Make Fun Of Life! - Stories with Morals

The Kilkenny Cats

4/2/2024

The Kilkenny Cats

There were once two cats of Kilkenny.
     Each thought there was one cat too many;
So they fought and they fit,
     And they scratched and they bit,
Till, excepting their nails,
     And the tips of their tails,
Instead of two cats, there weren’t any.

By Author Unknown

Moral of the story: Those who fight bring about their own end.

Sylvester Snake

1/28/2022

Picture of a garter snake.

Sylvester Snake

A young garter snake, Sylvester, lived with his mother on the edge of a lake. Every day he learned something new as he climbed on the rocks following his mother.

One day Sylvester felt very grown up. He asked if he could go sun himself on the shore of the lake.

“Yes, you may go alone. But be careful, Sylvester, and don’t stay away too long.”

Sylvester slowly climbed up the rocks along the shore looking for just the right place. When he had found a comfortable spot he stopped and curled up.

A few minutes later he heard voices. “May we go down and wade in the shallow water, Mother?” Sylvester knew these were children. Even though he had never seen any before, his mother had told him about them.

“Yes, you may go down by the water. But be careful and don’t stay too long.”

Sylvester didn’t know what to do. The children were heading right toward him. He wanted to act brave but he was beginning to be frightened. They were making so much noise. He lay very still until the children came close.

“Oh, let’s hurry,” said one. “The water looks great.”

Suddenly Sylvester heard a terrible noise. A boy’s scream. “Let’s get out of here. There’s a snake!” The children ran back to where their mother was waiting.

Sylvester was frightened. He quickly slithered along the rocks, hurrying home to his mother.

“Oh, Mother,” said the little snake, “something awful happened.” And he told her about the children.

“Sylvester, I’m sorry it frightened you. But the children ran, too. They were just as afraid of you as you were of them. I will go with you tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.”

Sylvester reluctantly returned to the rocks the next day. His mother stayed a few feet away. “What shall I do if they come back, Mother?”

“Don’t do anything. I’ll be right here if anything happens.”

Sure enough, the same children were on the shore. “Mother, what if that snake is there?”

“Don’t bother him and he won’t bother you.”

The children slowly walked to the rocks. “There he is,” whispered the little girl. “Let’s see what he does.”

“Oh, Mother, whispered Sylvester, “here come those children. What shall I do?”

“Just stay where you are and see what happens.”

The children gingerly moved closer to the rocks where Sylvester lay. They didn’t scream. Instead, they just looked at him.

Sylvester lay very still and looked back at the children. Now that they weren’t screaming they didn’t seem so bad.

“He’s not a very big snake. He’s just a little fellow.” They began playing and didn’t bother Sylvester.

Sylvester lay still and suddenly realized he wasn’t afraid.

Later, when the children had gone, his mother said, “Well, Son, I hope you have learned something today. We can all live happily in this world if we just treat others as we would like them to treat us. We are all different, but when we respect others and treat them kindly they will usually do the same for us.”

“You’re right, Mother. Let’s go home now. I’m hungry.”

by Diane Primm McClellan

Diane Primm McClellan was born on 17 July 1935 in Springfield, Missouri, United States of America. She became a school teacher and a writer of children’s stories. Diane Primm McClellan passed on at 78 years of age on 6 October 2013.

The Old Man and His Grandson

12/10/2021

Pen and ink artwork by Arthur Rackham depicting an old man bent over and using a spoon to eat food from a bowl.

The Old Man and His Grandson

There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son’s wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they brought him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat. They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground. “What are you doing there?” asked the father. “I am making a little trough,” answered the child, “for father and mother to eat out of when I am big.”

The man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. Then they took the old grandfather to the table, and henceforth always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything.

When the grandson helped his parents imagine switching places with the old man, the parents suddenly knew how their actions affected the grandfather. They were not willing to be treated so poorly in the same situation, so they began to treat him as they would consent to be treated when they grow old.

by the Brothers Grimm

Moral of the story: The fairy tale, “The Old Man and His Grandson,” is an illustration of the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Image shown: Pen and ink artwork by Arthur Rackham (1867 - 1939).

The Daffodil

1/30/2021

The Daffodil

A rich man had two sons. Just before he died he gave his house and lands to his elder son. To his younger son he gave only one small rocky field, but he had his reason for doing so, as was later learned.

The elder brother made a great feast, and began to spend his substance, and soon had nothing left.

