Aesop's Fables

by Gibbs, Laura, Aesop

  Let no one dare to harm even the smallest among us.

  NOTE: For a quite different fable about a lion and a mouse, see Fable 245.

  Fable 71 (Chambry 242* = Perry 235)

  The Ant, the Pigeon, and the Bird-catcher

  An ant was thirsty and went down to a spring expecting to take a drink of water, but instead he found himself in danger of drowning. A pigeon snapped off a leaf from a nearby tree and threw it to the ant so that he could save himself by climbing up onto the leaf. Meanwhile, a bird-catcher showed up and prepared his limed reeds, intending to capture the pigeon. The ant then bit the bird-catcher on the foot, which caused him to shake his limed reeds, warning the pigeon, who flew off to safety.

  The story shows that even dumb beasts experience fellow feeling and come to one another’s aid.

  NOTE: For a more detailed description of the bird-catcher’s use of a snare made of extensible reeds coated with viscous birdlime, see Fable 138.

  Fable 72 (Aphthonius 28 = Perry 395)

  The Snake, the Eagle, and the Farmer

  A story about an eagle and a snake, exhorting us to be the first to grant a favour.

  A snake and an eagle were grappling with one another as they fought. The snake had tightened his hold on the eagle when a farmer saw them and freed the eagle from the grip of the snake. The snake was angry about what had happened, so he went and poisoned the man’s drinking water. But just as the unsuspecting farmer was about to take a drink, the eagle flew down and snatched the cup out of his hands.

  The man who treats others well is rewarded by gratitude.

  NOTE: There is an elaborate version of this story in Aelian, Characteristics of Animals 17.37.

  Fable 73 (Chambry 79* = Perry 296)

  The Eagle and the Farmer

  An eagle was caught by a farmer, but the farmer let him go when he realized what he had caught. The eagle did not forget this good deed, and when he saw the farmer sitting under a wall that was on the verge of collapsing, he snatched the bandana from the man’s head, wanting to rouse the man from his seat and make him stand up. After the man set off in pursuit, the kindly eagle dropped what he had snatched and thus fully repaid the man’s good deed: the man would have been crushed by the wall’s collapse if he had stayed there any longer. After a while the man came back to where he had been sitting and found that the upright section of the wall had fallen to the ground.

  This fable shows that if anyone does you a favour you must repay them in kind.

  NOTE: In Cicero, On Divination 1.15, the same story is reported as actually having happened to Deiotarus (d. 40 BCE), a Galatian monarch and ally of the Romans. For a similar legend attributed to the prophet Mohammed, see Rumi, Mathnawi 3.3233 ff.

  Fable 74 (Ademar 65 = Perry 573)

  The Snake and the Farmer

  In the house of a certain farmer there lived a snake who regularly came to the table and was fed on scraps of food. Not long afterwards the farmer grew rich, but then he became angry at the snake and tried to attack him with an axe. The farmer then lost his wealth and he realized that he had prospered because of the good luck he had gained from the snake before having wounded him. The farmer then begged the snake to forgive him for his evil deed, and the snake replied, ‘You are sorry for what you have done, but you must not expect me to be your faithful friend until this scar heals. It is not possible for me to be truly reconciled to you until all thought of that treacherous axe has left my mind.’

  The person who injures anyone at any time must be treated with suspicion, which is a serious obstacle to the restoration of affection among friends.

  NOTE: For a more elaborate version of this same story, see Fable 75 (following).

  Fable 75 (Chambry 81* = Perry 51)

  The Snake and the Farmer

  There was a snake who used to lurk around the front door of a farmer’s house. One day the snake struck the man’s son, biting him on the foot. The boy died on the spot. The boy’s parents were filled with immense sorrow and the grief-stricken father seized his axe and tried to kill the malevolent snake. When the snake fled from his pursuer, the man hurried after him, raising his weapon, determined to strike, but as the farmer was about to deal the snake a deadly blow, he missed and managed only to cut off the tip of his tail. The man was terrified at the thought that he might have killed the snake, so he took cakes and water along with honey and salt and called to the snake, wanting to make peace with him. The snake, however, only hissed softly at the farmer from where he had hidden himself in the rocks and said: ‘Man, do not trouble yourself any longer: there can be no possible friendship between us any more. When I look upon my tail, I am in pain. The same is true for you: whenever you look again upon the grave of your son, you will not be able to live in peace with me.’

  The fable shows that no one can put aside thoughts of hatred or revenge so long as he sees a reminder of the pain that he suffered.

  NOTE: There is an even more detailed explanation of the story’s motivation in an Indian version of the same fable in Book 3 of the Panchatantra: when the man’s son realizes that the snake is able to bestow wealth, he becomes greedy and decides to kill the snake in order to take all the snake’s treasure, but instead the snake kills him.

  FABLES ABOUT GRATITUDE AND INGRATITUDE

  Fable 76 (Phaedrus 3.2 = Perry 494)

  The Panther and the People

  People who have been treated with contempt repay the deed in kind.

