The Complete Fables Page 7

  A house-ferret, having fallen in love with a handsome young man, begged Aphrodite, goddess of love, to change her into a human girl. The goddess took pity on this passion and changed her into a gracious young girl. The young man, when he saw her, fell in love with her and led her to his home. As they rested in the nuptial chamber [thalamos], Aphrodite, wanting to see if in changing body the house-ferret had also changed in character, released a mouse in the middle of the room. The house-ferret, forgetting her present condition, leapt up from the bed and chased the mouse in order to eat it. Then the indignant goddess changed her back to her former state.

  Bad people who change their appearance do not change their character.

  NOTE: Before cats came to Greece, or when they were still rare, the house-ferret, otherwise known as the domesticated polecat, was the chief household pet. The cat eventually usurped the polecat’s position, so that people today no longer remember that polecats were once their intimate companions.

  77

  The House-ferret and the File

  A house-ferret slipped into a blacksmith’s workshop and began to lick the file that she found there. Now it happened that using her tongue thus, the blood flowed from it. But she was delighted, imagining that she had extracted something from the iron. And in the end she lost her tongue.

  This fable is aimed at people who pick arguments with others, thereby doing harm to themselves.

  78

  The Old Man and Death

  One day an old man, having chopped some wood, loaded it on to his back. He had a long journey to make. Worn out from the exertion, he laid down his load and called Death. Death appeared and asked him why he was summoning him.

  The old man replied:

  ‘For you to lift up my burden.’

  This fable shows that all men are bound fast to life, however miserable their existence.

  79

  The Ploughman and the Eagle

  A ploughman, finding an eagle in a net, was so taken by his beauty that he gave him his liberty and returned him to the wild. The eagle was not ungrateful to his benefactor; seeing him sitting at the foot of a wall that was in danger of collapse, he flew towards him and with his talons snatched off the headband which encircled his head. The man got up and began to chase him, and the eagle dropped the headband. The ploughman put the headband back on and retraced his steps, but he found that the wall had collapsed on the very spot where he had been sitting. He was well astonished to be thus repaid.

  One good turn deserves another.

  80

  The Ploughman and the Dog

  A ploughman was confined to his small farm due to bad weather, and he was unable to go out to find some food. So he first ate his sheep and, as the bad weather persisted, he next ate his goats. Eventually, as there was no respite, he turned to his oxen. Seeing this, the farm dogs said to one another:

  ‘We had better get out of here. For if the master eats the oxen who work with him, we’re next!’

  This fable shows that you should be extra careful of people who are not afraid to harm those closest to them.

  81

  The Ploughman and the Snake Who Had Killed His Son

  A snake slid up to the child of a ploughman and killed it. The ploughman, demented with grief, took an axe and went to keep watch near the snake’s hole. He was ready to strike it the moment it came out. The snake poked his head out and the labourer hurled his axe but missed, and instead split a nearby rock in two. Having missed, he was in great fear that the snake would take his revenge on this attack by striking him with his fangs. So he attempted to appease it.

  But the snake replied:

  ‘Neither of us can pretend to any good feelings, neither I when I see the gouge you have made in the rock, nor you when you look at the tomb of your child.’

  This fable shows that great hatred does not lend itself to reconciliation.

  82

  The Ploughman and the Frozen Snake

  One winter, a ploughman, found a snake stiff with cold. He took pity on it, picked it up and put it under his shirt. When the snake had warmed up again against the man’s chest, it reverted to its nature, struck out and killed its benefactor. When he realized that he was dying, the man bemoaned:

  ‘I well deserve it, for taking pity on a wicked wretch.’

  This fable shows that perversity of nature does not change under the influence of kindness.

  83

  The Farmer and His Children

  A farmer who was on his deathbed wanted his children to acquire some experience of farming. He summoned them to him and said:

  ‘My children, I am not long for this world. But, as for you, look for what I have hidden in my vineyard and you will find all.’

  The children, imagining that their father had buried a treasure in some corner of his vineyard, hoed deeply all of the ground in it as soon as their father had died. They found no treasure. But the vineyard, so well tended, gave its fruit many times over.

  This fable shows that, for men, work is the real treasure.

  84

  The Ploughman and Chance

  A ploughman, while hoeing, chanced upon a hoard of gold in his field. So every day he crowned the image of Mother Earth with a garland, convinced that it was to her he owed this favour. But the Goddess of Chance [Tychē] appeared to him and said:

  ‘Why, my friend, do you attribute to the Earth all the gifts I have made to you with the intention of making you rich? If times change and the gold passes to other hands, I am certain that it is me, Chance, who you will blame then.’

  This fable shows that you must recognize the one who helps you, and return the favour.

