The Fox and the Crow

A Crow was sitting on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak when a Fox observed her and set his wits to work to find some way of getting the cheese.

He came up under the tree and said "What a noble bird I see above me. How well she is looking today: how glossy her feathers; how bright her eye; if only her voice was as fair as her looks, she would be the queen of all birds"

The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by the Fox who said "I see you have a voice; what you want is wits"

The moral of the story: Do not trust flatterers.

The Wind and the Sun

THE WIND and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveller coming down the road, and the Sun said: "I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his coat shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin."

So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller. But the harder he blew the more closely the traveller wrap his coat round him, till at last the Wind had to give up. Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his coat on. He was glad to throw his coat off, and complete his journey without it.

The moral of the story: Persuasion is better than force.

The Lion, Fox, and Ass

A Lion, a Fox, and an Ass went out hunting together. They had soon taken a large collection, which the Lion asked the Ass to divide between them. The Ass divided it all into three equal parts, and asked the others to take their choice; at which the angry Lion, jumped on the Ass and killed him.

Then, looking at the Fox, he told him to make a fresh division. The Fox put most everything in one great pile for the Lion's share, leaving only the smallest possible piece for himself. "My dear friend," said the Lion, "how did you get the knack of it so well?"

The Fox said "Me? Oh, I took a lesson from the Ass."

The moral of the story: Happy is he who learns from the misfortunes of others.