Aesop's Fables by Lena Dalkeith

Aesop's Fables by Lena Dalkeith, with pictures by S. R. Praeger, published in 1908.

online source: Hathi Trust

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Table of contents:

01. THE ASS AND THE LITTLE DOG.
02. THE FIELD OF TREASURE.
03. THE LARK AND THE CORNFIELD.
04. THE VAIN JACKDAW.
05. THE FROGS AND THEIR KING.
06. THE COCK AND THE FOX.
07. THE CAT AND THE BIRDS.
08. THE WOLF AS PIPER.
09. THE SHEEP AND THE DOG.
10. THE GOOSE WITH THE GOLDEN EGGS.
11. THE MISER.
12. THE LION AND THE MOUSE.
13. THE TRAVELLERS AND THE BEAR.
14. THE TWO FROGS.
15. THE FOX AND THE WILD BOAR.
16. THE WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING.
17. THE BIRDS, THE BEASTS AND THE BAT.
18. THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE.
19. THE HOUSE-DOG AND THE WOLF.
20. THE WOMAN AND HER SERVANTS.
21. THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW.
22. THE OVER-FED FOX.
23. THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL.
24. THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF.
25. THE CAT AND THE MICE.
26. THE FOX AND THE STORK.
27. THE DOG IN THE MANGER.
28. THE FOX AND THE GRAPES.
29. THE OAK TREE AND THE REED.
30. THE COUNTRY MAID AND HER MILK-PAN.
31. THE MICE IN COUNCIL.
32. THE WIND AND THE SUN.
33. THE OLD MAN AND HIS SONS.
34. THE FOX AND THE CROW.
35. THE ASTROLOGER.
36. THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE.
37. THE CROW AND THE PITCHER.
38. THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.
39. THE ASS WITH THE LOAD OF SALT.
40. THE FOX AND THE EAGLE.
41. THE FAITHLESS PARTRIDGE.
42. THE CAT AND THE FOX.
43. THE FOX IN THE WELL.
44. THE MAN, HIS SON AND HIS ASS.
45. THE OLD WOMAN AND HER FAT HEN.
46. THE STAG AT THE SPRING.
47. MERCURY AND THE WOODMAN.

Here's a random fable from the book:

Mercury and the Woodman

47. MERCURY AND THE WOODMAN. A poor woodman, by mischance, dropped his axe into the river. As he sat weeping: on the bank, Mercury appeared to him, and on being told of the misfortune, plunged into the stream and brought out a golden axe. This the man refused to take, saying that it was not his. Again the god dived and brought out a silver axe, and again the honest man would not take what was not his own. Once more Mercury plunged in, and this time brought out the real axe, and upon the man claiming it as his, the god, pleased with his honesty, gave him both the gold and the silver axes as well as his own. The woodman went home joyfully and told his friends of the happy adventure.
Thereupon one of them going to the river, threw in his axe, and sat down on the bank and wept loudly. Mercury came as before, but this woodman was dishonest, and on being shown the golden axe, he lied, and swore that it was his. This made the god so angry that he sent the man away, without even giving him back his own axe. [more info]

The Stag at the Spring

46. THE STAG AT THE SPRING. A stag, as he bent over a spring to drink, saw himself reflected in the water, and stood still to admire the picture. "Ah!" he said; "what a splendid pair of horns I have. If the rest of my body was as beautiful, I should be the handsomest animal alive. But I cannot bear to look at my thin legs. I really am ashamed of them."
Just then he heard the angry roar of a lion, and was off like the wind. The legs which he had despised carried him so swiftly that very soon the lion was left far behind.
But, as he went through a tangled wood, his splendid horns caught in the branches of a tree, and he was held a prisoner until the lion came up and made an end of him. So it was that, after all, the horns which he had admired so much were the cause of his death. [more info]

