Aesop's Fables (301〜313話)

The Eagle and His Captor

AN EAGLE was once captured by a man, who immediately clipped his wings and put him into his poultry-yard with the other birds, at which treatment the Eagle was weighed down with grief. Later, another neighbor purchased him and allowed his feathers to grow again. The Eagle took flight, and pouncing upon a hare, brought it at once as an offering to his benefactor. A Fox, seeing this, exclaimed, “Do not cultivate the favour of this man, but of your former owner, lest he should again hunt for you and deprive you a second time of your wings.”

The King’s Son and the Painted Lion

A KING, whose only son was fond of martial exercises, had a dream in which he was warned that his son would be killed by a lion. Afraid the dream should prove true, he built for his son a pleasant palace and adorned its walls for his amusement with all kinds of life-sized animals, among which was the picture of a lion. When the young Prince saw this, his grief at being thus confined burst out afresh, and, standing near the lion, he said: “O you most detestable of animals! through a lying dream of my father’s, which he saw in his sleep, I am shut up on your account in this palace as if I had been a girl: what shall I now do to you?” With these words he stretched out his hands toward a thorn-tree, meaning to cut a stick from its branches so that he might beat the lion. But one of the tree’s prickles pierced his finger and caused great pain and inflammation, so that the young Prince fell down in a fainting fit. A violent fever suddenly set in, from which he died not many days later.

We had better bear our troubles bravely than try to escape them.

The Cat and Venus

A CAT fell in love with a handsome young man, and entreated Venus to change her into the form of a woman. Venus consented to her request and transformed her into a beautiful damsel, so that the youth saw her and loved her, and took her home as his bride. While the two were reclining in their chamber, Venus wishing to discover if the Cat in her change of shape had also altered her habits of life, let down a mouse in the middle of the room. The Cat, quite forgetting her present condition, started up from the couch and pursued the mouse, wishing to eat it. Venus was much disappointed and again caused her to return to her former shape.

Nature exceeds nurture.

The Eagle and the Beetle

THE EAGLE and the Beetle were at enmity together, and they destroyed one another’s nests. The Eagle gave the first provocation in seizing upon and in eating the young ones of the Beetle. The Beetle got by stealth at the Eagle’s eggs, and rolled them out of the nest, and followed the Eagle even into the presence of Jupiter. On the Eagle making his complaint, Jupiter ordered him to make his nest in his lap; and while Jupiter had the eggs in his lap, the Beetle came flying about him, and Jupiter rising up unawares, to drive him away from his head, threw down the eggs, and broke them.

The weak often revenge themselves on those who use them ill, even though they be more powerful.

The She-Goats and Their Beards

THE SHE-GOATS having obtained a beard by request to Jupiter, the He-Goats were sorely displeased and made complaint that the females equaled them in dignity. “Allow them,” said Jupiter, “to enjoy an empty honour and to assume the badge of your nobler sex, so long as they are not your equals in strength or courage.”

It matters little if those who are inferior to us in merit should be like us in outside appearances.

The Bald Man and the Fly

A FLY bit the bare head of a Bald Man who, endeavoring to destroy it, gave himself a heavy slap. Escaping, the Fly said mockingly, “You who have wished to revenge, even with death, the Prick of a tiny insect, see what you have done to yourself to add insult to injury?” The Bald Man replied, “I can easily make peace with myself, because I know there was no intention to hurt. But you, an ill-favoured and contemptible insect who delights in sucking human blood, I wish that I could have killed you even if I had incurred a heavier penalty.”

The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea

A SHIPWRECKED MAN, having been cast upon a certain shore, slept after his buffetings with the deep. After a while he awoke, and looking upon the Sea, loaded it with reproaches. He argued that it enticed men with the calmness of its looks, but when it had induced them to plow its waters, it grew rough and destroyed them. The Sea, assuming the form of a woman, replied to him: “Blame not me, my good sir, but the winds, for I am by my own nature as calm and firm even as this earth; but the winds suddenly falling on me create these waves, and lash me into fury.”

