Aesop's Fables

The Farmer and His Sons

A farmer, being at the death's door, and desiring to impart to his sons a secret of much moment, called them around him and said, " My sons, I am shortly about to die. I would have you know, therefore, that in my vineyard there lies a hidden treasure. Dig and you will find it." As soon as their father was dead, the sons took spade and fork and turned up the soil of the vineyard over and over again, in their search for the treasure that they suppose to lie buried there. They found none, however: but the vines, after so thorough a digging, produced a crop such as had never before been seen.

Moral: There is no treasure without toil .

The Frogs and the Well

Two frogs lived together in a marsh. But one hot summer the marsh dried up, and they left it for another place to live in, for frogs like damp places if they can get them. By and by they came to a deep well, and one of them looked down into it, and said to the other, " This looks a nice cool place. Let us jump in and settle here." But the other who had a wiser head on his shoulders, replied, " Not so fast, my fried. Supposing this well dried up like the marsh, how should we get out again?"

Moral: Think twice before you act .

　

The wolf and the crane

A wolf devoured his prey ravenously that a bone got stuck in his throat, and in extreme agony, he ran and howled throughout the forest, beseeching  every animal he met to pull out the bone. He even offered a generous reward to anyone who succeeded in pulling it out. Moved by his pleas as well as the prospect of the money, a crane ventured her long neck down the wolf’s throat and drew out the bone. She then modestly asked for the promised reward, but the wolf just grinned and bared his teeth.

　　"Ungrateful creature!" he replied with seeming indignation. "How dare you ask for any other reward than your life? After all, you are among the very few who can say that you've put your head into the jaws of a wolf and were permitted to draw it out in safety."

Moral:Expect no reward when you serve the wicked, and thankful if you escape injury for your pains.

The woman and the fat hen

A woman owned a hen that laid an egg every morning. Since the hen's eggs were of excellent quality, they sold a good price. So, at one point, the woman n thought to herself, "If I double the my hen's allowance of barely , she'll lay twice a day." Therefore, she put her plan to work, and the hen became so fat and contented that it stopped laying altogether.

Moral:Relying on statistics does not always produce results.