Chapter 16 A lean, hungry wolf happened to meet a plump, well-fed dog one bright moonlit night. After the first compliments were exchanged, the wolf asked, “How is it, my friend, that you look so sleek? Your food certainly agrees with you while I must struggle for my living day and night and can hardly […]
Chapter 15 A man who cared more for music than his nets saw some fish in the sea and began playing on his flute. He thought they would jump out on shore and hop into his net, but he was disappointed when he found that the fish would not comply. So he decided to cast
Chapter 14 A fox agreed to work for a lion as a servant, and for a while, each carried out his respective duties according to his own nature and powers. The fox used to point out the prey, and the lion would attack and seize it. The fox, however, soon became jealous of the lion
Chapter 13 Returning home one winter’s day, a farmer found a snake lying under a hedge, half dead with cold. Taking pity on the creature, he placed it in his bosom and brought it home, where he laid it upon the hearth near the fire. No sooner was the snake restored by the warmth of
Chapter 12 An ox was grazing in a swampy meadow when he accidentally set his foot down on top of a bunch of young frogs and crushed nearly all of them to death. One that managed to escape ran off to tell his mother the dreadful news.“Mother,” he said, “it was a beast, a big
Chapter 11 Standing securely on a high rock, a kid noticed a wolf passing below and began to taunt him and shower him with abuse. The wolf merely stopped to reply, “Coward! Don’t think that you can annoy me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not you who’s taunting me, but the place on which
Chapter 10 A woman owned a hen that laid an egg every morning. Since the hen’s eggs were of excellent quality; they sold for a good price. So, at one point, the woman thought to herself, “If I double my hen’s allowance of barley, she’ll lay twice a day.” Therefore, she put her plan to
Chapter 9 An archer, known for his skill with bow and arrow, went to the mountains in search of game. When he entered the wilderness, all the beasts of the forest became terrified and took flight. Only the lion challenged him to combat, whereupon the archer immediately launched an arrow and cried out, “My messenger
Chapter 8 A wolf devoured his prey so ravenously that a bone got stuck in his throat, and in extreme agony, he ran and howled throughout the forest, beseeching every animal he met to pull out the bone. He even offered a generous prize to anyone who succeeded in pulling it out. Moved by his
Chapter 7 A famished fox crept into a vineyard where ripe, luscious grapes were draped high upon arbors in a most tempting display. In his effort to win a juicy prize, the fox jumped and sprang many times but failed to reach the bunch of grapes in spite of all his attempts. When he finally
Chapter 6 The dolphins and the whales were at war with one another, and while the battle was at its height, the sprat stepped in and tried to separate them. But one of the dolphins cried out, “Let us alone! We’d rather die fighting than be reconciled by you.”When the giants clash, the puny should
Chapter 5 Long ago when the members of the human body had very strong wills of their own and did not work together as amicably as they do now, they denounced the belly (stomach) for leading an idle and luxurious life, while they were wholly occupied in supporting it and ministering to its wants and
Chapter 4 Two friends were traveling on the same road together when they encountered a bear. Without thinking about his companion, one of the travellers, a nimble fellow, climbed up a tree in great fear and hid himself. The other realized that he had no chance to fight the bear single-handedly, so he threw himself
Chapter 3 One day the lion, the ass, and the fox went hunting together, and it was agreed that whatever they caught would be shared between them. After lulling a large stag, they decided to have a hearty meal. The lion asked the ass to divide the spoils, and after the ass made three equal
Chapter 2 A woodsman went into the forest and petitioned the trees to provide him a handle for his ax. It seemed so modest a request that the principal tree granted it right away, and declared that the plain homely ash tree should offer its branch for the purpose. No sooner had the woodsman fitted