shame by the donkey, the wolf abolished the law he had made. (Text - Image)
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| 09/24/year | The Ass and the Charger. AN ASS congratulated a Horse on being so ungrudgingly and carefully provided for, while he himself had scarcely enough to eat and not even that without hard work. But when war broke out, a heavily armed soldier mounted the Horse, and riding him to the charge, rushed into the very midst of the enemy. The Horse was wounded and fell dead on the battlefield. Then the Ass, seeing all these things, changed his mind, and commiserated the Horse. (Text - Image)
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| 09/25/year | THE GOOSE AND THE SWAN. A wealthy man wanted to raise a goose and a swan together but for different purposes: the swan was for singing and the goose was for eating. The time came for the goose to meet his appointed fate and have his throat cut. Yet the darkness of nighttime prevented the man from knowing which bird was which. As a result, he grabbed the swan instead of the goose. The swan then declared his true nature by bursting into a swan-song, and thus narrowly escaped from death. (Text - Image)
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| 09/26/year | The Wolf and the Shepherds. A WOLF, passing by, saw some Shepherds in a hut eating a haunch of mutton for their dinner. Approaching them, he said, 'What a clamor you would raise if I were to do as you are doing!' (Text - Image)
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| 09/27/year | THE FOX, THE LION AND THE FOOTPRINTS. A lion had grown old and weak. He pretended to be sick, which was just a ruse to make the other animals come pay their respects so that he could eat them all up, one by one. The fox also came to see the lion, but she greeted him from outside the cave. The lion asked the fox why she didn't come in. The fox replied, 'Because I see the tracks of those going in, but none coming out.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/28/year | The Hares and the Foxes. THE HARES waged war with the Eagles, and called upon the Foxes to help them. They replied, 'We would willingly have helped you, if we had not known who you were, and with whom you were fighting.' (Text - Image)
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| 09/29/year | THE LION AND THE FAWN. The lion had gone into in a raging frenzy. A fawn saw him from the woods and said, 'Oh, we really are in trouble! Now that the lion is enraged, he will not stop at anything - and he was already more than we could bear even before he went out of his mind!' (Text - Image)
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| 09/30/year | THE LION AND THE BOAR AT THE SPRING. In summertime, when the heat makes everyone thirsty, a lion and a wild boar had come to drink from the same small spring. They began to argue about who was going to take the first drink, and their argument escalated into a duel to the death. When they momentarily paused to catch their breath, the lion and the boar saw that vultures were waiting to snatch and devour the one who was killed. At that point, the lion and the boar put their hatred aside and said, 'It is better for us to befriend one another than to be eaten by vultures and ravens!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/01/year | The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape. 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.' (Text - Image)
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| 10/02/year | THE TWO FROGS AT THE WELL. There were two frogs whose pond had dried up, so they went looking for a new place to live. When they came to a well, one of them thought that they should jump in immediately, but the other one said, 'Wait: what if the water were to dry up here too; how would we be able to get back out again?' (Text - Image)
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| 10/03/year | The Geese and the Cranes. 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. (Text - Image)
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| 10/04/year | THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF CUB. A shepherd found a little wolf cub and raised it. Then, when the cub was bigger he taught it to steal from his neighbours' flocks. Once he had learned how to do this, the wolf said to the shepherd, 'Now that you have shown me how to steal, take care that many of your own sheep don't go missing!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/05/year | The Dogs and the Hides. 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. (Text - Image)
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| 10/06/year | The Peasant and the Eagle. A PEASANT found an Eagle captured in a trap, and much admiring the bird, set him free. The Eagle did not prove ungrateful to his deliverer, for seeing the Peasant sitting under a wall which was not safe, he flew toward him and with his talons snatched a bundle from his head. When the Peasant rose in pursuit, the Eagle let the bundle fall again. Taking it up, the man returned to the same place, to find that the wall under which he had been sitting had fallen to pieces; and he marveled at the service rendered him by the Eagle. (Text - Image)
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| 10/07/year | THE JACKDAW AND THE DOVES. A jackdaw saw that the doves in a dovecote were very well fed, so he dyed himself white and went to join them, expecting to share in their food. So long as the jackdaw kept quiet, the doves thought he was another dove and accepted him, but when he forgot to keep quiet and let out a squawk, the pigeons then recognized who he was and they pecked at him until he went away. Unable to feed with the doves, he then went back again to the jackdaws. But because they did not recognize his colour, they kept him away from their food and the jackdaw ended up with nothing to eat at all. (Text - Image)
