six fables from aesop

Trustees of Boston University

Six Fables from AesopAuthor(s): Ennis ReesSource: Arion, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Autumn, 1964), pp. 83-86Published by: Trustees of Boston UniversityStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20140427 .

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SIX FABLES FROM AESOP

Ennis Rees

THE HAWK AND THE BUG

A hawk pursuing a rabbit But still unable to grab it Heard the voice of a bug

Whom the rabbit was trying to hug, Since the bug was the only protection She could find in any direction. "Oh

please, Mrs. Hawk," said the voice, "Make a more merciful choice

And spare a bug's dear friend Whose Ufe is not ready to end." But no, the horrible hawk

Would neither listen nor talk, And right before the bug's eyes She ended the poor rabbit's cries And ate her in front of the bug

Without so much as a shrug.

She thought the bug was too little To do anything worth a twiddle. But later the bug did her best To find where the hawk made her nest, And every time there were eggs The bug would tuck in her legs And spreading her wings she would whirr

Up high to where the eggs were.

Then, since she still bore a grudge,

One by one she would nudge The hawk's new eggs from where

They would go sailing down through the air At a speed that was certainly rash And hit the ground with a splash, And soon there wouldn't be A single egg in the tree. Mrs. Hawk got more depressed With each year's empty nest, But no matter at all where she hid it, Still the bug did it and did it. At last the hawk flew to the Queen,



84

Who was always ugly and mean

To everybody but birds, And after they'd had a few words, The Queen said, "Here's what we'll do.

You lay your eggs in my shoe. We'll warm and hatch them there While I wear another pair."

So the eggs were carefully kept By the bed in which the Queen slept. But the bug got wind of the plan And hiding in the Queen's fan The bug was carried to bed, Into which she leaped unafraid.

And then all through the night The bug did nothing but bite So that by morning the Queen

Was feeling exceedingly mean, And leaping out on her legs She forgot all about the hawk's eggs And stuck her foot in the shoe, Thus turning the eggs into glue.

THE THOROUGHBRED AND THE MONGRELS

A thoroughbred dog was having a talk With a puppy of his while out for a walk, When all of the village mongrels and mutts Gathered around them and made them the butts Of loudly barked out insults and slurs.

"Dad," said the pup, "let's finish the curs."

"Patience, my child," his father said.

"If all the mongrels and mutts were dead, How would you know a thoroughbred?"



Ennis Rees 85

THE LIONS SHARE

A lion, a fox, a wolf, and a bear

Once hunted together, agreeing to share Whatever they happened to kill that day. Soon they made a big deer their prey, And then the Hon gave directions For cutting the meat up into four sections.

And quickly the fox, the wolf, and the bear,

Having split up the meat four ways, said "There!" But the lion roared, "Well I'll take part one, Since I rule all animals under the sun.

And also I lay claim to part two, Since I need more to eat than you do. And part three is mine, I say without fear, For all I did in killing the deer. Now as for part four, well let me see One of you try to take it from me!" As the other three left, "Alas," said the bear, "Now I know what they mean by the lions shareY9

THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW

One day at sunset a wolf left his den

Feeling as strong as nine or ten.

That day everything had gone just right, So that good were his spirits and appetite.

Now the setting sun, with the wolfs every bound, Stretched his shadow far out on the ground,

Making it look as if the wolf Were half as big as the Persian Gulf, And when the wolf took notice of it, He almost had a joyful fit.

"Egad!" he cried, bristling proudly, "How huge I am." And then he said loudly, "And take it from me, I'm hungry too.

And since I'm so big, I don't care who I

happen to come across and eat.

In fact, I'm hungry for lion's meat. Where is the coward? He will soon see Who's fit to be king, I or he!"

This, of course, just didn't make sense, And at that very moment a shadow immense Came over the wolf, and he was laid low,

High spirits and all, by a single blow From a paw of the lion, who'd not been as distant As Mr. Wolf thought, when he was so insistent.



86 SIX FABLES FROM AESOP

THE DONKEY'S SHADOW

A donkey and driver were hired by a fellow Who wanted to cross a long stretch of yellow And very hot sand. And they left that day, With the driver walking and showing the way And the traveler riding the donkey he'd hired. But at length they were all so hot and tired That the two men decided to stop for a rest, And since the place with trees was not blessed, The only shade was the donkey's shadow, Not very much bigger than a good-sized platter. So in the shadow the traveler rested

Until the driver came up and requested That he allow him to sit in the shade, Since all the shade was certainly made

By the donkey that surely belonged to him. Now the traveler took a view very dim Of the driver's claim, regarding the matter, That no one had hired the donkey's shadow. The donkey, yes?for him he'd been paid, But no one had paid for the shade he made.

Well soon the two men started to fight, And while they were fighting the donkey took flight. And what at last was there to say

With donkey and shadow both far away? "We fought like the fools we are," said one. "Now we've nothing left but the sand and the sun."

THE CAT AND THE FOX

A fox was bragging one day to a cat About how smart he was and all that,

Especially at getting out of a fix. He said, "Why I know a thousand tricks For escaping the dogs, while you, poor kitty, Know only one, and that's a

pity. A very smart fox with the dogs?that's me, But all you can do is climb a tree."

Just then came the hounds with barking and yelping, An the poor cat truly needed no helping To climb a tree all the way to the top, And none of the dogs decided to stop As after the fox they swiftly ran. But though he knew a thousand tricks, None of them got him out of that fix.

They caught the smart fellow where none was his friend. And that, I'm afraid, of him was the end.

But the cat's one simple tree-climbing plan Worked as well as any plan

can.



six fables from aesop

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