Aesop's Favorite Fables: More Than 130 Classic Fables for Children!

By Milo Winter

Racehorse Publishing’s Children’s Classic Collections is a new series that offers readers timeless compilations of children’s literature. Handsomely packaged and affordable, this new series aims to revitalize these enchanting works and continue the tradition of sharing them with the next generation.

Passed down for thousands of years, Aesop’s Fables is a collection of moral stories by the famed storyteller from ancient Greece. Reprinted and translated thousands of times over the past two millennia, this collection represents some of the most widely known and famous children’s literature. Many of these fables bestow human traits upon animal characters and place them in human situations to highlight desirable and less desirable traits. Their intent, through the telling of these tales, is to teach readers important moral lessons such as Self-help is the best help” or Do not attempt too much all at once.”

Accompanied by beautiful color illustrations by renowned illustrator Milo Winter, this premiere collection of Aesop’s Favorite Fables is sure to ignite young imaginations and educate readers about virtue, kindness, integrity, problem-solving, happiness, and what it means to be human.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Racehorse
• Release date: Mar 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781944686178

Book preview

First published in 1919 by Checkerboard Press, Inc.

First Racehorse for Young Readers Edition 2017

All rights to any and all materials in copyright owned by the publisher are strictly reserved by the publisher.

Racehorse for Young Readers books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [e-mail].

Racehorse for Young Readers™ is a pending trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Print ISBN: 978-1-944686-08-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-944686-17-8

Cover and interior artwork by Milo Winter

Printed in China

A LIST OF THE FABLES

The Wolf and the Kid

The Tortoise and the Ducks

The Young Crab and His Mother

The Frogs and the Ox

The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox

Belling the Cat

The Eagle and the Jackdaw

The Boy and the Filberts

Hercules and the Wagoner

The Kid and the Wolf

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

The Fox and the Grapes

The Bundle of Sticks

The Wolf and the Crane

The Ass and His Driver

The Oxen and the Wheels

The Lion and the Mouse

The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf

The Gnat and the Bull

The Plane Tree

The Farmer and the Stork

The Sheep and the Pig

The Travelers and the Purse

The Lion and the Ass

The Frogs Who Wished for a King

The Owl and the Grasshopper

The Wolf and His Shadow

The Oak and the Reeds

The Rat and the Elephant

The Boys and the Frogs

The Crow and the Pitcher

The Ants and the Grasshopper

The Ass Carrying the Image

A Raven and a Swan

The Two Goats

The Ass and the Load of Salt

The Lion and the Gnat

The Leap at Rhodes

The Cock and the Jewel

The Monkey and the Camel

The Wild Boar and the Fox

The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat

The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox

The Wolf and the Lamb

The Wolf and the Sheep

The Hares and the Frogs

The Fox and the Stork

The Travelers and the Sea

The Wolf and the Lion

The Stag and His Reflection

The Peacock

The Mice and the Weasels

The Wolf and the Lean Dog

The Fox and the Lion

The Lion and the Ass

The Dog and His Master’s Dinner

The Vain Jackdaw and his Borrowed Feathers

The Monkey and the Dolphin

The Wolf and the Ass

The Monkey and the Cat

The Dogs and the Fox

The Dogs and the Hides

The Rabbit, the Weasel, and the Cat

The Bear and the Bees

The Fox and the Leopard

The Heron

The Cock and the Fox

The Dog in the Manger

The Wolf and the Goat

The Ass and the Grasshoppers

The Mule

The Fox and the Goat

The Cat, the Cock, and the Young Mouse

The Wolf and the Shepherd

The Peacock and the Crane

The Farmer and the Cranes

The Farmer and His Sons

The Two Pots

The Goose and the Golden Egg

The Fighting Bulls and the Frog

The Mouse and the Weasel

The Farmer and the Snake

The Goatherd and the Wild Goats

The Spendthrift and the Swallow

The Cat and the Birds

The Dog and the Oyster

The Astrologer

Three Bullocks and a Lion

Mercury and the Woodman

The Frog and the Mouse

The Fox and the Crab

The Serpent and the Eagle

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

The Bull and the Goat

The Eagle and the Beetle

The Old Lion and the Fox

The Man and the Lion

The Ass and the Lap Dog

The Milkmaid and Her Pail

The Wolf and the Shepherd

The Goatherd and the Goat

The Miser

The Wolf and the House Dog

The Fox and the Hedgehog

The Bat and the Weasels

The Quack Toad

The Fox Without a Tail

The Mischievous Dog

The Rose and the Butterfly

The Cat and the Fox

The Boy and the Nettles

The Old Lion

The Fox and the Pheasants

Two Travelers and a Bear

The Porcupine and the Snakes

The Fox and the Monkey

The Mother and the Wolf

The Flies and the Honey

The Eagle and the Kite

The Stag, the Sheep, and the Wolf

The Animals and the Plague

The Shepherd and the Lion

The Dog and His Reflection

The Hare and the Tortoise

The Bees and Wasps, and the Hornet

The Lark and Her Young Ones

The Cat and the Old Rat

The Fox and the Crow

The Ass and His Shadow

The Miller, His Son, and the Ass

The Ant and the Dove

The Man and the Satyr

The Wolf, the Kid, and the Goat

The Swallow and the Crow

Jupiter and the Monkey

The Lion, the Ass, and the Fox

The Lion’s Share

The Mole and his Mother

The North Wind and the Sun

The Hare and His Ears

The Wolves and the Sheep

The Fox and the Cock

The Ass in the Lion’s Skin

The Fisherman and the Little Fish

The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle

ÆSOP’S FAVORITE FABLES

THE WOLF AND THE KID

There was once a little Kid whose growing horns made him think he was a grown-up Billy Goat and able to take care of himself. So one evening when the flock started home from the pasture and his mother called, the Kid paid no heed and kept right on nibbling the tender grass. A little later when he lifted his head, the flock was gone.

He was all alone. The sun was sinking. Long shadows came creeping over the ground. A chilly little wind came creeping with them making scary noises in the grass. The Kid shivered as he thought of the terrible Wolf. Then he started wildly over the field, bleating for his mother. But not half-way, near a clump of trees, there was the Wolf!

The Kid knew there was little hope for him.

Please, Mr. Wolf, he said trembling, I know you are going to eat me. But first please pipe me a tune, for I want to dance and be merry as long as I can.

The Wolf liked the idea of a little music before eating, so he struck up a merry tune and the Kid leaped and frisked gaily.

Meanwhile, the flock was moving slowly homeward. In the still evening air the Wolf’s piping carried far. The Shepherd Dogs pricked up their ears. They recognized the song the Wolf sings before a feast, and in a moment they were racing back to the pasture. The Wolf’s song ended suddenly, and as he ran, with the Dogs at his heels, he called himself a fool for turning piper to please a Kid, when he should have stuck to his butcher’s trade.

Do not let anything turn you from your purpose.

THE WOLF AND THE KID

THE TORTOISE AND THE DUCKS

The Tortoise, you know, carries his house on his back. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot leave home. They say that Jupiter punished him so, because he was such a lazy stay-at-home that he would not go to Jupiter’s wedding, even when especially invited.

After many years, Tortoise began to wish he had gone to that wedding. When he saw how gaily the birds flew about and how the Hare and the Chipmunk and all the other animals ran nimbly by, always eager to see everything there was to be seen, the Tortoise felt very sad and discontented. He wanted to see the world too, and there he was with a house on his back and little short legs that could hardly drag him along.

One day he met a pair of Ducks and told them all his trouble.

We can help you to see the world, said the Ducks. "Take hold of this stick with your teeth and we will carry you far up in the air where you can