  85

  The Ploughman and the Tree

  Once there was a tree in the field of a ploughman which bore no fruit, and which served only as a roost for sparrows and humming cicadas. Seeing its sterility, the ploughman, went to cut it down with his axe and struck the initial blow. The cicadas and sparrows pleaded with him not to cut down their sanctuary, but to leave it for them so that they might chirp there and charm him with their music. Without paying any attention to them, he began hacking at the tree with his axe, giving a second and a third blow. But, having cut into the hollow of the tree, he found a swarm of bees and some honey. He tasted the honey and threw down his axe. From that moment on he honoured the tree as if it were sacred, and he took great care of it.

  This proves that, by nature, men have less love and respect for justice than a desperate eagerness for gain.

  86

  The Ploughman’s Quarrelsome Sons

  A ploughman’s sons were always quarrelling. He scolded them to no avail – his words did nothing to change their ways. So he decided to teach them a practical lesson. He asked them to bring him a load of firewood. As soon as they had done this he gave a bundle to each and told them to break it all up for him. But, in spite of all their efforts, they were unable to do so. The ploughman therefore undid the bundles and handed each of his sons a stick at a time. These they broke without any trouble.

  ‘So!’ said the father, ‘you too, my children, if you stay bound together, can be invincible to your enemies. But if you are divided you will be easy to defeat.’

  This fable shows that, as long as harmony is maintained, discord is easy to overcome.

  87

  The Old Woman and the Doctor

  An old woman whose eyes were failing summoned a doctor for a certain fee. He went to her house and, each time, he treated her eyes with unguent. On each occasion while her eyes were thus shut, he stole her furniture piece by piece. When he had removed everything, the eye treatment came to an end and he demanded his agreed fee. The old woman refused to pay him so he took her before the judge. She then declared that she had indeed promised him a fee if he restored her sight, but since the doctor’s course of treatment her condition was worse than before. For, she said, ‘Previously I could see all the furniture at home, but now I can’t see any of it.’

  Thus it is th
at dishonest people, thinking only of their greed, furnish evidence of their own guilt.

  88

  The Wife and Her Drunken Husband

  There was a woman whose husband was a drunkard. To get the better of him and his vice she devised a plan. She waited for the moment when her husband was so drunk that he was like a corpse, then she heaved him up over her shoulders, carried him to the cemetery and dumped him there. When she thought he had slept it off, she went back to the cemetery and knocked on the door of the vault.

  ‘Who’s that at the door?’ the drunkard called out.

  ‘It’s me, who comes to bring food for the dead,’ replied his wife mournfully.

  ‘Don’t bring me anything to eat, my good man. Bring me more to drink. You distress me by talking about food and not drink.’

  The wife, beating her breast, cried out:

  ‘Alas! How miserable I am! My plan has had no effect on you, husband! For not only are you not sober but you have become even worse. Your weakness has now become second nature to you.’

  This fable shows that you shouldn’t become habituated to a loose way of life, for there comes a time when habit forces itself upon you, whether you like it or not.

  89

  The Woman and Her Servants

  A hard-working widow had several young servant girls whom she woke every dawn at cock’s crow to set them to work. These servant girls, continually worn out from exhaustion, decided to kill the household’s cockerel. For, in their eyes, it was he who caused their misery by waking their mistress before dawn. But, when they had carried out their design, they found that they had only increased their misery. For the mistress, to whom the cock no longer told the hour, made them get up even earlier in the dark to start work.

  This fable shows that, for many people, it is their own devices that are the cause of their misery.

  90

  The Woman and the Hen

  A widow had a hen which laid an egg every day. She imagined that if she gave the hen more barley it would lay twice a day. So she increased the hen’s ration accordingly. But the hen became fat and wasn’t even capable of laying one egg a day.

  This fable shows that if, through greed, you look for more than you have, you lose even that which you do possess.

  91

  The Sorceress

  A sorceress made a profession of supplying charms and spells for the appeasing of the anger of the gods. She was assiduous in her business and thus made a very comfortable living. But, envious of her success, someone accused her of making innovations in religion, and prosecuted her for it in court. Her accusers succeeded and had her condemned to death. As she was led away from the court, someone shouted to her:

  ‘Hey, woman! You made such a profit from diverting the wrath of the gods! Why can’t you divert the wrath of the people?’

  This fable applies as well to a wandering seeress who promises wonders but shows herself incapable of ordinary things.

  NOTE: Socrates was charged with making innovations in religion and condemned to death in Athens in 399 BC. Aristotle was similarly charged at Athens in 324 BC but had the good sense to leave the city to avoid execution.

  92

  The Heifer and the Ox

  Seeing an ox at work in the fields, a heifer expressed sympathy to him about his punishment. But, at that moment, a solemn religious procession passed by, the ox was unyoked, and someone seized hold of the heifer and prepared to slaughter her as a religious sacrifice. At the sight of this the ox smiled and said:

  ‘Oh, heifer, this is why you have had no work to do. For you were intended to be sacrificed.’

