animals and people

Animals and people. Miscellaneous fables

Golden Ounce

Animals and people


Golden Ounce

An ass and a nightingale

Some ass had seen a nightingale and said to it: I

say, my buddy! You as they speak are a great master

to sing. Id like very much to judge for myself

whether is fine your skill? Then the nightingale

began showing off his art: it started to warble and to

whistle in a thousand ways; held a note, its voice

poured forth, now it weakened gently and echoed as

a languid flute at the distance, now its trills were

heard throughout the grove. At that instant

everything listened to Auroras glorifier and

favorite; breezes had calmed down, the choirs of

birds had become silent and the herds had lain down.

Barely breathing, a shepherd admired the nightingale

and only sometimes, listening to it, he smiled at his

shepherdess. The singer had finished singing. The

ass, staring at the ground, said: Jolly good, its true,

you can be listened to without getting bored;

however its a pity that you are not familiar with our

cock; you would got trained even more, if you

learned a little bit from it. Hearing such judgment,


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my poor nightingale fluttered up and flew to

distant fields. O, that sort of judges, God forbid!

*** *** ***

A dog and a horse

Serving some peasant, once a dog and a horse

started wrangling.

As if you were a lord! said the Dog,

In my opinion, I would not get upset, even if you

got the sack.

Big deal to carry or to plow! As well known you

are not renowned

for any other deeds. How can you be equal in

anything with me?

Neither day nor night I know any peace of mind: in

the daytime

I am to keep in the meadow a control of the herd,


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and at night to guard the house.

Of course, replied the Horse,

Youre right; however, if I had not plowed, there

would have been nothing here for you to guard.

*** *** ***

At the museum

-Hello, old fellow! Where have you been?

-My dear friend, at the Natural History Museum!

There I went about in a circle, say, three good hours;

I saw everything, there I have noticed the whole lot;

believe it or not, but from surprise Im not able to

retell you what. Well, to be sure, there are many

miracles there! Mother Nature is so liberal with

inventions! What kind of animals or birds I there

only have not seen! What butterflies, small insects,

cockroaches, flies and beetles! Some are like

emeralds, others are like corals! What the little tiny

ladybirds! Why, there is one truly less than a pin

head!


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-And whether you have seen an elephant? What the

elephant is like? Perhaps you thought you met a

hill!

-Is it really there?

-Indeed!

-I beg your pardon, sir: I have not noticed the

elephant at all.

*** *** ***

A cock and a pearl

Poking about in a dunghill, the cock had found a

pearl and spoke: Why would I want it? What a

pointless thing! Isn't it silly, that it is appreciated so

highly? I really would be much gladder to have a

barley grain: though it is not so showy, but then

nourishing.

_______


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Ignoramuses judge precisely so: if they do not have

a good understanding of anything, then this is a mere

trifle for them.

*** *** ***

The casket

It happens quite often that we see both hard work

and knowledge where one have only to guess so that

to take up some challenge. Once upon a time a

casket was brought to somebodys place from the

master craftsman. The casket was distinguished by

the fineness of its furnish. It was simply impossible

not to be lost in admiration for the casket. Here a

person versed in Mechanics came into the room.

Having taken a glance at the casket he said:

Sure enough, the casket has a secret; and its

without the lock; nevertheless I dare to open it, yes,

Im quite sure of it; dont laugh on the sly! Ill find


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the secret and open the casket, after all, Im of some

account in Mechanics. He set to at once and turned

the casket all the ways, racking his brains over it;

now he pressed some stud, then another, after that a

handle. Seeing his endeavors somebody shook his

head; those whispering, and those laughing among

themselves. There was nothing to be heard but:

Not here, not so, not there!

The mechanic exerted himself even more. Sweating,

sweating; yet at last tired, he let the casket alone but

how to open it never guessed: whereas the casket

easily opened.

*** *** ***

A titmouse

A titmouse headed for the sea: the small bird

bragged intending to burn the ocean. So it was

rumored in the world. The residents of the


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Neptunian capital were frighten to death; birds flew

in flocks; meantime the animals from the forests

came running together to look how and whether

hotly the ocean will burn. And even they say the

desirous ones of hanging out in feasts were among

the first to appear at the coast with their spoons so

that to taste such rich fish soup to which by any

bountiful leaseholder no bureaucrat was regaled.

Crowding: everyone kept silence and waited for a

miracle beforehand; only somebody occasionally

whispered: Here its on the point to boil, there its

about to burn right away! It wasnt to be: the sea

wouldnt burn. Whether it boiled at least? Also it

didnt boil. What did come of this big idea? The

titmouse went home with shame; it got all worked

up over nothing but never had burnt the sea.

