William Caxton (2)

Here are some more fables from the The Fables of Aesop as printed by William Caxton in 1484, with woodcuts adapted from Steinhowel's Aesop; click here for more fables from Caxton's Aesop here at the blog.

Of the wulf and of the lambe

Of the Innocent and of the shrewe Esope reherceth to vs suche a fable / how it was so / that the lambe and the wulf had bothe thurst / and went bothe to a Ryuer for to drynke / It happed that the wulf dranke aboue & the lambe dranke bynethe / And as the wulf sawe and perceyued the lambe / he sayd with a hyghe voys / Ha knaue why hast thou troubled and fowled my water / whiche I shold now drynke / Allas my lord sauf your grece / For the water cometh fro yow toward me / Thenne sayd the wulf to the lambe / Hast thow no shame ne drede to curse me / And the lambe sayd My lord with your leue / And the wulf sayd ageyne / Hit is not syxe monethes passyd that thy fader dyd to me as moche / And the lambe ansuerd yet was I not at that tyme born / And the wlf said ageyne to hym / Thou hast ete my fader / And the lambe ansuerd / I haue no teeth / Thenne said the wulf / thou arte wel lyke thy fader / and for his synne & mysded thow shalt deye / The wulf thenne toke the lambe and ete hym /

This fable sheweth that the euylle man retcheth not by what maner he may robbe & destroye the good & innocent man

Of the rat / and of the frogge

Now it be so / that as the rat wente in pylgremage / he came by a Ryuer / and demaunded helpe of a frogge for to passe / and go ouer the water / And thenne the frogge bound the rats foote to her foote / and thus swymed vnto the myddes ouer the Ryuer / And as they were there the frogge stood stylle / to thende that the rat shold be drowned / And in the meane whyle came a kyte vpon them / and bothe bare them with hym / This fable made Esope for a symylytude whiche is prouffitable to many folkes / For he that thynketh euylle ageynst good / the euylle whiche he thynketh shall ones falle vpon hym self /

This fable made Esope for a symylytude whiche is prouffitable to many folkes / For he that thynketh euylle ageynst good / the euylle whiche he thynketh shall ones falle vpon hym self

Of the lyon and of the asse

Of them whiche mocken other esope reherceth such a fable / Ther was an asse whiche met with a lyon to whom he said my broder god saue the & the lyon shaked his hede and with grete payne he myght hold his courage / to haue forthwith deuoured hym / But the lyon sayd to hym self / It behoueth not that teethe soo noble and so fayre as myn be touchen not / ne byten suche a fowle beest /

For he that is wyse must not hurte the foole ne take hede to his wordes / but lete hym go for suche as he is

Of the swalowe / and other byrdes

He that byleueth not good counceyll / may not fayll to be euylle counceylled / wherof Esope reherceth to vs suche a fable / of a plowgh man / whiche sowed lynseed / & the swalowe seyng that of the same lynseed men myght make nettes and gynnes / wente and sayd to alle other byrdes / Come with me ye al & lete vs plucke vp al this / For yf we leue hit growe / the labourer shal mowe make therof gynnes and nettes for to take vs al / Alle the byrdes dispraysed his counceyl / And thenne as the swalowe sawe this / he wente and herberowed her in the plough mans hows / And whanne the flaxe was growen and pulled vp / the labourer made grynnes and nettes to take byrdes / wherwith he took euery day many other byrdes / and brought them in to his hows / to the whiche byrdes the swalowe thenne sayd / I told yow wel / what that shold happe therof / wherfore men ought not to disprayse good counceylle /

For he that is euyl aduysed and not wel counceyled shalle haue moche payne

Of the Columbes or douues of the kyte and of the sperehawke 

Who that putte and submytteth hym self vnder the saue gard or protection of the euylle / thou oughtest to wete & knowe / that whan he asketh & demaunded ayde & helpe / he geteth none / Wherof Esope reherceth to vs suche a fable / Of the douues whiche demaunded a sperehawke for to be theyr kynge / for to kepe them fro the kyte or mylan / And whanne the sperehawke was maade kynge ouer them / he beganne to deuoure them / the whiche columbes or douues sayd amonge them / that better it were to them to suffre of the kyte than to be vnder the subiection of the sperehawke / & to be martred as we be / but therof we be wel worthy / For we oure self been cause of this meschyef /

