JUPITER AND THE CAMEL\n\nThe Camel, in days of yore, besought Jupiter to grant him horns, because it was a great grief to him to see other animals furnished with what he had not. Jupiter not only refused him horns but cropped his ears short for his foolish importunity.\n\nBy asking for what we do not need, we may lose what we already have.
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1 JUPITER AND THE CAMEL
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THE MOON AND HER MOTHER\n\nThe Moon once asked her Mother to make her a little coat that would fit her well. "How," replied the Mother, "can I make a cloak to fit you, when now you are a New Moon, and then a Full Moon, and then again neither the one nor the other?"
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2 THE MOON AND HER MOTHER
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THE HORSE AND THE STAG\n\nA Horse once had the whole range of a meadow to himself; but when a Stag came and threatened to damage the pasture, the Horse asked a Man to assist him in ridding him of the Stag. "I will," said the Man, "if you will let me put a bit in your mouth and get upon your back so as to go and find weapons." The Horse consented, and the Man accordingly mounted. But instead of being revenged on the Stag, the Horse has been from that time the slave of Man.\n\nRevenge is dearly punished at the price of liberty.
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3 THE HORSE AND THE STAG
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THE COUNCIL HELD BY THE RATS\n\nOld Rodiland, a certain Cat,\nSuch havoc of the Rats had made\n'Twas difficult to find a Rat\nWith nature's debt unpaid.\nThe few that did remain,\nTo leave their holes afraid,\nFrom usual food abstain,\nNot eating half their fill.\nAnd wonder no one will\nThat one who made on Rats his revel,\nWith Rats passed not for Cat, but devil.\n\nNow, on a day, this dread rat-eater,\nWho had a wife, went out to meet her.\nAnd while he held his caterwauling,\nThe unkilled Rats, their chapter calling,\nDiscussed the point, in grave debate,\nHow they might shun impending fate.\nTheir dean, a prudent Rat,\nThought best, and better soon than late,\nTo bell the fatal Cat;\nThat, when he took his hunting round,\nThe Rats, well cautioned by the sound,\nMight hide in safety under ground.\nIndeed, he knew no other means;\n    And all the rest\n    At once confessed\nTheir minds were with the dean's.\nNo better plan, they all believed,\nCould possibly have been conceived.\nNo doubt the thing would work right well\nIf any one would hang the bell.\nBut one by one said every Rat,\n"I'm not so big a fool as that."\nThe plan knocked up in this respect,\nThe council closed without effect.\nAnd many a council I have seen,\nOr reverend chapter, with its dean,\nThat, thus resolving wisely,\nFell through like this, precisely.\n\n    To argue or refute,\n    Wise councilors abound.\n    The man to execute\n    Is harder to be found.
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4 THE COUNCIL HELD BY THE RATS
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THE RAIN CLOUD\n\nA great Cloud passed rapidly over a country which was parched by heat, but did not let fall a single drop to refresh it. Presently it poured copious streams of rain into the sea and, when it had done so, began to boast of its generosity in the hearing of the neighboring Mountain.\n\nBut the Mountain replied: "What good have you done by such generosity? And how can any one help being pained at the sight of it? If you had poured your showers over the land, you might have saved a whole district from famine. But as to the sea, my friend, it has plenty of water already, without additions from you."
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5 THE RAIN CLOUD
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THE ELEPHANT IN FAVOR\n\nOnce upon a time the Elephant stood high in the good graces of the Lion. The forest immediately began to talk of the matter, and, as usual, many guesses were made as to the means by which the Elephant had gained such favor.\n\n"It is no beauty," say the beasts to each other, "and it is not amusing; and what habits it has! What manners!"\n\n"If it had possessed such a bushy tail as mine, I should not have wondered," says the Fox.\n\n"Or, sister," says the Bear, "if it had gotten into favor on account of its claws, no one would have found the matter at all extraordinary; but it has no claws at all, as we all know well."\n\n"Isn't it its tusks that have gotten it into favor?" thus the Ox broke in upon their conversation. "Haven't they, perhaps, been mistaken for horns?"\n\nThen said the Ass, shaking its ears, "Is it possible that you don't know how it has succeeded in making itself liked, and in becoming distinguished. Why, I have guessed the reason. If it hadn't been remarkable for its long ears, it would never in the world have gotten into favor."