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| 10/08/year | THE RICH MAN AND THE TANNER. A rich man was living next door to a tanner and could not stand the foul odour. He urged the tanner to move away but the tanner put him off, always saying 'In a little while.' This happened repeatedly, until the rich man got used to the foul odour and didn't bother the tanner any more. (Text - Image)
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| 10/09/year | THE DONKEY AND THE THORNS. A donkey was eating the spiny leaves of a thorn bush when a fox happened to see him. The fox crept up and said, 'Hey you, how can you chew and swallow such tough food with your flabby, flapping tongue?' (Text - Image)
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| 10/10/year | THE FOX, THE MONKEY AND HIS ANCESTORS. A fox and a monkey were travelling along the same road. They passed through a cemetery, and the monkey said to the fox, 'All these dead people were the freedmen of my ancestors.' The fox then said to the monkey, 'This is an opportune moment for you to tell such lies: not a single one of the people entombed in this place can rise up and refute what you say!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/11/year | THE MONKEY AND THE CAMEL. At the animal convention, the monkey got up and danced. He won great approval and was applauded by all. The camel was jealous and aspired to the same success so she also stood up and attempted to dance, making a complete fool of herself. The other animals grew angry and drove the camel away, beating her with clubs. (Text - Image)
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| 10/12/year | THE RAM AND THE WOLF. A wolf was walking by a wall, while a ram was peeping over the top, making all kinds of rude remarks. The wolf, gnashing his teeth, replied, 'It is only your situation that makes these insults possible. You yourself have nothing to boast about!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/13/year | THE RAVEN AND HERMES. A raven who had been caught in a snare prayed to Apollo, promising that he would make an offering of frankincense if Apollo would rescue him from the snare. The raven escaped, but he forgot about his vow. Later on he was caught in another snare, but he ignored Apollo this time and instead vowed a sacrifice to Hermes. Hermes then said to the bird, 'You wretched creature! How can I trust you, when you betrayed your former master?' (Text - Image)
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| 10/14/year | THE SOW, THE DOG AND THEIR LITTERS. A sow and a dog were arguing about their litters. The dog said that she had the easiest delivery of all the four-footed animals but the sow responded, 'Be that as it may, the puppies you give birth to are blind!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/15/year | The Thieves and the Cock. SOME THIEVES broke into a house and found nothing but a Cock, whom they stole, and got off as fast as they could. Upon arriving at home they prepared to kill the Cock, who thus pleaded for his life: 'Pray spare me; I am very serviceable to men. I wake them up in the night to their work.' 'That is the very reason why we must the more kill you,' they replied; 'for when you wake your neighbors, you entirely put an end to our business.' (Text - Image)
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| 10/16/year | THE FISHERMAN AND THE FISH. A fisherman was pulling in the net which he had just cast and, as luck would have it, the net was filled with all kinds of sea creatures. The little fish escaped to the bottom of the net and slipped out through its many holes, but the big fish was caught and lay stretched out flat aboard the boat. (Text - Image)
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| 10/17/year | THE RACE HORSE IN THE MILL. There was once a race-horse who had grown old and was sold to grind in the mill. Harnessed to the mill-stone, he ground grain all day long and into in the evening. As he was working, the old horse groaned aloud and said, 'Once I ran in the races, but now I must run in circles around this millers' course!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/18/year | THE LION, THE ROOSTER AND THE DONKEY. A donkey and a rooster lived together on a farm. A lion who had noticed the donkey crept up and was about to pounce when the rooster let loose a squawk. This frightened the lion (for they say that lions are terrified of the rooster's crowing) and he turned tail and ran. The donkey was elated at the thought of the lion running away from a rooster. He took off in pursuit of the lion but when the donkey had gone some distance away from the farm, the lion turned around and ate him. (Text - Image)
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| 10/19/year | The Gnat and the Bull. 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.' (Text - Image)
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| 10/20/year | THE BOYS AND THE BUTCHER. Two young boys were standing next to the butcher. Then, when the butcher was occupied in some business of his own, one of the boys grabbed a piece of meat and hid it in the folds of the other boy's garment. When the butcher turned around and looked for the meat, the boy who had taken the meat swore he didn't have it, and the one who had the meat swore he hadn't taken it. When the butcher realized the wicked trick the boys had played, he said, 'Even if you manage to deceive me, you will never deceive the god by whom you have sworn falsely!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/21/year | THE TWO FROGS BY THE ROAD. There were two frogs who lived near one another. One lived in a deep pond that was far away from the road, but the other lived near the road where there was only a small amount of water. The frog who lived in the deep pond advised the other frog to move in with him so that they could share the pond between them and live a life that was less fraught with danger. The roadside frog refused the offer, saying that he had become accustomed to his home and couldn't tear himself away. Not long afterwards, he was crushed under the wheel of a passing wagon. (Text - Image)