The Buffoon and the Countryman

A RICH NOBLEMAN once opened the theaters without charge to the people, and gave a public notice that he would handsomely reward any person who invented a new amusement for the occasion. Various public performers contended for the prize. Among them came a Buffoon well known among the populace for his jokes, and said that he had a kind of entertainment which had never been brought out on any stage before. This report being spread about made a great stir, and the theater was crowded in every part. The Buffoon appeared alone upon the platform, without any apparatus or confederates, and the very sense of expectation caused an intense silence. He suddenly bent his head towards his bosom and imitated the squeaking of a little pig so admirably with his voice that the audience declared he had a porker under his cloak, and demanded that it should be shaken out. When that was done and nothing was found, they cheered the actor, and loaded him with the loudest applause. A Countryman in the crowd, observing all that has passed, said, “So help me, Hercules, he shall not beat me at that trick!” and at once proclaimed that he would do the same thing on the next day, though in a much more natural way. On the morrow a still larger crowd assembled in the theater, but now partiality for their favourite actor very generally prevailed, and the audience came rather to ridicule the Countryman than to see the spectacle. Both of the performers appeared on the stage. The Buffoon grunted and squeaked away first, and obtained, as on the preceding day, the applause and cheers of the spectators. Next the Countryman commenced, and pretending that he concealed a little pig beneath his clothes (which in truth he did, but not suspected by the audience ) contrived to take hold of and to pull his ear causing the pig to squeak. The Crowd, however, cried out with one consent that the Buffoon had given a far more exact imitation, and clamored for the Countryman to be kicked out of the theater. On this the rustic produced the little pig from his cloak and showed by the most positive proof the greatness of their mistake. “Look here,” he said, “this shows what sort of judges you are.”

The Crow and the Serpent

A CROW in great want of food saw a Serpent asleep in a sunny nook, and flying down, greedily seized him. The Serpent, turning about, bit the Crow with a mortal wound. In the agony of death, the bird exclaimed: “O unhappy me! who have found in that which I deemed a happy windfall the source of my destruction.”

The Hunter and the Horseman

A CERTAIN HUNTER, having snared a hare, placed it upon his shoulders and set out homewards. On his way he met a man on horseback who begged the hare of him, under the pretense of purchasing it. However, when the Horseman got the hare, he rode off as fast as he could. The Hunter ran after him, as if he was sure of overtaking him, but the Horseman increased more and more the distance between them. The Hunter, sorely against his will, called out to him and said, “Get along with you! for I will now make you a present of the hare.”

The Olive-Tree and the Fig-Tree

THE OLIVE-TREE ridiculed the Fig-Tree because, while she was green all the year round, the Fig-Tree changed its leaves with the seasons. A shower of snow fell upon them, and, finding the Olive full of foliage, it settled upon its branches and broke them down with its weight, at once despoiling it of its beauty and killing the tree. But finding the Fig-Tree denuded of leaves, the snow fell through to the ground, and did not injure it at all.

The Frogs’ Complaint Against the Sun

ONCE UPON A TIME, when the Sun announced his intention to take a wife, the Frogs lifted up their voices in clamor to the sky. Jupiter, disturbed by the noise of their croaking, inquired the cause of their complaint. One of them said, “The Sun, now while he is single, parches up the marsh, and compels us to die miserably in our arid homes. What will be our future condition if he should beget other suns?”

The Brazier and His Dog

A BRAZIER had a little Dog, which was a great favourite with his master, and his constant companion. While he hammered away at his metals the Dog slept; but when, on the other hand, he went to dinner and began to eat, the Dog woke up and wagged his tail, as if he would ask for a share of his meal. His master one day, pretending to be angry and shaking his stick at him, said, “You wretched little sluggard! what shall I do to you? While I am hammering on the anvil, you sleep on the mat; and when I begin to eat after my toil, you wake up and wag your tail for food. Do you not know that labor is the source of every blessing, and that none but those who work are entitled to eat?”

FOOTNOTES

1 (return) [ A History of the Literature of Ancient Greece, by K. O. Mueller. Vol. i, p. 191. London, Parker, 1858.]

2 (return) [ Select Fables of Æsop, and other Fabulists. In three books, translated by Robert Dodsley, accompanied with a selection of notes, and an Essay on Fable. Birmingham, 1864. P. 60.]

