Aesop Quotes

The Tortoise and the Eagle
A tortoise, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the sea-birds of her hard fate, read more

The Tortoise and the Eagle
A tortoise, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the sea-birds of her hard fate, that no one would teach her to fly. An Eagle, hovering near, heard her lamentation and demanded what reward she would give him if he would take her aloft and float her in the air. I will give you, she said, all the riches of the Red Sea. I will teach you to fly then, said the Eagle; and taking her up in his talons he carried her almost to the clouds suddenly he let her go, and she fell on a lofty mountain, dashing her shell to pieces. The Tortoise exclaimed in the moment of death: I have deserved my present fate; for what had I to do with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the earth?'
If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.

The Widow and Her Little Maidens
A widow who was fond of cleaning had two little maidens to wait on read more

The Widow and Her Little Maidens
A widow who was fond of cleaning had two little maidens to wait on her. She was in the habit of waking them early in the morning, at cockcrow. The maidens, aggravated by such excessive labor, resolved to kill the cock who roused their mistress so early. When they had done this, they found that they had only prepared for themselves greater troubles, for their mistress, no longer hearing the hour from the cock, woke them up to their work in the middle of the night.

The smaller the mind the greater the conceit

The smaller the mind the greater the conceit

The Two Pots
A river carried down in its stream two Pots, one made of earthenware and the other of read more

The Two Pots
A river carried down in its stream two Pots, one made of earthenware and the other of brass. The Earthen Pot said to the Brass Pot, Pray keep at a distance and do not come near me, for if you touch me ever so slightly, I shall be broken in pieces, and besides, I by no means wish to come near you.
Equals make the best friends.

The Astronomer
An astronomer used to go out at night to observe the stars. One evening, as he wandered through read more

The Astronomer
An astronomer used to go out at night to observe the stars. One evening, as he wandered through the suburbs with his whole attention fixed on the sky, he fell accidentally into a deep well. While he lamented and bewailed his sores and bruises, and cried loudly for help, a neighbor ran to the well, and learning what had happened said: Hark ye, old fellow, why, in striving to pry into what is in heaven, do you not manage to see what is on earth?'.

After all is said and done, more is said than done.

After all is said and done, more is said than done.

The Man and His Two Sweethearts
A middle aged man, whose hair had begun to turn gray, courted two women read more

The Man and His Two Sweethearts
A middle aged man, whose hair had begun to turn gray, courted two women at the same time. One of them was young, and the other well advanced in years. The elder woman, ashamed to be courted by a man younger than herself, made a point, whenever her admirer visited her, to pull out some portion of his black hairs. The younger, on the contrary, not wishing to become the wife of an old man, was equally zealous in removing every gray hair she could find. Thus it came to pass that between them both he very soon found that he had not a hair left on his head.
Those who seek to please everybody please nobody.

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Once upon a time a Wolf resolved to disguise his appearance in order to secure read more

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Once upon a time a Wolf resolved to disguise his appearance in order to secure food more easily. Encased in the skin of a sheep, he pastured with the flock deceiving the shepherd by his costume. In the evening he was shut up by the shepherd in the fold; the gate was closed, and the entrance made thoroughly secure. But the shepherd, returning to the fold during the night to obtain meat for the next day, mistakenly caught up the Wolf instead of a sheep, and killed him instantly.
Harm seek. Harm find.

The Ants and the Grasshopper
THE ANTS were spending a fine winter's day drying grain collected
in the summertime. read more

The Ants and the Grasshopper
THE ANTS were spending a fine winter's day drying grain collected
in the summertime. A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed
by and earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants inquired of
him, Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?' He
replied, I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in
singing. They then said in derision: If you were foolish enough
to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the
winter.
It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.

We often despise what is most useful to us.

We often despise what is most useful to us.