Aesop

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to
its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he
was taking to the nest.

     "Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and
moiling in that way?"

     "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to
do the same."

     "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "We have got plenty of food at
present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

     When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of
hunger - while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores
they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for
days of need.

Aesop
The Boy Who Cried Wolf

A shepherd-boy, who watched a flock of sheep near a village, brought out the
villagers three or four times by crying out, "Wolf! Wolf!" and when his neighbors
came to help him, laughed at them for their pains.

     The Wolf, however, did truly come at last. The Shepherd-boy, now really alarmed,
shouted in an agony of terror: "Pray, do come and help me; the Wolf is killing the
sheep"; but no one paid any heed to his cries, nor rendered any assistance. The Wolf,
having no cause of fear, at his leisure lacerated or destroyed the whole flock.

     There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.

top The Fox and The Crow

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a
branch of a tree.

     "That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot
of the tree.

     "Good day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking today: how
glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of
other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may
greet you as the Queen of Birds."

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     The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she
opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by
Master Fox.

     "That will do," said he. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will
give you a piece of advice for the future: "Do not trust flatterers."

The Miser

A miser sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in a hole in
the ground by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily. One of his workmen
observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch his movements. He soon
discovered the secret of the hidden treasure, and digging down, came to the lump of
gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit, found the hole empty and began to tear
his hair and to make loud lamentations. A neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief
and learning the cause, said, "Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place
it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same
service; for when the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest
use of it."

The Tortoise and the Hare

The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have never yet
been beaten," said he, "when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to
race with me."

     The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."

     "That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you all the way."

     "Keep your boasting till you've won," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we race?"

     So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out of sight at
once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a
nap. The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his
nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to
save the race.

     Then the Tortoise said: "Slow but steady progress wins the race."

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the
shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed
and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep.

     The Lamb that belonged to the sheep whose skin the Wolf was wearing began to
follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing. So, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon

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made a meal off her - and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and
enjoying hearty meals.

     Appearances are deceptive.

Hans Christian Andersen

The Emperor's New Suit

Many, many years ago lived an emperor, who thought so much of new clothes that he
spent all his money in order to obtain them; his only ambition was to be always well
dressed. He did not care for his soldiers, and the theatre did not amuse him; the only
thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to drive out and show a new suit of clothes.
He had a coat for every hour of the day; and as one would say of a king "He is in his
cabinet," so one could say of him, "The emperor is in his dressing-room."

     The great city where he resided was very gay; every day many strangers from all
parts of the globe arrived. One day two swindlers came to this city; they made people
believe that they were weavers, and declared they could manufacture the finest cloth
to be imagined. Their colours and patterns, they said, were not only exceptionally
beautiful, but the clothes made of their material possessed the wonderful quality of
being invisible to any man who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid.

     "That must be wonderful cloth," thought the emperor. "If I were to be dressed in a
suit made of this cloth I should be able to find out which men in my empire were unfit
for their places, and I could distinguish the clever from the stupid. I must have this
cloth woven for me without delay." And he gave a large sum of money to the
swindlers, in advance, that they should set to work without any loss of time. They set
up two looms, and pretended to be very hard at work, but they did nothing whatever
on the looms. They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth; all they
got they did away with, and worked at the empty looms till late at night.

     "I should very much like to know how they are getting on with the cloth," thought
the emperor. But he felt rather uneasy when he remembered that he who was not fit
for his office could not see it. Personally, he was of opinion that he had nothing to
fear, yet he thought it advisable to send somebody else first to see how matters stood.
Everybody in the town knew what a remarkable quality the stuff possessed, and all
were anxious to see how bad or stupid their neighbours were.

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     "I shall send my honest old minister to the weavers," thought the emperor. "He can
judge best how the stuff looks, for he is intelligent, and nobody understands his office
better than he."

