Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables

The Fox and the Stork The fox invited his friend the stork over to eat soup. When the stork arrived, the fox poured the soup into a flat dish. The stork was hungry, but all he could do was dip the tip of his long beak into the dish. The fox laughed and slurped up all the soup, while the poor stork was left with nothing to eat. The next day, the stork decided to return the favor and asked the fox to his home for dinner. The stork placed some tasty meat in a jar with a long neck and set it on the table. The fox eagerly tried to get to the meat, but he could not. The stork ate easily because his long beak could reach down into the jar. The hungry fox admitted that he had been wrong the day before.

Moral: If you do mean things to others, they might do mean things to you in return.

The Fox and the Crow The hungry fox saw the crow fly to her favorite branch in a tree. In her beak she had a tasty piece of cheese. The crafty fox made a plan and trotted over to the tree to talk to the crow. " Oh, Madam Crow, you truly are the prettiest bird I have ever seen, " he said. This caught the crow's attention, and she looked down at the fox. " You fly so fast and so gracefully, " the fox continued. " I bet you sing as beautifully as you fly. " Now, the crow loved to hear compliments, so she decided to sing for the fox. She opened her beak, and the piece of cheese tumbled down to the fox's waiting mouth.

When the fox was finished eating, he smiled up at the crow. " Thank you for the delicious snack, " he said. " I got just what I wanted. " Moral: Do not trust strangers who try to flatter you.

The Crow and the Pitcher The crow had been flying all day, and he was very thirsty. He saw a pitcher that was half full of water and hurried toward it for a drink. The pitcher was too tall for the crow's short beak to reach the water inside. The crow tried tilting the pitcher, but it was too heavy to move. He then noticed pebbles scattered on the ground. He picked up the pebbles and, one at a time, began dropping them into the pitcher. Slowly, the water began to rise. It took a long time and many pebbles, but soon the water reached the top. The crow then drank all he wanted. Moral: Doing things little by little is just as good as doing things all at once.