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6 THE ELEPHANT IN FAVOR
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THE CUCKOO AND THE EAGLE\n\nThe Eagle promoted the Cuckoo to the rank of a Nightingale, and at once, proud of its new position, the Cuckoo seated itself upon an aspen and began to exercise its musical talents.\n\nAfter a time it looked around. All the other birds were flying away, some laughing and others abusing it. The Cuckoo grew angry, and hastened to the Eagle with a complaint against the birds.\n\n"Have pity on me!" it begged. "I have been appointed Nightingale to these woods, and yet the birds dare laugh at my singing."\n\n"My friend," answered the Eagle, "I am a king, but I am not a god. It is impossible for me to remedy the cause of your complaint. I can order a Cuckoo to be styled a Nightingale, but to make a Nightingale out of a Cuckoo—that I cannot do."
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7 THE CUCKOO AND THE EAGLE
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THE FOX IN THE ICE\n\nVery early one winter morning, during a hard frost, a Fox was drinking at a hole in the ice not far from the haunts of men.\n\nMeanwhile, whether by accident or from negligence does not matter, the end of its tail got wet and froze to the ice.\n\nNo great harm was done; the Fox could easily remedy it. It had only to give a tolerably hard pull and leave about a score of hairs behind; then it could run home quickly before any one came.\n\nBut how could it make up its mind to spoil its tail? Such a bushy tail as it was—so ample, so golden! No; better wait a little. Surely men are sleeping still. It is even possible that a thaw may set in meanwhile. In that case it will be able to withdraw its tail easily from the ice hole.\n\nSo it waits; it goes on waiting, but its tail only freezes all the more. The Fox looks round; the day is already beginning to dawn. People are stirring; voices are to be heard. Our poor Fox begins to move wildly about, now this way and now that. But still it cannot free itself from the hole.\n\nLuckily, a Wolf comes running that way.\n\n"Dear friend! father!" cries the Fox; "do save me; I am all but lost!"\n\nSo the Wolf stopped and set to work to rescue the Fox. Its method was a simple one—it bit the tail clean off.\n\nSo our foolish friend went home tailless, but rejoicing that its skin was still on its back.
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8 THE FOX IN THE ICE
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THE INQUISITIVE MAN\n\n"Good day, dear friend; where do you come from?"\n\n"From the Museum, where I have spent three hours. I saw everything they have there, and examined it carefully. So much have I seen to astonish me that, if you will believe me, I am neither strong nor clever enough to give you the description of it. Upon my word, it is a palace of wonders.\n\n"How rich is Nature in inventions! What birds and beasts have I not seen there! What flies, butterflies, cockroaches, and curious beetles—some like emeralds, others like corals! And what tiny cochineal insects! Why, really, some of them are smaller than a pin's head."\n\n"But did you see the elephant? What did you think of it? I'll be bound you felt as if you were at a mountain."\n\n"The elephant? Are you quite sure it is there?"\n\n"Quite sure."\n\n"Well, brother, you mustn't be too hard on me; but to tell the truth, I didn't remark the elephant."
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9 THE INQUISITIVE MAN
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THE SQUIRREL IN SERVICE\n\nA Squirrel once served a Lion—I know not where or in what capacity. But this much is certain—the Squirrel found favor in the Lion's eyes, and to satisfy the Lion is certainly no light affair.\n\nIn return for this he was promised a whole wagon load of nuts.\n\nPromised—yes; but meanwhile time continues to fly by. The Squirrel often suffers hunger and, while grinning in his masters presence, has eyes full of tears.\n\nWhen he looks around in the forest, his former comrades show themselves here and there, high up among the trees. He looks at them till his eyes begin to blink, but they keep on cracking nuts.\n\nThe Squirrel takes a look at them—he can do no more. At one time he is called away; at another, even dragged off in the Lion's service.\n\nBut see! At last the Squirrel has grown old and become tiresome to the Lion. It is time for him to retire. They have granted the Squirrel his discharge, and they have actually given him the full load of nuts—excellent nuts, such as the world has never seen before; all picked fruit, one as good as another, a perfect marvel. Only one thing is unlucky—the Squirrel has long ago lost all his teeth.
