Three hundred Aesop’s fables: Translated by George Fyler TownsendAesop
General
Three hundred Aesop’s fables: Translated by George Fyler Townsend
Aesop
Aesop's fables -- Translations into English; Fables, Greek -- Translations into English
AT ONE TIME a very large and strong Wolf was born among the wolves, who
exceeded all his fellow-wolves in strength, size, and swiftness, so
that they unanimously decided to call him “Lion.” The Wolf, with a lack
of sense proportioned to his enormous size, thought that they gave him
this name in earnest, and, leaving his own race, consorted exclusively
with the lions. An old sly Fox, seeing this, said, “May I never make
myself so ridiculous as you do in your pride and self-conceit; for even
though you have the size of a lion among wolves, in a herd of lions you
are definitely a wolf.”
The Mule
A MULE, frolicsome from lack of work and from too much corn, galloped
about in a very extravagant manner, and said to himself: “My father
surely was a high-mettled racer, and I am his own child in speed and
spirit.” On the next day, being driven a long journey, and feeling very
wearied, he exclaimed in a disconsolate tone: “I must have made a
mistake; my father, after all, could have been only an ass.”
The Prophet
A WIZARD, sitting in the marketplace, was telling the fortunes of the
passers-by when a person ran up in great haste, and announced to him
that the doors of his house had been broken open and that all his goods
were being stolen. He sighed heavily and hastened away as fast as he
could run. A neighbor saw him running and said, “Oh! you fellow there!
you say you can foretell the fortunes of others; how is it you did not
foresee your own?”
The Two Frogs
TWO FROGS were neighbors. One inhabited a deep pond, far removed from
public view; the other lived in a gully containing little water, and
traversed by a country road. The Frog that lived in the pond warned his
friend to change his residence and entreated him to come and live with
him, saying that he would enjoy greater safety from danger and more
abundant food. The other refused, saying that he felt it so very hard
to leave a place to which he had become accustomed. A few days
afterwards a heavy wagon passed through the gully and crushed him to
death under its wheels.
A willful man will have his way to his own hurt.
The Serpent and the Eagle
A SERPENT and an Eagle were struggling with each other in deadly
conflict. The Serpent had the advantage, and was about to strangle the
bird. A countryman saw them, and running up, loosed the coil of the
Serpent and let the Eagle go free. The Serpent, irritated at the escape
of his prey, injected his poison into the drinking horn of the
countryman. The rustic, ignorant of his danger, was about to drink,
when the Eagle struck his hand with his wing, and, seizing the drinking
horn in his talons, carried it aloft.
The Crow and the Pitcher
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account