The Wolves and the Dogs at War

One day, enmity broke out between the dogs and the wolves. The dogs elected a Greek to be their general. But he was in no hurry to engage in battle, despite the violent intimidation of the wolves.

"Understand" he said to them, "why I deliberately put off engagement. It is because one must always take counsel before acting. The wolves, on the other hand, are all of the same race, all of the same color. But our soldiers have very varied habits, and each one is proud of his own country. Even our colors are not uniform: some are black, some russet, and others white or ash-grey. How can I lead into battle those who are not in harmony and who are all disimilar?"

What is the moral? In all human struggle it is unity of will and purpose which assures victory over any adversary or in any situation.

Fables by Arnold Lobel

The Fox and the Lion

There was a fox who had never seen a lion. But one day he happened to meet one of these beasts face to face. On this first occasion he was so terrified that he felt he would die of fear.

He encountered the Lion again, and this time he was also frightened, but not so much as the first time.

But on the third occasion when he saw him, he actually plucked up the courage to approach him and began to chat.

MORAL: Familiarity soothes our fears. The more we face our fears the more we develop courage to overcome them.


The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables HERE!

The Bat and the House-Ferrets

A bat fell to the ground and was caught by a house-ferret. Realising that she was on the point of being killed, she begged for her life.

The house-ferret said to her that she could not let her go, for ferrets were supposed to be natural enemies to all birds.

The bat replied that she herself was not a bird, but a mouse. She managed to extricate herself from her danger by this means.

Eventually, falling a second time, the bat was caught by another house-ferret. Again she pleaded to the ferret not to eat her.

The second ferret declared that she absolutely detested all mice.

But the bat positively affirmed that she was not a mice but a bat. And so she was released again.

And that was how she saved herself from death twice by a mere change of name.

This story shows that it is not always necessary to confine ourselves to the same tactics. But, on the contrary, if we are adaptable to circumstances we can better escape danger.

THE MIDAS TOUCH

There was a greedy king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and the more he had, the more he wanted. He would spend his days in his vaults counting his gold.

One day a stranger appeared and told King Midas he would grant him a wish. The king was delighted and immediately said: "I would like everything I touch to turn to gold". The stranger asked the king, "Are you sure?" The king replied, "Yes". So the stranger said, "Starting from tomorrow, with the first rays of the sun, you will have the golden touch".

The king thought he must have been dreaming, that this couldn't be true. But the next day when he woke up, he touched the bed and it turned to gold. It was true- everything he touched did turn to gold. He looked out of the window and saw his daughter playing in the garden. He decided to give her a surprise and thought she would be happy. But before he went to the garden, he decided to read a book. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold and he couldn't read it.


He sat down to breakfast and the moment he touched the fruit and the glass of water, they turned to gold. He was hungry and he said to himself, "I can't eat and drink gold". Just then his daughter came running into the room and King Midas hugged her and she turned into a gold statue. There were no more smiles left.

The king bowed his head and started crying. The stranger who had granted him the wish appeared again and asked the king if he was happy with his golden touch. The king said he was the most miserable man in the world. The stranger asked, "What would you rather have, food and your loving daughter or lumps of gold and her golden statue?" The king cried and asked for forgiveness. He said, "I will give up all my gold. Please give me my daughter back because without her I have lost everything worth having". The stranger said to the king, "You have become wiser than before", and he reversed the spell.

King Midas got his daughter back in his arms and the king learned a lesson that he never forgot for the rest of his life.

What lessons can be learned?

•  Distorted values lead to tragedy.

•  Sometimes getting what you want may be a bigger tragedy than not getting what you want.