The younger brother went into a far country. Poor and sad, he wandered about without a home. One day he lay down to rest near a singing brook. All around him the hillside was yellow with the bloom of daffodils.

In his dreams a water fairy stood before him. “Take up the plants that bloom around you,” she said. “Carry them to your own country and plant them in your rocky field. A charm shall be upon the plants, and he who works and waits shall reap a golden harvest.”

The young man awoke. No fairy was in sight. But the yellow flowers nodded to him as if to say, “Take us; we will help you.”

All day long he worked, digging up the bulbs of the daffodils. Then he walked the long, long way that led back to his home. There he planted the bulbs in his own rocky field. Soon little green blades sprang up between the rocks. Week after week the young man cared for the plants until he came to love them.

After awhile buds grew on the plants, and then they blossomed out in beautiful yellow blooms. The people came from far and near to see the wonderful golden flowers. To everyone who came the young man gave a flower, and soon they came to buy more.

In a few years the young man had saved a goodly sum of money from this field of daffodils, and he went and bought his old home, which his older brother had lost because of spending his money foolishly.

And now, when the daffodil story is told in that far-off land, the people say: “Work is the fairy charm that brings the golden harvest.”

by Author Unknown: as published in “Brook’s Reader”

Lazy Ned

1/29/2020

Lazy Ned

“’Tis royal fun,” cried lazy Ned,
     “To coast, upon my fine, new sled,
And beat the other boys;
     But then, I can not bear to climb
The tiresome hill, for every time
     It more and more annoys.”

So, while his schoolmates glided by,
     And gladly tugged uphill, to try
Another merry race,
     Too indolent to share their plays,
Ned was compelled to stand and gaze,
     While shivering in his place.

Thus, he would never take the pains
     To seek the prize that labor gains,
Until the time had passed;
     For, all his life, he dreaded still
The silly bugbear of uphill,
     And lived life a dunce to the last.

by Author Unknown

What is the moral, or lesson, of the story?

The Perfect Story

1/9/2020

The Perfect Story

There was once a perfect little girl. She wore perfect little dresses that fit her perfectly and perfect little shoes to match. She had a perfect smile with perfect teeth. She wore her hair in perfect curls and had perfect bangs. She lived in a perfect house with perfect parents and a perfect little brother. Her room was perfect, too, with a perfectly-made bed and a perfect view. Every morning she woke up and ate a perfect breakfast of perfect toast and perfect orange juice. Her parents’ friends were always commenting on how perfect she was. In school, she always got perfect grades and had a perfectly neat desk. She only made friends with the other perfect little children. While eating her perfect lunch, she would eat with her perfect friends.

One day, she was out walking when she saw the most perfect little puppy on the other side of the street. She thought, “I must have that perfect little puppy. It will match my perfect dress that fits me perfectly, my perfect shoes, my perfect smile, my perfect teeth, my perfect curls, and my perfect bangs. That puppy would be perfect in my perfect room with my perfect bed and my perfect view. It can eat my perfect toast with me in the morning, and drink perfect orange juice. My parents’ friends will say how perfect my puppy is. It can come to my school and sit by my perfect desk, and my perfect friends will pet it.”

The perfect little girl ran across the street to get the perfect puppy, got hit by a car, and was taken by ambulance to a hospital to be treated for a broken leg and a broken arm and a head concussion.

The moral of the story is: Always look both ways before crossing a street.

by Author Unknown

The Very Old Lady Story

12/22/2019

The Very Old Lady Story

A very old lady looked in the mirror one morning. She had three remaining hairs on her head, and being a positive soul, she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.” So she braided her three hairs, and she had a great day.

Some days later, looking in the mirror one morning, preparing for her day, she saw that she had only two hairs remaining. “Hmm, two hairs. I fancy a center parting today.” She duly parted her two hairs, and as ever, she had a great day.

A week or so later, she saw that she had just one hair left on her head. “One hair, huh?” she mused, “I know, a pony-tail will be perfect.” And again she had a great day.

The next morning she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head. She was completely bald. “Yes!” she exclaimed, “I don’t have to fix my hair today!”

The moral, or lesson of the story, is that good exists in any conditions when we have the state of mind to find it.

by Author Unknown

How the Little Kite Learned to Fly

12/21/2019

How the Little Kite Learned to Fly

“I never can do it,” the little kite said,
     As he looked at the others high over his head;
“I know I should fall if I tried to fly.”
      “Try,” said the big kite; “only try!
Or I fear you never will learn at all.”
     But the little kite said, “I’m afraid I’ll fall.”