*** *** ***

A dragonfly and an ant

The featherbrained Dragonfly had spent all the

kindly summer season by singing; before it knew it


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the bleak winter was imminent. The fields were

lifeless; there were not the long light days any more,

when under every blade of grass it could find for

itself both food and refuge. All was in the past. Now

the cold winter promised it only both want and

famine; the Dragonfly had already stopped singing:

to sing on an empty stomach? The very idea! Being

in low spirits it went crawling to see the Ant:

-Please do not leave me, dear, allow me to gather

with strength, support and warm me only until

spring!

-My precious, I wonder, whether did you work at

summer?

-I was in no working mood! There in the green

grass there were songs or frolic games time and

again, it turned my head.

-And so you

-Losing myself I have been singing the whole

summer.

-You have been singing? Oh well, good business:

there now, just try and dance!

*** *** ***


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A fox and a marmot

Where, my dear, do you run so, without looking

back? fox was asked by marmot.

Oh, my sport! I suffer from slander and is banished

for bribes. You know, I was a judge at one poultry-

yard,

there I have lost my health and my rest in the affairs,

so much taking trouble and pains I did not eat or

sleep

and as ill luck would have it despite this fact I have

fallen out of favor; it is all owing of slander. Well,

judge for yourself: who in the world will be right if

listening to slander? Do I take bribes? Do you mean

to say I am mad? Well, for example, have you ever

seen so that I was engaged in this sin? Just think of

it, recollect thoroughly well.

No, my dear; but I quite often saw that your snout

was covered in down.

*** *** ***


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A fox and grapes

A hungry rogue of fox had gotten into an orchard;

there were glowed bunches of grapes. My dear fox

had flown into a passion; while the juicy berries as

some precious jewels were shining; only what was a

nuisance, they hung high up: the eyes see, but the

teeth do not feel the taste. Having struggled in vain

the whole hour, the fox went away and with

disappointment said:

Never mind! At a sight the grapes are good, but

most likely they are sour there is no ripe berry: at

once you will set your teeth on edge.

*** *** ***

A frog and an ox

Having seen some ox in the meadow a frog had

contrived a thought to match in portliness with the


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ox; because the frog was envious. It suddenly started

to make great efforts, to puff and to inflate.

Just look at me, croaky! Am I as big as that ox?

it asked its friend.

No, dear, far from it!

-Look on, how widely Im going to swell. Well,

what? Have I filled out yet?

-Next to nothing

-Well, and how now?

-It is precisely as it was.

The Frog kept on puffing. In the end, out of much

effort even without having become equal to the ox in

size my whimsical frog was dead.

There is more than one such example in our life: is

not it strange when a petty bourgeois wishes to live

as an eminent citizen, or a small fry as a noble lord?

*** *** ***


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A huntsman and a wolf

Thinking to get into the sheepfold instead of it at

night a wolf had got into the kennels, but seeing that

its end was imminent my dodger started to negotiate,

Friends, whats all the fuss about? We are kith and

kin, Im going to make up a quarrel; lets forget the

past and come to an agreement!

A huntsman had interrupted it,

You are actually greedy and cruel, though youre

trying to dress up in sheeps clothing for achieving

your hideous purpose, however, my chap, I am a

grey-bearded man and for a long time I know your

wolfs habits; therefore my custom is: not to come to

terms with wolves, unless having already taken off

their skins.

There and then he played off a pack of hounds

against the wolf.

*** *** ***


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A mouse and a rat

-My neighbor, have you heard that a rumor has it?

having run hasty in the mouse had asked the rat.

-Well, they say that the cat has been caught into the

lions claws. At last it came time for us to have a

rest!

-Dont get delighted, old chap! the rat said in

reply.

If they end into a fight, then the Lion is sure to be

dead; there is no beast stronger than the cat!

How many times I have seen, let me bring it to your

notice, that: when a coward is afraid of whom, then

he thinks that the whole world stares with his own

eyes at that one.

*** *** ***

A pig under the oak

Near by an ancient oak some pig had gorged itself

on of acorns to satiety; having done it, it had slept


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under the tree; then having rubbed the sleep out of

its eyes it got up and started to sap the Oaks roots

with its snout.

Its hurting the tree said a raven from the oak.

If you dig up its roots, it can wither.

Let it wither, the Pig spoke, I dont care of it

an acorn; My foot! To my mind, its of a little use. If

only there were acorns: after all, I grow fat thanks to

them.

Ungrateful! there and then said the oak to it.

If you could turn up your snout, you would see its

namely me that yields these acorns.

In the same way some ignoramus scolds both

education and science, and all scientific works in

blinding, without being aware of that he enjoys their

fruits.

*** *** ***


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A siskin and a pigeon

The Siskin fell into a vile trap: the poor thing

striving to escape both wriggled and rushed about,

while the young Pigeon scoffed at it.

For shame, you have been caught in broad daylight!

It is safe to say I would not be taken in.

However, lo and behold, then and there it itself was

snared.

It serves it right! Next time, my dove, do not laugh

at anothers trouble.

*** *** ***

A snake and a lamb

Lying under the log a snake was angry with the

whole world; it has no other feeling if only just

malice: so heck it was created by the nature.

In vicinity a lamb was frolicking and skipping, it did

not know anything about the snake. All of a sudden

having crept out, the vermin deceitfully stung it:


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there and then it had been dimmed before the eyes of

the poor thing: its blood was as though on fire.

Why?- it asked the snake.

-Who knows? Perhaps, you were about to trample

on me, said hissing the snake.

-You are punished by me just in case.

Oh, no! exclaimed the lamb and died.

Whose heart feels neither friendship nor love, that

one hates all and everything taking each as a villain.

*** *** ***

A squirrel

On holiday in a village under a window of the

landowners mansion were crowded common

people. They glared and marveled at the squirrel in a

wheel. Nearby in a birch the ouzel wondered at it,

too: so the squirrel was running that only its pads

flashed and its bushy tail was flown.


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Old top, the ouzel asked it, tell me please, what

are you doing here?

-Oh, my dear fellow, I work hard all day long: I

serve honestly his honor as a messenger; why,

theres no time neither to eat nor to drink, nor even

to take a breath.

-Indeed, flying away the ouzel said: that is clear

to me, however fast you run, still you are there at the

same window.

When you look at some businessman: to your

surprise, he takes trouble and makes a fuss,

apparently, he would sweat blood, but his business

does not make progress or move as if that squirrel in

a wheel.

*** *** ***


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A swan, a crayfish and a pike

When there is no agreement between partners their

business will not thrive. It will be only taking pains

without any profit.

Once upon a time a swan, a crayfish and a pike

undertook to carry a cart with a load and harnessed

themselves in it; they sweated blood, but the cart did

not move! It would be seemed for them the load was

quite light, but the swan strove in the sky, the

crayfish moved backwards and the pike pulled

towards the water.

Who of them was wrong and who was right its

not to us to judge; however up till now the loaded

cart is right where it was then.

*** *** ***


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The tree

Having seen some peasant with an axe, My dear

fellow, said the young little tree: Would you mind

cutting down the woods around me, I need badly in

the open space: no sunlight for my leaves, no room

for my roots, no expanse for

the wind near me in the shade of big trees! If not for

that, I would have grown by a mile in height. The

peasant efficiently got down to the job and soon did

the tree a good turn: the vast open space had been

cleared around it.

But the trees triumph was short-lived! Sometimes it

was scorched in the sun, sometimes it was lashed by

the rain and the hail, at last it was broken by the

wind. Are you crazy! a snake said to it: You have

only yourself to blame!

If you grew being nestled in the woods, neither the

heat nor the wind could not give you any harm, the

old big trees would protect you; and if sometime

those trees were gone, you would be already strong

enough so that to sustain a storm!

*** *** ***


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The quartet

Both a rogue of monkey, a donkey, a goat and a

bruin bear decided to play a quartet. They got some

music, a bass, a viola, two violins and sat in the

meadow under the limes, aiming to captivate the

world with their art. They took up fiddlesticks and

bows, proceeded to scrape away, but it was all for

nothing.

"Stop, guys, wait a minute!" yelled the monkey:

"What sort of music can it be, if we sit in the wrong

manner? You bruin with the bass sit down, please,

against the viola, and I, the prima, am going to sit

against the second; we are sure to make both the

forest and hills dance!"

They sat themselves down in that way, began

playing, but all the same it was no good at all.

"Hang on, I found the secret", shouted the donkey:

"we are sure to succeed, if we sit in a row".

They obeyed the ass and sat sedately in a row, yet as

before the music was of the nasty kind and sort.

Then, more than ever, they started to wrangle to

whom and how to sit. It turned out that having paid

attention to their racket a nightingale came flying.