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| 10/22/year | THE FOX AND THE GOAT IN THE WELL. A fox had unwittingly fallen down a well and found herself trapped inside its high walls. Meanwhile, a thirsty goat had made his way to that same place and asked the fox whether the water was fresh and plentiful. The fox set about laying her trap. 'Come down, my friend,' said the fox. 'The water is so good that I cannot get enough of it myself!' The bearded billy-goat lowered himself into the well, whereupon that little vixen leaped up on his lofty horns and emerged from the hole, leaving the goat stuck inside the watery prison. (Text - Image)
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| 10/23/year | THE CAMEL IN THE RIVER. As the humpbacked camel was crossing a swift-flowing river, she relieved herself. Then, when she saw her excrement floating out in front of her, the camel remarked, 'Oh, this is a bad business indeed: the thing that should have stayed behind has now moved up to the front!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/24/year | The Heifer and the Ox. A HEIFER saw an Ox hard at work harnessed to a plow, and tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate in being compelled to labor. Shortly afterwards, at the harvest festival, the owner released the Ox from his yoke, but bound the Heifer with cords and led him away to the altar to be slain in honor of the occasion. The Ox saw what was being done, and said with a smile to the Heifer: 'For this you were allowed to live in idleness, because you were presently to be sacrificed.' (Text - Image)
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| 10/25/year | The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner. A TRUMPETER, bravely leading on the soldiers, was captured by the enemy. He cried out to his captors, 'Pray spare me, and do not take my life without cause or without inquiry. I have not slain a single man of your troop. I have no arms, and carry nothing but this one brass trumpet.' 'That is the very reason for which you should be put to death,' they said; 'for, while you do not fight yourself, your trumpet stirs all the others to battle.' (Text - Image)
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| 10/26/year | THE HUNTERS AND THE DEER WITH ONE EYE. There was a deer who had lost an eye, so she lived on the shore, keeping her good eye towards the land, looking for hunters. Meanwhile, she turned her blind eye towards the sea, since she did not expect any danger from that direction. Then some men came sailing by, took aim, and shot the deer. The deer bewailed her fate, since she had been afraid of something that didn't affect her at all, while she was undone by something she didn't even think was dangerous. (Text - Image)
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| 10/27/year | THE COOK AND THE DOG. Someone was hosting a splendid feast in the city after having performed a sacrifice. A dog belonging to the host ran into another man's dog who was a friend of his and invited him to come to the feast. The other dog came but the cook grabbed him by the leg and threw him out over the wall and into the street. When some other dogs asked him how the party had gone, the dog answered, 'Couldn't have been better! I can't even quite tell how I made my exit.' (Text - Image)
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| 10/28/year | THE FLIES AND THE HONEY. When the honey had been spilled in the pantry, some flies flew up and landed on it. Their feet got stuck and they could not fly away. As they were drowning in the honey, the flies remarked, 'Oh, woe is us! For the sake of a brief banquet, we are going to die!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/29/year | THE BIRDS AND THE CUCKOO. Aesop says that when the cuckoo asked the little birds why they ran away from him, they said it was because he would someday turn into a hawk. (Text - Image)
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| 10/30/year | THE MOLE AND THE FRANKINCENSE. A mole (which is a blind animal) told his mother that he could see. The mother tested him by giving him a grain of frankincense and asking him what it was. He said it was a little pebble, whereupon she exclaimed, 'My son, in addition to your blindness, you have also lost your sense of smell!' (Text - Image)
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| 10/31/year | The Blind Man and the Whelp. A BLIND MAN was accustomed to distinguishing different animals by touching them with his hands. The whelp of a Wolf was brought him, with a request that he would feel it, and say what it was. He felt it, and being in doubt, said: 'I do not quite know whether it is the cub of a Fox, or the whelp of a Wolf, but this I know full well. It would not be safe to admit him to the sheepfold.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/01/year | THE BIRD CATCHER AND THE CRICKET. A bird catcher heard a cricket and thought he was going to make a big catch, estimating its size by the volume of its song. But when he walked up and seized his prey, he discovered that it was worthless. The bird catcher then denounced the whole process of deducing from appearances, since it often leads people to make mistaken judgments. (Text - Image)