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10 THE SQUIRREL IN SERVICE
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THE WOLF AND THE CAT\n\nA Wolf ran out of the forest into a village—not to pay a visit, but to save its life; for it trembled for its skin.\n\nThe huntsman and a pack of hounds were after it.\n\nIt would fain have rushed in through the first gateway, but there was this unfortunate circumstance in the way—all the gateways were closed.\n\nThe Wolf saw a Cat on a partition fence and said pleadingly: "Vaska, my friend, tell me quickly, which of the moujiks here is the kindest, so that I may hide myself from my evil foes. Listen to the cry of the dogs and the terrible sound of the horns. All that noise is actually made in chase of me."\n\n"Go quickly and ask Stefan," said Vaska, the Cat; "he is a very kind man."\n\n"Quite true; only I have torn the skin off one of his sheep."\n\n"Well, then, try Demian."\n\n"I'm afraid he's angry with me, too; I carried off one of his kids."\n\n"Run over there, then; Trofim lives there."\n\n"Trofim! I should be afraid of even meeting him. Ever since the spring he has been threatening me about a lamb."\n\n"Dear me, that's bad! But perhaps Klim will protect you."\n\n"Oh, Vaska, I have killed one of his calves!"\n\n"What do I hear, friend? You've quarreled with all the village," said Vaska to the Wolf. "What sort of protection can you hope for here? No, no; our peasants are not so destitute of sense as to be willing to save you to their own hurt. And, really, you have only yourself to blame. What you have sown, that you must now reap."
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11 THE WOLF AND THE CAT
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APPENDIX\n\nNOTE. Since the purpose of the fable is not merely to entertain but especially to point some general truth or to draw a helpful lesson, no two versions of the same fable are exactly alike. In editions of AEsop intended for young children, it has been the custom to elaborate the slender story in such a way as to arouse thoroughly the child's interest before the moral is drawn. Hence the modern popular versions often contain conversations and descriptive details not to be found in the accounts which are truest to the Greek versions. This popular elaborated form of the fable, however, needs no apology so long as the editor is true to the spirit of the original. In the preceding fables, the spirit, if not the letter of the most trustworthy account available, has been carefully adhered to, but the editor has had always in mind the youthful readers and has neglected no opportunity to make the text fit their limited experience and understanding. But to both teacher and pupil the current short forms of some of the longer fables will have interest. In this Appendix, therefore, have been collected the short forms of the first fables which appear in the text. Much pleasure and profit can be had from a comparison of the two renderings, and such a comparison will open the way to a discussion of the difficulties in handing down literature orally and in preserving it in correct form.
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12 APPENDIX
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THE WOLF AND THE LAMB\n\nA Wolf and a Lamb came to a running brook to quench their thirst. The Wolf stood high up the stream and the Lamb a little distance below.Having made up his mind to seize the Lamb, the Wolf bethought himself how he might justify his act of violence. Running down to her, he roared, "How dare you muddle the water so that I cannot drink it?"\n\nThe Lamb, affrighted by the charge, humbly replied that she could not see how that could be, since the water ran down from him to her and not from her to him. "Be that as it may," retorted the Wolf. "You are a rascal, all the same, and I have heard that you said bad things of me last year behind my back."\n\n"Nay," said the Lamb, "that could not have been, for a year ago I was not born."\n\n"Well, if it was not you it was your father, and that is all the same," replied the Wolf, and he fell upon the Lamb and tore her to pieces.
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13 THE WOLF AND THE LAMB
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THE FOX AND THE LION\n\nThe first time the Fox saw the Lion, he was ready to die of fear. The second time he took courage and could even bear to look upon him. The third time he had the impudence to come up to him, to salute him, and to enter into familiar conversation with him.
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14 THE FOX AND THE LION
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THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW\n\nA Dog had stolen a piece of meat out of a butcher's shop and was crossing a river on his way home, when he saw his own shadow reflected in the stream below. Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he resolved to secure it. He snapped at his supposed treasure, but in doing so dropped the piece he was carrying and so lost all.
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15 THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW
