Listen to Aesop's Fables in clearer language

A hungry Fox saw some fine bunches of Grapes hanging from a vine that was trained along a high trellis, and did his best to reach them by jumping as high as he could into the air. But it was all in vain, for they were just out of reach: so he gave up trying, and walked away with an air of dignity and unconcern, remarking, "I thought those Grapes were ripe, but I see now they are quite sour."

A hungry fox saw a bunch of ripe grapes hanging high above him. He jumped again and again, trying to reach them, but they were too far away. At last he gave up and walked off, pretending he had never wanted them. 'They are probably sour anyway,' he said. The lesson: it is easy to despise what we cannot get.

A thirsty Crow found a Pitcher with some water in it, but so little was there that, try as she might, she could not reach it with her beak, and it seemed as though she would die of thirst within sight of the remedy. At last she hit upon a clever plan. She began dropping pebbles into the Pitcher, and with each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it reached the brim, and the knowing bird was enabled to quench her thirst. Necessity is the mother of invention.

A thirsty crow found a pitcher with a little water at the bottom. The water was too low for his beak to reach. He tried to tip the pitcher over, but it was too heavy. Then he dropped small stones into it, one by one. The water rose higher each time until he could drink. The lesson: patient thinking can solve what force cannot.

A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun, each claiming that he was stronger than the other. At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveller, to see which could soonest strip him of his cloak. The North Wind had the first try; and, gathering up all his force for the attack, he came whirling furiously down upon the man, and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him by one single effort: but the harder he blew, the more closely the man wrapped it round himself. Then came the turn of the Sun. At first he beamed gently upon the traveller, who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulders: then he shone forth in his full strength, and the man, before he had gone many steps, was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journey more lightly clad. Persuasion is better than force

The North Wind and the Sun argued about which of them was stronger. They saw a traveler wearing a cloak and agreed that whoever could make him take it off would win. The Wind blew as hard as he could, but the traveler only wrapped the cloak tighter around himself. Then the Sun shone warmly. Soon the traveler grew hot and took the cloak off on his own. The lesson: gentleness can succeed where force fails.

A Dog was crossing a plank bridge over a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he happened to see his own reflection in the water. He thought it was another dog with a piece of meat twice as big; so he let go his own, and flew at the other dog to get the larger piece. But, of course, all that happened was that he got neither; for one was only a shadow, and the other was carried away by the current.

A dog was carrying a piece of meat across a bridge. Looking down into the water, he saw his own reflection and thought it was another dog with a bigger piece of meat. Wanting that one too, he opened his mouth to grab it. His own meat fell into the water and was lost. The lesson: greed can make us lose what we already have.

A Town Mouse and a Country Mouse were acquaintances, and the Country Mouse one day invited his friend to come and see him at his home in the fields. The Town Mouse came, and they sat down to a dinner of barleycorns and roots, the latter of which had a distinctly earthy flavour. The fare was not much to the taste of the guest, and presently he broke out with "My poor dear friend, you live here no better than the ants. Now, you should just see how I fare! My larder is a regular horn of plenty. You must come and stay with me, and I promise you you shall live on the fat of the land." So when he returned to town he took the Country Mouse with him, and showed him into a larder containing flour and oatmeal and figs and honey and dates. The Country Mouse had never seen anything like it, and sat down to enjoy the luxuries his friend provided: but before they had well begun, the door of the larder opened and some one came in. The two Mice scampered off and hid themselves in a narrow and exceedingly uncomfortable hole. Presently, when all was quiet, they ventured out again; but some one else came in, and off they scuttled again. This was too much for the visitor. "Good-bye," said he, "I'm off. You live in the lap of luxury, I can see, but you are surrounded by dangers; whereas at home I can enjoy my simple dinner of roots and corn in peace."

A town mouse visited his cousin in the country and was not impressed by the simple meal. He invited the country mouse back to town, where there was rich food everywhere. But just as they began eating, people came in and the mice had to run for their lives. After several scares, the country mouse decided he preferred plain food in peace to fancy food in fear. The lesson: safety and contentment can be worth more than luxury.