     The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty
looms. "Heaven preserve us!" he thought, and opened his eyes wide, "I cannot see
anything at all," but he did not say so. Both swindlers requested him to come near,
and asked him if he did not admire the exquisite pattern and the beautiful colours,
pointing to the empty looms. The poor old minister tried his very best, but he could
see nothing, for there was nothing to be seen. "Oh dear," he thought, "can I be so

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stupid? I should never have thought so, and nobody must know it! Is it possible that I
am not fit for my office? No, no, I cannot say that I was unable to see the cloth."

     "Now, have you got nothing to say?" said one of the swindlers, while he pretended
to be busily weaving.

     "Oh, it is very pretty, exceedingly beautiful," replied the old minister looking
through his glasses. "What a beautiful pattern, what brilliant colours! I shall tell the
emperor that I like the cloth very much."

     "We are pleased to hear that," said the two weavers, and described to him the
colours and explained the curious pattern. The old minister listened attentively, that he
might relate to the emperor what they said; and so he did.

     Now the swindlers asked for more money, silk and gold-cloth, which they required
for weaving. They kept everything for themselves, and not a thread came near the
loom, but they continued, as hitherto, to work at the empty looms.

     Soon afterwards the emperor sent another honest courtier to the weavers to see
how they were getting on, and if the cloth was nearly finished. Like the old minister,
he looked and looked but could see nothing, as there was nothing to be seen.

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     "Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?" asked the two swindlers, showing and
explaining the magnificent pattern, which, however, did not exist.

     "I am not stupid," said the man. "It is therefore my good appointment for which I
am not fit. It is very strange, but I must not let any one know it;" and he praised the
cloth, which he did not see, and expressed his joy at the beautiful colours and the fine
pattern. "It is very excellent," he said to the emperor.

     Everybody in the whole town talked about the precious cloth. At last the emperor
wished to see it himself, while it was still on the loom. With a number of courtiers,
including the two who had already been there, he went to the two clever swindlers,
who now worked as hard as they could, but without using any thread.

     "Is it not magnificent?" said the two old statesmen who had been there before.
"Your Majesty must admire the colours and the pattern." And then they pointed to the
empty looms, for they imagined the others could see the cloth.

     "What is this?" thought the emperor, "I do not see anything at all. That is terrible!
Am I stupid? Am I unfit to be emperor? That would indeed be the most dreadful thing
that could happen to me."

     "Really," he said, turning to the weavers, "your cloth has our most gracious
approval;" and nodding contentedly he looked at the empty loom, for he did not like
to say that he saw nothing. All his attendants, who were with him, looked and looked,
and although they could not see anything more than the others, they said, like the
emperor, "It is very beautiful." And all advised him to wear the new magnificent

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clothes at a great procession which was soon to take place. "It is magnificent,
beautiful, excellent," one heard them say; everybody seemed to be delighted, and the
emperor appointed the two swindlers "Imperial Court weavers."

     The whole night previous to the day on which the procession was to take place, the
swindlers pretended to work, and burned more than sixteen candles. People should see
that they were busy to finish the emperor's new suit. They pretended to take the cloth
from the loom, and worked about in the air with big scissors, and sewed with needles
without thread, and said at last: "The emperor's new suit is ready now."

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     The emperor and all his barons then came to the hall; the swindlers held their arms
up as if they held something in their hands and said: "These are the trousers!" "This is
the coat!" and "Here is the cloak!" and so on. "They are all as light as a cobweb, and
one must feel as if one had nothing at all upon the body; but that is just the beauty of
them."

     "Indeed!" said all the courtiers; but they could not see anything, for there was
nothing to be seen.

     "Does it please your Majesty now to graciously undress," said the swindlers, "that
we may assist your Majesty in putting on the new suit before the large looking-glass?"

     The emperor undressed, and the swindlers pretended to put the new suit upon him,
one piece after another; and the emperor looked at himself in the glass from every
side.

     "How well they look! How well they fit!" said all. "What a beautiful pattern! What
fine colours! That is a magnificent suit of clothes!"

