3-1 The Mother and the Wolf
One morning, a wolf sat outside the farmer's window. P
He heard the farmer's wife say to her child, P
"Hush, child! Stop your crying or I will feed you to the wolves!" P
The wolf, of course, became very excited. P
He waited outside the window all day hoping for a delicious meal. P
But no matter how much the child cried, the farmer's wife did not throw the child to the wolves. P
That evening, the mother said again to her child, P
"Hush now, child. Don't cry. I will not let the wolves get you. P
Daddy is here, and he will protect you." P
Just then, the farmer came out of the house with a gun. P
Confused and scared, the wolf ran away into the woods. P
(Do not believe everything you hear.) P
3-2 The Fox and the Ox
An Ox walked down to the pond to have a drink of water. P
He splashed into the water, crushing a Young Frog. P
The Old Frog called everywhere for the Young Frog, but could not find him. P
Another frog said, "The young frog was killed by a HUGE monster." P
"Well," the Old Frog declared. "He could not have been as big as this." P
The Old Frog puffed his body up to twice his normal size. P
"The monster was much bigger than that," the other frog stated. P
Angry, the Old Frog puffed himself up still bigger. P
"Big, you say! Nothing is bigger than me now." P
The Old Frog was almost three times his normal size. P
"You're not even close!" the other frog giggled. P
The Old Frog puffed himself up more and more until he exploded everywhere. P
(Do not attempt the impossible.) P
3-3 The Lion's Share
A long time ago, a lion, a wolf, a jackal, and a fox went hunting together. P
They agreed to share whatever they caught. P
The wolf killed a stag right away. "Come share the meat with me, my friends!" the wolf yelled. P
The lion immediately took the stag and announced to the others, P
"There are four of us, so I will divide the stag into four parts. P
Of course, I will have the first part because I am King of the Jungle. P
But I will also have the second part because I am the bravest! P
And I will have the third part because I am the strongest! P
You three can share the fourth part." P
The lion growled at the three other animals and said fiercely, P
"If anyone does not like what I have done, speak now!" P
Of course, the wolf, the jackal, and the fox said nothing. P
(The strongest man is always right.) P
3-4 The Stag, the Wolf, and the Sheep
One day a stag came to a sheep. P
"Hello neighbor. Can I borrow some wheat?" asked the stag. P
"I promise to return it as soon as I can." P
But the sheep did not trust the stag. P
"How do I know you will return my wheat?" said the sheep. P
"You are fast, and I could never catch you." P
"Of course," said the stag. P
"My friend the wolf says that he will guarantee that the wheat will be returned to you." P
The sheep laughed and said, "The wolf! I trust the wolf even less than I trust you! P
You will run away with my wheat, but the wolf will take my wheat and he will eat me too." P
(Two evils do not make something right.) P
3-6 The Goat and the Goatherd
A goat walked away from the farm one day. P
He saw some very green grass on a hill. P
"I would love to eat that grass," thought the goat. P
The goatherd begged the goat to come back, but the goat would not listen. P
"Please come back, goat! P
If you do not, the master will surely beat me." P
The goat kept walking, so the goatherd threw a rock at him. P
The rock hit the goat and broke one of the animal's horns. P
The goatherd became very frightened. P
"I am sorry, dear goat! Please do not tell the master I broke your horn," P
The goat replied, "I do not need to tell the master anything. P
He will see for himself what you have done!" P
(Evil deeds cannot stay hidden.) P
3-7 The Spendthrift and the Swallow
Once there was a young boy with lots of money. P
He had many friends because he bought them many gifts. P
But one cold winter day, he found he had no more money. P
"Oh, woe is me," cried the boy. P
"I have no money or property! P
I only have the warm clothes on my back, and that is all!" P
The boy was afraid to see his friends again. P
He didn't want them to know he was poor. P
"They will laugh at me when they see how poor I am!" he cried. P
Just then a swallow flew by. P
The boy thought that summer had come, so he sold all his warm clothes. P
The next day, a terrible winter storm came and both the boy and the swallow froze to death. P
(One swallow does not make a summer.) P
3-8 The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox
A big bear walked through a great forest. P
"I'm hungry," said the bear. Just then, a little lamb walked by. P
The bear ran to the lamb. P
At the same time, a lion saw the lamb too. P
The lion wanted to eat the lamb too, so he attacked the bear. P
The bear and the lion fought until both were bloody and injured. P
A fox suddenly rushed by the injured animals and grabbed the lamb for himself. P
He laughed at the lion and the bear and returned to the forest, to feast on the lamb. P
The bear and the lion were terribly sad. P
"If we had only shared the lamb," said the lion. P
"We would both have eaten. P
But now that sneaky fox has our food and we have nothing." P
(Hard work does not always bring rewards.) P
3-9 The Farmer and His Sons
An old farmer knew that he was close to dying. P
He called all his sons to his side and said, P
"My boys. Do not sell the farm when I am dead because I have hidden a great treasure somewhere. P
When I die, you should dig everywhere until you find it." P
The old farmer died the next day. P
The sons all grabbed shovels and began digging up the whole farm. P
When it came time to harvest the crops, they made lots of money. P
They made more money than any of the other farms. P
As the sons celebrated their success, one son said, P
"We did find our father's treasure. P
Because we dug the ground up everywhere, it was perfect for planting crops. P
That is why we now have so much money." P
(Good work is itself a treasure.) P
3-11 The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
A wolf sat staring at a herd of sheep. P
The shepherd was always around so the wolf could not kill any sheep. P
One day, the wolf saw a sheep's skin and smiled. P
"I can use this skin to sneak past the shepherd," thought the wolf. P
So, the next day, the wolf wore the sheep's skin and went looking for dinner. P