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| 11/02/year | THE SWALLOW AND THE NIGHTINGALE. A swallow once asked a nightingale why she didn't want to come and take up residence with her. The nightingale wept and cried, 'No, it is impossible for me to do that. It brings to mind the grief suffered by my ancestors, which is why I dwell in the wilderness.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/03/year | The Hen and the Swallow. A HEN finding the eggs of a viper and carefully keeping them warm, nourished them into life. A Swallow, observing what she had done, said, 'You silly creature! why have you hatched these vipers which, when they shall have grown, will inflict injury on all, beginning with yourself?' (Text - Image)
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| 11/04/year | THE SNAKE, THE EAGLE AND THE FARMER. A snake and an eagle were grappling with one another as they fought. The snake had tightened his hold on the eagle when a farmer saw them and freed the eagle from the grip of the snake. The snake was angry about what had happened, so he went and poisoned the man's drinking water. But just as the unsuspecting farmer was about to take a drink, the eagle flew down and snatched the cup out of his hands. (Text - Image)
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| 11/05/year | The Seaside Travelers. SOME TRAVELERS, journeying along the seashore, climbed to the summit of a tall cliff, and looking over the sea, saw in the distance what they thought was a large ship. They waited in the hope of seeing it enter the harbor, but as the object on which they looked was driven nearer to shore by the wind, they found that it could at the most be a small boat, and not a ship. When however it reached the beach, they discovered that it was only a large faggot of sticks, and one of them said to his companions, 'We have waited for no purpose, for after all there is nothing to see but a load of wood.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/06/year | THE BULL AND THE GOATS. A bull who was running away from a lion sought refuge in a cave. He found that there were already some wild goats in the cave, and the goats actually started to butt at the bull with their horns. The bull said to them, 'I am not afraid of you! It is the one outside the cave who scares me.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/07/year | THE RAVEN AND THE SWAN. The raven saw the swan and envied his white colour. Thinking that his own colour was due to the water in which he bathed, the raven abandoned the altars where he found his food and instead joined the swans in the swamps and the rivers. This did nothing at all to change the raven's colour, but he starved to death from a lack of food. (Text - Image)
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| 11/08/year | THE MONKEYS AND THE CITY. The monkeys came together in an assembly to decide whether or not to found a city. When the monkeys concluded that it would be a good thing to do, they were about to begin the work. At that point an old monkey restrained them, saying that they would be captured more easily by enclosing themselves inside a city's walls. (Text - Image)
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| 11/09/year | THE FISHERMAN AND THE OCTOPUS. When a fisherman happened to see an octopus during the winter, he said, 'If I take off my clothes and jump in after him, I will freeze! But if I do not catch that octopus, I condemn my children to die of starvation!' (Text - Image)
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| 11/10/year | The Thrush and the Fowler. A THRUSH was feeding on a myrtle-tree and did not move from it because its berries were so delicious. A Fowler observed her staying so long in one spot, and having well bird-limed his reeds, caught her. The Thrush, being at the point of death, exclaimed, 'O foolish creature that I am! For the sake of a little pleasant food I have deprived myself of my life.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/11/year | ZEUS AND PROMETHEUS. Following Zeus's orders, Prometheus fashioned humans and animals. When Zeus saw that the animals far outnumbered the humans, he ordered Prometheus to reduce the number of the animals by turning them into people. Prometheus did as he was told, and as a result those people who were originally animals have a human body but the soul of an animal. (Text - Image)
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| 11/12/year | THE TUNA FISH AND THE DOLPHIN. A tuna fish who was being chased by a dolphin was splashing madly through the water. Just when the dolphin was about to catch him, the tuna fish heaved himself forward with a great effort and landed on an island. Matching his effort, the dolphin ran aground beside him. The tuna fish then turned to look at the gasping dolphin and said, 'I do not grieve over my own death, so long as I am able to see that the one to blame is dying together with me!' (Text - Image)
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| 11/13/year | The Wolf and the Crane. A WOLF who had a bone stuck in his throat hired a Crane, for a large sum, to put her head into his mouth and draw out the bone. When the Crane had extracted the bone and demanded the promised payment, the Wolf, grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed: 'Why, you have surely already had a sufficient recompense, in having been permitted to draw out your head in safety from the mouth and jaws of a wolf.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/14/year | 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! I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/15/year | THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER. The crab's mother said to him, 'My son, why do you walk in a crooked line when you should be walking straight ahead?' The crab said to her, 'O mother, lead the way, and I will try to walk accordingly.' The crab's mother was unable to walk in a straight line, and her son accused her of being out of her mind. (Text - Image)
