Ancient Wisdom

Once a Dog, with a bit of meat in his mouth, was crossing a river. Looking down he saw his image in the water, and thought it was another dog, with a bigger piece. So he dropped what he had, and jumped into the water after the other piece. thus he lost both pieces: the other he really had, which he dropped; and the other he wanted, which was no piece at all. 

A Widow, thrifty and industrious, had two servants whom she kept pretty hard at work. They were not allowed to sleep late at the early  as the  old lady force them to wake up as soon as the cock crew. They disliked it to  get up at such an hour, especially in winter time: and they thought that if it not for the cock waking up their Mistress so horribly early, they could sleep longer. So they caught it and wrung his neck. But they were not prepared for the consequences. For what happened was that their Mistress, not hearing the cock crow as usual, waked them up earlier than ever, and set them to work in the middle of the night.

Some mischievous Boys were playing on the edge of a pond. They saw some frogs swimming about in the shallow water. They started to amuse themselves by pelting them with stones. With their stones they killed several frogs. At last one of the Frogs dare to put his head out of the water and said: "Oh, stop! stop!, I beg of you: what is sport to you is death to us."

Once upon a time an astronomer was gazing at the stars and trying to read their movements. He went out of the village to read the shining stars on the sky. While he was looking into the sky, he fell into a ditch. He got injured and cried for help. A passer by heard his voice in agony and stopped to see what was the matter.  The passer by asked the astronomer, "What happened to you? " How do you fell into the ditch? The astronomer replied, " I was grazing at stars and fell into this ditch." The passer by replied, "Ah, sir, when you are trying to read what is in the sky, I am surprised you do not see what is on the earth?" 1of4  

  Once upon a time, in the heart of a dense forest, there stood a majestic Mountain Oak. Its towering presence was a testament to its years of endurance and strength. One day, a woodcutter ventured into the forest, his eyes set on the mighty oak. With a swift, determined swing of his axe, he began his task. The Mountain Oak, a silent observer of the forest’s tales, found itself at the mercy of the woodcutter’s axe. The woodcutter, to ease his task, cleverly crafted wedges from the oak’s own branches. He used these to split the trunk, saving himself considerable effort. The Mountain Oak, though stoic and resilient, couldn’t help but sigh at this sight. “The strikes of the axe at my root, I can bear,” it whispered to the wind, “for such is the fate of all trees. But the agony of being torn apart by wedges hewn from my own branches is a sorrow far greater.” And so, the tale of the Mountain Oak serves as a poignant reminder. Misfortunes that spring from ourselves are often the hardest to b

In the heart of a sun-drenched landscape, a parched crow found herself in a dire predicament. She had stumbled upon a pitcher, a beacon of hope in her desperate quest for water. However, her heart sank as she peered into it. The water was there, but it was just out of reach of her desperate beak. It was a cruel irony - the brink of salvation, yet on the verge of succumbing to thirst. The crow, however, was not one to admit defeat so easily. A spark of determination ignited within her. She had a plan, a testament to her resourcefulness and wit. Nearby, she found a collection of small pebbles. One by one, she began to drop them into the pitcher. Each pebble sent tiny ripples across the water’s surface, a small victory as the water level steadily rose. The crow continued her labor, her resolve unwavering. With each pebble, the water inched closer to the brim, and with it, her hope soared. Finally, the moment arrived. The water had risen high enough for the crow to dip her beak into the li

Once a A Fire-Tree was boating to a Bramble, and said somewhat contemptuously, "You poor creature you are of no use whatever. Now, look at me: I am useful for all sorts of things, particularly when men build houses; they can't do without me then." But the Bramble replied, "Ah, that's all very well: but you wait till they come with axes and saws to cut you down, and then you'll wish you were a Bramble and not a Fir."

Once A Raven got himself a piece of meat, and sat down on a tree. The Fox wanted to get it from him. She went up to him, and said: "Oh, Raven, as I look at you,-from your size and beauty, -you ought to be a king! And you would certainly be a king, if you had a good voice." The Raven opened his mouth wide, and began to croak with all his might. The meat fell down. The Fox caught it and said: "Oh, Raven! If you had also sense, you would certainly be a king."

A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun that who is stronger among them. At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveller to see which could soonest strip him of his cloak. The North Wind had the first try; and gathering up all his force for the attack, he came whirling furiously down upon the man, and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him by one single effort: but the harder he blew, the more closely the man wrapped it round himself. Then came the turn of the Sun. At first he beamed gently upon the traveller, who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulder: then he shone forth in his full strength, and the man, before he had gone many steps, was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journey more lightly clad. 

Once a Peacock taunted a Crane with the dullness of her plumage. "Look at my brilliant colours," said she, "and see how much finer they are than your poor feathers." Your feathers have one colour only. My feathers have various beautiful colours. When I open my feathers it create a beautiful scenario in the desert too.  The Crane replied, " I am not denying that your are far gayer feathers than mine; but when it comes to flying I can soar into the clouds whereas you are confined to the earth like any dunghill cock. You are beautiful but you can't fly like me."

