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Aesop Fables Quotes
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The swallow, the serpent, and the court of justice a swallow, returning from abroad and especially fond of dwelling with men, built herself a nest in the wall of a court of justice and there hatched seven young birds. A serpent gliding past the nest from its hole in the wall ate up the young unfledged nestlings. The swallow, finding her nest empty, lamented greatly and exclaimed: woe to me a stranger! That in this place where all others' rights are protected, i alone should suffer wrong. (quote by - aesop)
The fisherman and his nets a fisherman, engaged in his calling, made a very successful cast and captured a great haul of fish. He managed by a skillful handling of his net to retain all the large fish and to draw them to the shore; but he could not prevent the smaller fish from falling back through the meshes of the net into the sea. (quote by - aesop)
The kingdom of the lion the beasts of the field and forest had a lion as their king. He was neither wrathful, cruel, nor tyrannical, but just and gentle as a king could be. During his reign he made a royal proclamation for a general assembly of all the birds and beasts, and drew up conditions for a universal league, in which the wolf and the lamb, the panther and the kid, the tiger and the stag, the dog and the hare, should live together in perfect peace and amity. The hare said, oh, how i have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place with impunity by the side of the strong. And after the hare said this, he ran for his life. (quote by - aesop)
The kid and the wolf a kid standing on the roof of a house, out of harm's way, saw a wolf passing by and immediately began to taunt and revile him. The wolf, looking up, said, sirrah! I hear thee: yet it is not thou who mockest me, but the roof on which thou art standing. Time and place often give the advantage to the weak over the strong. (quote by - aesop)
The ass and the frogs an ass, carrying a load of wood, passed through a pond. As he was crossing through the water he lost his footing, stumbled and fell, and not being able to rise on account of his load, groaned heavily. Some frogs frequenting the pool heard his lamentation, and said, what would you do if you had to live here always as we do, when you make such a fuss about a mere fall into the water? Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large misfortunes. (quote by - aesop)
The aethiop the purchaser of a black servant was persuaded that the color of his skin arose from dirt contracted through the neglect of his former masters. On bringing him home he resorted to every means of cleaning, and subjected the man to incessant scrubbings. The servant caught a severe cold, but he never changed his color or complexion. What's bred in the bone will stick to the flesh. (quote by - aesop)
The old woman and the wine-jar an old woman found an empty jar which had lately been full of prime old wine and which still retained the fragrant smell of its former contents. She greedily placed it several times to her nose, and drawing it backwards and forwards said, o most delicious! How nice must the wine itself have been, when it leaves behind in the very vessel which contained it so sweet a perfume! The memory of a good deed lives. (quote by - aesop)
The vain jackdaw jupiter determined, it is said, to create a sovereign over the birds, and made proclamation that on a certain day they should all present themselves before him, when he would himself choose the most beautiful among them to be king. The jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, searched through the woods and fields, and collected the feathers which had fallen from the wings of his companions, and stuck them in all parts of his body, hoping thereby to make himself the most beautiful of all. When the appointed day arrived, and the birds had assembled before jupiter, the jackdaw also made his appearance in his many feathered finery. But when jupiter proposed to make him king because of the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly protested, and each plucked from him his own feathers, leaving the jackdaw nothing but a jackdaw. (quote by - aesop)
The fawn and his mother a young fawn once said to his mother, you are larger than a dog, and swifter, and more used to running, and you have your horns as a defense; why, then, o mother! Do the hounds frighten you so? She smiled, and said: i know full well, my son, that all you say is true. I have the advantages you mention, but when i hear even the bark of a single dog i feel ready to faint, and fly away as fast as i can. No arguments will give courage to the coward. (quote by - aesop)
The father and his two daughters a man had two daughters, the one married to a gardener, and the other to a tile-maker. After a time he went to the daughter who had married the gardener, and inquired how she was and how all things went with her. She said, all things are prospering with me, and i have only one wish, that there may be a heavy fall of rain, in order that the plants may be well watered. Not long after, he went to the daughter who had married the tilemaker, and likewise inquired of her how she fared; she replied, i want for nothing, and have only one wish, that the dry weather may continue, and the sun shine hot and bright, so that the bricks might be dried. He said to her, if your sister wishes for rain, and you for dry weather, with which of the two am i to join my wishes?'. (quote by - aesop)
The man and his two sweethearts a middle aged man, whose hair had begun to turn gray, courted two women at the same time. One of them was young, and the other well advanced in years. The elder woman, ashamed to be courted by a man younger than herself, made a point, whenever her admirer visited her, to pull out some portion of his black hairs. The younger, on the contrary, not wishing to become the wife of an old man, was equally zealous in removing every gray hair she could find. Thus it came to pass that between them both he very soon found that he had not a hair left on his head. Those who seek to please everybody please nobody. (quote by - aesop)
The thief and his mother a boy stole a lesson-book from one of his schoolfellows and took it home to his mother. She not only abstained from beating him, but encouraged him. He next time stole a cloak and brought it to her, and she again commended him. The youth, advanced to adulthood, proceeded to steal things of still greater value. At last he was caught in the very act, and having his hands bound behind him, was led away to the place of public execution. His mother followed in the crowd and violently beat her breast in sorrow, whereupon the young man said, i wish to say something to my mother in her ear. She came close to him, and he quickly seized her ear with his teeth and bit it off. The mother upbraided him as an unnatural child, whereon he replied, ah! If you had beaten me when i first stole and brought to you that lesson-book, i should not have come to this, nor have been thus led to a disgraceful death. (quote by - aesop)
The oxen and the axle-trees a heavy wagon was being dragged along a country lane by a team of oxen. The axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: hullo there! Why do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not you, ought to cry out. Those who suffer most cry out the least. (quote by - aesop)
The heifer and the ox a heifer saw an ox hard at work harnessed to a plow, and tormented him with reflections on his unhappy fate in being compelled to labor. Shortly afterwards, at the harvest festival, the owner released the ox from his yoke, but bound the heifer with cords and led him away to the altar to be slain in honor of the occasion. The ox saw what was being done, and said with a smile to the heifer: for this you were allowed to live in idleness, because you were presently to be sacrificed. (quote by - aesop)