Category Archives: AESOP TALES
51.The Brazier and His Dog
A BRAZIER had a little dog, which was a great favorite with his master, and his constant companion. While he hammered away at his metals the dog slept; but when, on the other hand, he went to dinner and began to eat, the dog woke up and wagged his tail, as if he would ask for a share of his meal. His master one day, pretending to be angry and shaking his stick at him, said,
“You wretched little sluggard! What shall I do to you? While I am hammering on the anvil, you sleep on the mat; and when I begin to eat after my toil, you wake up and wag your tail for food. Don’t you know that labor is the source of every blessing, and that none but those who work are entitled to eat?”
❖ False accusations are not a slight matter.
❖ Sometimes false accusations don’t matter.
50.The Boys and the Frogs
SOME BOYS, playing near a pond, saw a number of frogs in the water and began to pelt them with stones. They killed several of them, when one of the frogs, lifting his head out of the water, cried out,
“Pray stop, my boys: what is sport to you, is death to us.”
49.The Boy Hunting Locusts
A BOY was hunting for locusts. He had caught a goodly number, when he saw a scorpion, and mistaking him for a locust, reached out his hand to take him.
The scorpion, showing his sting, said,
“If you had but touched me, my friend, you would have lost me, and all your locusts too!”
❖ It is better to have luck with you than to lose everything.
48.The Boy Bathing
A BOY bathing in a river was in danger of being drowned. He called out to a passing traveller for help, but instead of holding out a helping hand, the man stood by unconcernedly, and scolded the boy for his imprudence.
“Mister!” cried the youth, “try to help me now and scold me afterwards.”
❖ Counsel without help is at times quite useless.
