The Ant and the Grasshopper
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing with great toil some rice he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of working like that?""I am helping to store food for the winter," said the Ant, "and I recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing rice and grain from the storage they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.
THE FOX AND THE GOAT
A FOX fell into a well, and although 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 best water 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 any common sense, " he said as he ran, "you would have been more cautious about finding a way to get out again before you jumped in."
Moral: Look before you leap.
THE OWL AND THE GRASSHOPPER
THE OWL always sleeps during the day. Then, after sundown, when the light fades from the sky and the shadows rise slowly through the woods, she comes out, ruffling and blinking, from the old hollow tree. Now her weird "hoo-hoo-hoo-oo-oo" sound echoes through the quiet forest, and she begins her hunt for the bugs and beetles, frogs and mice she likes to eat.
Now there was a certain old Owl who had become very cross and hard to please as she grew older, especially if anything disturbed her daily slumbers. One warm summer afternoon as she dozed away in her den in the old oak tree, a Grasshopper nearby began a joyous but very discordant song. Out came the old Owl's head from the opening in the tree that served her both for door and for window.
"Get away from here, sir," she said to the Grasshopper. "Have you no manners? You should at least respect my age and leave me to sleep in peace!"
But the Grasshopper answered that he had as much right to his place in the sun as the Owl had to her place in the old oak. Then he struck up a louder and still more discordant tune.
The wise old Owl knew quite well that it would do no good to argue with the Grasshopper, nor with anybody else for that matter. Besides, her eyes were not sharp enough by day to permit her to punish the Grasshopper as he deserved. So she laid aside all hard words and spoke very kindly to him.
"Well sir," she said, "if I must stay awake, I am going to settle down and enjoy your singing. Now that I think of it, I have a wonderful wine here, which I got from the finest winery. I am told that when someone drinks this wine he can sing more beautifully than ever. Please come up and taste this delicious drink with me.
The foolish Grasshopper was taken in by the Owl's flattering words. Up he jumped to the Owl's den, but as soon as he was near enough so the old Owl could see him clearly, she pounced upon him and ate him up.
Moral: Flattery is not a proof of true admiration.
THE YOUNG CRAB AND HIS MOTHER
"WHY in the world do you walk sideways like that?" said a Mother Crab to her son. "You should always walk straight forward with your toes turned out."
"Show me how to walk, mother dear," answered the little Crab obediently, "I want to learn."
So the old Crab tried and tried to walk straight forward. But she could walk sideways only, like her son. And when she wanted to turn her toes out she tripped and fell on her nose.
Moral: Do not tell others how to act unless you can set a good example.
THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE
A TOWN MOUSE once visited a relative who lived in the country. For lunch, the Country Mouse served wheat stalks, roots, and acorns, with a bit of cold water for drink. The Town Mouse ate very sparingly, nibbling a little of this and a little of that, and by her manners made it very plain that she ate the simple food only to be polite.
After the meal the friends had a long talk, or rather, the Town Mouse talked about her life in the city while the Country Mouse listened. They then went to bed in a cozy nest in the grass and slept in quiet and comfort until morning. In her sleep the Country Mouse dreamed she was a Town Mouse with all the luxuries and delights of city life that her friend had described for her. So the next day when the Town Mouse asked the Country Mouse to go home with her to the city, She gladly said yes.
When they reached the mansion in which the Town Mouse lived, they found on the table in the dining room the remains of a very fine banquet. There were candies and jellies, pastries, delicious cheeses, indeed, the most tempting foods that a Mouse can imagine. But just as the Country Mouse was about to nibble a dainty bit of pastry, she heard a Cat meow loudly and scratch at the door. In great fear the Mice scurried to a hiding place, where they lay quite still for a long time, hardly daring to breathe. When at last they ventured back to the feast, the door opened suddenly and in came the servants to clear the table, followed by the House Dog.
The Country Mouse stopped in the Town Mouse's den only long enough to pick up her bag and umbrella.
"You may have luxuries that I do not have," she said as she hurried away, "but I prefer my plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it."
Moral: Poverty with security is better than Plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty.
RAVEN AND A SWAN
A RAVEN, which you know is as black as coal, was envious of the Swan, because her feathers were as white as the purest snow. The foolish bird got the idea that if he lived like the Swan, swimming and diving all day long and eating the weeds and plants that grow in the water, his feathers would turn white like the Swan's.
So he left his home in the woods and fields and flew down to live on the lakes and in the marshes. But athough he washed and washed all day long, almost drowning himself in the water, his feathers remained as black as before. And because he did not like to eat the water weeds, he got thinner and thinner, and at last he died.
Moral: A change of habits will not alter nature.
THE ASS AND THE LOAD OF SALT
A MERCHANT, driving his Ass towards home from the seashore with a heavy load of salt, came to a river. They had crossed this river many times before without accident, but this time the Ass slipped and fell into the river. When the Merchant at last got the Ass on his feet, much of the salt had dissolved away. Delighted to find how much lighter his burden had become, the Ass finished the journey very happily.
The next day the Merchant and the Ass went to get another load of salt. On the way home the Ass, remembering what had happened at the river the previous day, purposely let himself fall into the water, and again got rid of most of his burden.
The angry Merchant immediately turned around and drove the Ass back to the seashore, where he loaded him with two big baskets of sponges. At the river, the Ass again tumbled over; but when he had scrambled to his feet, he was very disappointed to discover that he had to walk all the way home with a load that was ten times heavier than before.
Moral: Some actions will not be right for all circumstances.