The big kite nodded: “Ah well, goodbye;
     I’m off;” and he rose toward the tranquil sky.
Then the little kite’s paper stirred at the sight,
     And trembling he shook himself free for flight.
First whirling and frightened, then braver grown,
     Up, up he rose through the air alone,
Till the big kite looking down could see
     The little one rising steadily.

Then how the little kite thrilled with pride,
     As he sailed with the big kite side by side!
While far below he could see the ground,
     And the boys like small spots moving round.
They rested high in the quiet air,
     And only the birds and the clouds were there.
“Oh, how happy I am!” the little kite cried,
      “And all because I was brave, and tried.”

by Author Unknown

What is the moral, or lesson, of the story?

Planting Seeds

12/21/2019

Planting Seeds

If given a choice, which would you rather have, an apple, or the apple seeds? Quite likely, most of us would choose the apple.

A long time ago, there was a guy who would have taken the seeds. He was a fanatic about apple seeds, so much so that people called him ‘Johnny Appleseed.’ For many years, he walked across hundreds of miles of our American country, back when most of it was frontier land, and everywhere he went he planted apple seeds. The trees from those seeds fed thousands and thousands of people in later generations. That is genuine long-range planning!

Many of us are interested mainly in the present. We do not think ahead as Johnny Appleseed did.

Maybe you do not wish to travel about planting apple seeds like he did. But there is another kind of seed you can plant every day, the seed of good feelings between you and your fellow human beings.

You can do it by living the motto, “Do a Daily Good Deed.” Every time you do good, you are planting a seed of good feeling. That seed may start the growth of a tree of Good Turns in each person you help. So that one Good Turn may lead to many other Good Turns through the years, affecting the lives of thousands of people.

Be a Johnny Good Deeds or a Jenny Good Deeds, and you will plant good feelings, for people of today and for generations to come.

by Author Unknown

The Trouble Tree

12/21/2019

The Trouble Tree

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family.

As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. After opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

“Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children, so I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.”

“Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick ’em up, there aren’t nearly as many there as I remember hanging up the night before.”

by Author Unknown

What is the moral, or lesson, of the story?

The Miser and His Gold

12/20/2019

The Miser and His Gold

Once upon a time there was a Miser who used to hide his gold at the foot of a tree in his garden; but every week he used to go and dig it up and gloat over his gains. A robber, who had noticed this, went and dug up the gold and absconded with it. When the Miser next came to gloat over his treasures, he found nothing but the empty hole. He tore his hair, and raised such an outcry that all the neighbors came around him, and he told them how he used to come and visit his gold. ”Did you ever take any of it out?” asked one of them. “Nay,” said he, “I only came to look at it.” “Then come again and look at the hole,” said a neighbor; “it will do you just as much good.”

Moral, or lesson, of the story: Wealth unused might as well not exist.

by Aesop

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, credited with a number of works known collectively as “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human characteristics, such as the ability to speak or have jobs. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

Thinking One Can

12/1/2019

Thinking One Can

A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill. “I can’t; that is too much a pull for me,” said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. At last in desperation the train asked the little switch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. “I think I can,” puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” Then as it near the top of the grade, that had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly, but still kept saying, “I - think - I - can, I - think - I - can.” It reached the top by dint of brave effort and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself, “I thought I could, I thought I could.”

To think of hard things and say, “I can’t” is sure to mean, “Nothing done.” To refuse to be daunted and insist on saying, “I think I can,” is to make sure of being able to say triumphantly by and by, “I thought I could, I thought I could.”

by Author Unknown: as published in “Wellspring for Young People” (1906)

This is MFOL! . . . you can if you think you can . . .

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

9/24/2019

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

A hungry wolf found great difficulty in getting at a flock of sheep, due to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day the wolf found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the wolf was wearing, began to follow the wolf in the sheep’s clothing, and so, by leading the lamb a little astray, he soon made a meal of her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoyed hearty meals of them.

by Aesop

Moral, or lesson, of the story: Appearances can be deceiving, and therein lies danger.

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, credited with a number of works known collectively as, “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human traits, such as the ability to speak or hold jobs. Most of the stories teach a moral lesson. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

Keeper of the Spring

2/19/2019

Keeper of the Spring

The late Peter Marshall was an eloquent speaker and for several years served as the chaplain of the Unite States Senate. He used to love to tell the story of the “Keeper of the Spring,” a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village along the eastern slope of the Alps.

