Complete Aesop’s Fables

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

Chapter 1 A hare once ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the tortoise. But the tortoise laughed and replied, “Though you may be as swift as the wind, I’ll beat you in a race.”“All right,” said the hare, “you’ll soon live to regret those words.”So they agreed that the fox would choose the