Aesop's Fables (Penguin Classics) - Aesop [3]
It is not a very pleasant feeling to have a neighbor who can easily strike from a distance.
IV
The Woman and the Fat Hen
A woman owned a hen that laid an egg every morning. Since the hen’s eggs were of excellent quality, they sold for a good price. So, at one point, the woman thought to herself, “If I double my hen’s allowance of barley, she’ll lay twice a day.” Therefore, she put her plan to work, and the hen became so fat and contented that it stopped laying altogether.
Relying on statistics does not always produce results.
V
The Kid and the Wolf
Standing securely on a high rock, a kid noticed a wolf passing below and began to taunt him and shower him with abuse. The wolf merely stopped to reply, “Coward! Don’t think that you can annoy me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not you who’s taunting me, but the place on which you’re standing!”
VI
The Hawk and the Pigeons
Some pigeons had long lived in fear of a hawk, but since they had always kept on the alert and stayed near their dovecote, they had consistently managed to escape their enemy’s attacks. Finding his sallies unsuccessful, the hawk now sought to use cunning to trick the pigeons.
“Why,” he once asked, “do you prefer this life of constant anxiety when I could keep you safe from any conceivable attack by the kites and falcons? All you have to do is to make me your king, and I won’t bother you anymore.”
Trusting his claims, the pigeons elected him to their throne, but no sooner was he installed than he began exercising his royal prerogative by devouring a pigeon a day.
“It serves us right,” said one poor pigeon whose turn was yet to come.
Some remedies are worse than the disease itself.
VII
The Eagle and the Fox
An eagle and a fox had lived together for a long time as good neighbors. The eagle’s nest was on top of a high tree; the fox’s lair, at the foot of it. One day, however, while the fox was away, the eagle could not find any food for her young ones. So she swooped down and carried off one of the fox’s cubs to her nest, thinking that her lofty dwelling would protect her from the fox’s revenge. She was about to divide the cub among her brood, when the fox returned home and pleaded fervently for the return of her young cub. Since her entreaties were in vain, she ran to an altar in a neighboring field and snatched a torch from the fire that had been lit to sacrifice a goat. Then she returned to the tree and set it on fire. The flames and smoke soon caused the eagle to worry about her young ones and her own life as well, and she returned the cub safe and sound to his mother.
The tyrant is never safe from those whom he oppresses.
VIII
The Boy and the Scorpion
A boy was hunting locusts on a wall and had already caught a great number of them when he spied a scorpion and mistook it for another locust. Just as he was cupping his hand to catch it, the scorpion lifted up its sting and said, “Just you try, and you’ll not only lose me but all your locusts in the bargain!”
IX
The Fox and the Goat
A fox had fallen into a well and could not find any means to escape. Eventually, a thirsty goat appeared, and upon noticing the fox, he asked him whether the water was good and plentiful.
Pretending that his situation was not precarious, the fox replied, “Come down, my friend. The water is so good that I can’t drink enough of it. Besides, there’s such an abundant supply that it can’t be exhausted.”
When he heard this, the goat did not waste any time and promptly leaped down into the well. After he quenched his thirst, the fox informed him of their predicament and suggested a scheme for their common escape.
“If you will place your forefeet upon the wall and bend your head, I’ll run up your back and escape. Then I’ll help you out.”
The goat readily agreed to this proposal, and the fox took advantage of his friend’s back and horns and nimbly propelled himself out of the well. Following his escape, he made off as fast as he could, while the goat yelled and reproached him for breaking