The old gentleman had been hired many years earlier by a young town councilman to clear away the debris from the pools of water up in the mountain crevices that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town.

With faithful, silent regularity, he patrolled the hills, removed the leaves and branches, and wiped away the silt that would otherwise have choked and contaminated the fresh flow of water.

The village soon became a popular attraction for vacationers. Graceful swans floated along the crystal clear spring, the mill wheels of various businesses located near the water turned day and night, farmlands were naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants was picturesque beyond description.

Years passed. One evening the town council met for its semiannual meeting. As they reviewed the budget, one man’s eye caught the salary figure being paid the obscure keeper of the spring.

Said the keeper of the purse, “Who is the old man? Why do we keep him on year after year? No one ever sees him. For all we know, the strange ranger of the hills is doing us no good. He isn’t necessary any longer.” By a unanimous vote, they dispensed with the old man’s services. For several weeks, nothing changed.

By early autumn, the trees began to shed their leaves. Small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of sparkling water.

One afternoon someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. A few days later, the water was much darker. Within another week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks, and a foul odor was soon detected.

The mill wheels moved more slowly, some finally ground to a halt. Swans left, as did the tourists. Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

Quickly, the embarrassed council called a special meeting. Realizing their gross error in judgment, they rehired the old keeper of the spring, and within a few weeks, the veritable river of life began to clear up. The wheels started to turn, and new life returned to the hamlet in the Alps.

Never become discouraged with the seeming smallness of your task, job, or life. Cling fast to the words of Edward Everett Hale: “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.”

The key to accomplishment is believing that what you can do will make a difference.

by Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall was born in 1902. He was a Scottish-born American preacher, a writer, and a chaplain of the United States Senate. Peter Marshall passed on in 1949.

The Boy and the Wolf

11/26/2018

The Boy and the Wolf

A little boy was set to keep
     A little flock of goats or sheep;
He thought the task too solitary,
     And took a strange perverse vagary:
To call the people out of fun,
     To see them leave their work and run,
He cried and screamed with all his might, -
     “Wolf! wolf!” in a pretended fright.
Some people, working at a distance,
     Came running in to his assistance.
They searched the fields and bushes round,
     The Wolf was nowhere to be found.

The Boy, delighted with his game,
     A few days after did the same,
And once again the people came.
     The trick was many times repeated,
At last they found that they were cheated.
     One day the Wolf appeared in sight,
The Boy was in a real fright,
     He cried, “Wolf! wolf!” - the neighbors heard,
But not a single creature stirred.
     “We need not go from our employ, -
‘Tis nothing but that idle boy.”
     The little Boy cried out again,
“Help, help! the Wolf!” he cried in vain.
     At last his master came to beat him.

He came too late, the Wolf had eat him.
     This shows the bad effect of lying,
And likewise of continual crying.
     If I had heard you scream and roar,
For nothing, twenty times before,
     Although you might have broke your arm,
Or met with any serious harm,
     Your cries could give me no alarm;
They would not make me move the faster,
     Nor apprehend the least disaster;
I should be sorry when I came,
     But you yourself would be to blame.

by John Hookham Frere

The moral, or lesson, of the story: No one believes a person who has a reputation of being liar even when that person tells the truth, so if you wish to be believed, tell the truth always.

Hairy Mary

11/4/2018

Hairy Mary

Mary never cut her hair. So her hair grew and grew, on her head, her arms, and her legs. Some people called her Hairy Mary. Mary did not like being called that, and she especially did not like people who called her that behind her back. Mary was so careful about not being friends with people who called her Hairy Mary that some called her Wary Hairy Mary.

Mary owned many cows that she milked to sell to people. There was lots of grass for her cows because Mary lived on the prairie next to the highway, but the pasture where her cows grazed was on the other side of a river. So Mary built a flat boat to carry her cows across the river called the Wary Hairy Mary Prairie Dairy Carry Ferry.

One day, Mary got the idea of using berries to flavor her milk. Soon her Wary Hairy Mary Berry Prairie Dairy Carry Ferry became famous. People always asked her to mix all kinds of different berries together with the milk. But Mary angrily said no, she only sold ordinary berry flavored milk.

Everybody liked her ordinary berry flavored milk, but people thought she was a little scary, and so some people called her Scary Wary Hairy Mary. This made Mary even madder, so sometimes Mary became very contrary and would not give them a ride on her ferry. So they started calling it the Very Contrary Scary Wary Hairy Mary Ordinary Berry Prairie Dairy Carry Ferry.