3 (return) [ Some of these fables had, no doubt, in the first instance, a primary and private interpretation. On the first occasion of their being composed they were intended to refer to some passing event, or to some individual acts of wrong-doing. Thus, the fables of the “Eagle and the Fox” and of the “Fox and Monkey” are supposed to have been written by Archilochus, to avenge the injuries done him by Lycambes. So also the fables of the “Swollen Fox” and of the “Frogs asking a King” were spoken by Æsop for the immediate purpose of reconciling the inhabitants of Samos and Athens to their respective rulers, Periander and Pisistratus; while the fable of the “Horse and Stag” was composed to caution the inhabitants of Himera against granting a bodyguard to Phalaris. In a similar manner, the fable from Phædrus, the “Marriage of the Sun,” is supposed to have reference to the contemplated union of Livia, the daughter of Drusus, with Sejanus the favourite, and minister of Trajan. These fables, however, though thus originating in special events, and designed at first to meet special circumstances, are so admirably constructed as to be fraught with lessons of general utility, and of universal application.]

4 (return) [ Hesiod. Opera et Dies, verse 202.]

5 (return) [ Æschylus. Fragment of the Myrmidons. Æschylus speaks of this fable as existing before his day. ὡς δ’ ἐστὶ μύθων τῶν Διβυστικῶν λογος. See Scholiast on the Aves of Aristophanes, line 808.]

6 (return) [ Fragment. 38, ed. Gaisford. See also Mueller’s History of the Literature of Ancient Greece, vol. i. pp. 190–193.]

7 (return) [ M. Bayle has well put this in his account of Æsop. “Il n’y a point d’apparence que les fables qui portent aujourd’hui son nom soient les mêmes qu’il avait faites; elles viennent bien de lui pour la plupart, quant à la matière et la pensée; mais les paroles sont d’un autre.” And again, “C’est donc à Hésiode, que j’aimerais mieux attribuer la gloire de l’invention; mais sans doute il laissa la chose très imparfaite. Esope la perfectionne si heureusement, qu’on l’a regarde comme le vrai père de cette sorte de production.”—Bayle. Dictionnaire Historique.]

8 (return) [ Plato in Phædone.]

9 (return) [ Apologos en! misit tibi Ab usque Rheni limite Ausonius nomen Italum Præceptor Augusti tui Æsopiam trimetriam; Quam vertit exili stylo Pedestre concinnans opus Fandi Titianus artifex.

Ausonii Epistola, xvi. 75–80.]

10 (return) [ Both these publications are in the British Museum, and are placed in the library in cases under glass, for the inspection of the curious.]

11 (return) [ Fables may possibly have been not entirely unknown to the mediæval scholars. There are two celebrated works which might by some be classed amongst works of this description. The one is the “Speculum Sapientiæ,” attributed to St. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, but of a considerably later origin, and existing only in Latin. It is divided into four books, and consists of long conversations conducted by fictitious characters under the figures the beasts of the field and forest, and aimed at the rebuke of particular classes of men, the boastful, the proud, the luxurious, the wrathful, &c. None of the stories are precisely those of Æsop, and none have the concinnity, terseness, and unmistakable deduction of the lesson intended to be taught by the fable, so conspicuous in the great Greek fabulist. The exact title of the book is this: “Speculum Sapientiæ, B. Cyrilli Episcopi: alias quadripartitus apologeticus vocatus, in cujus quidem proverbiis omnis et totius sapientiæ speculum claret et feliciter incipit.” The other is a larger work in two volumes, published in the fourteenth century by Cæsar Heisterbach, a Cistercian monk, under the title of “Dialogus Miraculorum,” reprinted in 1851. This work consists of conversations in which many stories are interwoven on all kinds of subjects. It has no correspondence with the pure Æsopian fable.]

12 (return) [ Post-mediæval Preachers, by S. Baring-Gould. Rivingtons, 1865.]

13 (return) [ For an account of this work see the Life of Poggio Bracciolini, by the Rev. William Shepherd. Liverpool, 1801.]

14 (return) [ Professor Theodore Bergh. See Classical Museum, No. viii. July, 1849.]

15 (return) [ Vavassor’s treatise, entitled “De Ludicrâ Dictione” was written A.D. 1658, at the request of the celebrated M. Balzac (though published after his death), for the purpose of showing that the burlesque style of writing adopted by Scarron and D’Assouci, and at that time so popular in France, had no sanction from the ancient classic writers. Francisci Vavassoris opera omnia. Amsterdam. 1709.]

16 (return) [ The claims of Babrias also found a warm advocate in the learned Frenchman, M. Bayle, who, in his admirable Dictionary, (Dictionnaire Historique et Critique de Pierre Bayle. Paris, 1820,) gives additional arguments in confirmation of the opinions of his learned predecessors, Nevelet and Vavassor.]

