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Aesop's Fables Episode 13 · Aesop's Fables

• 0:00
  The hunter and the wolf. A greedy hunter one day shot a fine deer
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  and ere he could dress it. A pretty fawn came that way, and
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  an arrow brought it to the ground. A boar now chanced to be passing,
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  and the hunter wounded it so that it lay upon the ground as if
• 0:19
  dead. Not satisfied with this game, he must needs pursue a partridge that
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  came fluttering near, And while he was doing so, the wounded boar regained
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  enough strength to spring upon him and kill him. A wolf came that way,
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  in seeing the four dead bodies, said, here is food for a
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  month. But I will save the best and be content today with the bowstring.
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  But when he sees the string, it loosened the fixed arrow, which
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  shot him through the heart. The greedy man and the miser cannot enjoy their
• 0:56
  gains. The astronomer and astronomer used to walk out every night to gaze upon
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  the stars. It happened one night that, with his whole thoughts wrapped up
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  in the skies, he fell into a well. One who heard his cries
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  ran up to him and said, while you were trying to pry into the
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  mysteries of heaven, you overlook the common objects under your feet. We should
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  never look so high as to miss seeing the things that are around us.
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  The Bull and the frogs Two bulls lived in the same herd, and each
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  aspiring to be the leader and master, they finally engaged in a fierce battle.
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  An old frog, who sat on the bank of a stream near by,
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  began to groan and to quake with fear. A thoughtless young frog said
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  to the old one, why need you be afraid? What is it to
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  you that the bulls fight for supremacy? Do you not see? Said the
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  old frog, that one must defeat the other, and that the defeated bull,
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  being driven from the field, will be forced to stay in the marshes,
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  and will thus trample us to death. The poor and weak are often
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  made to suffer for the follies of the great. The thief and his mother.
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  A schoolboy stole a horn book from one of his schoolfellows and brought it
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  home to his mother. Instead of chastising him, she rather encouraged him in
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  the deed. In course of time, the boy, now grown into a
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  man, began to steal things of greater value, until at last, being
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  caught in the very act he was brought to the judge and sentenced to be
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  hung. As he was being led to the scaffold, the mother bowed herself
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  to the ground with grief. A neighbor seeing her, thus said to her,
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  it is too late for you to moan and sob now. If you
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  had been as much grieved when he committed his first theft, you would have
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  corrected him in time, and thus have saved yourself this sorrowful day. Nip
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  evil in the bud. The man and his two wives. In days when
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  a man was allowed more wives than one, a middle aged bachelor who could
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  be called neither young nor old, and whose hair was only just beginning to
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  turn gray, must needs fall in love with two women at once and marry
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  them both. The one was young and blooming, and wished her husband to
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  appear as useful as herself. The other was somewhat more advanced in age,
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  and as anxious that her husband should appear a suitable match for her. So,
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  while the young one seized every opportunity of pulling out the good man's gray
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  hairs, the old one was as industrious in plucking out every care she could
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  find, till he found that between the one and the other he had not
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  a hair left. He that submits his principles to the influence and caprices of
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  opposite parties will end in having no principles at all. The heifer, the
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  goat, the sheep and the lion. A heifer, a goat, a
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  sheep, and a lion formed a partnership and agree to divide their earnings.
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  The goat having snared a stag, they sent for the lion to divide it
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  for them. The lion said, I will make four parts. The first
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  shall be mine as judge, the second because I am strongest, the third
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  because I am bravest, And the fourth I will kill anyone who dares touch
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  it. He who steals a part will steal the whole. The camel and
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  the traveler. Two travelers on a desert saw a camel in the distance and
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  were greatly frightened at his huge appearance, thinking it to be some huge monster.
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  While they hid behind some low shrubs, the animal came nearer, and
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  they discovered it was only a harmless camel, which had excited their fears.
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  Distance exaggerates dangers. The swan and the goose. A certain rich man bought
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  in the market a goose and a swan. He fed the one for his
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  table, and kept the other for the sake of its song. When the
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  time came for killing the goose, the cook went to take him at night
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  when it was dark, and he was not able to distinguish one bird from
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  the other, and he caught the swan instead of the goose. The swan,
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  threatened with death, burst forth into song, and thus made himself known
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  by his voice, and preserved his life by his lady. Sweet words may
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  deliver us from peril when harsh words would fail. The dolphins and the sprat.
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  The dolphins and the whales were at war with one another, and the
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  sprats stepped in and endeavored to separate them. But one of the dolphins cried
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  out, we would rather perish in the contest than be reconciled by you.
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  The shepherd and the sea. A shepherd moved down his flock to feed near
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  the shore, and beholding the sea lying in a smooth calm, he was
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  seized with a strong desire to sail over it. So he sold all his
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  sheep and bought a cargo of dates, and loaded a vessel and set sail.
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  He had not gone far when a storm arose his ship was wrecked,
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  and his dates and everything lost, and he himself, with difficulty, escaped
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  to land. Not long after the sea was again calm, and one of
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  his friends came up to him and was admiring its repose. He said,
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  have a care, my good fellow, of that smooth surface. It is
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  only looking out for your dates. The bees, the drones, and the
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  Wasp. Some bees had built their comb in the hollow trunk of an oak.