  A panther foolishly happened to have fallen into a pit. The local villagers saw her there and some of them attacked her with sticks or pelted her with stones. There were others who felt sorry for the creature since she seemed sure to die even though she had not done any harm, so they brought her bread to keep up her strength. Night fell and everyone went home, confident that they would find the panther dead when the next day dawned. However, as soon as she recovered from her weakness and regained her strength, the panther escaped from the pit with a mighty leap and hurried quickly home to her den. A few days later she descended upon the village, slaughtering the sheep and even killing the shepherds as she laid waste to everything around her in a furious attack of rage. At this point even the people who had shown mercy to the beast began to fear what lay in store for them. Without a word about the damage that the panther had wrought, they begged her just to spare their lives. The panther then said, ‘I am well aware of who pelted me with stones and who gave me bread, so put aside your fears. I have returned as an enemy only to those who wanted to hurt me.’

  Fable 77 (Syntipas 34 = Perry 120)

  The Dog and the Gardener

  A gardener had a dog who had fallen into a well. The gardener lowered himself into the well to pull the dog out, but the dog only gave the man a nasty bite, thinking that the man intended to plunge him even deeper into the water. After the dog had bitten him, the gardener said, ‘It serves me right for making such an effort to pull you out of the well, when all you can do is attack me.’

  This fable indicts people who are foolish and ungrateful.

  Fable 78 (Chambry 316* = Perry 208)

  The Sheep, the Shepherd, and His Cloak

  A shepherd had driven his sheep into a stand of oaks. He then spread his cloak under an oak tree and climbed up into the tree in order to shake the acorns down. As the sheep ate the acorns, they also ate the shepherd’s cloak, unbeknownst to the shepherd. The shepherd then climbed down from the tree, and when he saw what had happened he said, ‘Oh you wicked creatures! You give wool to other people so that they can make clothes but you take my clothes and ruin them, even though I am the one who feeds you!’

  The fable shows that people frequently do favours for someone who has nothing to do with them, while treating their own family members unkindly.

  Fable 79 (Chambry 235* = Perry 72)

  The Bees and the Beekeeper

  A thief got into a beekeeper’s property when its owner was away and stole the honeycombs. When the owner came back and saw that the beehives wer
e empty, he stood there puzzling over what had happened. The bees then came back from their pastures, and when they found the beekeeper there they attacked him fiercely with their stings. The beekeeper said to the bees, ‘You wretched creatures! You let the man who stole your honeycombs get away with impunity while you direct your rage at me, the very person who takes care of you!’

  So too there are people who foolishly leave themselves unprotected against their enemies and push their friends away as if those friends were plotting against them.

  Fable 80 (Chambry 103* = Perry 77)

  The Deer and the Vine

  A deer who was being pursued by hunters hid under a grapevine. When the hunters had passed by, she turned her head and began to eat the leaves of the vine. One of the hunters came back, and when he saw the deer he hurled his javelin and struck her. As she was dying, the deer groaned to herself, ‘It serves me right, since I injured the vine that saved me!’

  This fable can used against people who are punished by God for having harmed their benefactors.

  NOTE: For a story about the goat and the vine, see Fable 157.

  Fable 81 (Chambry 152* = Perry 250)

  The Nut Tree and the People

  There was a nut tree standing by the side of the road which had a great many nuts, and the people walking along the road used to knock them off by throwing sticks and stones at the tree. The nut tree then said sadly, ‘Woe is me! People gladly enjoy my fruits, but they have a terrible way of showing their gratitude.’

  The fable indicts those ungrateful and wicked people who requite good deeds with cruelty.

  NOTE: The moral in Alciato, Emblems 193, is somewhat different: the nut tree laments that the fruit she produces is the cause of her own suffering.

  Fable 82 (Chambry 257 = Perry 175)

  The Travellers and the Plane Tree

  Around noon on a summer’s day, some travellers who were exhausted by the heat caught sight of a plane tree. They went and lay down in the shade of the tree in order to rest. Looking up at the tree, they remarked to one another that the plane tree produced no fruit and was therefore useless to mankind. The plane tree interrupted them and said, ‘What ungrateful people you are! You denounce my uselessness and lack of fruit at the very moment in which you are enjoying my kindness!’

  Likewise, even when a person treats his neighbours well, his goodness can unfortunately be called into question.

  NOTE: In order to express the lack of gratitude shown to him by the Athenians, the great general Themistocles (d. 460 BCE) compared himself to a plane tree whose good services were not appreciated (Plutarch, Life of Themistocles 18).

  Fable 83 (Chambry 6* = Perry 275)

  The Two Men, the Eagle, and the Fox

  An eagle was once caught by a man who immediately clipped his wings and turned him loose in the house with the chickens. The eagle was utterly dejected and grief-stricken. Another man bought the eagle and restored the eagle’s feathers. The eagle then soared on his outspread wings and seized a hare, which he promptly brought back as a gift for the man who had rescued him. A fox saw what the eagle was doing and shouted, ‘He’s not the one who needs your attention! You should give the hare to the first man, so that if he ever catches you again, he won’t deprive you of your wing feathers like the first time.’

  The fable shows that we should give appropriate thanks to our benefactors, while avoiding evil-doers.

