A fox, old, subtle, vigilant, and sly, - By hunters wounded, fallen in the mud, - Attracted, by the traces of his blood, That buzzing parasite, the fly. He blamed the gods, and wonder'd why...
A fox, though young, by no means raw, Had seen a horse, the first he ever saw: 'Ho! neighbour wolf,' said he to one quite green, 'A creature in our meadow I have seen, -...
A cunning old fox, of plundering habits, Great crauncher of fowls, great catcher of rabbits, Whom none of his sort had caught in a nap, Was finally caught in somebody's trap....
A man who had a great fondness for gardening, being half a countryman and half town-bred, possessed in a certain village a fair-sized plot with a field attached, and all enclosed by a quickset hedge. Here sorrel and lettuce gre...
A lover of gardens, half cit and half clown, Possess'd a nice garden beside a small town; And with it a field by a live hedge inclosed, Where sorrel and lettuce, at random disposed,...
Once in his bed deep mused the hare, (What else but muse could he do there?) And soon by gloom was much afflicted; - To gloom the creature's much addicted. 'Alas! these constitutions nervous,'...
Beware how you deride The exiles from life's sunny side: To you is little known How soon their case may be your own. On this, sage Aesop gives a tale or two, As in my verses I propose to do....
Never mock at other people's misfortune; for you cannot tell how soon you yourself may be unhappy. 'sop the sage has given us one or two examples of this truth, and I am going to tell you of a similar one now. ...
Two parts the serpent has - Of men the enemies - The head and tail: the same Have won a mighty fame, Next to the cruel Fates; - So that, indeed, hence They once had great debates...
The heifer, the goat, and their sister the sheep, Compacted their earnings in common to keep, 'Tis said, in time past, with a lion, who sway'd Full lordship o'er neighbours, of whatever grade....
WHEN Venus and Hypocrisy combine, Oft pranks are played that show a deep design; Men are but men, and friars full as weak: I'm not by Envy moved these truths to speak....
One day, - no matter when or where, - A long-legg'd heron chanced to fare By a certain river's brink, With his long, sharp beak Helved on his slender neck;...
A long-legged Heron, with long neck and beak, Set out for a stroll by the bank of a creek. So clear was the water that if you looked sharp You could see the pike caper around with the carp....
A goat, a sheep, and porker fat, All to the market rode together. Their own amusement was not that Which caused their journey thither. Their coachman did not mean to 'set them down'...
"The artist by his work is known." - A piece of honey-comb, one day, Discover'd as a waif and stray, The hornets treated as their own. Their title did the bees dispute,...
In such a world, all men, of every grade, Should each the other kindly aid; For, if beneath misfortune's goad A neighbour falls, on you will fall his load. ...