17 (return) [ Scazonic, or halting, iambics; a choliambic (a lame, halting iambic) differs from the iambic Senarius in always having a spondee or trochee for its last foot; the fifth foot, to avoid shortness of metre, being generally an iambic. See Fables of Babrias, translated by Rev. James Davies. Lockwood, 1860. Preface, p. 27.]

18 (return) [ See Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations upon the Epistles of Phalaris.]

19 (return) [ Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations on the Epistles of Phalaris, and Fables of Æsop examined. By the Honourable Charles Boyle.]

20 (return) [ M. Bayle thus characterises this Life of Æsop by Planudes, “Tous les habiles gens conviennent que c’est un roman, et que les absurdités grossières qui l’on y trouve le rendent indigne de toute créance.” Dictionnaire Historique. Art. Esope.]

INDEX

Æthiop The Ant and the Dove The Ants and the Grasshopper The Apes and the Two Travelers The Ass and the Charger The Ass and His Driver The Ass and the Frogs The Ass and the Grasshopper The Ass and his Masters The Ass and his Purchaser The Ass and his Shadow The Ass and the Horse The Ass and the Lapdog The Ass and the Mule The Ass and the Old Shepherd The Ass and the Wolf The Ass Carrying the Image The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion The Ass in the Lion’s Skin The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion The Astronomer

The Bald Man and the Fly The Bald Knight The Bat And The Weasels The Bear and the Fox The Bear and the Two Travelers The Bee and Jupiter The Belly and the Members The Birdcatcher, the Partridge, and the Cock The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat The Bitch and her Whelps The Blind Man and the Whelp The Boasting Traveler The Bowman and Lion The Boy and the Filberts The Boy and the Nettles The Boy Bathing The Boy hunting Locusts The Boys and the Frogs The Brazier and His Dog The Brother and the Sister The Buffoon and the Countryman The Bull and the Calf The Bull and the Goat The Bull, the Lioness, and the Wild-Boar Hunter

The Camel The Camel and the Arab The Camel and Jupiter The Cat and the Birds The Cat and the Cock The Cat and the Mice The Cat and Venus The Cobbler Turned Doctor The Cock and the Jewel The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller The Charger and the Miller The Crab and the Fox The Crab and its Mother The Crow and Mercury The Crow and the Pitcher The Crow and the Raven The Crow and the Serpent The Crow and the Sheep

The Dancing Monkeys The Doe and the Lion The Dog and the Cook The Dog and the Hare The Dog and the Oyster The Dog and the Shadow The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox The Dog in the Manger The Dogs and the Fox The Dogs and the Hides The Dog’s House The Dolphins, the Whales, and the Sprat The Dove and the Crow

The Eagle and the Arrow The Eagle and the Beetle The Eagle and His Captor The Eagle and the Fox The Eagle and the Jackdaw The Eagle and the Kite The Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow

The Farmer and the Cranes The Farmer and the Fox The Farmer and the Snake The Farmer and His Sons The Farmer and the Stork The Father And His Sons The Father and His Two Daughters The Fawn and His Mother The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle The Fir-Tree and the Bramble The Fisherman and His Nets The Fisherman and the Little Fish The Fisherman Piping The Fishermen The Flea and the Man The Flea and the Ox The Flea and the Wrestler The Flies and the Honey-Pot The Fly and the Draught-Mule The Fowler and the Viper The Fox and the Bramble The Fox and the Crane The Fox and the Crow The Fox and the Goat The Fox and the Grapes The Fox and the Hedgehog The Fox and the Leopard The Fox and the Lion The Fox and the Lion The Fox and the Mask The Fox and the Monkey The Fox and the Monkey The Fox and the Woodcutter The Fox Who Had Lost His Tail The Frogs Asking for a King The Frogs’ Complaint Against the Sun

The Gamecocks and the Partridge The Geese and the Cranes The Gnat and the Bull The Gnat and the Lion The Goat and the Ass The Goat and the Goatherd The Goatherd and the Wild Goats The Goods and the Ills The Grasshopper and the Owl

The Hare and the Hound The Hare and the Tortoise The Hares and the Foxes The Hares and the Frogs The Hares and the Lions The Hart and the Vine The Hawk and the Nightingale The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons The Heifer and the Ox The Hen and the Golden Eggs The Hen and the Swallow Hercules and the Wagoner The Herdsman and the Lost Bull The Horse and the Ass The Horse and Groom The Horse and his Rider The Horse and the Stag The Hunter and the Horseman The Hunter and the Woodman The Huntsman and the Fisherman