The Old Woman and her Fat Hen

45. THE OLD WOMAN AND HER FAT HEN. There was once an old woman who had a beautiful hen. Every morning the hen used to lay an egg, and this pleased the old woman very much. But by and by she thought, "It would be very nice to have two eggs a day instead of one. Surely if I give my hen twice as much barley for her breakfast, she will lay twice as many eggs."
So the old woman began to feed the hen with twice as much barley as she had given it before, but ere long it grew so fat and sleek that it left off laying any eggs at all. [more info]

The Man, His Son, and His Ass

44. THE MAN, HIS SON AND HIS ASS. A man and his son were leading their ass to market. A girl, seeing them, cried, "Why walk when you can ride?" On hearing this, the man set his son upon the ass.
Going further, they heard an old man say, "Shame for the young to ride while old people walk!" Thereupon the man made his son get down and rode himself.
Presently they met some women who cried, "Look at the poor tired son and lazy father!" Hearing this, the man took his son up beside him and so they rode into the town.
There a young man called to them, "Two men on one beast! It seems to me you are more fit to carry the ass than he is to carry you." Then they got down, tied the beast's legs to a pole, and carried him thus till they came to a bridge.
As they went, the children shouted so loudly that the ass took fright, kicked his legs free, and jumped over the bridge into the river. Thus having lost his ass, the man went home, crying, "Try to please everybody and you will please nobody, not even yourself!" [more info]

The Fox in the Well

43. THE FOX IN THE WELL. A fox had the misfortune to fall into a well, but by digging his claws into the sides of it, and so keeping his head above water, he managed to escape drowning.
In a little while a wolf came and looked over the edge. "Sweet friend!" quoth the fox; "I beseech you bring me a rope or a long pole and help me out of this miserable place."
"Poor unfortunate," cried the wolf, not offering to move, "yours is indeed a desperate case, and I pity you with all my heart. How ever did you come to be so unlucky?"
To which the fox answered with some degree of anger, "Do not stand there pitying me! If you wish me well, you will lend me your help as quickly as possible. Pity is but poor comfort when one is up to the chin in cold water, and in danger every moment of being either drowned or starved." [more info]

The Cat and the Fox

42. THE CAT AND THE FOX. The fox and the cat were talking together in the middle of the forest . Said Reynard, "Whatever happens I am safe, for I have a thousand tricks by which to escape from either hunters or dogs. Now, Mrs. Puss, pray what would you do if you were to be suddenly attacked?"
"Alas!" answered the cat; "I have only one plan for avoiding my enemies, and if that fail me, I am undone."
"I am very sorry for you then," cried the fox, "and gladly would I teach you some of my tricks, but, as you know, in times like these it is not wise to trust anyone. Everyone must look out for himself, and I must do likewise."
As he spoke, a pack of hounds came rushing through the woods. The cat, following her usual plan, ran up a tree and stayed there safely until the danger was past. But the fox amongst all his thousand tricks found not one to help him, for he was overtaken by the dogs and killed instantly. [more info]

The Faithless Partridge

41. THE FAITHLESS PARTRIDGE. A falconer one day caught a partridge in his net. As he was taking it out to kill it, the bird begged earnestly that his life might be spared, promising that if this were granted him, he would in return help the falconer by enticing other partridges into the net.
"No!" answered the falconer, when the bird had finished speaking, "even if I had meant to spare your life before, I would not do it now: your own words have condemned you, for he who is such a wretch as to offer to betray his friends in order to save himself, deserves if possible to die a hundred deaths." [more info]

The Fox and the Eagle

40. THE FOX AND THE EAGLE. An eagle in search of food for her young, saw a fox's cub playing happily in the sun. She swooped down and caught it in her claws, but before she had carried it off, the old mother fox came home and begged her, with tears in her eyes, to spare the little cub.
But the eagle, whose nest was in a high tree, thought herself quite safe from the fox, and so took away the cub to her little ones, without paying any attention to the poor mother's distress.
Then the mother fox ran quickly to a field near by, where a fire was burning, and, seizing a lighted stick, rushed to the tree where the eagle's nest was built. There with the flaming wood between her teeth she began to climb. Scarcely had she reached the first branch when the eagle, afraid that her nest and her little ones would be burnt, flew down with the cub, and very humbly gave it back safe and sound to the clever mother fox. [more info]

