Story Time

  101. THE MAN AND THE IMAGE A poor man had a wooden image of a god, to which he used to pray daily for riches. He did this for a long time, but remained as poor as ever, till one day he caught up the image in disgust and hurled it with all his strength against the wall. The force of the blow split open the head, and a quantity of gold coins fell out upon the floor. The man gathered them up greedily, and said, “O you old fraud, you! When I honored you, you did me no good whatever; but no sooner do I treat you to insults and violence than you make a rich man of me!” 102. HERCULES AND THE WAGONER  A wagoner was driving his team along a muddy lane with a full load behind them, when the wheels of his wagon sank so deep in the mire that no efforts of his horses could move them. As he stood there, looking helplessly on, and calling loudly at intervals upon Hercules for assistance, the god himself appeared, and said to him, “Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and goad on your horses, and th

  96. THE MICE AND THE WEASELS There was war between the mice and the weasels, in which the mice always got the worst of it, numbers of them being killed and eaten by the weasels. So they called a council of war, in which an old mouse got up and said, “It’s no wonder we are always beaten, for we have no generals to plan our battles and direct our movements in the field.” Acting on his advice, they chose the biggest mice to be their leaders, and these, in order to be distinguished from the rank and file, provided themselves with helmets bearing large plumes of straw. They then led out the mice to battle, confident of victory; but they were defeated as usual, and were soon scampering as fast as they could to their holes. All made their way to safety without difficulty except the leaders, who were so hampered by the badges of their rank that they could not get into their holes, and fell easy victims to their pursuers. Greatness carries its own penalties. 97. THE PEACOCK AND JUNO The peaco

  91. THE EAGLE AND HIS CAPTOR A man once caught an eagle, and after clipping his wings turned him loose among the fowls in his henhouse, where he moped in a corner, looking very dejected and forlorn. After a while his captor was glad enough to sell him to a neighbor, who took him home and let his wings grow again. As soon as he had recovered the use of them, the eagle flew out and caught a hare, which he brought home and presented to his benefactor. A fox observed this, and said to the eagle, “Don’t waste your gifts on him! Go and give them to the man who first caught you; make him your friend, and then perhaps he won’t catch you and clip your wings a second time.” 92. THE BLACKSMITH AND HIS DOG  A blacksmith had a little dog, which used to sleep when his master was at work, but was wide awake indeed when it was time for meals. One day his master pretended to be disgusted at this, and when he had thrown him a bone as usual, he said, “What on earth is the good of a lazy cur like you? W

  86. THE SHIPWRECKED MAN AND THE SEA  A shipwrecked man cast up on the beach fell asleep after his struggle with the waves. When he woke up, he bitterly reproached the sea for its treachery in enticing men with its smooth and smiling surface, and then, when they were well embarked, turning in fury upon them and sending both ship and sailors to destruction. The sea arose in the form of a woman, and replied, “Lay not the blame on me, 0 sailor, but on the winds. By nature I am as calm and safe as the land itself, but the winds fall upon me with their gusts and gales, and lash me into a fury that is not natural to me.” 87. THE WILD BOAR AND THE FOX  A wild boar was engaged in whetting his tusks upon the trunk of a tree in the forest when a fox came by and, seeing what he was at, said to him, “Why are you doing that, pray? The huntsmen are not out today, and there are no other dangers at hand that I can see.” “True, my friend,” replied the boar, “but the instant my life is in danger I shal

  81. THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE  A tortoise, discontented with his lowly life and envious of the birds he saw disporting themselves in the air, begged an eagle to teach him to fly. The eagle protested that it was idle for him to try, as nature had not provided him with wings. But the tortoise pressed him with entreaties and promises of treasure, insisting that it could only be a question of learning the craft of the air. So at length the eagle consented to do the best he could for him and picked him up in his talons. Soaring with him to a great height in the sky, he then let him go, and the wretched tortoise fell headlong and was dashed to pieces on a rock. 82. THE KID ON THE HOUSETOP  A kid climbed up onto the roof of an outhouse, attracted by the grass and other things that grew in the thatch. And as . he stood there browsing away he caught sight of a wolf passing below and jeered at him because he couldn’t reach him. The wolf only looked up and said, “I hear you, my young friend. B

  76. THE FROGS ASKING FOR A KING   Time was when the frogs were discontented because they had no one to rule over them, so they sent a deputation to Jupiter to ask him to give them a king. Jupiter, despising the folly of their request, cast a log into the pool where they lived, and said that that should be their king. The frogs were terrified at first by the splash and scuttled away into the deepest parts of the pool. But by and by, when they saw that the log remained motionless, one by one they ventured to the surface again, and before long, growing bolder, they began to feel such contempt for it that they even took to sitting upon it. Thinking that a king of that sort was an insult to their dignity, they sent to Jupiter a second time and begged him to take away the sluggish king he had given them and to give them another and a better one. Jupiter, annoyed at being pestered in this way, sent a stork to rule over them, who no sooner arrived among them than he began to catch and eat th

  71. JUPITER AND THE TORTOISE Jupiter was about to marry a wife and determined to celebrate the event by inviting all the animals to a banquet. They all came except the tortoise, who did not put in an appearance, much to Jupiter’s surprise. So when he next saw the tortoise he asked him why he had not been at the banquet. “I don’t care for going out,” said the tortoise. “There’s no place like home.” Jupiter was so much annoyed by this reply that he decreed that from that time forth the tortoise should carry his house upon his back, and never be able to get away from home even if he wished to. 72. THE DOG IN THE MANGER  A dog was lying in a manger on the hay which had been put there for the cattle, and when they came and tried to eat, . he growled and snapped at them and wouldn’t let them get at their food. “What a selfish beast,” said one of them to his companions. “He can’t eat himself and yet he won’t let those eat who ” can. 73. THE TWO BAGS  Every man carries two bags about with hi

  66. THE SWOLLEN FOX  A hungry fox found in a hollow tree a quantity of bread and meat which some shepherds had placed there against their .return. Delighted with his find he slipped in through the narrow aperture and greedily devoured it all. But when he tried to get out again he found himself so swollen after his big meal that he could not squeeze through the hole, and fell to whining and groaning over his misfortune. Another fox, happening to pass that way, came and asked him what the matter was; and, on learning the state of the case, said, “Well, my friend, I see nothing for it but for you stay where you are till you shrink to your former size. You’ll get out then easily enough.” 67. THE MOUSE, THE FROG, AND THE HAWK  A mouse and a frog struck up a friendship. They were not well mated, for the mouse lived entirely on land, while the frog ways equally at home on land or in the water. In order that they might never be separated, the frog tied himself and the mouse together by the l

  61. THE ASS IN THE LION’S SKIN  An ass found a lion’s skin, and dressed himself up in it. Then he went about frightening everyone he met, for they all took him to be a lion, men and beasts alike, and took to their heels when they saw him coming. Elated by the success of his trick, he loudly brayed in triumph. The fox heard him, and recognized him at once for the ass he was, and said to him, “Oho, my friend, it’s you, is it? I, too, should have been afraid if I hadn’t heard your voice.” 62. THE SHE-GOATS AND THEIR BEARDS  Jupiter granted beards to the she-goats at their own request, much to the disgust of the he-goats, who considered this to be an unwarrantable invasion of their rights and dignities. So they sent a deputation to him to protest against his action. He, however, advised them not to raise any objections. “What’s in a tuft of hair?” said he. “Let them have it if they want it. They can never be a match for you in strength.” 63. THE OLD LION   A lion, enfeebled by age and no

  56. THE FARMER AND FORTUNE  A farmer was plowing one day on his farm when he turned up a pot of golden coins with his plow. He was overjoyed at his discovery and from that time forth made an offering daily at the shrine of the Goddess of the Earth. Fortune was displeased at this and came to him and said, “My man, why do you give Earth the credit for the gift which I bestowed upon you? You never thought of thanking me for your good luck. But should you be unlucky enough to lose what you have gained, I know very well that I, Fortune, should then come in for all the blame.” Show gratitude where gratitude is due. 57. JUPITER AND THE MONKEY Jupiter issued a proclamation to all the beasts and offered a prize to the one who, in his judgment, produced the most beautiful offspring. Among the rest came the monkey, carrying a baby monkey in her arms, a hairless, flat-nosed little fright. When they saw it the gods all burst into peal on peal of laughter. But the monkey hugged her little one to h