THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2021 AESOP'S FABLES - PART IV

 THURSDAY AUGUST 12, 2021 AESOP’S FABLES

This week I’ve been looking at some of Aesop’s Fables - here are three more short fables:

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The Fox & the Goat

A Fox fell into a well, and though it was not very deep, he found that he could not get out again. After he had been in the well a long time, a thirsty Goat came by. The Goat thought the Fox had gone down to drink, and so he asked if the water was good.

"The finest in the whole country," said the crafty Fox, "jump in and try it. There is more than enough for both of us."

The thirsty Goat immediately jumped in and began to drink. The Fox just as quickly jumped on the Goat's back and leaped from the tip of the Goat's horns out of the well

The foolish Goat now saw what a plight he had got into, and begged the Fox to help him out. 

But the Fox was already on his way to the woods

"If you had as much sense as you have a beard, old fellow," he said as he ran, "you would have been more cautious about finding a way to get out again before you jumped in."

Aesop’s Moral: Look before you leap.

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Ah, but Pollyanna Karen thinks the Fox should have done something to help the Goat!!   There is another story of a donkey who fell in the well, and the people decided they couldn’t get the donkey out, so decided to throw it in the dirt and bury the poor donkey.  But as the dirt hit the donkey’s back, he shook it off and trampled it under his hooves.  Eventually, the donkey rose to the top of the well!!

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The Ants & the Grasshopper

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants was bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

Aesop’s Moral: There's a time for work and a time for play.

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It does seem that the ants don’t know how to play, but only how to work.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.  

But, all play and no planning for winter (or your future) is a dead-end!!!

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The Fox & the Lion

A very young Fox, who had never before seen a Lion, happened to meet one in the forest. A single look was enough to send the Fox off at top speed for the nearest hiding place.

The second time the Fox saw the Lion he stopped behind a tree to look at him a moment before slinking away. 

But the third time, the Fox went boldly up to the Lion and, without turning a hair, said, "Hello, there, old top."

Aesop has two morals: Familiarity breeds contempt.

And, the second moral: Acquaintance with evil blinds us to its dangers.

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Yes, sometimes familiarity does breed contempt - but sometimes familiarity breeds love.  (My parents were best friends for 75 years - definitely familiar with each other and still definitely in love!!!)

I’m not quite sure of the second moral - I don’t view lions as ‘evil’.  They are doing what they were intended to do - hunt, kill, and eat.  In most cases, they get the weakest of the herd.  But, if the moral is related to finding and keeping good company, as compared to making friends of evil people, then - yes - find good companions and friends!!!

There we are - four days of Aesop’s Fables.  Love Wins tomorrow, Story on Saturday, and Sunday-Funday!!!  

LOVE WINS!!

Karen