The Frog Maiden
A folk tale from Burma
An old couple was without children, and the husband and the wife longed for a child. So when the wife found that she was pregnant, they were overjoyed; but to their great disappointment, the wife gave birth not to a human child, but to a little she-frog. However, as the little frog spoke and behaved as a human child, not only the parents but also the neighbors came to love her and called her affectionately "Little Miss Frog."
Some years later the woman died, and the man decided to marry again. The woman he chose was a widow with two ugly daughters, and they were very jealous of Little Miss Frog's popularity with the neighbors. All three took a delight in treating Little Miss Frog badly.
One day the youngest of the king's four sons announced that he would perform the hair-washing ceremony on a certain date, and he invited all young ladies to join in the ceremony, as he would choose at the end of the ceremony one of them to be his princess.
On the morning of the appointed day the two ugly sisters dressed themselves in fine clothing, and with great hopes of being chosen by the prince they started for the palace.
Little Miss Frog ran after them, and pleaded, "Sisters, please let me come with you."
The sisters laughed and said mockingly, "What, the little frog wants to come? The invitation is to young ladies and not to young frogs."
Little Miss Frog walked along with them towards the palace, pleading for permission to come. But the sisters were adamant, and so at the palace gates she was left behind. However, she spoke so sweetly to the guards that they allowed her to go in. Little Miss Frog found hundreds of young ladies gathered around the pool full of lilies in the palace lawn. And she took her place among them and waited for the prince.
The prince now appeared, and washed his hair in the pool. The ladies also let down their hair and joined in the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, the prince declared that as the ladies were all beautiful, he did not know whom to choose and so he would throw a bundle of jasmines into the air; and the lady on whose head the bundle fell would be his princess. The prince then threw the bundle into the air, and all the ladies present looked up with anticipation.
The flowers, however, fell on Little Miss Frog's head, to the great annoyance of the ladies, especially the two stepsisters. The prince also was disappointed, but he felt that he should keep his promise. So Little Miss Frog was married to the prince, and she became Little Princess Frog.
Some time later, the old king called his four sons to him and said, "My sons, I am now too old to rule the country, and I want to retire to the forest and become a hermit. So I must appoint one of you as my successor. As I love you all alike, I will give you a task to perform, and he who performs it successfully shall be king in my place. The task is, bring me a golden deer at sunrise on the seventh day from now."
The youngest prince went home to Little Princess Frog and told her about the task.
"What, only a golden deer!" exclaimed Princess Frog. "Eat as usual my prince, and on the appointed day I will give you the golden deer."
So the youngest prince stayed at home, while the three elder princes went into the forest in search of the deer.
On the seventh day before sunrise, Little Princess Frog woke up her husband and said, "Go to the palace, prince, and here is your golden deer."
The young prince looked, then rubbed his eyes, and looked again. There was no mistake about it; the deer which Little Princess Frog was holding by a harness was really of pure gold. So he went to the palace, and to the great annoyance of the elder princes who brought ordinary deers, he was declared to be the heir by the king.
The elder princes, however, pleaded for a second chance, and the king reluctantly agreed.
"Then perform this second task," said the king. "On the seventh day from now at sunrise, you must bring me the rice that never becomes stale, and meat that is ever fresh."
The youngest prince went home and told Princess Frog about the new task.
"Don't you worry, sweet prince," said Princess Frog. "Eat as usual, sleep as usual, and on the appointed day I will give you the rice and meat."
So the youngest prince stayed at home, while the three elder princes went in search of the rice and meat.
On the seventh day at sunrise, Little Princess Frog woke up her husband and said, "My lord, go to the palace now, and here is your rice and meat."
The youngest prince took the rice and meat, and went to the palace, and to the great annoyance of the elder princes who brought only well-cooked rice and meat, he was again declared to be the heir.
But the two elder princes again pleaded for one more chance, and the king said, "This is positively the last task. On the seventh day from now at sunrise, bring me the most beautiful woman on this earth."
"Excellent!" said the three elder princes to themselves in great joy. "Our wives are very beautiful, and we will bring them. One of us is sure to be declared heir, and our good-for-nothing brother will be nowhere this time."
The youngest prince overheard their remark, and felt sad, because his wife was a frog and ugly.
When he reached home, he said to his wife, "Dear princess, I must go and look for the most beautiful woman on this earth. My brothers will bring their wives, for they are really beautiful, but I will find someone who is more beautiful."
"Don't you worry, my prince," replied Princess Frog. "Eat as usual, sleep as usual, and you can take me to the palace on the appointed day. Surely I shall be declared to be the most beautiful woman."
The youngest prince looked at the princess in surprise; but he did not want to hurt her feelings, and he said gently, "All right, princess, I will take you with me on the appointed day."
On the seventh day at dawn, Little Princess Frog woke up the prince and said, "My lord, I must make myself beautiful. So please wait outside and call me when it is nearly time to go."
The prince left the room as requested. After some moments, the prince shouted from outside, "Princess, we must go now."
"All right, my lord," replied the princess. "Please open the door for me."
The prince thought to himself, "Perhaps, just as she was able to obtain the golden deer and the wonderful rice and meat, she is able to make herself beautiful," and he expectantly opened the door. But he was disappointed to see Little Princess Frog still a frog and as ugly as ever.
However, so as not to hurt her feelings, the prince said nothing and took her along to the palace. When the prince entered the audience chamber with his frog princess the three elder princes with their wives were already there.
The king looked at the prince in surprise and said, "Where is your beautiful maiden?"
"I will answer for the prince, my king," said the frog princess. "I am his beautiful maiden."
She then took off her frog skin and stood a beautiful maiden dressed in silk and satin. The king declared her to be the most beautiful maiden in the world, and selected the prince as his successor on the throne. The prince asked his princess never to put on the ugly frog skin again, and the frog princess, to accede to his request, threw the frog skin in the fire.
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