The Crab and Its Mother
A crab said to her son, Why do you walk so one-sided, my child? It read more

The Crab and Its Mother
A crab said to her son, Why do you walk so one-sided, my child? It is far more becoming to go straight forward. The young Crab replied: Quite true, dear Mother; and if you will show me the straight way, I will promise to walk in it. The Mother tried in vain, and submitted without remonstrance to the reproof of her child.
Example is more powerful than precept.

The Ass and His Shadow
A TRAVELER hired an Ass to convey him to a distant place. The
day read more

The Ass and His Shadow
A TRAVELER hired an Ass to convey him to a distant place. The
day being intensely hot, and the sun shining in its strength, the
Traveler stopped to rest, and sought shelter from the heat under
the Shadow of the Ass. As this afforded only protection for one,
and as the Traveler and the owner of the Ass both claimed it, a
violent dispute arose between them as to which of them had the
right to the Shadow. The owner maintained that he had let the
Ass only, and not his Shadow. The Traveler asserted that he had,
with the hire of the Ass, hired his Shadow also. The quarrel
proceeded from words to blows, and while the men fought, the Ass
galloped off.
In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance.

The Mole and His Mother
A mole, a creature blind from birth, once said to his Mother: I am sure read more

The Mole and His Mother
A mole, a creature blind from birth, once said to his Mother: I am sure than I can see, Mother! In the desire to prove to him his mistake, his Mother placed before him a few grains of frankincense, and asked, What is it?' The young Mole said, It is a pebble. His Mother exclaimed: My son, I am afraid that you are not only blind, but that you have lost your sense of smell.

The Flies and the Honey-Pot
A number of Flies were attracted to a jar of honey which had been overturned read more

The Flies and the Honey-Pot
A number of Flies were attracted to a jar of honey which had been overturned in a housekeeper's room, and placing their feet in it, ate greedily. Their feet, however, became so smeared with the honey that they could not use their wings, nor release themselves, and were suffocated. Just as they were expiring, they exclaimed, O foolish creatures that we are, for the sake of a little pleasure we have destroyed ourselves.
Pleasure bought with pains, hurts.

The Dog and the Shadow
A DOG, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his read more

The Dog and the Shadow
A DOG, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his own shadow in the water and took it for that of another Dog, with a piece of meat double his own in size. He immediately let go of his own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog to get his larger piece from him. He thus lost both: that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow; and his own, because the stream swept it away.

The Aethiop
The purchaser of a black servant was persuaded that the color of his skin arose from dirt contracted read more

The Aethiop
The purchaser of a black servant was persuaded that the color of his skin arose from dirt contracted through the neglect of his former masters. On bringing him home he resorted to every means of cleaning, and subjected the man to incessant scrubbings. The servant caught a severe cold, but he never changed his color or complexion.
What's bred in the bone will stick to the flesh.

The Raven and the Swan
A raven saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful plumage. read more

The Raven and the Swan
A raven saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful plumage. Supposing that the Swan's splendid white color arose from his washing in the water in which he swam, the Raven left the altars in the neighborhood where he picked up his living, and took up residence in the lakes and pools. But cleansing his feathers as often as he would, he could not change their color, while through want of food he perished.
Change of habit cannot alter Nature.

The Ass and His Driver
AN ASS, being driven along a high road, suddenly started off and
bolted to read more

The Ass and His Driver
AN ASS, being driven along a high road, suddenly started off and
bolted to the brink of a deep precipice. While he was in the act
of throwing himself over, his owner seized him by the tail,
endeavoring to pull him back. When the Ass persisted in his
effort, the man let him go and said, Conquer, but conquer to
your cost.
A willful beast must go his own way.

The Ass and the Old Shepherd
A SHEPHERD, watching his Ass feeding in a meadow, was alarmed all
of read more

The Ass and the Old Shepherd
A SHEPHERD, watching his Ass feeding in a meadow, was alarmed all
of a sudden by the cries of the enemy. He appealed to the Ass to
fly with him, lest they should both be captured, but the animal
lazily replied, Why should I, pray? Do you think it likely the
conqueror will place on me two sets of panniers?' No, rejoined
the Shepherd. Then, said the Ass, as long as I carry the
panniers, what matters it to me whom I serve?'
In a change of government the poor change nothing beyond the name of their master.