And therfore whanne men done ony thyng / men ought well to loke and consydere thende of hit / For he dothe prudently and wysely whiche taketh good hede to the ende

Linton and Crane (2)

Here are some more fables from The Baby's Own Aesop, which features fables-as-limericks by W. J. Linton and beautiful illustrations by Thomas Crane; you can click here for more fables from this book here at the blog.

THE FRIGHTENED LION.

A Bull-Frog, according to rule,

Sat a-croak in his usual pool:

And he laughed in his heart

As a Lion did start,

In a fright from the brink like a fool.

IMAGINARY FEARS ARE THE WORST

THE MOUSE AND THE LION.

A poor thing the Mouse was, and yet,

When the Lion got caught in a net,

All his strength was no use.

'Twas the poor little Mouse

Who nibbled him out of the net.

SMALL CAUSES MAY PRODUCE GREAT RESULTS

THE MARRIED MOUSE.

So the Mouse had Miss Lion for bride;

Very great was his joy and his pride:

But it chanced that she put

On her husband her foot,

And the weight was too much so he died.

ONE MAY BE TOO AMBITIOUS

HERCULES AND THE WAGGONER.

When the God saw the Waggoner kneel,

Crying, "Hercules! Lift me my wheel

From the mud, where 'tis stuck!"

He laughed — "No such luck;

Set your shoulder yourself to the wheel."

THE GODS HELP THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

THE LAZY HOUSEMAIDS.

Two Maids killed the Rooster whose warning

Awoke them too soon every morning:

But small were their gains,

For their Mistress took pains

To rouse them herself without warning.

LAZINESS IS ITS OWN PUNISHMENT

Joseph Jacobs (2)

Here are some more fables from the The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs, with illustrations by Richard Heighway. Click here for more fables from Jacobs' Aesop here at the blog.

The Wolf and the Lamb  

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. "There's my supper," thought he, "if only I can find some excuse to seize it." 

Then he called out to the Lamb, "How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?"

"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me."

"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this time last year?"

"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old."

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was your father;" and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA ate her all up.

But before she died she gasped out, "Any excuse will serve a tyrant."

The Lion's Share  

The Lion went once a-hunting along with the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till at last they surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then came the question how the spoil should be divided. 

"Quarter me this Stag," roared the Lion; so the other animals skinned it and cut it into four parts. 

Then the Lion took his stand in front of the carcass and pronounced judgment, "The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts; the second is mine as arbiter; another share comes to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of you will dare to lay a paw upon it."

"Humph," grumbled the Fox as he walked away with his tail between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl. "You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil."

The Wolf and the Crane 

A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in his throat, and ran up and down groaning and groaning and seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to induce every one he met to remove the bone. "I would give anything," said he, "if you would take it out." 

At last the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could. Then the Crane put its long neck down the Wolf's throat, and with its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.

"Will you kindly give me the reward you promised?" said the Crane.

The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: "Be content. You have put your head inside a Wolf's mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you."

The Man and the Serpent  

A Countryman's son by accident trod upon a Serpent's tail, which turned and bit him so that he died. The father in a rage got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part of its tail. So the Serpent in revenge began stinging several of the Farmer's cattle and caused him severe loss. 

Well, the Farmer thought it best to make it up with the Serpent, and brought food and honey to the mouth of its lair, and said to it: "Let's forget and forgive; perhaps you were right to punish my son, and take vengeance on my cattle, but surely I was right in trying to revenge him; now that we are both satisfied why should not we be friends again?"

"No, no," said the Serpent; "take away your gifts; you can never forget the death of your son, nor I the loss of my tail."

Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten.

The Swallow and the Other Birds  

It happened that a Countryman was sowing some hemp seeds in a field where a Swallow and some other birds were hopping about picking up their food. "Beware of that man," quoth the Swallow. "Why, what is he doing?" said the others. "That is hemp seed he is sowing; be careful to pick up every one of the seeds, or else you will repent it." The birds paid no heed to the Swallow's words, and by and by the hemp grew up and was made into cord, and of the cords nets were made, and many a bird that had despised the Swallow's advice was caught in nets made out of that very hemp. "What did I tell you?" said the Swallow.

Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin.

Samuel Croxall (2)

Here are some more fables from Samuel Croxall's Fables of Aesop and Others with illustrations from an edition published in 1867; you can click here for more fables from this edition of Croxall.

THE BOAR AND THE ASS. 

A little scoundrel of an ass happening to meet with a boar, had a mind to be arch upon him. “And so, brother,” says he, “your humble servant.” 

The boar, somewhat nettled at this familiarity, bristled up to him and told him he was surprised to hear him utter so impudent an untruth, and was just going to show his noble resentment, by giving him a rip in the flank; but, wisely stifling his passion, he contented himself with only saying, “Go, you sorry beast! I could be amply and easily revenged of you, but I do not care to foul my tusks with the blood of so base a creature.”

As you can see, some of the illustrations are knock-offs of Barlow's illustrations; here is Barlow's donkey and boar; in this case, the donkey has been stripped down to his essential donkey-ness, unlike the adorned donkey in Barlow, but the boar is posed in just the same attitude:

THE FOX AND THE GOAT. 

A fox having tumbled by chance into a well, had been casting about a long while, to no purpose, how he should get out again; when, at last, a goat came to the place, and wanting to drink, asked Reynard, whether the water was good. 

“Good!” says he, “ay, so sweet, that I am afraid I have surfeited myself, I have drank so abundantly.” 

The goat, upon this, without any more ado, leapt in, and the fox, taking the advantage of his horns, by the assistance of them, as nimbly leapt out, leaving the poor goat at the bottom of the well to shift for himself. 

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES. 

A fox, very hungry, chanced to come into a vineyard, where hung branches of charming ripe grapes, but nailed up to a trellis so high, that he leaped till he quite tired himself, without being able to reach one of them. 

At last, “Let who will take them,” says he, “they are but green and sour, so I’ll even let them alone.”

THE COUNTRYMAN AND THE SNAKE. 

A villager, in a frosty, snowy winter, found a snake under a hedge almost dead with cold: he could not help having compassion for the poor creature, so brought it home, and laid it upon the hearth near the fire, but it had not lain there long before (being revived with the heat) it began to erect itself, and fly at the wife and children, filling the whole cottage with dreadful hissings. 

The countryman hearing an outcry, and perceiving what the matter was, catched up a mattock, and soon dispatched him, upbraiding him at the same time in these words, “Is this —vile wretch! — the reward you make to him that saved your life? Die as you deserve; but a single death is too good for you.”

THE VIPER AND THE FILE. 

A viper entering a smith's shop, looked up and down for something to eat; and seeing a file, fell to gnawing it as greedily as could be. 

The file told him very gruffly, that he had best be quiet and let him alone, for he would get very little by nibbling at one who, upon occasion, could bite iron and steel. 

Thomas Bewick (2)

Here are some more fables from Bewick's Select Fables of Aesop and Others with Thomas Bewick's engravings; you can click here for all the Bewick fables at this blog.

The fables below about the lion and the gnat and about the dog and the crocodile come from the classical Aesopic canon, while the first three fables are part of the later Aesopic tradition.

THE HERMIT AND THE BEAR. 

The random zeal of inconsiderate friends is often as hurtful as the wrath of enemies; an imprudent friend often does as much mischief by his too great zeal as the worst enemy could effect by his malice.

A certain Hermit, having done a good office to a Bear, the grateful creature was so sensible of his obligation that he begged to be admitted as the guardian and companion of his solitude. The Hermit willingly accepted his offer and conducted him to his cell, where they passed their time together in an amicable manner.

One very hot day the Hermit, having laid him down to sleep, the officious Bear employed himself in driving away the flies from his patron's face. But in spite of all his care, one of the flies perpetually returned to the attack and at last settled upon the Hermit's nose.

"Now I shall have you most certainly," said the Bear, and with the best intentions imaginable gave him a violent blow on the face which very effectually indeed demolished the Fly, but at the same time most terribly bruised the face of his benefactor.

THE PASSENGER AND THE PILOT. 

We are nowhere out of the reach of Providence either to punish or to protect us.

It had blown a violent storm at sea, and the whole crew of a large vessel were in imminent danger of shipwreck. 

After the rolling of the waves were somewhat abated, a certain Passenger who had never been at sea before, observing the Pilot to have appeared wholly unconcerned even in their greatest danger, had the curiosity to ask him what death his father died. 

"What death?" said the Pilot; "why, he perished at Sea, as my grandfather did before him." 

"And are you not afraid of trusting yourself to an element that has thus proved fatal to your family?" 

"Afraid? by no means. Why, we must all die; is not your father dead?" 

"Yes, but he died in his bed." 

"And why then are you not afraid of trusting yourself to your bed?" 

"Because I am there perfectly secure." 

"It may be so," replied the Pilot, "but if the hand of Providence is equally extended over all places, there is no more reason for me to be afraid of going to sea than for you to be afraid of going to bed."

THE PARTIAL JUDGE. 

The injuries we do and those we suffer are seldom weighed in the same scales.

A Farmer came to a neighbouring Lawyer expressing great concern for an accident which he said had just happened. "One of your oxen," continued he, "has been gored by an unlucky bull of mine, and I shall be glad to know how I am to make you a reparation."

"Thou art a very honest fellow," replied the Lawyer, "and wilt not think it unreasonable that I expect one of thy oxen in return."

"It is no more than justice," quoth the Farmer, "to be sure; but what did I say? I mistake; it is your bull that has killed one of my oxen."

"Indeed," says the Lawyer; "that alters the case. I must inquire into the affair, and if--"

"And if," said the Farmer, "the business I find would have been concluded without an if had you been as ready to do justice to others as to exact it from them."

THE LION AND THE GNAT. 

Little minds are so much elevated by any advantage gained over their superiors that they are often thrown off their guard against a sudden change of fortune.

"Avant, thou paltry contemptible insect," said a proud Lion one day to a Gnat that was frisking about in the air near his den.

The Gnat, enraged at this unprovoked insult, vowed revenge and immediately darted into the Lion's ear. After having sufficiently teased him in that quarter, she quitted her station and retired under his belly, and from thence made her last and most formidable attack in his nostrils where, stinging him almost to madness, the Lion at length fell down, utterly spent with rage vexation and pain.

The Gnat, having thus abundantly gratified her resentment, flew off in great exultation, but in the heedless transports of her success not sufficiently attending to her own security, she found herself unexpectedly entangled in the web of a spider who, rushing out instantly upon her, put an end to her triumph and her life. 

THE DOG AND THE CROCODILE. 

We can never be too carefully guarded against a connection with persons of an ill character.

As a dog was coursing on the banks of the Nile, he grew thirsty; but fearing to be seized by the monsters of that river, he would not stop to satiate his draught, but lapped as he ran. 

A Crocodile, raising his head above the surface of the water, asked him why he was in such a hurry. He had often, he said, wished for his acquaintance, and should be glad to embrace the present opportunity. 

You do me great honour, returned the Dog, but it is to avoid such companions as you that I am in so much haste. 

Brooke Boothby (3)

Here are some more fables from Brooke Boothby's Fables and Satires, and you can click here for all the Boothby fables at this blog.

The Head and the Tail

That land accurs'd what ills betide,

Where the vile populace preside!

A Serpent's Tail address'd the Head:

"Too long I've followed you," it said,

"Tls now my turn to take the lead."

"Tis well," replied the Head, "proceed!"

The Tail, unus'd, went wrong and slow,

And blind and deaf, got many a blow;

Nor did the Head much better fare,

Condemned its leader's ills to share.

illustration by Billinghurst

The Bird and the Arrow

The feather'd arrow in her side,

A Bird in plaintive accent cried,

''How sad it is the means to lend,

That brings us to a timeless end!"

illustration by Harrison Weir

The Fly

A Fly, upon a chariot pole,

Sees sandy clouds about him roll;

And, puft with self-importance, cries,

"The dust I raise obscures the skies!''

illustration from a 1590 Aesop

The Thief and the Pauper

He to whom fortune nothing gives,

Free from the dread of robbers lives.

A Pauper as he lay in bed,

Overhearing someone in his shed

Groping and searching all about,

Something of value to take out.

Cries, ''What by day I ne'er could see,

To find by night you'll lucky be!"

The Wolf and the Shepherd's Boy

In wantonness a Shepherd's boy

Alarm'd the neighbours with his cry;

"The Wolf! the Wolf!" and, when they came,

Of their lost labour made his game.

At last the Wolf when there indeed,

His real cries they did not heed;

He and his flock a prey were made,

And for his lies he dearly paid.

Those who are known to have deceived,

When they speak truth, are not believ'd.

illustration in Steinhowel's Aesop

Aphra Behn (2)

Here are some more fables written by Aphra Behn for the second edition of Francis Barlow's illustrated Aeop's Fables, and you can click here for all the Behn fables at this blog. 

The Dog with a Clog

A Dog whose fierceness was with fetters checkt,

Fancyd himselfe with some new honour deckt.

Thy folly's great the wiser currs replye,

For glory to mistake thy infamie.

Morall

Thus dareing debauchers do often boast,

In those loose vices men dishonour most.

The Ox and Toad

The Toad woud needs the Oxes size attaine,

And with fell poyson puffs up every veine,

Then asked her sone if equall were their size,

Then swells againe, and with her venome dyes.

Morall

The would-bee witts to Lawrrels woud aspire,

And write till damn'd they shamefully retire.

The Lion and Fox

When first the Fox the forest monarch saw,

He gaz'd with trembling feare and reverend awe,

But by degrees more boldly he adrest,

Than holds a Parly with the Royal Beast.

Morall

Vertues seem rigid to the wild and loose,

But grow familiar by their constant use.

The Ape and Fox

The Ape implord, the Fox her bum woud vaile,

With a proportion of his useless Taile,

But he replyd: tho me no good it do,

I will not Spare an inch to savour you.

Morall

Thus the Ill naturd Rich reserve their store,

And please themselves to see their neighbours poor.

The Birds and Beasts

Twixt birds and beasts a fatall warr is held,

The winged powers are conqueror o're the field.

The Batt is captive tane whom all detest

For she forsook her nation and her nest.

Morall

A Traytor all behold with just disdaine,

Who basely quitts his cause, and sovereigne.

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (2)

Here are some more fables from Lessing's Fables and Epigrams, translated into English (translator's name unknown). Click here for more fables by Lessing here at the blog. As you will see, several of these fables are directly responding to fables by Aesop, almost as anti-fables (i.e. like anti-proverbs, in the phrase coined by Wolfgang Mieder).

THE MAN AND THE DOG

A man who was bitten by a dog, flew into a passion and killed it. The wound appearing dangerous, a surgeon was deemed necessary. 

"I am not acquainted with a better remedy," said the latter, "than that of dipping a piece of bread in the wound, and causing the mischievous dog to eat it. If that sympathetic prescription avail not, then" — here the surgeon shrugged up his shoulders. 

"O, fatal anger," exclaimed the man, "I have killed the dog!" 

19th-century Aesop: the dog-bite

THE MONKEY AND THE FOX

"Name me an animal so clever, that I cannot imitate it," boasted the monkey to the fox. 

"Can you point out any animal so insignificant as to imitate you?" runs the answer.

Ye authors of a certain class, need I explain myself further? 

AESOP AND THE ASS.

"When you again tell any stories concerning me," said the ass to Aesop, "pray make me say something smart and witty." 

"In that case," replied Esop, "will not people say that you are the moralist, and I the ass?"

THE SICK WOLF 

The wolf being at the point of death, cast a retrospective glance on his past life. " I am certainly a sinner," he plaintively observed, "but, I trust, not one of the greatest. I have doubtless committed evil, but I have also done much good. I remember that once when a lamb, which had strayed from the flock, came so near me, I might have devoured it with the greatest ease; I forbore to do so. About the same time listened to the abuse of an angry sheep with the most edifying indifference, although no watch-dog was to be feared." 

"To all this I can bear witness," said the fox, who was assisting his ghostly preparations; "I recollect all the particulars. It was just at the time you suffered so much from the bone in your throat." 

THE MISER

"Unfortunate man that I am!" ejaculated a miser to his neighbour; "someone, last night, stole my treasure, which I had buried in my garden, and placed a worthless stone in its place." 

"You would never have used your treasure," returned his neighbour; "only, therefore, imagine the stone to be your treasure, and you are nothing the worse."

"Nothing the worse! And suppose it was so, is not somebody else the better? I shall go distracted!"

Grandville's illustration of Aesop's miser

Babrius (2)

Here are some more fables by Babrius, translated into English verse by James Davies: The Fables of Babrius, and you can click here for all the Babrius fables at this blog. I've also linked to the Greek text below.


THE HUSBANDMAN AND THE STORK (Greek)

Thin nets a farmer o'er his furrows spread,

And caught the cranes that on his tillage fed

And him a limping stork began to pray,

Who fell with them into the farmer's way:

"I am no crane: I don't consume the grain;

That I'm a stork is from my colour plain;

A stork, than which no better bird doth live:

I to my father aid and succour give."

The man replied: "Good stork, I cannot tell

Your ways of life, but this I know full well,

I caught you with the spoilers of my seed:

With them with whom I found you, you must bleed."

Walk with the bad, and hate will be as strong

'Gainst you as them, e'en though you no man wrong.

 

illustration in a 19th-century Aesop

THE BEAR AND THE FOX (Greek)

A Bear for man was boasting fondness rare,

Whose corpse, he urged, he was not wont to tear.

To whom quoth Reynard, "Were the choice my own,

You should tear corpses, but let life alone."

Let none that hurt my life, my death bemoan.

 

illustration by Arthur Rackham

THE WOLF AND THE NURSE (Greek)

A country nurse, to fright her babe to peace,

Said, "Wolf shall have thee, or thy cries must cease."

The wolf o'erheard, believed the scolding crone,

And stay'd in hopes to find the feast his own.

But evening came; the babe was hush'd to rest:

The wolf still gaped, with rav'ning hunger prest.

At last his hopes to utter dulness grew;

Then to his anxious helpmate he withdrew.

"How cam'st thou empty?" said she. He replied,

"Because upon a female I relied."

 

illustration from Barlow's Aesop

THE CAT AND THE COCK (Greek)

A Cat that ambush'd for some house-birds lay,

Swung itself, baglike, from a peg one day.

'Twas seen by a sagacious shrewd-tongued cock,

Which shrilly thus began the cat to mock:

"Full many bags I've noticed heretofore:

But none the grinders of a live cat bore."

 

illustration by Grandville

THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN (Greek)

Betwixt the North Wind and the Sun arose

A contest, which would soonest of his clothes

Strip a wayfaring clown, so runs the tale.

First Boreas blows an almost Thracian gale,

Thinking perforce to steal the man's capote;

He loos'd it not, but as the cold wind smote

More sharply, tighter round him drew the folds,

And sheltered by a crag his station holds.

But now the Sun at first peer'd gently forth,

And thaw'd the chills of the uncanny north;

Then in their turn his beams more amply plied,

Till sudden heat the clown's endurance tried.

Stripping himself, away his cloak he flung;

The Sun from Boreas thus a triumph wrung.

The fable means, "My son, at mildness aim:

Persuasion more results than force may claim."

 

illustration by Walter Crane

Philip Ayres (2)

Here are some more fables from Mythologia Ethica: or, Three Centuries of Aesopian Fables by Philip Ayres, and you can click here for all the Ayres fables at this blog.

The Ass That Found No End of His Labours

In Winter time, an Ass was grieved at the coldness of the Season, and that he was forced to live only on Straw, often wishing for Spring, that the weather might be more temperate, and he so happy to feed on fresh Grass.

The Spring came, but he was then employed to fetch in Earth for making Bricks and Tiles. This made him cry out, O ye Gods! would the Summer were here, that my Master being busie at his Harvest, I might have time to get a little Rest. 

When it was Summer, they made the poor Beast constantly Work in carrying Corn into the Barns; which Labour was no sooner ended, but the Autumn was come, and he constrained to bring home the Wines and Fruits; This made him renew his Grief. Alas! cry'd he, It would be better for me, were it Winter again, for then my Master could not Work by reason of the Severity of the Weather, and I might hope for some respit from all this Drudgery.

This Paints out the Miserable Lives of many poor Men; the Pinching Wants they sustain, and continued Labours and Hardships they are forced to undergo, during all the Seasons of the year.

illustration by Bewick

The Wolf and the Porcupine

A Good inclination had a hungry Wolf to set upon a Porcupine, but durst not for fear of his Quills; he therefore cunningly told him, he wondred he should trouble himself with all that load of Darts at his back in times of Peace; advising him, rather to imitate the Good Soldier, who only carries Arms when he goes to the Battel. 

We should always, answered the Porcupine, be prepared for fighting when we see a Wolf.

A Wise man ought ever to be on his Guard when his Enemy is present.

The Mice and the Cat

The Mice seeing from their Peep-hole, a Cat sit in a Room, with a grave Countenance, and Eyes fixed on the ground, said amongst themselves, surely this Creature cannot be so fierce as she is reported; for that modest look plainly shews her to be of a sweet and harmless Temper, and that she should rather be enclined to Devotion than Cruelty; what ill Character soever we may conceive of her. 

I'll sally out, said one of them, and discourse her, to try if I cannot on your behalves, contract with her a league of Friendship. 

To which noble Adventure they all encouraging him; he boldly went out, but as he was advancing towards the Cat, she turning that way espy'd him, and leaping on him, quickly devour'd him. 

When the rest of the Mice beheld the sad Catastrophe of their Ambassador, they in an affright withdrew, and durst no more venture out of their Sanctuary.

Men are not to be judged by their Looks, but by their Actions; for many times ravenous Wolves are concealed under Sheeps cloathing. 

The Apes and the Bird

Many Apes in a Cold Night, were got together under a Tree, where one of them happening to espy a Glow-worm that shines in the dark, cryed out that he had found Fire, and shewed it to his Companions; who also thinking it a Fire-Coal, gathered small sticks of Wood, and piling them upon it, blew and fanned it, expecting to have made it burn. 

This, a little Bird observing as she sat upon an opposite Tree, called out to tell them their mistake; but they not regarding her, kept to their business. 

The Bird supposing they heard her not, flew down on the ground, and coming nearer, advised them not to lose their time so foolishly.

Whilest she was thus earnestly employ'd, one of the wisest of the Apes, who stood by laughing at the sport, calling to the Bird, bad her not strive to take up Water in a Sieve, and kindly cautioned her to beware, that while she gave good advice to others, she neglected not her own Safety.

But the officious Bird was so intent to make them understand her Admonitions, that she minded not another of the Gang, who leaping on her, kill'd and eat her.

'Tis impossible to inculcate good Precepts into heedless Fools.

The Fox and the Wolf

Near a Wells brink as a Wolf was passing, he heard a voice calling out for help, and when he looked down, he saw a Fox, who by msifortune had faln into that Well, where he was almost drowned.

The Fox entreated him to fetch with all the speed he could, a Rope to pull him up: Which the Wolf promised to do, but staid to ask the manner, How he fell in?

Afterwards, answered the Fox, will be time enough to tell that: First help me out of this Danger, and then I can give you the whole Relation at leisure.

When a Man is in any great Exigency, or Hazard of Life, we ought not to spend time in frivolous Questions, nor stay to upbraid him with imprudence or neglect, but give him the speediest assistance we can.

illustration in a 19th-century Aesop