The Image of Mercury and the Carpenter

The Jackdaw and the Doves The Jackdaw and the Fox Jupiter and the Monkey Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva, and Momus

The Kid and the Wolf The Kid and the Wolf The Kingdom of the Lion The King’s Son and the Painted Lion The Kites and the Swans

The Laborer and the Snake The Lamb and the Wolf The Lamp The Lark and Her Young Ones The Lark Burying Her Father The Lion and the Boar The Lion and the Bull The Lion and the Dolphin The Lion and the Eagle The Lion and the Fox The Lion and the Hare The Lion and the Mouse The Lion and the Shepherd The Lion and the Three Bulls The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass The Lion in a Farmyard The Lion in Love The Lion, Jupiter, and the Elephant The Lion, the Mouse, and the Fox The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox The Lioness

The Man and His Two Sweethearts The Man and His Wife The Man and the Lion The Man and the Satyr The Man bitten by a Dog The Man, the Horse, the Ox, and the Dog The Manslayer The Master and His Dogs Mercury and the Sculptor Mercury and the Workmen The Mice and the Weasels The Mice in Council The Milk-Woman and her Pail The Miller, His Son, and their Ass The Mischievous Dog The Miser The Mole and His Mother The Monkey and the Camel The Monkey and the Dolphin The Monkey and the Fishermen The Monkeys and their Mother The Mother and the Wolf The Mountain in Labor The Mouse and the Bull The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk The Mule The Mules and the Robbers

The North Wind and the Sun

The Oak and the Reeds The Oak and the Woodcutters The Oaks and Jupiter The Old Hound The Old Lion The Old Man and Death The Old Woman and the Physician The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar The Olive-Tree and the Fig-Tree The One-Eyed Doe The Owl and the Birds The Ox and the Frog The Oxen and the Axle-Trees The Oxen and the Butchers

The Panther and the Shepherds The Partridge and the Fowler The Peacock and the Crane The Peacock and Juno The Peasant and the Apple-Tree The Peasant and the Eagle The Philosopher, the Ants, and Mercury The Playful Ass The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble The Porker, the Sheep, and the Goat The Prophet

The Quack Frog

The Raven and the Swan The Rich Man and the Tanner The Rivers and the Sea The Rose and the Amaranth

The Salt Merchant and his Ass The Seagull and the Kite The Seaside Travelers The Seller of Images The Serpent and the Eagle The She-Goats and their Beards The Shepherd and the Dog The Shepherd and the Sea The Shepherd and the Sheep The Shepherd and the Wolf The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea The Sick Kite The Sick Lion The Sick Stag The Sparrow and the Hare The Spendthrift and the Swallow The Stag at the Pool The Stag in the Ox-Stall The Stag, the Wolf, and the Sheep The Swallow and the Crow The Swallow, the Serpent, and the Court of Justice The Swan and the Goose The Swollen Fox

The Thief and his Mother The Thief and the Housedog The Thief and the Innkeeper The Thieves and the Cock The Thirsty Pigeon The Three Tradesmen The Thrush and the Fowler The Tortoise and the Eagle The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse The Traveler and Fortune The Traveler and his Dog The Travelers and the Plane-Tree The Trees and the Axe The Trees Under the Protection of the Gods The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner Truth and the Traveler The Two Bags The Two Dogs The Two Frogs The Two Frogs The Two Men Who Were Enemies The Two Pots The Two Soldiers and the Robber The Two Travelers and the Axe

The Vain Jackdaw The Vine and the Goat The Viper and the File

The Walnut-Tree The Wasp and the Snake The Wasps, the Partridges, and the Farmer The Weasel and the Mice The Widow and Her Little Maidens The Widow and the Sheep The Wild Ass and the Lion The Wild Boar and the Fox The Wolf and the Crane The Wolf and the Fox The Wolf and the Goat The Wolf and the Horse The Wolf and the Housedog The Wolf and the Lamb The Wolf and the Lion The Wolf and the Lion The Wolf and the Sheep The Wolf and the Shepherd The Wolf and the Shepherds The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing The Wolves and the Sheep The Wolves and the Sheepdogs The Woman and her Hen