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| 11/16/year | The Man and His Two Sweethearts. A MIDDLE-AGED MAN, whose hair had begun to turn gray, courted two women at the same time. One of them was young, and the other well advanced in years. The elder woman, ashamed to be courted by a man younger than herself, made a point, whenever her admirer visited her, to pull out some portion of his black hairs. The younger, on the contrary, not wishing to become the wife of an old man, was equally zealous in removing every gray hair she could find. Thus it came to pass that between them both he very soon found that he had not a hair left on his head. (Text - Image)
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| 11/17/year | The Master and His Dogs. A CERTAIN MAN, detained by a storm in his country house, first of all killed his sheep, and then his goats, for the maintenance of his household. The storm still continuing, he was obliged to slaughter his yoke oxen for food. On seeing this, his Dogs took counsel together, and said, 'It is time for us to be off, for if the master spare not his oxen, who work for his gain, how can we expect him to spare us?' (Text - Image)
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| 11/18/year | THE MURDERER AND THE NILE. A man had committed a murder and was being pursued by the victim's relatives. He reached the river Nile and when he found a lion there, he was afraid and climbed up a tree; in the tree, he saw a snake and was practically scared to death, so he threw himself into the river, where a crocodile devoured him. (Text - Image)
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| 11/19/year | The Two Men Who Were Enemies. TWO MEN, deadly enemies to each other, were sailing in the same vessel. Determined to keep as far apart as possible, the one seated himself in the stem, and the other in the prow of the ship. A violent storm arose, and with the vessel in great danger of sinking, the one in the stern inquired of the pilot which of the two ends of the ship would go down first. On his replying that he supposed it would be the prow, the Man said, 'Death would not be grievous to me, if I could only see my Enemy die before me.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/20/year | 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.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/21/year | SOCRATES AND THE SLAVE. Socrates was being rudely addressed by a slave who had actually seduced his master's wife, a fact which Socrates knew to be familiar to the people who were present. Socrates therefore said to the slave, 'You are pleased with yourself because you are pleasing to someone whom you ought not to please, but don't think you will escape unpunished, because you are not pleasing the person whom you really ought to please!' (Text - Image)
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| 11/22/year | THE JACKDAW AND THE STRING. A man caught a jackdaw and tied the bird's foot with a piece of string so that he could give the bird to his children as a present. The jackdaw, however, could not stand to live in human society, so when they let him loose for just a moment, he ran away. But when he got back to his nest, the string became entangled in the branches, so that the jackdaw was unable to fly. As he was dying, the bird said to himself, 'How stupid of me! Since I could not stand being a slave in human society, I have brought about my own death.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/23/year | THE WOLF, THE FOX AND THREE TRUE THINGS. A wretched fox had fallen into the clutches of a wolf. She begged the wolf to spare her life and not to kill her, old as she was. The wolf said, 'By Pan, I will let you live if you tell me three true things.' The fox said, 'First, I wish that we had never met! Second, I wish you had been blind when we did meet! Third, and last of all, I hope that you do not live out this year, so that we will never meet again!' (Text - Image)
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| 11/24/year | THE BEAUTY CONTEST OF THE ANIMALS. Zeus had decided to award prizes to the most beautiful animal babies so he inspected each and every one of them in order to reach a decision. The monkey also participated, claiming to be the mother of a very beautiful baby: a naked, snub-nosed little monkey whom she cradled in her arms. When the gods took a look at that monkey, they all started to laugh but his mother insisted, 'The winner is for Zeus to decide! But in my eyes this one is the most beautiful of all.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/25/year | THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW. There was once a wolf who went wandering in the desert as the sun was sinking and about to set. Seeing his long shadow, the wolf exclaimed, 'Should someone as great as myself be afraid of a lion? I'm a hundred feet tall! Clearly I should be the king of all the animals in the world!' As the wolf was boasting, a mighty lion seized and devoured him. Realizing his mistake after the fact, the wolf exclaimed, 'My self-conceit has been my undoing!' (Text - Image)
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| 11/26/year | THE LION AND THE MAN DISPUTING. A man and a lion were arguing. The man proclaimed the superiority of the human race, while the lion argued on behalf of his own kind. As they were contending with one another as to who was superior, the man produced as evidence the statue of a lion being defeated by a man. The lion retorted, 'And if there were also sculptors among us lions, you would see more people being conquered by lions than lions by people!' (Text - Image)
