Free Aesop's Fables by Aesop, Arthur Rackham, V. S. Vernon Jones, D. L. Ashliman

shone more brightly than the sun himself. Just then a puff of wind came and blew it out. Someone struck a match and lit it again, and said, “You just keep alight, and never mind the sun. Why, even the stars never need to be relit as you had to be just now.”

 

    THE OWL AND THE BIRDS

    60. THE OWL AND THE BIRDS
    T he owl is a very wise bird; and once, long ago, when the first oak sprouted in the forest, she called all the other birds together and said to them, “You see this tiny tree? If you take my advice, you will destroy it now when it is small; for when it grows big, the mistletoe will appear upon it, from which birdlime will be prepared for your destruction.” Again, when the first flax was sown, she said to them, “Go and eat up that seed, for it is the seed of the flax, out of which men will one day make nets to catch you.” Once more, when she saw the first archer, she warned the birds that he was their deadly enemy, who would wing his arrows with their own feathers and shoot them.
    But they took no notice of what she said. In fact, they thought she was rather mad, and laughed at her. When, however, everything turned out as she had foretold, they changed their minds and conceived a great respect for her wisdom. Hence, whenever she appears, the birds attend upon her in the hope of hearing something that may be for their good. She, however, gives them advice no longer, but sits moping and pondering on the folly of her kind.

61. THE ASS IN THE LION’S SKIN
    A n ass found a lion’s skin, and dressed himself up in it. Then he went about frightening everyone he met, for they all took him to be a lion, men and beasts alike, and took to their heels when they saw him coming. Elated by the success of his trick, he loudly brayed in triumph. The fox heard him, and recognized him at once for the ass he was, and said to him, “Oho, my friend, it’s you, is it? I, too, should have been afraid if I hadn’t heard your voice.”

62. THE SHE-GOATS AND THEIR BEARDS
    J upiter granted beards to the she-goats at their own request, much to the disgust of the he-goats, who considered this to be an unwarrantable invasion of their rights and dignities. So they sent a deputation to him to protest against his action. He, however, advised them not to raise any objections. “What’s in a tuft of hair?” said he. “Let them have it if they want it. They can never be a match for you in strength.”

63. THE OLD LION
    A lion, enfeebled by age and no longer able to procure food for himself by force, determined to do so by cunning. Betaking himself to a cave, he lay down inside and feigned to be sick; and whenever any of the other animals entered to inquire after his health, he sprang upon them and devoured them. Many lost their lives in this way, till one day a fox called at the cave, and, having a suspicion of the truth, addressed the lion from outside instead of going in, and asked him how he did. He replied that he was in a very bad way. “But,” said he, “why do you stand outside? Pray come in.” “I should have done so,” answered the fox, “if I hadn’t noticed that all the footprints point towards the cave and none the other way.”

64. THE BOY BATHING
    A boy was bathing in a river and got out of his depth, and was in great danger of being drowned. A man who was passing . along a road hard by heard his cries for help, and went to the riverside and began to scold him for being so careless as to get into deep water, but made no attempt to help him. “Oh, sir,” cried the boy, “please help me first and scold me afterwards.”
     
    Give assistance, not advice, in a crisis.

 

    THE QUACK FROG

    65. THE QUACK FROG
    O nce upon a time a frog came forth from his home in the marshes and proclaimed to all the world that he was a learned physician, skilled in drugs and able to cure all diseases. Among the crowd was a fox, who called out, “You a doctor! Why, how can you set up to heal others when you cannot even cure