Chapter 122 A fox had never seen a lion before, and when he finally encountered one for the first time, he was so terrified that he almost died of fright. When he met him the second time, he was still afraid but managed to conceal his fear. When he saw him the third time, he […]
Chapter 121 Once when all the beasts were arguing among themselves as to which of the animals could produce the largest number of whelps at birth, they went to the lioness and asked her to settle the dispute.“And how many do you have at birth?” they asked.“One,” she said defiantly, “but that one is a
Chapter 120 A farmer set up a net in his field to catch some cranes that had been constantly feeding upon his newly-sown corn. When he went to examine the net and to see what the cranes had taken, there was a stork among them.“Spare me!” cried the stork. “I’m not a crane. Nor have
Chapter 119 The wind and the sun once had an argument as to which was the stronger of the two, and they agreed to settle the issue by holding a contest: whoever could make a traveller take off his coat first would be recognized as the most powerful. The wind began and blew with all
Chapter 118 One day a fisherman, who earned his living with his nets, caught nothing but one little fish after a long, hard day of work.“Spare me,” pleaded the little creature. “I beg you. I’m so small that I wouldn’t be much of a meal for you anyway. I haven’t reached my full size yet.
Chapter 117 Since the hares were continually threatened by enemies all around them, they once held a meeting to discuss their sad predicament. Eventually they decided that death would be much more preferable to their desperate condition, and off they went to a nearby lake, determined to drown themselves as the most miserable of creatures.It
Chapter 116 A shepherd boy, who tended his flock not far from a village, used to amuse himself at times by crying out “Wolf! Wolf!” His trick succeeded two or three times, and the whole village came running to his rescue. However, the villagers were simply rewarded with mocking laughter for their pains.One day the
Chapter 115 On an ill-fated day a mouse made the acquaintance of a frog, and they set off on their travels together. The frog pretended to be very fond of the mouse and invited him to visit the pond in which he lived. To keep his companion out of harm’s way, the frog tied the
Chapter 114 Hundreds of years ago, a camel asked Jupiter to grant him horns because he felt deprived and defenseless when he regarded other animals.“The bull,” said he, “has horns, the boar, tusks, and the lion and tiger, sharp claws and fangs that make them feared and respected everywhere. On the other hand, I have
Chapter 113 While lapping water at the head of a running brook, a wolf noticed a stray lamb some distance down the stream. Once he made up his mind to attack her, he began thinking of a plausible excuse for making her his prey.“Scoundrel!” he cried, running up to her. “How dare you muddle the
Chapter 112 A crow, as vain and conceited as only a crow can be, picked up the feathers that some peacocks had shed and stuck them among his own. Then he scoffed at his old companions and joined a flock of beautiful peacocks. After introducing himself with great self-confidence, the crow was immediately recognized for
Chapter 111 After discovering a hare in some bushes, a dog pursued her for a long time, biting her with his teeth as if he would take her life and also licking her as if he were playing with another dog. Not knowing what to make of this, the hare stopped running and said, “I
Chapter 110 After a jar of honey was knocked over in a kitchen, the flies were attracted by its sweet smell and began eating the honey. Indeed, they swarmed all over it and did not budge from the spot until they had devoured every drop. However, their feet had become so clogged that they could
Chapter 109 A shepherd moved his flock down near the seashore so that the sheep could graze there, and as he looked at the sea lying in a smooth and breathless calm, he was overcome by a strong desire to sail over it. So he sold all his sheep and bought a cargo of dates.
Chapter 108 There was once a time when a man was allowed more wives than one, and a middle-aged bachelor, who could be called neither young nor old, and whose hair was just beginning to turn gray, fell in love with two women at the same time and married them both. One was young and