The birds, the beasts, and the bat ; The man and his two sweethearts ; The eagle, the jackdaw, and the shepherd ; The wolf and the boy ; The

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Section twelve of Aesop's Fables and new translation, written by
Azop and translated by V. S. Vernon Jones. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
This section has been read by Rosslyn Carlyle. The Birds,

(00:23):
the Beasts, and the Bat. The birds were at war
with the beasts, and many battles were fought, with varying
success on either side. The bat did not throw in
his lot definitely with either party, but when things went
well for the birds, he was found fighting in their ranks. When,

(00:43):
on the other hand, the beasts got the upper hand,
he was to be found among the beasts. No one
paid any attention to him while the war lasted, but
when it was over and peace was restored, neither the
birds nor the beasts would have anything to do with
so double faced a traitor, and so he remains to
this day a solitary outcast from both The man and

(01:09):
his two sweethearts. A man of middle age whose hair
was turning gray, had two sweethearts, an old woman and
a young one. The elder of the two didn't like
having a lover who looked so much younger than herself,
so whenever he came to see her, she used to
pull the dark hairs out of his head to make
him look old. The younger one, on the other hand,

(01:31):
didn't like him to look so much older than herself,
and she took every opportunity of pulling out the gray
hairs to make him look young. Between them, they left
not a hair on his head, and he became perfectly bald.
The eagle, the jackdaw and the shepherd. One day a

(01:52):
jackdaw saw an eagle swoop down on a lamb and
carry it off in its talons. My word, said the
jack doll, I'll do that myself. So it flew high
up into the air, and then came shooting down, with
a great whirring of wings, onto the back of a
big ram. It had no sooner alighted than its clothes,

(02:13):
got caught fast in the wool, and nothing it could
do was of any use. There it stuck flapping away
and only making things worse instead of better. By and
by up came the shepherd. Oh ho, he said, so
that's what you'd be doing, is it, And he took
the jack doll and clipped its wings and carried it

(02:36):
home to his children. It looked so odd that they
didn't know what to make of it. What sort of
bird is it, father, they asked. It's a jack doll,
he replied, and nothing but a jack doll. But it
wants to be taken for an eagle. And the moral
of the story is, if you attempt what is beyond
your power, your trouble will be wasted, and you court

(02:58):
not only misfortune but ready. The wolf and the boy.
A wolf who had just enjoyed a good meal and
was in a playful mood, caught sight of a boy
lying flat upon the ground, and realizing that he was
trying to hide, and that it was fear of himself

(03:18):
that made the boy do this, he went up to
him and said, Aha, I've found you, you see. But
if you can say three things to me, the truth
of which cannot be disputed, I will spare your life.
The boy plucked up courage and thought for a moment,
and then he said, first, it's a pity you saw me. Secondly,

(03:40):
I was a fool to let myself be seen. And thirdly,
we all hate wolves because they are always making unprovoked
attacks on our flocks. The wolf replied, well, what you
say is true enough from your point of view, so
you may go. The miller, his son, and their ass.

(04:02):
A miller accompanied by his young son, was driving his
ass to market in hoops of finding a purchaser for him.
On the road, they met a troop of girls, laughing
and talking, who exclaimed, did you ever see such a
pair of fools to be trudging along the dusty road
when they might be riding. The miller thought there was
sense in what they said, so he made his son

(04:25):
mount the ass and himself walked at the side. Presently,
they met some of his old cronies, who greeted them
and said, you'll spoil that son of yours letting him
ride while you toil along on foot. Make him walk young, lazybounds.
It'll do him all again in the world. The miller
followed their advice, and he took his son's place on

(04:46):
the back of the ass, while a boy trudged along behind.
They had not gone far when they overtook a party
of women and children, and the miller heard them say,
what a selfish old man. He himself rides in comfort,
but it's his poor You were a little boy follow
as best he can on his own legs, so he
made his son get up behind him. Further along the road,

(05:08):
they met some travelers who asked the miller whether the
ass he was riding was his own property or a
beast hired for the occasion. He replied that it was
his own, and that he was taking it to market
to sell good. Heavens, said they. With a load like that,
the poor beast will be so exhausted by the time
he gets there that no one will look at him.
Why you'd do better to carry him anything you please,

(05:32):
said the old man. We can, but try. So. They
got off, tied dass's legs together with a rope, and
slung him on a pole, and at last reached the town,
carrying him between them. This was so absurd a sight
that the people ran out in crowds to laugh at
it and shaft the father and son unmercifully, some of
them even calling them lunatics. They had then got to

(05:55):
a bridge over the river, where the ass, frightened by
the noise in his unusual city, kicked and struggled till
he broke the ropes that bound him and fell into
the water and was drowned, whereupon the unfortunate miller, vexed
and ashamed, made the best of his way home, again,
convinced that in trying to please all, he had pleased

(06:15):
none and had lost his ass into the bargain. The
Stag in the Vine a stag pursued by the huntsman,
concealed himself under cover of a thick vine. They lost
track of him and passed by his hiding place without
even being aware that he was anywhere near. Supposing all

(06:37):
danger to be over, he presently began to graze on
the leaves of the vine. The movement drew the attention
of the returning huntsman, and one of them, supposing some
animal to be hidden there, ventured to shoot an arrow
into the foliage. The unlucky stag was pierced to the heart,
and as he expired, he said, I deserve my fate

(06:58):
for my treachery in feeding upon the leaves of my protector.
The moral of this story is that ingratitude sometimes brings
its own punishment. The lamb chased by a wolf. A
wolf was chasing a lamb which took refuge in a temple.

