Chapter 171 A lion was sleeping in his lair when a mouse mistakenly ran over the mighty beast’s nose and awakened him. The lion grabbed the frightened little creature with his paw and was just about to crush him when the mouse began pleading for mercy and declared that he had not consciously intended to […]
Chapter 170 A crow, on the verge of dying with thirst, spied a pitcher in the distance and flew to it with joy. But when he arrived, he discovered to his grief it the narrow-necked pitcher contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it, despite all his efforts. At one point
Chapter 169 The swallow and the crow had an argument as to which was the finer bird. The crow ended the dispute by saying, “Your feathers may be beautiful and fine during the summer, but mine will protect me and last for many winters.”Fine-weather friends are not worth much.
Chapter 168 A hound scared a hare from a bush and chased him for some distance, but the hare was faster and got away. A goatherd, who happened to pass by at the time, mocked the hound for letting a scrawny hare outrun him.“You forget,” replied the hound, adding that:“It’s one thing to run for
Chapter 167 The peach and the apple decided to have a contest to determine which one was more beautiful than the other. However, when tempers flared and the competition appeared to be getting out of hand, a blackberry thrust his head from a nearby bush and cried out, “This dispute’s gone on long enough. Let’s
Chapter 166 Once the wolves sent an emissary to the sheep to make a peace treaty between them for the future.“Why should we continue such deadly strife?” the wolves asked. “The dogs are the cause of it all. They’re constantly barking at us and provoking us. Send them away, and there will no longer be
Chapter 165 Hard pressed by the hounds, a stag was driven out of his cover and bolted in terror over the fields. Blind through fear, he took refuge in a farmyard and hid himself in an ox stall, which happened to be open. As he was trying to conceal himself under some straw, an ox
Chapter 164 A sea gull, who was more at home swimming on the sea than walking on land, liked to catch live fish for its food. One day the gull pounced upon a fish, and as he tried to swallow it, he choked, burst a gullet, and lay down on the shore to die. A
Chapter 163 A cock was scratching the ground in a farmyard in search of food for himself and his hens, when he happened to turn up a jewel. Feeling quite sure that it was something precious, but not knowing exactly what to do with it, he remarked, “You’re undoubtedly a very fine thing for those
Chapter 162 A dog and a cock set out on their travels together, and by nightfall they found themselves in a forest. So the cock flew up into a tree and perched himself on a high branch, while the dog dozed below at the foot. When day finally dawned, the cock, as usual, crowed very
Chapter 161 A crow had snatched a large piece of cheese from a windowsill and was now perched securely on a high tree, about to enjoy her prize. A fox spied the dainty morsel in her beak and tried to think of a way to make it his.“Oh crow,” he said, “how beautiful your wings
Chapter 160 A man who went out to hunt lions in a forest met a woodcutter, and he asked him whether he had seen any lion’s tracks and whether he knew where the lion’s lair was.“Yes,” said the man, “and if you’ll come with me, I’ll show you the lion himself.”Upon hearing this, the hunter
Chapter 159 An astronomer used to walk around outside every night to watch the stars. Once, as he was wandering on the out-skirts of the city and gazing at the stars, he fell into a well. After hollering and crying for help, someone ran up to the well, and after listening to his story, remarked,
Chapter 158 Once when a wolf was roaming all over a farm, he came to a field of oats. But he was not able to eat the oats and thus went on his way. Soon he encountered a horse and told him to come with him into the field.“I’ve found some splendid oats,” he said,
Chapter 157 A miller and his son were driving their ass to a nearby fair to sell him. They had not gone far when they came across a group of girls returning from town. They were in a merry mood, talking and laughing, and when they saw the miller and his son, one of them