Fables

An Oak Meadow Collection

Oak Meadow, Inc.

Post Office Box 615
Putney, Vermont 05346
oakmeadow.com
 Contents
The Little Red Hen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Boy Who Cried Wolf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Sun and the Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Talkative Tortoise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Lion and the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Town’s Statue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Ant and the Grasshopper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Bundle of Sticks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Gingerbread Boy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The Tortoise and the Hare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
The Brahmin, the Tiger, and the Jackal . . . . . . . 55
The Gold in the Orchard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Little Jackals and the Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
The Fox and the Stork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Country Mouse and the City Mouse . . . . . . 83
The Blind Men and the Elephant . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

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 The Little
Red Hen

You can’t have your cake

and eat it too.

The little red hen was in the

farmyard with her chicks. She found
a grain of wheat.
“Who will plant this wheat?” she
asked.
“Not I,” said the goose.

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The Little Red Hen Fables

“Not I,” said the duck.

“Then I will,” said the little red
hen, and she planted the grain of
wheat.
When the wheat was ripe, she
asked, “Who will take this wheat to
the mill?”
“Not I,” said the goose.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will,” said the little red
hen, and she took the wheat to the
mill.
When she brought the flour
home, she asked, “Who will make
some bread with this flour?”
“Not I,” said the goose.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Then I will,” said the little red
hen.

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Fables The Little Red Hen

When the bread was baked, she

asked, “Who will eat this bread?”
“I will!” said the goose.
“I will!” said the duck.
“No, you will not,” said the little
red hen. “I shall eat it myself. Cluck!
Cluck!” And she called her little
chicks to help her.

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 The Boy Who
Cried Wolf

Those who lie may not be

believed when they tell the truth.

There once was a shepherd boy

who kept his flock of sheep in a field
a little distance away from the
village. It was very quiet in the field
with only the sheep for company.
The boy was very bored, so one day

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The Boy Who Cried Wolf Fables

he decided to play a trick on the

villagers and have some fun at their
expense.
He ran toward the village crying
out with all his might, “Wolf! Wolf!
Come and help! A wolf is attacking
my sheep!”
The kind villagers left their
work and their homes and ran to the
field to help him. But when they got
there, the boy only laughed at them
for their trouble. There was no wolf.
The next week, the boy was
thinking about how funny it was
when all the villagers came running.
He decided to do it again.
He ran toward the village
yelling, “Wolves! Wolves! Help!
Come quick! Wolves are attacking
my sheep!”

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Fables The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The villagers left their work and

their homes and came running to
help. But there were no wolves, and
they only got laughed at again.
The following week, a big gray
wolf snuck into the shepherd’s field
and attacked a sheep. The wolf held
the sheep by the neck and began to
drag it away. The other sheep were
bleating and running in all
directions as several more wolves
ran toward the flock.
In great fright, the boy ran to
the village for help.
“Wolf! Wolf!” he screamed.
“There is a wolf killing my sheep!
Help!”
The villagers heard him, but
they just shook their heads, thinking
it was another mean trick.

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The Boy Who Cried Wolf Fables

“Please,” the boy cried. “Come

quick! The wolves are stealing my
flock!”
But no one paid the least bit of
attention to the boy. They did not
believe him. And the shepherd boy
lost all his sheep.

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 The Sun and
the Wind

More can be done with

gentleness than with force.

Sun and Wind were having a

disagreement. Each believed itself
to be more powerful than the other.
While they were arguing, they saw a
traveler wearing a great cloak
walking along the country road.
“Here is a chance to see who is
more powerful,” said Wind. “Let us
see which of us can make that traveler
take off his cloak. The one who can do
that shall be acknowledged to be the
more powerful.”

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The Sun and the Wind Fables

“Agreed,” said Sun. “You may try

first.” And Sun hid behind a cloud to
watch.
Instantly Wind began to blow.
Wind puffed and tugged at the
man’s cloak, and raised blustery
gusts of air to beat at the traveler.
The more Wind blew and whipped
and howled, the cooler it became
and the tighter the traveler held his
cloak around him.
Wind could not get it off.
Now it was Sun’s turn. It came
out from behind the cloud and
shined all its gentle warmth and
light on the man’s shoulders. As it
grew warmer, the man unfastened
his cloak. Sun beamed its golden
glow, and soon the traveler threw
back the cloak and took it off.

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Fables The Sun and the Wind

Sun had won!

Wind said, “Sun, you have
accomplished with gentleness what
I could not do with strength. You are
the most powerful.”

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 The Talkative
Tortoise

It is a very good thing

to know when to speak and when
to keep your mouth closed.

Once upon a time, a tortoise

lived in a pond with two ducks who
were her very good friends. Tortoise
enjoyed the company of the ducks
because she could talk with them to
her heart’s content. Tortoise liked
to talk. She always had something to
say, and she liked to hear herself
say it.
After many years of this
pleasant living, the pond became

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The Talkative Tortoise Fables

very low during a dry season. Finally,

it dried up.
The two ducks saw that they
could no longer live there, so they
decided to fly to another region
where there was more water. They
went to the tortoise to bid her
goodbye.
“Oh, don’t leave me behind!”
begged Tortoise. “Take me with you.
I will die if I am left here.”
“But you cannot fly!” said the
ducks. “How can we take you with
us?”
“Take me with you! Please, take
me with you!” pleaded Tortoise.
The ducks felt so sorry for her
that at last they thought of a way to
take her.
“We have thought of a way,”
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Fables The Talkative Tortoise

they said, “but it is only possible if

you can manage to keep your mouth
closed long enough. We will each
take hold of one end of a sturdy
stick, and you take the middle of
the stick in your mouth. Then we will
fly up in the air with you and carry
you with us. But remember not to
talk! If you open your mouth, you
are lost.”
Tortoise said she was very
grateful and she would not say a
word. She would not so much as
move her mouth.
The ducks brought a strong
little stick and took hold of the ends,
while Tortoise bit firmly on the
middle. Then the two ducks rose
slowly in the air and flew away with
their burden.

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The Talkative Tortoise Fables

When they were above the

treetops, Tortoise wanted to say,
“How high we are!” But she
remembered and kept quiet.
When they passed the church
steeple, she wanted to say, “What is
that which shines?” But she
remembered and held her mouth
closed.
Then they flew over the village
square, and the people looked up
and saw them.
“Look at the ducks carrying a
tortoise!” they shouted.

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Fables The Talkative Tortoise

Everyone ran to look.

Tortoise wanted to say, “What
business is it of yours?” But she
didn’t.
Then the people shouted, “Isn’t
it strange! Look at it! Look!”
Tortoise forgot everything
except that she wanted to say,
“Hush, you foolish people!”
She opened her mouth and fell
down, down, down to the ground.
And that was the end of the tortoise.

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