The Ass with the Load of Salt

39. THE ASS WITH THE LOAD OF SALT. An ass with a load of salt fell by chance into a stream. The salt melted in the water and the ass went home rejoicing that his load had become so light. The next day, crossing the stream at the same place with another load, and remembering what had happened before, the ass slipped and fell in on purpose, so to rid himself of his load.
This he would always have done had not his master, making up his mind to cure the lazy beast of his tricks, loaded him one day with sponges instead of salt. The ass, as usual, when he came to the stream, took care to fall in, but this time instead of losing his load he gained a heavier one, for the sponges, soaked with water, weighed ten times more than they had done before. [more info]

The Wolf and the Lamb

38. THE WOLF AND THE LAMB. A wolf, who was drinking at the head of a running stream, saw a lamb paddling in the water lower down. He at once made up his mind that he would have her for supper, but he tried first to find a good reason for seizing her. "Villain," he cried, running up to the poor little lamb, "how dare you make the water muddy when I am drinking it?"
"Indeed," said the lamb meekly, "I do not see how I can have disturbed you, for the stream runs down from you to me!"
"Well," answered the wolf, "that may be so, but at any rate you called me bad names a year ago."
"Oh, sir," cried the trembling lamb, "you are quite mistaken, for I was not born a year ago."
"If it was not you, then it must have been your father," cried the wolf, "and it is all the same." So making any excuse serve his wicked purpose, he seized the lamb and tore her to pieces. [more info]

The Crow and the Pitcher

37. THE CROW AND THE PITCHER. A crow, whose throat was parched and dry with thirst, saw a pitcher in the distance. In great joy he flew to it, but found that it held only a little water, and even that was too near the bottom to be reached, for all his stooping and straining. Next he tried to overturn the pitcher, thinking that he would at least be able to catch some of the water as it trickled out. But this he was not strong enough to do. In the end he found some pebbles lying near, and by dropping them one by one into the pitcher, he managed at last to raise the water up to the very brim, and thus was able to quench his thirst. [more info]

The Hare and the Tortoise

36. THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE. A hare boasted loudly to a tortoise of her speed in running, at the same time insulting him because of his slowness. "Let us have a race," answered the tortoise. "For five pounds I will run with you five miles, and the fox over yonder shall be the judge." The hare with a scornful smile agreed, and away they started together.
Soon the hare left the tortoise far behind, and, feeling a little tired, lay down on a tuft of grass that grew by the way. "If that slow-coach passes, I shall see him and easily catch him up again," she said to herself, and fell asleep.
In the meantime the tortoise plodded on, slowly but surely. After a time, she passed the hare, who, sure of reaching the goal first, still slept, and awoke only to find that the tortoise had reached it before her. [more info]

The Astrologer

35. THE ASTROLOGER. An astrologer, who was famed for his great learning and his knowledge of the stars, went out for a walk. As he walked, all the time looking up at the sky, he said to himself, "Oh, how much wiser am I than most men! All the secrets of the stars are known to me. I read them as other men read books. What a fine thing it is to have brains, and how glad I am not to be stupid as some arel"
Thus speaking, he came to a well, but being far too busy praising his own cleverness to notice it, he tripped and fell in headlong, and there he had to stay until his servant, hearing his cries, came and pulled him out. [more info]

The Fox and the Crow

34. THE FOX AND THE CROW. A crow having stolen a large piece of cheese from a cottage window, flew with it to a high tree near by. A cunning fox, noticing this, came and sat underneath the tree and looking up, as if in great astonishment and admiration, cried, "You beautiful creature! I never before saw such delicate white feathers! What a lovely shape you have, and doubtless your voice is as wonderful. I protest, if your song matches your beauty, there is no bird in the world that could hope to rival you!"
At this the vain and silly crow was so overcome with delight that she nearly tumbled off her perch, and wishing to show the fox that her voice was quite equal to her beauty, she opened her mouth and gave a loud caw. Down dropped the cheese, and this being all the fox wanted, he picked it up, swallowed it in a moment, and trotted off laughing at the foolish vanity of the crow. [more info]