However, people soon discovered if you asked her very politely in a very gracious way to let you ride across the river, she would always let you ride. Pretty soon everybody learned the Very Contrary Scary Wary Hairy Mary Ordinary Berry Prairie Dairy Carry Ferry Query so they could ride across the river.

by Author Unknown

What is the moral, or lesson, of the story?

Set Your Priorities

9/22/2018

Set Your Priorities

A philosophy professor stood before his class, with some items in front of him.

When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty glass jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They all agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them in to the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students again if the jar was full. They agreed that yes, it was.

The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your spouse, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. “If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, the material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important. Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Don’t ever take them for granted in any way. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, and organize the closet.”

The moral, or lesson, of the story is: Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand.

by Author Unknown

The Bundle of Sticks

9/13/2018

The Bundle of Sticks

An old man summoned his sons around him to give them some advice. He ordered his servants to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son: “Break it.” The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the Bundle. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. “Untie the bundle,” said the father, “and each of you take a stick.” When they had done so, he called out to them: “Now, break,” and each stick was easily broken. “You see my meaning,” said their father.

Moral, or lesson, of the story: Union gives strength.

by Aesop

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, credited with a number of works known collectively as “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human characteristics, such as the ability to speak or have jobs. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

Two Little Kittens

9/9/2018

Two Little Kittens

Two little kittens, one stormy night,
     Began to quarrel, and then to fight;
One had a mouse, the other had none,
     And that’s the way the quarrel begun.

“I’ll have that mouse,” said the biggest cat;
     “You’ll have that mouse? We’ll see about that!”
“I will have that mouse,” said the eldest son;
     “You shan’t have the mouse,” said the little one.

I told you before ’twas a stormy night
     When these two little kittens began to fight;
The old woman seized her sweeping broom,
     And swept the two kittens right out of the room.

The ground was covered with frost and snow,
     And the two little kittens had nowhere to go;
So they laid them down on the mat at the door,
     While the old woman finished sweeping the floor.

Then they crept in, as quiet as mice,
     All wet with the snow, and cold as ice,
For they found it was better, that stormy night,
     To lie down and sleep than to quarrel and fight.

by Author Unknown (about 1880)

What is the moral, or lesson, of the story?

The Two Crabs

9/4/2018

The Two Crabs

One fine day two Crabs came out from their home to take a stroll on the sand. “Child,” said the mother, “you are walking very ungracefully. You should accustom yourself to walking straight forward, without twisting from side to side.” “Pray, mother,” said the young one, “do but set the example yourself, and I will follow you.”

Moral, or lesson, of the story: Example is the best teacher.

attributed to Aesop

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, credited with a number of works known collectively as “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human characteristics, such as the ability to speak or have jobs. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

The Fox and the Grapes

8/26/2018

The Fox and the Grapes

One hot Summer day, a Fox was strolling through an orchard. Upon coming to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine, which had been trained over a lofty branch, he thought to himself, “Those grapes are just the thing to quench my thirst.” Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried to reach the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”

Moral, or lesson, of the story: One can all too easily console oneself by despising that which one cannot obtain without greater effort or ingenuity.

by Aesop

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, credited with a number of works known collectively as “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human characteristics, such as the ability to speak or have jobs. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

The Fox and the Crow

8/25/2018

The Fox and the Crow

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. “That’s for me, as I am a Fox,” said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. “Good-day, Mistress Crow,” he cried. “How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds.” The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox. “That will do,” said he. “That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future.

Moral, or lesson, of the story: Do not trust flatterers.

attributed to Aesop

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, and is credited with a number of works known collectively as “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human characteristics, such as the ability to speak or have jobs. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

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A version of the above fable, as a poem, follows.

The Fox and the Crow

     The fox and the crow,
     In prose, I well know,
Many good little girls can rehearse:
     Perhaps it will tell
     Pretty nearly as well,
If we try the same fable in verse.

     In a dairy a crow,
     Having ventured to go,
Some food for her young ones to seek,
     Flew up in the trees,
     With a fine piece of cheese,
Which she joyfully held in her beak.

     A fox, who lived by,
     To the tree saw her fly,
And to share in the prize made a vow;
     For having just dined,
     He for cheese felt inclined,
So he went and sat under the bough.

     She was cunning, he knew,
     But so was he too,
And with flattery adapted his plan;
     For he knew if she’d speak,
     It must fall from her beak,
So, bowing politely, began.

