DLTK's Educational Activities: Aesop's Fables

The Grasshopper and the Ants

In a field one summer's day a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's
content. A group of ants walked by, grunting as they struggled to carry plump kernels of corn.
"Where are you going with those heavy things?" asked the grasshopper.
Without stopping, the first ant replied, "To our ant hill. This is the third kernel I've delivered today."
"Why not come and sing with me," teased the grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"
"We are helping to store food for the winter,"
said the ant, "and think you should do the
same."
"Winter is far away and it is a glorious day to
play," sang the grasshopper.

But the ants went on their way and continued

their hard work.
The weather soon turned cold. All the food
lying in the field was covered with a thick
white blanket of snow that even the
grasshopper could not dig through. Soon the
grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.
He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the
summer. He begged them for something to eat.
"What!" cried the ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the
world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store any food," complained the grasshopper; "I was so busy playing music that
before I knew it the summer was gone."

The ants shook their heads in disgust, turned their backs on the grasshopper and went on with their
work.

Don't forget -- there is a time for work and a time for play!
The Lion and the Mouse

A lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little mouse came upon him
unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the lion's nose. Woken from his nap,
the lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor mouse. "Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you."

The lion was so amused at the idea of the little mouse being able to help the King of Beasts, that he
lifted up his paw and let her go.

Some weeks later, the lion was caught in a net. The hunters, who desired to carry the lion alive to their
King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him.

Just then the little

mouse happened to
pass by, and seeing the
lion's sad plight, went
up to him and soon
gnawed away the
ropes of the net,
freeing the lion.

"You have helped me

and now I have
returned the
favor. Was I not right
- even a mouse can
help a lion!"said the
little mouse.

Don't forget: even the smallest friend is worthwhile!

The Bulls and the Lion

A lion had been watching three

bulls feeding in an open
field. He had tried to attack
them several times, but they kept
together and helped each other to
drive him off.

The lion had little hope of eating

them, for he was no match for
three strong bulls with their
sharp horns and hoofs. But he
could not keep away from that
field, for it is hard to resist
watching a good meal, even
when there is little chance of
getting it.

Then one day the bulls had a

fight. When the hungry lion
came to lick his chops and watch
them as he did each day, he found them in separate corners of the field, as far away from one another
as they could get.

It was now an easy matter for the lion to attack the bulls one at a time.

Don't forget: united we stand, divided we fall!

The Cat and the Fox

A fox was bragging to a cat of its

clever ways of escaping its enemies.

"I have a whole bag of tricks," he said,

"which contains a hundred ways of
escaping my enemies."

"I have only one," said the cat; "but I

can generally manage with that."

Just at that moment they heard the cry of

a pack of hounds coming towards them,
and the cat immediately scampered up a
tree and hid herself in the boughs.

"This is my plan," said the cat. "What

are you going to do?"

The fox thought first of one way and

started to scamper off. But then
another, even better trick popped into
his head and he started in the other direction. Then the fox stopped. Another trick had come to him
but he wasn't quite sure if it was better than the second one he'd had.

While he was debating the hounds came nearer and nearer.

At last, the fox in his confusion as to which plan was best was caught by the hounds, putting an end to
all of his clever plans.

Don't forget -- a little common sense is better than many sneaky tricks!
The Goose with the Golden Eggs

One day a countryman going to the nest of

his goose found there an egg all yellow and
glittering. When he picked it up it was very
heavy and he was going to throw it away,
because he thought a trick had been played
on him.

But he decided to take it home and soon

discovered that it was an egg of pure gold.

Every morning the same thing occurred, and

he grew rich by selling his eggs. As he
grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to
get all the gold the goose could give, he
killed it and opened it only to find nothing.

Don't forget -- it isn't good to be greedy!

The Hare and the Tortoise
A hare one day made himself merry over the slow pace of the tortoise, vainly boasting of his own great
speed in running.
The tortoise smiled at the hare and replied, "Let us try a race. We shall run from here to the pond and
the fox out yonder shall be the judge."
The hare agreed and away they started together. True to his boasting the hare was out of sight in a
moment.
The tortoise jogged along with a slow, steady pace, straight towards end of the course. Full of sport,
the hare first outran the tortoise, then intentionally fell behind chuckling at the tortoise all the while.
Having come nearly to the goal, the hare began
to nibble at the young plants. After a while, the
day being warm, he lay down for a nap,
saying: "The tortoise is behind me now. If he
should go by, I can easily enough catch up."
When the hare awoke, the tortoise was not in
sight. Running as fast as he could, the hare
found the fox congratulating the tortoise at the
finish line.

Don't forget -- slow but steady wins the race!

The Plane Tree

Two travelers, walking in the hot sun, sought the shade of a large tree to rest. As they lay looking up
among the pleasant leaves, they
saw that it was a plane tree.

"How useless is the Plane!" said

one of them, "it bears no fruit
whatever, and only serves to litter
the ground with leaves."

The plane tree interrupted him

with quiet dignity, "Shame on you,
ungrateful creatures. You come
and take shelter under me from the
scorching sun, and then, in the
very act of enjoying the cool shade
of my foliage, you call me good
for nothing!"

Don't forget: our best blessings are often the least appreciated!
The Ant and the Dove

A Dove saw an Ant fall into a brook. The Ant struggled in

vain to reach the bank, and in pity, the Dove dropped a
blade of straw close beside it. Clinging to the straw like a
shipwrecked sailor to a broken spar, the Ant floated safely
to shore.