The Old Man and his Sons

33. THE OLD MAN AND HIS SONS. An old man had a great many sons who were always quarrelling amongst themselves. This made the father sad, for although he did all he could to keep peace among them, they would never listen to him. At last he thought of a way to show them their folly.
He ordered all his sons to be called before him, and, taking a short bundle of sticks, he commanded them, one by one, to break it. They all tried hard and they all failed, for the sticks were so closely bound up that it was impossible to break the bundle.
Then the father, untying it, and giving a single stick to each son told him to break it. This each did easily, upon which the father cried, "Oh my sons, see how strong are all united things! If you would only live bound together by love and friendship one for the other, no mortal power could hurt you. But divided as you are, unloving, unfriendly, it would be as easy for anyone to do you harm, as it was for you to break these single sticks in two." [more info]

The Wind and the Sun

32. THE WIND AND THE SUN. The wind and the sun once had a dispute as to which was the stronger. At last, as neither would give in, they agreed each to try his strength upon a traveller, and the one who managed to get off the man's cloak first was to be the winner.
The wind began. He blew cold blasts and hurricanes, poured down showers of rain and hail, stormed, and raged and howled, but with no success, for the stronger he blew, the closer the man drew his cloak about him.
Next came the sun, who, dispelling the cold clouds and mist from the sky, sent down his bright rays upon the poor weather-beaten traveller. No sooner did the man feel the comforting warmth than he threw off his heavy cloak, and went happily on his way. [more info]

The Mice in Council

31. THE MICE IN COUNCIL. Some mice were in great fear of a cat. She watched the place so carefully that not one of them dared venture out from his hole in search of food. They were therefore in danger of being starved. In their trouble they called a meeting, and while they were talking the matter over, a conceited young mouse stood up and said, "Dear friends, after much deep thought I have discovered a plan which will save us all. I propose that we tie a bell round the cat's neck so that by its ringing we shall always know when she is near."
Then he sat down amidst great applause. All the mice were delighted with the clever plan. Presently an old mouse, who had not spoken before, said, "I agree that the plan is excellent, and since our young friend has been so clever as to think of it, perhaps he will also tell us how to carry it out. What I want to know is: who is going to bell the cat?" [more info]

The Country Maid and her Milk-Pan

30. THE COUNTRY MAID AND HER MILK-PAN. A country maid, walking along the road with a pan of sweet milk on her head, said to herself, "With the money I get for this milk I shall buy eggs, then I shall put them under the old hen, and when the chickens are hatched, I shall feed them until they are big enough and plump enough to fetch a high price. With the money I get for them I shall buy me a fine new gown, and on market day I shall look so comely in it that all the farmers will admire me. But I shall not look at them, I shall toss my head and turn away."
At this point, the foolish maid, forgetting the milk-pan, and thinking only of how she would flout her admirers, really did toss her head. Down tumbled the pan, out ran the milk over the road, and with it disappeared all chance of ever having either eggs, chickens, fowls, fine gowns, or admirers to flout. [more info]

The Oak Tree and the Reed

29. THE OAK TREE AND THE REED. An oak tree quarrelled with a reed about the best way of behaving in a storm. "As for me," said the oak proudly, "I stand up bravely and strongly against whatever wind may blow: I do not, like you, bend my head to the ground in fear, at every little breeze."
To this insult the reed made no answer, except to quiver and sway a little, as if too angry to speak.
In a little while there arose a great storm of wind which lasted all through the night. In the morning the oak tree fell to the ground with a crash.
"It seems after all that my way is best," said the reed. "If you had not stood up so stiffly and stubbornly against that which is stronger than you are, you would not be lying broken in two like this." [more info]