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| 11/27/year | THE LIZARD AND THE SNAKE. They say that there was once a lizard who burst into pieces right down the middle when he was trying to equal the length of a snake. (Text - Image)
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| 11/28/year | THE FARMER AND THE FOX. A wicked farmer envied his neighbour's abundant crops. In order to destroy the fruits of that man's labour, he caught a fox, attached a blazing fire-brand to her tail and then let the fox loose in his neighbour's crops. The fox, however, did not go where she was sent. Instead, as fate decreed, she set fire to the crops of the man who had let her loose. (Text - Image)
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| 11/29/year | The Boy Bathing. A BOY bathing in a river was in danger of being drowned. He called out to a passing traveler for help, but instead of holding out a helping hand, the man stood by unconcernedly, and scolded the boy for his imprudence. 'Oh, sir!' cried the youth, 'pray help me now and scold me afterwards.' (Text - Image)
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| 11/30/year | THE MOUNTAIN IN LABOUR. A mountain had gone into labour and was groaning terribly. Such rumours excited great expectations all over the country. In the end, however, the mountain gave birth to a mouse. (Text - Image)
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| 12/01/year | THE FOX AND THE LION HUNTING. The fox lived together with a lion and acted as his servant. She would point out their quarry, while the lion would carry out the actual attack. Whatever the lion was able to catch was then divided between the two of them accordingly. The fox, however, was jealous because the lion got more to eat than she did, so she decided to go hunting on her own instead of just pointing out their quarry to the lion. But when the fox went to seize something from the flock, she was captured and killed by some hunters. (Text - Image)
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| 12/02/year | THE MONKEY AND THE FISHING NET. A fisherman was catching fish by the sea. A monkey saw him, and wanted to imitate what he was doing. The man went away into a little cave to take a rest, leaving his net on the beach. The monkey came and grabbed the net, thinking that he too would go fishing. But since he didn't know anything about it and had not had any training, the monkey got tangled up in the net, fell into the sea, and was drowned. The fisherman seized the monkey when he was already done for and said, 'You wretched creature! Your lack of judgment and stupid behaviour has cost you your life!' (Text - Image)
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| 12/03/year | THE LARK IN THE SNARE. A lark fell into a snare and sang a lament, 'Woe is me, wretched and unlucky bird that I am! I have brought about my own demise not for gold or silver or some object of value, but merely for a tiny bit of food.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/04/year | The Lamb and the Wolf. A WOLF pursued a Lamb, which fled for refuge to a certain Temple. The Wolf called out to him and said, 'The Priest will slay you in sacrifice, if he should catch you.' On which the Lamb replied, 'It would be better for me to be sacrificed in the Temple than to be eaten by you.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/05/year | The Wolf and the Housedog. A WOLF, meeting a big well-fed Mastiff with a wooden collar about his neck asked him who it was that fed him so well and yet compelled him to drag that heavy log about wherever he went. 'The master,' he replied. Then said the Wolf: 'May no friend of mine ever be in such a plight; for the weight of this chain is enough to spoil the appetite.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/06/year | THE WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING. A wolf once decided to change his nature by changing his appearance, and thus get plenty to eat. He put on a sheepskin and accompanied the flock to the pasture. The shepherd was fooled by the disguise. When night fell, the shepherd shut up the wolf in the fold with the rest of the sheep and as the fence was placed across the entrance, the sheepfold was securely closed off. But when the shepherd wanted a sheep for his supper, he took his knife and killed... the wolf. (Text - Image)
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| 12/07/year | The Ass and His Shadow. A TRAVELER hired an Ass to convey him to a distant place. The day being intensely hot, and the sun shining in its strength, the Traveler stopped to rest, and sought shelter from the heat under the Shadow of the Ass. As this afforded only protection for one, and as the Traveler and the owner of the Ass both claimed it, a violent dispute arose between them as to which of them had the right to the Shadow. The owner maintained that he had let the Ass only, and not his Shadow. The Traveler asserted that he had, with the hire of the Ass, hired his Shadow also. The quarrel proceeded from words to blows, and while the men fought, the Ass galloped off. (Text - Image)
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| 12/08/year | THE TREES AND THE BRAMBLE BUSH. The pomegranate and the apple tree were debating about their beauty. They had both gone on at great length arguing back and forth when a bramble bush in a nearby hedge heard them and said, 'Dear friends, let us put a stop to our quarrel.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/09/year | THE WOLF AND THE NURSE. A nurse was annoyed because her infant charge kept crying. When he refused to be quiet, she said that if he didn't stop bawling, she would throw him to the wolf. A wolf just happened to be passing by and he waited for the nurse to carry out her threat. But the child fell asleep, so the wolf went away bereft of the gain he could have gotten on his own, as well as the gain he had hoped to acquire elsewhere. (Text - Image)
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| 12/10/year | THE VEGETABLES AND THE WEEDS. Somebody saw a gardener irrigating his vegetables and said to him, 'How is it that wild plants, without having been planted and without having been cultivated, spring up each season, while the plants that you yourself plant in the garden frequently wither from lack of water?' The gardener replied, 'The wild plants are cared for by divine providence, which is sufficient in and of itself, while our own plants must depend for their care on human hands.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/11/year | THE MONKEY AND HER TWO CHILDREN. The monkey gives birth to two babies, but after giving birth she does not mother them equally. She comforts one of them with cruel embraces, choking him with her unfortunate affection; meanwhile, she casts the other child away as superfluous and unimportant. This is the one who goes off into the wilds and is able to survive. (Text - Image)
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| 12/12/year | THE DOG AND THE HARE. A dog was running after a hare and when he caught him, he would alternately bite the hare and then lick the blood that flowed from the wound. The hare thought that the dog was kissing him, so he said, 'You should either embrace me as a friend, or bite me like an enemy.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/13/year | The North Wind and the Sun. THE NORTH WIND and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. The North Wind first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him, until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called upon the Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in his path. (Text - Image)
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| 12/14/year | THE HORSE AND THE GOATS. There were three goats who saw a terrified horse running away from a lion. The goats made fun of the horse, and the horse replied, 'O you hopeless fools, if only you knew who was chasing me! Then you would be just as terrified as I am.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/15/year | THE DOG AND THE GARDENER. A gardener had a dog who had fallen into a well. The gardener lowered himself down into the well to pull the dog out, but the dog only gave the man a nasty bite, thinking that the man intended to plunge him even deeper into the water. After the dog had bitten him, the gardener said, 'It serves me right for making such an effort to pull you out of the well, when all you can do is attack me.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/16/year | The Wolves and the Sheepdogs. THE WOLVES thus addressed the Sheepdogs: 'Why should you, who are like us in so many things, not be entirely of one mind with us, and live with us as brothers should? We differ from you in one point only. We live in freedom, but you bow down to and slave for men, who in return for your services flog you with whips and put collars on your necks. They make you also guard their sheep, and while they eat the mutton throw only the bones to you. If you will be persuaded by us, you will give us the sheep, and we will enjoy them in common, till we all are surfeited.' The Dogs listened favorably to these proposals, and, entering the den of the Wolves, they were set upon and torn to pieces. (Text - Image)
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| 12/17/year | The Ass and His Driver. AN ASS, being driven along a high road, suddenly started off and bolted to the brink of a deep precipice. While he was in the act of throwing himself over, his owner seized him by the tail, endeavoring to pull him back. When the Ass persisted in his effort, the man let him go and said, 'Conquer, but conquer to your cost.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/18/year | The Bee and Jupiter. A BEE from Mount Hymettus, the queen of the hive, ascended to Olympus to present Jupiter some honey fresh from her combs. Jupiter, delighted with the offering of honey, promised to give whatever she should ask. She therefore besought him, saying, 'Give me, I pray thee, a sting, that if any mortal shall approach to take my honey, I may kill him.' Jupiter was much displeased, for he loved the race of man, but could not refuse the request because of his promise. He thus answered the Bee: 'You shall have your request, but it will be at the peril of your own life. For if you use your sting, it shall remain in the wound you make, and then you will die from the loss of it.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/19/year | The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea. A SHIPWRECKED MAN, having been cast upon a certain shore, slept after his buffetings with the deep. After a while he awoke, and looking upon the Sea, loaded it with reproaches. He argued that it enticed men with the calmness of its looks, but when it had induced them to plow its waters, it grew rough and destroyed them. The Sea, assuming the form of a woman, replied to him: 'Blame not me, my good sir, but the winds, for I am by my own nature as calm and firm even as this earth; but the winds suddenly falling on me create these waves, and lash me into fury.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/20/year | THE FARMER'S BOY AND THE SNAILS. A farmer's boy was roasting snails. When he heard them sizzling in the fire, he said, 'You wretched creatures! Your homes are on fire and all you can do is sing!' (Text - Image)