Soon after, the Ant saw a man getting ready to kill the Dove with a stone. But just as he cast the stone,
the Ant stung him in the heel, so that the pain made him miss his aim, and the startled Dove flew to
safety in a distant wood.

A kindness is never wasted.

Stone Soup

A kindly, old stranger was walking through the land when he came upon a village. As he entered, the
villagers moved towards their homes locking doors and windows.

The stranger smiled and asked, why are you all so frightened. I am a simple traveler, looking for a soft
place to stay for the night and a warm place for a meal.

"There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "We are weak and our children are
starving. Better keep moving on."

"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share
with all of you." He pulled an iron cauldron from his cloak, filled it with water, and began to build a
fire under it.

Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a silken bag and dropped it into
the water.

By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come out of their homes or watched from
their windows. As the stranger sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips in anticipation, hunger began to
overcome their fear.

"Ahh," the stranger said to himself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup
with cabbage -- that's hard to beat."

Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a small cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place,
and added it to the pot.

"Wonderful!!" cried the stranger. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef
as well, and it was fit for a king."

The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . And so it went, through potatoes, onions,
carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for everyone in the village to
share.

The villager elder offered the stranger a great deal of money for the magic stone, but he
refused to sell it and traveled on the next day.

As he left, the stranger came upon a group of village children standing near the road. He gave the
silken bag containing the stone to the youngest child, whispering to a group, It was not the stone,
but the villagers that had performed the magic."

Moral: By working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater
good is achieved.
The Princess and the Frog

There once was a Princess. She was not an ordinary princess,

however. This Princess loved to play alone in the palace gardens while she
tossed around her favourite beaming golden ball.

Now, the problem with playing alone was that no one was ever there to
catch the ball if she tossed it too high in the air. One day, as she was
running around lilies and daisies and hedges and roses, she tossed her ball
higher in the air than she ever had before.

SPLASH!!

Her beautiful golden ball had plopped right into a small pond nearby! She ran over to the pond and
watched sadly as the golden sphere sank deeper and deeper into the water. The princess looked down
at her dress. She was wearing her favourite golden dress; the sparkles and gems on the front of the
brilliant gown were rare and she was afraid that if she entered the water she would destroy her outfit.
Frustrated with her situation, the princess began to cry.

Suddenly, the Princess heard a strange noise coming from the middle of the water. Hop! Hop!

Do you not know how to swim? asked a small frog. Hop! The Princess looked up and scrunched
her face up at the sight of the green creature sitting on the lily pad.

I do, she replied.

Well, why dont you come on in? he asked.

I dont want to spoil my beautiful gold dress! the Princess replied, rolling her eyes at the frog.

Well, I suppose I could get it for you the frog started.

You can? Oh! Please do! Please do! she cried.

But before he jumped into the water, the frog turned to her and asked:

What will you give me in return for grabbing your golden ball?

Oh! You can have anything you desire! the Princess replied, impatient to be playing again.

What I would like is a friend. Thats all. A friend to spend time with me, to eat supper with me, to
read for me, to sleep beside me, and to kiss me goodnight! the frog said.

Anything! Anything! the Princess cried.

And with that, the
small green frog
hopped into the water
and retrieved the
Princess gold
ball. The minute he
handed it over, the girl
ran around giggling
and tossing her
beloved ball up in the
air; she had
completely forgotten
all about the frog.

At supper, the girl was

seated at the table with
her father, the
King. Before either of
them could take a bite,
there came a small
knock at the
door. The King got up
and walked to open
it. Hop! Hop! Hop! In
walked the small
green frog.

I have come to eat

supper with you,
Princess! the frog
said happily, hopping
up on the table. The
Princess gently
grabbed the frog and
placed him outside the
door.

SLAM!!

She turned her heel and sat down at her spot once more, ignoring the suspicious look from the king.

And who was that, Princess? he asked her.

Oh, no one, she replied.

The stern look from her father caused her to go red with embarrassment. She told him that she had
promised the frog that she would spend time with him, and eat supper with him, and read for him, and
let him sleep with her, and kiss him goodnight.

But I dont want to hang out with him. Hes gross! she continued.
A promise is a promise, Princess. We must always keep our promises, the King said wisely. With
that the girl slowly shuffled over to the door and opened it up.

Hop! Hop! Hop!

The frog ate supper with her, and then followed the Princess into her bedroom where she began to
read.

What are you reading? he asked trying to peer over her shoulder to see.

Nothing, she replied shrugging him off.

Sadly, the frog hopped over to her bed and sat down on her pillow. Before he could get comfortable,
the Princess ran over to him, picked him up, and placed him by the window.

But you promised! he cried.

She sighed and took him back with her to bed. She read him a bedtime story and, surprisingly, the
frog was quite smart and funny. She actually enjoyed his company.

When it was time to sleep, the frog asked her for a bedtime kiss. She refused, scrunching her face
once more at the sight of the green creature before her.

The Princess shut out the light and tried to go to sleep. Suddenly, she heard the sounds of
weeping. She turned the light back on to see the frog beside her, wiping tears from his eyes.

She was hit with a wave of guilt for making the poor frog cry. She tucked him in bed beside her and
kissed him gently.

WHOOOSH!!

All of a sudden, the small green frog transformed into a handsome young prince right before her eyes;
she jumped back from the bed in surprise. The Prince informed her that an evil witch had put a spell
on him and only a kiss could return him back to his original state. It just so happened that the Princess
was the first one to break the spell.

Forever after, the Prince and Princess were able to play together in the palace gardens. The Princess
was happier than ever to have a playmate and, whenever she accidently threw the ball too high in the
air, she was ecstatic to have a companion to go and fetch it for her.

The End.