There and then all of them inquired it:

"Would you mind telling us only one thing, how we

are to sit so that to play in a nice way?"


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-"To be a musician, one ought to have ability and

skills", the nightingale said to them in reply:

"Whereas you, my friends, no matter how you sit,

are not suited to be the ones".

*** *** ***

A wolf and a lamb

For a strong one the powerless are always guilty:

There are plenty of such examples in History,

But we do not write History at all;

And there how in fables they tell about it.

Once in the hot day longing for drinking a Lamb had

come to some rill;

Unfortunately, the hungry Wolf ran about those

areas.

The Wolf had seen the Lamb, it hungered after prey;

But desiring to give the superficial legality to the

case it shouted:

How you dare, impudent fellow, with your dirty

snout to stir up my drink with sand and silt ?


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For such your insolence I will behead you.

-If you will, I beg to inform you that I drink down-

stream a hundred steps from Your Grace and I

cannot stir up your drink in any way.

-Am I a liar, in your opinion? Oh, you rascal!

Whoever heard of such a thing?

I remember that you insulted me here yet the

summer before last: old bean, I have not forgotten

it!

-You cant be serious! I am not even one year old,

said the Lamb.

-So it was your brother.

-I have no brother.

-Well, then it was your godfather or your

matchmaker,

Say, somebody of your kith and kin.

You, your dogs and your shepherds, all of you wish

harm to me

And if you can, you always do me a mischief:

But I will get even with you for their sins.

-Ah, what is my fault?

-Be silent! I have got tired to listen to your reasons,


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I have no time, whippersnapper, to assort the faults

of yours,

You are guilty because I am hungry.

The Wolf had said and started to drag the Lamb

towards the dense woods.

*** *** ***

A woodcutter and the oak

Once some zealous woodcutter who was so to speak

a master of his craft made up his mind to cut down

an ancient oak so that a mistletoe wouldnt grow in

it. In consequence of it now the bleak winds blow

there where sometime was the tree. Well, certainly

you may fight with an evil in the world but please let

life alone.

*** *** ***


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An elephant and Pug

Once upon a time they led an elephant on the streets,

apparently for show it is generally known that

elephants are all too new for these areas and so the

crowd of gapers followed hot on its heels. Like a

bolt from the blue Pug ran towards them. Having

beheld the elephant it began suddenly to rush about,

both to bark, and to squeal and to tear. As if it were

ready to get into a fight. Shame on you, neighbor,

said to Pug a small dog: You are no match for an

elephant! I say, you have already become hoarse, yet

it without more ado proceeds to go ahead and

doesnt notice your barking at all. My gosh! Pug

said in reply: It is in this there is the charm of it that

without any fight I can pass for a very tough guy.

Let they, the bastards, say: Good for Pug! It is

probably rather strong, if it barks at the elephant!

*** *** ***


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A cock and the pearl

Poking about in a dunghill, the cock had found a

pearl and spoke: Why would I want it? What a

pointless thing! Isn't it silly, that it is appreciated so

highly? I really would be much gladder to have a

barley grain: though it is not so showy, but then

nourishing.

_______

Ignoramuses judge precisely so: if they do not have

a good understanding of anything, then this is a mere

trifle for them.

*** *** ***


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Passers-by and dogs

Once in the evening two friends walked along and

talked shop as all of a sudden a mongrel had given a

yelp at them from under the gate; followed by

another, then by two or three and in a moment from

all households about fifty dogs had run together.

One of the passers-by was about to take a stone.

Never mind! there and then another told him,

You wont appease the dogs from barking, only will

tease them even more; lets go ahead: I know their

nature better. Really and truly, they had passed,

say, five dozen steps and the dogs had already

started to calm down step by step. At last they

absolutely was not heard.

As soon as envious persons take a look at

something, right then they start slagging it off.

*** *** ***


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A lion and a leopard

Once, in old times, a lion and a leopard waged a

very long war against each other for both the

contested forests, and for glens, and for dens. They

had not that temper so that to have legal proceedings

under the law; after all, the powers that be are often

blind concerning the rights. They have their own

custom: who will prevail, that one will be right.

However, one cannot fight endlessly, after all, so

claws can become blunt: at last our heroes decided

to discuss the affair in accordance with the law; they

determined to put an end to the military action and

to end all contentions, then, as usual, to enter into an

everlasting peace until the first quarrel will occur.