(07:19):
The wolf urged it to come out of the precincts
and said, if you don't, the priest is sure to
catch you and offer you up in sacrifice on the altar,
to which the lamb replied, thanks, I think I'll stay
where I am. I'd rather be sacrificed any day than
be eaten up by a wolf. The archer and the lion.

(07:42):
An archer went up into the hills to get some
sport with his bow, and all the animals fled at
the side of him, with the exception of the lion,
who stayed behind and challenged him to a fight. But
he shot an arrow at the lion and hid him
and said, there you see see what my messenger can do.
Just you wait a moment, and I'll tackle you myself.

(08:06):
The lion, however, when he felt the sting of the arrow,
ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
A fox, who had seen it all happen, said to
the lion, come, don't be a coward. Why don't you
stay and shoe fight? But the lion replied, you won't
get me to stay, not you. Why when he sends

(08:26):
a messenger like that before him, he must himself be
a terrible fellow to deal with the moral of the
story is that you should give a wide berth to
those who can do damage at a distance. The Wolf
and the Goat. A wolf caught sight of a goot
browsing above him on the scanty herbage that grew on

(08:47):
the top of a steep rock, and, being unable to
get at her, tried to induce her to come down lower.
You're resking your life up there, madam. Indeed you are,
he called out. Pray, take my advice and come down here,
where you will find plenty of better food. The goat
turned a knowing eye upon him. Is little you care

(09:08):
whether I get good grass or bad, said she. What
you want is to eat me. The six Stag A
stag fell sick and lay in a clearing in the forest,
too weak to move from the spot. When the news
of his illness spread, a number of the other beasts

(09:30):
came to inquire after his health, and they won, and
all nibbled a little of the grass that grew around
invalid till at last there was not a blade within
his reach, and a few days he began to mend,
was still too feeble to get up and go in
search of fodder, and thus he perished miserably of hunger
owing to the thoughtlessness of his friends, the ass and

(09:56):
the mule. A certain man who had an ass in
the mule, loaded them both up one day and set
out upon a journey. So long as the road was
fairly level. The ass got on very well. But by
and by they came to a place amongst the hills
where the road was very rough and steep, and the
ass was at his last gasp. So he begged the

(10:18):
mule to relieve him of a part of his load,
but the mule refused. At last from sheer weariness, the
ass stumbled and fell down a steep place and was killed.
The driver was in despair, but he did the best
he could. He added the asses load to the mules,
and he also flayed the ass and put his skin

(10:40):
on the top of the double load. The mule could
only just manage the extra weight, and as he staggered
painfully along, he said to himself, I have only got
what I deserved. If I had been willing to help
the ass at first, I should not now be carrying
his load and his skin into the bargain. Brother and

(11:06):
sister a certain man had two children, a boy and
a girl, and the boy was as good looking as
the girl was plain. One day, as they were playing
together in their mother's chamber, they chanced upon a mirror
and saw their own features for the first time. The
boy saw what a handsome fellow he was, and began

(11:27):
to boost to his sister about his good looks. She,
of her part, was ready to cry with vexation when
she was aware of her plainness, and took his remarks
as an insult to herself. Running to her father, she
told him of her brother's conceit and accused him of
meddling with his mother's things. The father laughed and kissed

(11:49):
them both, and said, my children learn from now onwards
to make a good use of the glass. You, my boy,
strive to be as good as it shows you to
be handsome, and you, my girl, resolved to make up
for the plainness of your features by the sweetness of
your disposition. The hyphen in the Ox, a hypher went

(12:14):
up to an ox who was straining hard at the plow,
and sympathized with him in a rather patronizing sort of
way on the necessity of his having to work so hard.
Not long afterwards, there was a festival in the village,
and everyone kept holiday. But whereas the ox was turned
loose into the pasture, the hypher was seized and led

(12:35):
off to sacrifice. Ah, said the ox, with a grim smile.
I see now why you are allowed to have such
an idle time. It was because you were always intended
for the altar, the kingdom of the Lion. When the
Lion reigned over the beasts of the earth, he was

(12:58):
never crueler tyrannical. What is gentle them, just as a
king ought to be. During his reign, he called a
general assembly of the beasts and drew up a code
of laws under which all were to live in perfect
equality and harmony. The wolf and the lamb, the tiger
and the stag, the leopard and the kid, the dog
and the hare, all should dwell side by side in

(13:21):
unbroken peace and friendship. The hare said, Oh, how I
have longed for this day when the week take their
place without fear by the side of the strong the
ass and his driver. An ass was being driven down
a mountain road, and after jogging along for a while

(13:42):
sensibly enough, he suddenly quitted the track and rushed to
the edge of a precipice. He was just about to
leap over the edge when his driver caught hold of
his tail and did his best to pull him back.
But pool as the driver might, he couldn't get the
ass to budge from the brink. At last he gave up, crying, Ah,

(14:03):
all right, then get to the bottom your own way.
But it's the way to sudden death, as you'll find
out quick enough. End of Section twelve.