Once A Bat fell to the ground and was caught by a Weasel, and was just going to be killed and eaten when it begged to be let go. The Weasel said he couldn't do that because he was an enemy of all birds on principle. "Oh, but," said the Bat, "I'm not a bird at all: I'm a mouse." So you are," said the Weasel, "now I come to look at you": and he let it go. Sometime after this the Bat was caught in just the same way by another Weasel, and, as before, begged for its life. "No," said the Weasel," I never let a mouse go by any chance." "But I'm not a mouse," said the Bat; "I'm a bird." "Why, so you are," said the Weasel; and he too let the Bat go. 

Once an Ass and a Fox went into partnership and sallied out to forage for food together. They hadn't gone far before they saw a Lion coming their way, at which they were both dreadfully frightened. But the Fox thought he saw a way of saving his own skin, and went boldly up to the Lion and whispered in his ear, " I'll manage that you shall get hold of the Ass without the trouble of stalking him, if you will promise to let me go free." The Lion agreed to this, and the Fox then rejoined by his companion and contrived before long to lead him by a hidden pit, which some hunter had dug as a trap for wild animals, and into which he fell. When the Lion saw that the Ass was safely caught and couldn't get away, it was to the Fox that he first turned his attention, and he soon finished him off, and then at his leisure proceeded to feast upon the Ass. 

Once a Cat heard that the Birds in an aviary were ailing. So he got himself up as a doctor, and taking with him a set of the instruments proper to his profession, presented himself as the door, and inquired after the health of the Birds. "We shall do very well," they replied, without letting him in, "when we've seen the last of you."

  Once a Fawn said to a Stag: "Father, you are larger and fleeter than the dogs, and, besides, you have huge antlers for defence; why, then, are you so afraid of the dogs!" The Stag laughed and said: "You speak the truth, my child. The trouble is- the moment I hear the dogs bark, I run before I have time to think."

  A Fox and a Monkey were on the road together, and fell into a dispute as to which of the two was the better born. They kept it up for some time, till they came to a place where the road passed through cemetery full of monuments, when the Monkey stopped and looked about him and gave a great sigh. "Why do you sigh? said the Fox.  The Monkey pointed to the tombs and replied, "All the monuments that you see here were put up in honour of my forefathers, who in their day were eminent people.  The Fox was speechless for a moment, but quickly recovering he said, "Oh! don't stop at any lie, sir; you're quite safe: I'm sure none of your ancestors will rise up and expose you."

Once the Snake's Tail had a quarrel with the Snake's Head about who was to walk in front. The Head Said:  "You cannot walk in front, because you have no eyes and no ears." "Yes, but I have strength, I move you; if I want to, I can wind myself around a tree, and you cannot get off the spot." The Head said: "Let us separate!" And the Tail tore himself loose from the Head, and crept on; but the moment he got away from the Head, he fell into a hole and was lost.

This story is fine example of many governments, companies and offices where rulers and sitting on top don't want to share burden of people and at the end they have to face the consequences. "Once a man had an Ass and a Horse. They were walking on the road; the Ass said to the Horse: "It is heavy for me,-I shall not be able to carry it all; take at least a part of my load." The Horse paid no attention to him. The Ass fell down from overstraining himself, and died. When the master transferred the Ass's load on the Horse, and added the Ass's hide, the Horse began to complain: "Oh, woe to me, poor one, woe to me, unfortunate Horse; I did not want to help him even a little, and now I have to carry everything and his hide, too."

A young man asked an old man that I have been dismissed from my office though I worked hard but many employees were successful in spite of their stupidity and laziness. He told him this story to inference: "Once an Oak that grew on the bank of a river was uprooted by a severe gale of wind, and thrown across the stream. It fell among some Reeds growing by the water, and said to them, "How is it that you, who are so frail and slender, have managed to weather the storm, whereas I, with all my strength, have been torn up by the roots and hurled into the river?" "You were stubborn," came the reply, "and fought against the storm, which proved stronger than you: but we bow and yield to every breeze, and thus gale passed harmlessly over our heads."

  'United we stand: united we survive" is a famous quotation used by hero in Gladiator movie. Here is another Aesop's story of Bulls that tells how things in united can survive against powerful and mighty opponent. 'Once four Bulls agreed to live together, and they fed in the same pasture. Now the Lion saw them afar off, and wanted to hunt them, but he knew that he could not do so as long as they bound together. So, first of all, he hired a Fox to create differences among them. When they were divided and started quarrelling with one another; and when that happened,  he easily killed them one by one."

Once a Tortoise seeing an Eagle in flight became envious and desired to fly like him. So she asked him if he would not teach her to fly. He told her that it was impossible; that Tortoise could not fly. All the more did she urge him; so at last the Eagle seized her in his claws, bore her to a great height, and then, letting her go, bade her fly. She fell like a stone to the earth, and the blow knocked the breath out of her body. This fable teaches that people who are envious, and refuse to take the advice of those who know more than themselves, are apt to get into trouble.