Lets appoint our secretaries as soon as possible,

the lion was offered by the leopard, and how their

wits will judge, let it be so. I, for example, shall send

a cat for this purpose. Although the animal is

unsightly and puny, but it has a clear conscience;

and you set an ass: because it has a noble rank, and,

by the way, it is a rather enviable livestock! Believe

me, as to your friend: both your council and your

court are hardly worth of its single hoof. We shall


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rely on that how your ass will come to terms with

my cat.

And the lion approved the leopards thought without

dispute; nevertheless it appointed not the ass, but a

fox to try the case, saying to itself (apparently, it

knew the world):

Who is praised by the enemy, that one is truly

pointless.

*** *** ***

A tomcat and a cook

Some Cook from his kitchen went into the tavern,

meanwhile he left a tomcat at home to guard a food

against mice. But what did he see upon return?

There were scraps of cake on the floor; and Tom in

the corner behind a barrel of vinegar,

purring and humming, was tasting a chicken.


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"Oh, you glutton! Ah, villain!" -

then Cook rebuked Thomas -

"Well, are not you ashamed?

(while Tom still was eating the chicken.)

What! Until now you have been an honest tomcat,

you were considered a model of humility -

But you ... Ah! What a shame! Now all the

neighbors will say:

"Tom is a thief! Tom is a rogue! Would it be

possible so to say to let Tom go not just into the

kitchen, but even into the yard: he is a plague of this

place!"

(While Tom was listening but eating.)

There my rhetorician, giving free rein to the flow of

words, could not find the end of moralizing. What

next? While he was exercising in oratory, the

tomcat had eaten a dish of steak into the bargain.

My dear fellow, mark my words:

"Eloquence is useless there,

Where one need to use the power".

*** *** ***


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A crow and a fox

How many times it was repeated to the world that

flattery is both nasty and harmful,

but all in vain and therefore some flatterer can

always worm oneself into your favor.

Once God sent a slice of cheese to a Crow; having

perched on a spruce it was about to have lunch,

but holding cheese in its beck the Crow got into the

pensive mood. As bad luck would have it in the

vicinity a Fox ran about;

all of a sudden the smell of cheese made it halt: the

Fox had seen the cheese and had been seduced with

it,

the rogue approached to the fir-tree on tiptoe; it

wagged its tail and was all eyes.

Holding its breath it pleasantly said: "My dear, you

are so exquisite! What the nice feathers!

And what the lovely beck! As a matter of fact they

are truly fantastic! Perhaps you have an angelical

voice!

Sing, darling, be not ashamed! If into a bargain with

such beauty you are capable to sing splendidly,


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well, then you must be a diva!" Out of the praise the

head of the prophetic bird had started spinning,

in pleasure the breath was caught in its craw, -

there the Crow cawed with might and main in reply

to the friendly words of the Fox:

the piece of cheese dropped out - and the Crow ever

beheld neither it, nor the cheat again.

*** *** ***

A monkey and the mirror

Having seen its own image in the mirror, a monkey

gently nudged a bear:

My dear fellow, just look at it! What there a

revolting phyz! What grimaces and what ill

manners! Even if I bore only a remote resemblance

to it, I would hang myself out of melancholy. And

would you please admit to me that among my

friends there are five or six such poseurs. Im afraid,

I can easily recount them.


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Instead of reckoning your friends, youd better

turn your attention to yourself said to it the bear.

But its opinion went down the drain.

*** *** ***

A monkey and spectacles

A monkeys sight had begun to fail in old age, but it

heard from some people that: it is not yet the end of

the world, one only have to lay ones hands on

spectacles. So it had got itself a dozen of them. It

fiddled with the spectacles in one and another way.

Now it pressed them to its crown, now it hung them

on its tail, now it smelt them, now licked. But no

chance! Deuce take it! said it, that is a fool

who listens to the peoples idle talk. They told me

lies about spectacles. But these ones of no use to me

at all. Then the monkey out of disappointment and

in grief so had beaten them against a boulder that

mere slivers splashed.


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Unfortunately, it so happens sometimes with people:

no matter how much a thing can be of use, however,

some unenlightened man without knowing its real

value disapproves of it completely. If an ignoramus

turns out to be the VIP, to cap it all he drives it off.

*** *** ***

A boy and a snake

Some boy, thinking to catch an eel,

instead of it grabbed a snake

and the consequence was

that his countenance grew pale

after he had realized his mistake.

The snake said, looking calmly at him:

I say, if you are not going to become smarter a bit,

then you wont get away with it.

This time, I forgive your audacity,

but from now mind you

pick and choose better to play a joke on whom.


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*** *** ***

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