  This fable shows that danger lies in wait for the idle.

  93

  The Cowardly Hunter and the Woodcutter

  A hunter was looking for the tracks of a lion. He asked a woodcutter if he had seen the footprints of a lion, and where the lair of the beast was.

  ‘I will show you the lion himself,’ said the woodcutter.

  The hunter became deathly pale with fear and, his teeth chattering, said:

  ‘It’s only the trail I’m looking for and not the actual lion.’

  Some people tend to be bold in words and cowardly in deeds.

  94

  The Young Pig and the Sheep

  A young pig [delphax] mingled with a flock of sheep and was grazing with them. One day, the shepherd grabbed him and he began to kick and squeal. The sheep reprimanded him for squealing and said to the pig:

  ‘We get caught by him constantly, and we don’t make such a fuss.’

  The pig replied:

  ‘But when he gets hold of us – you and me – it’s for different reasons. With you he wants your wool and your milk. But with me it’s my flesh he’s after.’

  This fable shows that people who moan are justified in making a fuss if they are at risk of losing their lives rather than their money.

  95

  The Dolphins, the Whales and the Gudgeon

  Some dolphins and some whales were engaged in battle. As the fight went on and became desperate, a gudgeon poked his head above the surface of the water and tried to reconcile them. But one of the dolphins retorted:

  ‘It is less humiliating for us to fight to the death between ourselves than to have you for a mediator.’

  Similarly, certain nobodies think they are somebody when they interfere in a public row.

  NOTE: A gudgeon is a very small fish.

  96

  The Orator Demades

  The orator Demades spoke one day to the people of Athens. As no one was taking much notice of what he was saying, someone asked if he could tell one of Aesop’s fables. Agreeing to the request, he commenced thus:

  ‘The goddess Demeter, the swallow and the eel all took the same route. They arrived at the edge of a river. Then the swallow flew up into the air and the eel dived into the water.’

  At that point he stopped speaking.

  ‘And Demeter?’ someone asked. ‘What did she do?’

  ‘She got angry with you,’ he replied, ‘who are neglecting the affairs of the state to listen to the fables of Aesop.’

  Thus men are unreasonable who neglect important things in preference to things which give them pleasure.

  NOTE: Demades was an Athenian of the fourth century BC who commenced life as a sailor but became one of the leading orators of the Athenian Assembly and a great favourite of King Philip of Macedon. Later in his career he became corrupt and was convicted of taking political bribes. Cicero says the wittiest orators were the Athenians, but the wittiest of them was Demades. He was renowned for devastatingly quick-witted sarcasm, and would demolish a long and carefully crafted speech by Demosthenes with an impromptu aside, which made him a favourite of the populace. It is even probable that this little tale, which has been preserved among the Aesop fables – since it contains a part of a fable otherwise unknown – is an excerpt from a lost historical work, and represents a true incident from the life of Demades.

  97

  Diogenes and the Bald Man

  Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher, was once insulted by a man who was bald. He replied:

  ‘You have no right to insult me, God knows. On the contrary, I commend the good sense of the hairs which have left your wretched skull’

  NOTE: Diogenes, the fourth-century BC Athenian philosopher, was noted for his aggressive and acerbic remarks. He would trade insults with anybody. In all probability this fable preserves an actual remark he once made, praising the hairs that fled the head of an adversary who was bald. It is very much in character of the surly misanthrope, and the comment may have entered popular lore as a witty insult.

  98

  Diogenes on a Journey

  Diogenes took a journey once and came to a stop when he reached the steep bank of a deeply flowing river, where his progress was obstructed. A local man, who was used to crossing the water at that place, saw that Diogenes was perplexed. So he went up to him, lifted him on to his shoulders and obligingly carried him to
the other side.

  Once they had reached the other side, Diogenes began reproaching himself for his poverty, which prevented him from showing his gratitude for this favour from his benefactor. While he was preoccupied with this dilemma, the local man saw another traveller who could not cross, ran up to him and began to carry him over as well.

  Diogenes reproached him and said:

  ‘I am not grateful for what you did for me, for I see it was not an act of judgement on your part but a manic compulsion which makes you do what you do.’

  This fable shows that if you oblige insignificant people as well as people of merit, you expose yourself to being thought a man of no discernment.

  NOTE: This story so accurately reflects the personality and opinions of Diogenes that it is, in all likelihood, based on some genuine comment or incident. It is the sort of imaginary example which Diogenes may have given when expounding an argument about the nature of gratitude, and may have been taken from some popular work about the philosophers. Diogenes was a disciple of Socrates; he lived in a barrel in Athens in the fourth century BC and founded the school of philosophy known as the Cynics.

  99

  The Oak Trees and Zeus

  The oak trees complained to Zeus: