Showing posts with label Crane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crane. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

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




Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Linton and Crane (1)

One of the most beautiful modern illustrated editions of Aesop's fables is The Baby's Own Aesop, with fable limericks by W. J. Linton and illustrations by Thomas Crane; you can find out more about Crane's life and work at Wikipedia.

Here are five of the fables with Crane's illustrations:

The Wind and the Sun
The Wind and the Sun had a bet,
The wayfarer's cloak which should get:
Blew the Wind, the cloak clung;
Shone the Sun, the cloak flung
Showed the Sun had the best of it yet.
TRUE STRENGTH IS NOT BLUSTER



King Log and King Stork
The Frogs prayed to Jove for a king:
"Not a log, but a livelier thing."
Jove sent them a Stork,
Who did royal work,
For he gobbled them up, did their king.
DON'T HAVE KINGS



The Wolf and the Lamb
A Wolf, wanting lamb for his dinner,
Growled out, "Lamb, you wronged me, you sinner."
Bleated Lamb — "Nay, not true!"
Answered Wolf — "Then 't was Ewe —
Ewe or lamb, you will serve for my dinner."
FRAUD AND VIOLENCE HAVE NO SCRUPLES



The Cock and the Pearl
A Rooster, while scratching for grain,
Found a Pearl. He just paused to explain
That a jewel's no good
To a fowl wanting food,
And then kicked it aside with disdain.
"IF HE ASK BREAD, WILL YET GIVE HIM A STONE?"


The Fox and the Grapes
This Fox has a longing for grapes:
He jumps, but the bunch still escapes.
So he goes away sour;
And, 'tis said, to this hour
Declares that he's no taste for grapes.
THE GRAPES OF DISAPPOINTMENT ARE ALWAYS SOUR