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| 12/21/year | THE FOX AND THE WEASEL. It happened that a slender fox had made her way through a narrow crack into a coffer of grain. After eating her fill, she wanted to get back out again but her swollen body prevented her from doing so. At a safe distance the weasel said to her, 'If you want to get out of there, you better be as thin when you go back through that narrow crack as you were when you went in!' (Text - Image)
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| 12/22/year | THE FOX, THE DONKEY AND THE LION. The fox and the donkey were partners in a hunting expedition but when they encountered a lion, the fox recognized the danger they were in. She went to the lion and offered to betray the donkey if the lion would promise to spare her life in return. The lion agreed to let the fox go, and the fox then led the donkey into a trap and made him fall in. Once he saw that the donkey could not escape, the lion immediately seized the fox, saving the donkey for later. (Text - Image)
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| 12/23/year | The Two Frogs. TWO FROGS dwelt in the same pool. When the pool dried up under the summer's heat, they left it and set out together for another home. As they went along they chanced to pass a deep well, amply supplied with water, and when they saw it, one of the Frogs said to the other, 'Let us descend and make our abode in this well: it will furnish us with shelter and food.' The other replied with greater caution, 'But suppose the water should fail us. How can we get out again from so great a depth?' (Text - Image)
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| 12/24/year | The Oxen and the Axle-Trees. A HEAVY WAGON was being dragged along a country lane by a team of Oxen. The Axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the Oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: 'Hullo there! Why do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not you, ought to cry out.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/25/year | THE CHICKENS AND THE CAT. A cat laid a trap for the chickens by hanging himself from a peg as if he were a sack. When the quick-witted rooster with his hooked spurs noticed the cat, he made this sharp remark: 'I've seen many sacks in my life, so I know what they look like -- and not one of them ever had the teeth of a living cat!' (Text - Image)
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| 12/26/year | THE MAGPIE AND HER TAIL. No matter how often the magpie settled down on a perch and folded her wings, her tailfeathers still kept on twitching. Hoping to rid herself of this habit by changing her homeland, she flew across no small stretch of the sea, but in vain. As soon as the magpie alighted on the distant shore, her tailfeathers started shaking as usual. The magpie then concluded, 'By changing my country I thought my habits would change, but I'm just as bad off as before, even though I have come to the other side of the world.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/27/year | The Ass and His Purchaser. A MAN wished to purchase an Ass, and agreed with its owner that he should try out the animal before he bought him. He took the Ass home and put him in the straw-yard with his other Asses, upon which the new animal left all the others and at once joined the one that was most idle and the greatest eater of them all. Seeing this, the man put a halter on him and led him back to his owner. On being asked how, in so short a time, he could have made a trial of him, he answered, 'I do not need a trial; I know that he will be just the same as the one he chose for his companion.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/28/year | THE MAN AND THE WEASEL. A man caught a weasel but the weasel, hoping to escape her imminent demise, pleaded with the man. 'Spare me, please,' she said, 'since I am the creature who rids your house of pesky mice.' 'If you chased those mice on my behalf,' replied the man, 'I would be grateful indeed and would spare you. But the fact is that you do the work in order to enjoy the remains of what the mice are going to nibble, and also eat the mice themselves. So don't expect any gratitude from me for your so-called favours!' With these words, the man consigned the treacherous creature to her doom. (Text - Image)
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| 12/29/year | The Fly and the Draught-Mule. A FLY sat on the axle-tree of a chariot, and addressing the Draught-Mule said, 'How slow you are! Why do you not go faster? See if I do not prick your neck with my sting.' The Draught-Mule replied, 'I do not heed your threats; I only care for him who sits above you, and who quickens my pace with his whip, or holds me back with the reins. Away, therefore, with your insolence, for I know well when to go fast, and when to go slow.' (Text - Image)
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| 12/30/year | THE DONKEY AND THE LYRE. A donkey saw a lyre lying in a field. He approached the instrument and as he tried to strum it with his hoof, the strings resounded at his touch. 'What a beautiful thing,' said the donkey, 'but completely inappropriate, since I don't know anything about music. If only someone better equipped than myself had found it, my ears would have been delighted by heavenly melodies!' (Text - Image)
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| 12/31/year | THE SHIPWRECKED MAN AND ATHENA. A wealthy Athenian was making a sea voyage with some companions. A terrible storm blew up and the ship capsized. All the other passengers started to swim, but the Athenian kept praying to Athena, making all kinds of promises if only she would save him. Then one of the other shipwrecked passengers swam past him and said, 'While you pray to Athena, start moving your arms!' (Text - Image)
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