The wolf found a little lamb and said, "Hello, lamb. Come with me and I'll tell you a secret." P
The lamb followed the wolf and was eaten. P
The wolf still felt hungry, so he went back to the herd of sheep. P
The shepherd also felt hungry and wanted some dinner. P
He walked among the sheep with his knife and saw a large one talking to a little lamb. P
He licked his lips and killed the wolf in sheep's clothing. P
(If you do evil things, evil things will happen to you.) P
3-12 The Tortoise and the Hare
One day, the hare laughed at the tortoise, P
"You are so slow, tortoise! Look at how you move! P
How can you ever get anywhere?" P
The tortoise replied, "I bet you I can get places faster than you. P
I challenge you to a race." Of course, the hare laughed at the tortoise when he said this. P
The next day, the tortoise and the hare had their race. P
The hare ran so fast that he could not see the tortoise after a few minutes. P
Just to show the tortoise how silly the race was, P
the hare decided to lie down next to a tree for a short nap. P
"The tortoise is so slow," thought the hare. P
"I can sleep here for an hour and still win the race!" P
But the hare soon fell into a deep sleep and did not awake for many hours. P
The tortoise slowly walked by and finished the race first. P
(The race is not always won by the fastest.) P
3-13 The Wolf and the Crane
A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, P
when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he could not swallow it. P
He soon felt terrible pain in his throat, and ran up and down, groaning and groaning, and seeking for something to relieve the pain. P
He tried to induce everyone he met to remove the bone. P
"I would give anything," said he, "if you would take it out." P
At last the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could. P
Then the Crane put its long neck down the Wolf's throat, P
and with its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out. P
"Will you kindly give me the reward you promised?" said the Crane. P
The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: P
"Be content. You have put your head inside a Wolf's mouth and taken it out again in safety; P
that ought to be reward enough for you." P
(Gratitude and greed go not together.) P
3-14 The Two Fellows and the Bear
Two men were traveling through a forest. P
Suddenly, a huge bear jumped out from behind a tree. P
"Arhhggg!" shouted the bear. P
Scared for his life, one of the men immediately climbed up a tree. P
The other man fell on the ground. He pretended to be dead. P
Someone had told him that a bear will not touch a dead body. P
Sure enough, the bear sniffed the fallen man for a few moments and soon walked away. P
The man in the tree climbed down and said, "Friend, I am glad you are alive. P
But it looked like the bear whispered something in your ear! What did he say?" P
"He said that it is not wise to be friends with someone who will run away in times of danger." P
(Tragedy is the test of true friendship.) P
3-16 The Eagle and the Kite
Once there was a very sad eagle. P
A kite flew by and said, "Why are you so sad, eagle?" P
The eagle replied, "I want to be married, but I cannot find someone who can take care of me." P
The kite became excited, "I will marry you! I can take care of you, I am certain!" P
"What can a kite do for an eagle?" said the sad bird. P
"Why, I can catch the largest ostrich for you to eat. P
If you marry me, you will eat wonderful food every day!" P
So the eagle and the kite were married. P
The next day, the kite returned with nothing more than a tiny mouse. P
"Where is the ostrich you promised me?" asked the eagle. P
The kite responded, "I cannot catch an ostrich. P
I only said that so you would marry me." P
(All is fair in love.) P
3-17 The Shepherd's Boy
Once there was a lonely shepherd boy. P
He watched the sheep all day long, but he had no friends. P
One day, he decided to play a trick. P
He yelled, "Wolf! Wolf!" Many villagers came to help the boy, but there was no wolf. P
The boy was happy to see so many people, that he played the same trick the next day. P
"Wolf! Wolf!" he cried. P
The villagers came again, but there was still no wolf. P
The villagers became very angry. P
"Do not play tricks on us, boy!" they shouted. P
Soon a wolf really did come. P
The shepherd's boy yelled as loud as he could. P
"Wolf! Wolf!" Nobody came this time, and the wolf ate all the sheep and the boy. P
(No one will believe a liar when he finally tells the truth.) P
3-18 The Fox and the Goat
A fox once fell into a well. He could not get out. P
"Oh, I am so sad. What terrible luck I have," thought the fox to himself. P
Just then the fox's luck changed. P
A goat walked by and looked into the well. P
"Hello, friend! What are you doing in the well?" said the curious goat to the fox. P
"Why, I'm down here drinking the finest water in the land, of course. P
If you hurry and come into the well, you can have some of this delicious water too," the fox replied. P
The goat, without thinking, jumped into the well. P
The fox immediately jumped on the goat's back and climbed out of the well. P
The goat soon realized that the fox had tricked him. P
Now the goat was stuck in the well. P
The fox walked away and said to the goat, P
"If you were smart, you would have thought about how to get out of the well before getting in." P
(Look before you leap.) P
3-19 The Monkey and the Dolphin
Once upon a time, a Greek ship was destroyed in a terrible storm. P
The dolphins saw the sinking ship. P
"We must help our human friends!" said the dolphins to one another. P
"They have been kind to us for many centuries, and we must help them!" P
One by one, the dolphins carried the Greek sailors safely to land. P
A monkey that was on the ship jumped on the back of a dolphin and said, P
"Hello, friend! Please take me to safety too." P
The dolphin responded, "Are you a citizen of Greece?" P
"Oh, yes, of course," said the monkey. P
"I come from a noble family. In fact, the king is my best friend." P
The dolphin looked on his back and saw that it was a monkey, not a Greek sailor. P
"You lied to me, monkey, so I will not save you," said the dolphin angrily. P
Then the dolphin dropped the monkey into the ocean, P
and the lying animal drowned to his death. P
(A lie will always lead you to trouble.) P