     “’Tis a very fine day”
     (Not a word did she say):
“The wind, I believe, ma’am, is south:
     A fine harvest for peas:”
     He then looked at the cheese,
But the crow did not open her mouth.

     Sly Reynard, not tired,
     Her plumage admired,
“How charming! how brilliant its hue!
     The voice must be fine,
     Of a bird so divine,
Ah, let me just hear it, pray do.

     “Believe me, I long
     To hear a sweet song!”
The silly crow foolishly tries:
     She scarce gave one squall,
     When the cheese she let fall,
And the fox ran away with the prize.

Moral

     Ye innocent fair,
     Of coxcombs beware,
To flattery never give ear;
     Try well each pretense,
     And keep to plain sense,
And then you have little to fear.

by Little B. (Taylor?): as published in Hamilton Wright Mabie, Edward Everett Hale, and William Byron Forbush, editors: “Childhood’s Favorites and Fairy Stories: The Young Folks Treasury” (1927)

The Dog and the Wolf

8/24/2018

The Dog and the Wolf

A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a Housedog who was passing by. “Ah, Cousin,” said the Dog. “I knew how it would be; your irregular life will soon be the ruin of you. Why do you not work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly given to you?” “I would have no objection,” said the Wolf, “if I could only get a place.” “I will easily arrange that for you,” said the Dog; “come with me to my master and you shall share my work.” So the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. On the way there, the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the Dog’s neck was very much worn away, so he asked him how that had come about. “Oh, it is nothing,” said the Dog. “That is only the place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained up; it chafes a bit, but one soon gets used to it.” “Is that all?” said the Wolf. “Then good-bye to you, Master Dog.”

Moral, or lesson, of the story: Better to starve in freedom than to be a fat slave.

attributed to Aesop

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, and is credited with a number of works known collectively as “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human characteristics, such as the ability to speak or hold paying jobs. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

Little Bunny Foo-Foo

8/19/2018

Little Bunny Foo-Foo

Little Bunny Foo-Foo,
Hopping through the forest.
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.

And along came a good fairy and she said:
“Little Bunny Foo-Foo,
I don’t want to see you,
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.

I’ll give you three more chances.
And if you’re not good,
I’ll turn you into a goon!”
So the next day . . .

Little Bunny Foo-Foo,
Hopping through the forest.
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.

Along came the good fairy and she said:
“Little Bunny Foo-Foo,
I don’t want to see you.
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.

I’ll give you two more chances.
And if you’re not good,
I’ll turn you into a goon!”
So the next day . . .

Little Bunny Foo-Foo,
Hopping through the forest.
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.

And along came a good fairy and she said:
“Little Bunny Foo-Foo,
I don’t want to see you.
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.

I’ll give you one more chance.
And if you’re not good,
I’ll turn you into a goon!”
So the next day . . .

Little Bunny Foo-Foo,
Hopping through the forest.
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.

“I gave you three chances to be good,
And you didn’t behave.
And now, I’m going to turn you into a goon!”
And so, poof!

The moral of the story is: Hare today, goon tomorrow . . . or, if you do not behave yourself and treat others nicely, something just awful will happen to you!

by Author Unknown

The Tortoise and the Hare

8/14/2018

The Tortoise and the Hare

A Hare insulted a Tortoise upon account of his slowness, and vainly boasted of her own great speed in running. “Let us have a match,” replied the Tortoise. “I will run with you five miles, and the fox yonder shall be the umpire of the race.” The Hare agreed; and away they both started together. But the Hare, by reason of her exceeding swiftness, outran the Tortoise to such a degree, that she made a jest of the matter; and, finding herself a little tired, settled into a tuft of fern that grew by the way, and took a nap; thinking that, if the Tortoise went by, she could at any time catch up with him with all the ease imaginable. In the meantime, while the Tortoise came jogging along with slow but persistent effort, the Hare, out of a too great a feeling of superiority and confidence of victory, overslept, and the Tortoise arrived at the end of the race first.

The moral of the story is, slow and steady wins the race, while bragging and slacking loses the race.

attributed to Aesop

Aesop may or may not have been an actual person. If real, he would have been born in about 620 B.C.E. He would have been a fabulist, or storyteller, and is credited with a number of works known collectively as “Aesop’s Fables.” In some of the stories, animals possess human characteristics, such as the ability to speak or have jobs. Aesop would have passed on at about 56 years of age in about 564 B.C.E.

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