  NOTE: The moral added to this fable flatly contradicts the moral inside the fable pronounced by the fox. The fox is pragmatic: give the reward to the wicked man in order to win his favour. The editor of the fable prefers a more pious rule of behaviour: good deeds, not wickedness, should be rewarded.

  Fable 84 (Syntipas 45 = Perry 401)

  The Man, the Mare, and the Foal

  A man was riding a pregnant mare and she gave birth to her foal while they were still on the road. The newborn foal followed directly behind his mother but soon became unsteady on his feet. The foal then said to the man, ‘Look, you can see that I am very small and not strong enough to travel. If you leave me here, I am sure to die. But if you carry me away from here back to your home and bring me up, then later on, when I am grown, I shall let you ride me.’

  The fable shows that we should do favours for someone who can do us a good deed in return.

  Fable 85 (Chambry 98 = Perry 247)

  Diogenes and the Ferryman

  On his travels, Diogenes the Cynic came to a stream that was flooded. He stood on the bank, unable to go any farther. One of those ferrymen who regularly carry people across rivers saw that Diogenes did not know what to do, so he approached the philosopher, picked him up, and kindly carried him across the water. Diogenes then stood on the opposite shore, bewailing the poverty that prevented him from rewarding the man for his good deed. While Diogenes was still pondering this state of affairs, the ferryman saw another traveller who could not get across, so he hurried off to offer his assistance. Diogenes accosted the ferryman and said, ‘Well, I do not feel in your debt any longer for the favour that you did me. This is not an act of judgement on your part—it’s an addiction!’

  The story shows that someone who assists both the truly good and those who are undeserving is not seen as a philanthropist, but is instead regarded as a madman.

  NOTE: Diogenes the Cynic was a Greek mendicant philosopher of the fourth century BCE. For another anecdote about Diogenes, see Fable 580.

  FABLES ABOUT FALSE FRIENDS

  Fable 86 (Babrius 130 = Perry 345)

  The Wolf, the Fox, and the Gift

  A fox was standing not far from a trap, pondering every possible approach. A nearby wolf noticed the fox and approached her. He then asked the fox if he might be allowed to take the meat, and the fox replied, ‘Go ahead and help yourself! You’re welcome to it, seeing as you are one of my very dearest friends.’ The wolf rushed up without a moment’s hesitation, and as he learned forward over the trap he released the trigger so that the rod sprang free, striking his snout and forehead. ‘If this is the sort of gift you give you to your friends,’ said the wolf, ‘why would anyone ever want to be friends with you?’

  NOTE: For a similar trick played by the fox on the monkey, see Fable 24.

  Fable 87 (Chambry 283* = Perry 193)

  The Bird-catcher and the Lark

  A bird-catcher had set up his snare for the birds. A lark observed these preparations and asked the bird-catcher what he was doing. The man said to the lark that he was founding a city. The man then moved away from the snare. The bird, believing what the man had said, approached and ate some of the bait. Then, without realizing it, he was trapped in the snare. As the bird-catcher ran up and grabbed hold of the lark, the bird said to him, ‘Look here, if this is the sort of city you are founding, you won’t find many inhabitants for it!’

  The story shows that households and cities are most likely to be deserted when there are harsh people in charge.

  Fable 88 (Syntipas 21 = Perry 403)

  The Dog-catcher and the Dog

  A man saw a dog walking by and threw him some bits of food. The dog then said to the man, ‘O man, keep away from me! All your well-wishing warns me to be even more on my guard.’

  This fable shows that people who offer to give someone many gifts are no doubt trying to deceive him.

  NOTE: The man in this fable is called a ‘hunter’ (or perhaps a ‘thief’, as one editor has conjectured); he appears to be a kind of ‘dog thief’ or ‘dog-catcher’. In another version of the story (Phaedrus 1.23), the man is a thief throwing food to a watchdog.

  Fable 89 (Odo 66 = Perry 621)

  The Birds, the Peacock, and His Feathers

  Against vanity and so on.

  The peacock was a remarkable bird, both because of the beauty of his feathers with their various colours and also because he was gentle and courteous. On his way to the assembly of the birds, the peacock ran into the raven. The raven asked the peacock if he would give him two of his feathers. The peacock said, ‘W
hat will you do for me in return?’ The raven replied, ‘I will squawk your praises throughout the courts in the presence of all the other birds!’ So the peacock gave the raven two of his feathers. The crow then made the same request of the peacock and obtained two of the peacock’s feathers, as did the cuckoo and all kinds of other birds, until finally the peacock was plucked completely bare. The peacock was supposed to nourish and protect his chicks but he was unable to do so since he didn’t have any feathers. Winter came, and he died. His chicks went away and lived as best as they could on their own.

  NOTE: For a different sort of fable about the crow in borrowed feathers, see Fable 328.

  Fable 90 (Syntipas 20 = Perry 305)

  The Deer and Her Friends

  A deer had fallen ill and was resting on the grassy plain. When the other animals came to see her, they ate up all the grass in her pasture. As a result, when the deer recovered from her illness, she ended up dying since her pasture had come to an end.