     The master of the ceremonies announced that the bearers of the canopy, which was
to be carried in the procession, were ready.

     "I am ready," said the emperor. "Does not my suit fit me marvellously?" Then he
turned once more to the looking-glass, that people should think he admired his
garments.

     The chamberlains, who were to carry the train, stretched their hands to the ground
as if they lifted up a train, and pretended to hold something in their hands; they did
not like people to know that they could not see anything.

     The emperor marched in the procession under the beautiful canopy, and all who
saw him in the street and out of the windows exclaimed: "Indeed, the emperor's new
suit is incomparable! What a long train he has! How well it fits him!" Nobody wished
to let others know he saw nothing, for then he would have been unfit for his office or
too stupid. Never emperor's clothes were more admired.

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     "But he has nothing on at all," said a little child at last. "Good heavens! listen to
the voice of an innocent child," said the father, and one whispered to the other what
the child had said. "But he has nothing on at all," cried at last the whole people. That
made a deep impression upon the emperor, for it seemed to him that they were right;
but he thought to himself, "Now I must bear up to the end." And the chamberlains
walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train which did not exist.

Brothers Grimm
King Grisly-Beard

A great king of a land far away in the East had a daughter who was very beautiful, but
so proud and haughty and conceited, that none of the princes who came to ask for her
hand in marriage was good enough for her. All she ever did was make fun of them.

     Once upon a time the king held a great feast and invited all her suitors. They all sat
in a row, ranged according to their rank -- kings and princes and dukes and earls and
counts and barons and knights. When the princess came in, as she passed by them, she
had something spiteful to say to each one.

     The first was too fat: 'He's as round as a tub,' she said.

     The next was too tall: 'What a maypole!' she said.

     The next was too short: 'What a dumpling!' she said.

     The fourth was too pale, and she called him 'Wallface.'

     The fifth was too red, so she called him 'Coxcomb.'

     The sixth was not straight enough; so she said he was like a green stick that had
been laid to dry over a baker's oven. She had some joke to crack about every one. But
she laughed most of all at a good king who was there.

     'Look at him,' she said; 'his beard is like an old mop; he shall be called Grisly-
beard.' So the king got the nickname of Grisly-beard.

     But the old king was very angry when he saw how his daughter behaved and how
badly she treated all his guests. He vowed that, willing or unwilling, she would marry
the first man that came to the door.

     Two days later a travelling fiddler came by the castle. He began to play under the
window and begged for money and when the king heard him, he said, 'Let him come
in.'

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     So, they brought the dirty-looking fellow in and, when he had sung before the king
and the princess, he begged for a gift.

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     The king said, 'You have sung so well that I will give you my daughter to take as
your wife.'

     The princess begged and prayed; but the king said, 'I have sworn to give you to the
first man who came to the door, and I will keep my word.'

     Words and tears were to no avail; the parson was sent for, and she was married to
the fiddler.

     When this was over, the king said, 'Now get ready to leave -- you must not stay
here -- you must travel with your husband.'

     So the fiddler left the castle, and took the princess with him.

     Soon they came to a great wood.

     'Pray,' she said, 'whose is this wood?'

     'It belongs to King Grisly-beard,' he answered; 'hadst thou taken him, all would
have been thine.'

     'Ah! unlucky wretch that I am!' she sighed; 'would that I had married King Grisly-
beard!'

     Next they came to some fine meadows.

     'Whose are these beautiful green meadows?' she said.

     'They belong to King Grisly-beard, hadst thou taken him, they would all have been
thine.'

     'Ah! unlucky wretch that I am!' she said; 'would that I had married King Grisly-
beard!'

     Then they came to a great city. 'Whose is this noble city?' she said.

     'It belongs to King Grisly-beard; hadst thou taken him, it would all have been
thine.'

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     'Ah! wretch that I am!' she sighed; 'why did I not marry King Grisly-beard?'