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  The drones asserted that it was their doing and belonged to them. The
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  cause was brought into court before Judge Wasp. Knowing something of the parties,
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  he thus addressed them, The plaintiffs and defendants are so much alike in shape
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  and color as to render the ownership a doubtful matter. Let each party take
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  a hive to itself and build up a new comb, that from the shape
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  of the cells and the taste of the honey, the lawful proprietors of the
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  property in dispute may appear. The bees readily assented to the wasps plan,
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  the drones declined it, whereupon the Wasp gave judgment. It is clear now
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  who made the comb and who cannot make it. The Court I judges the
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  honey to the bees. Professions are best tested by deeds. The wolf,
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  the goat, and the kid. As an old goat was going forth to
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  pasture, she carefully latched her door and bid her kid not to open it
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  to anyone who could not give this password, beware of the wolf and all
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  his race. A wolf happened to be passing and overheard what the old goat
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  said. When she was gone, he went to the door, and,
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  knocking, said, beware of the wolf and all his race. But the
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  kid, peering through a crack, said, show me a white paw,
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  and I will open the door. As the wolf could not do this,
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  he had to depart no better than he came. Two sureties are better than
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  one, the fox and the hedgehog. A fox, while crossing over a
• 9:07
  river, was driven by the stream into a narrow gorge, and lay there
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  for a long time, unable to get out, covered with myriads of horse
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  flies that had fastened themselves upon him. A hedgehog, who was wondering in
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  that direction, saw him, and, taking compassion on him, asked him
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  if he should drive away the flies that were so tormenting him. But the
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  fox begged him to do nothing of the sort, Why not, asked the
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  hedgehog, Because, replied the fox, these flies that are upon me now
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  are already full and draw but little blood. But should you remove them,
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  a swarm of fresh and hungry ones will come, who will not leave a
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  drop of blood in my body. When we throw off rulers our dependents,
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  who have already made the most of us, we do, but for the
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  most lay ourselves open to others who will make us bleed yet more freely.
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  The brazier and his dog. A brazier had a little dog, which was
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  a great favorite of his master and his constant companion. While he hammered away
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  at his metals, the dog slept. But when, on the other hand,
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  he went to dinner and began to eat, the dog woke up and
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  wagged his tail, as if he would ask for a share of his meal.
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  His master one day, pretended to be angry, and, shaking his
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  stick at him, said, you wretched little sluggard, What shall I do
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  to you? While I am hammering on the anvil, you sleep on the
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  mat, And when I began to eat after my toil, you wake up
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  and wag your tail for food. Do you not know that labor is the
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  source of every blessing, and that none but those who work are entitled to
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  eat. The wild ass and the Lion. A wild ass and a lion
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  entered into an alliance that they might capture the beasts of the forest with the
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  greater ease. The lion agreed to assist the wild ass with strength, while
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  the wild ass gave the lion the benefit of his greater speed. When they
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  had taken as many beasts as their necessities required, the lion undertook to distribute
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  the prey, and for this purpose he divided it into three shares. I
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  will take the first share, he said, because I am king, and
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  the second share as a partner with you in the chase. And the third
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  share, believe me, will be a source of great evil to you unless
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  you willingly resign it to me and set off as fast as you can might
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  makes right. The father and his two daughters. A man had two daughters,
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  the one married to a gardener, and the other two a FileMaker.
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  After a while, he went to the daughter who was married to the gardener
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  and inquired how she was and how all things went with her. She said,
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  all things are prospering with me, and I have only one wish that
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  there may be a heavy fall of rain, in order that the plants may
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  be well watered. Not long after, he went to the daughter who had
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  married the tilemaker, and likewise inquired of her how she fared. She replied,
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  I want for nothing, and only have one wish, that the dry
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  weather may continue, and the sun shine hot and bright, so that the
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  bricks might be dried. He said to her, if your sister wishes for
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  rain and you for dry weather, with which of the two am I to
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  join my wishes? The fir tree and the bramble. A fir tree said
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  boastingly to the bramble, you are useful for nothing at all, while I
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  everywhere used for roofs and houses. The bramble made answer, you, poor
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  creature, If you would only call to mind the axes and saws which are
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  about to hew you down, you would have a reason to wish that you
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  had grown up a bramble and not a fir tree. Better poverty without care
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  than riches. With the farmer and his sons. A farmer, being on
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  the point of death, wished to insure from his sons the same attention to
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  his farm as he himself had given it. He called him to his bedside
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  and said, my sons, there was a great treasure hid in one of
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  my vineyards. The sons, after his death, took their spades and mattocks
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  and carefully dug over every portion of their land. They found no treasure,
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  but the vines repaid their labor by an extraordinary and superabundant crop. The Cat
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  and the Birds. A cat, hearing that the birds and a certain aviary
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  were ailing, dressed himself up as a physician, and taking with him his
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  cane and the instruments becoming his profession, went to the aviary, knocked at
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  the door and inquired of the inmates how they all did, saying that if
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  they were ill, he would be happy to prescribe for them and cure them.
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  They replied, we are all very well and shall continue so if you
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  will only be good enough to go away and leave us as we are.
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  The stag, the wolf and the sheep. A stag asked a sheep to
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  lend him a measure of wheat, and said that the wolf would be his
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  surety. The sheep, fearing some fraud was intended, excused herself, saying,
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  the wolf is accustomed to seize what he wants and to run off,
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  And you too can quickly outstrip me in your rapid flight, How then shall
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  I be able to find you when the day of payment comes. Two blacks
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  do not make one white. End of Section twelve.