     'That is no business of mine,' said the fiddler, 'why should you wish for another
husband? Am I not good enough for you?'

     At last they came to a small cottage. 'What a paltry place!' she said; 'to whom does
that little dirty hole belong?'

     The fiddler said, 'That is your and my house, where we are to live.'

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     'Where are your servants?' she cried.

     'What do we want with servants?' he said; 'you must do for yourself whatever is to
be done. Now make the fire, and put on water and cook my supper, for I am very
tired.'

     But the princess knew nothing of making fires and cooking, and the fiddler was
forced to help her.

     When they had eaten a very scanty meal they went to bed; but the fiddler called
her up very early in the morning to clean the house.

     They lived like that for two days and when they had eaten up all there was in the
cottage, the man said, 'Wife, we can't go on thus, spending money and earning
nothing. You must learn to weave baskets.'

     Then the fiddler went out and cut willows, and brought them home, and she began
to weave; but it made her fingers very sore.

     'I see this work won't do,' he said, 'try and spin; perhaps you will do that better.'

     So she sat down and tried to spin; but the threads cut her tender fingers until the
blood ran.

     'See now,' said the fiddler, 'you are good for nothing; you can do no work. What a
bargain I have got! However, I'll try and set up a trade in pots and pans, and you shall
stand in the market and sell them.'

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     'Alas!' she sighed, 'if any of my father's court should pass by and see me standing
in the market, how they will laugh at me!'

     But her husband did not care about that, and said she would have to work if she did
not want to die of hunger.

     At first the trade went well because many people, seeing such a beautiful woman,
went to buy her wares and paid their money without even thinking of taking away the
goods. They lived on this as long as it lasted and then her husband bought a fresh lot
of pots and pans, and she sat herself down with it in the corner of the market.

     However, soon a drunken soldier soon came by and rode his horse against her stall
and broke all her goods into a thousand pieces.

     She began to cry, and did not know what to do. 'Ah! what will become of me?' she
said; 'what will my husband say?' So she ran home and told him everything.

     'Who would have thought you would have been so silly,' he said, 'as to put an
earthenware stall in the corner of the market, where everybody passes? But let us have
no more crying; I see you are not fit for this sort of work, so I have been to the king's

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palace, and asked if they did not want a kitchen-maid; and they say they will take you,
and there you will have plenty to eat.'

     So the princess became a kitchen-maid and helped the cook to do all the dirtiest
work. She was allowed to carry home some of the meat that was left over, and they
lived on that.

     She had not been there long before she heard that the king's eldest son was passing
by, on his way to get married. She went to one of the windows and looked out.
Everything was ready and all the pomp and brightness of the court was there. Seeing
it, she grieved bitterly for the pride and folly that had brought her so low. The servants
gave her some of the rich meats and she put them into her basket to take home.

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     All of a sudden, as she was leaving, in came the king's son in his golden clothes.
When he saw such a beautiful woman at the door, he took her by the hand and said
she should be his partner in the dance. She trembled with fear because she saw that it
was King Grisly-beard, who was making fun of her. However, he kept hold of her,
and led her into the hall. As she entered, the cover of the basket came off, and the
meats in it fell out. Everybody laughed and jeered at her and she was so ashamed that
she wished she were a thousand feet deep in the earth. She sprang over to the door so
that she could run away but on the steps King Grisly-beard overtook her, brought her
back and said:

     'Fear me not! I am the fiddler who has lived with you in the hut. I brought you
there because I truly loved you. I am also the soldier that overset your stall. I have
done all this only to cure you of your silly pride, and to show you the folly of your ill-
treatment of me. Now it is all over: you have learnt wisdom, and it is time to hold our
marriage feast.'

     Then the chamberlains came and brought her the most beautiful robes. Her father
and his whole court were already there, and they welcomed her home. Joy was in
every face and every heart. The feast was grand; they danced and sang; everyone was
merry; and I only wish that you and I had been there.