WITH COLOUR-PLATES j HARRY* ROUNTREE Uniform with this volume. CHARMING COLOUR BOOKS FOR CHILDREN Each with 30 Colour Plates and 18 Sepia Illustrations by Margaret W< Tarrant. VERSES FOR CHILDREN. Edited by H arry G olding. One of the most delightful and artistic book* for children. HANS ANDERSEN’S FAIRY STORIES. A selection of the stories which most appeal to younger children. FAIRY TiUÆS. Red Riding Hood, , The , Puss in Boots, etc. ZOO DAYS. By H arry G olding. A delightful story recording the visits of a family to the Zoo. Each with 30 Colour Plates and 18 Sepia Illustrations by A. E. Jackson. ROBINSON CRUSOE. TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE. TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS. Each with 30 Colour Plates and 18 Sepia Illustrations by Harry G. Theater. GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES. A selection of the most popular stories. THE WATER-BABIES. A beautiful edition of Charles Kingsley’s well-known story. The text has been specially adapted for young children. CHILDREN’S STORIES FROM THE BIBLE. Retold by Blanche W inder. The old favourite stories from the greatest book in the world. ONCE UPON A TIME: Children’s Stories from the Classics. Retold by Blanche W inder. The oldest stories in the world, charmingly retold. STORIES OF KING ARTHUR. These romantic legends make a sure appeal to the chivalrous instincts of boyhood and girlhood. ROBIN HOOD AND HIS MERRY MEN. By E. C harles V ivian. For centuries Robin Hood has been the typical British hero. The story of his life under the greenwood tree is here thrillingly told. GULLIVER’S TRAVELS. THE ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE. With 30 Colour Plates and 18 Sepia Ulustrations by Harry Rountree. ÆSOP’S FABLES. A superb edition of these old favourite stories, retold for children of to-day by Blanche W inder. With 30 Colour Plates and 18 Sepia Illustrations. NURSERY RHYMES. A complete collection of the old favourite rhymes and jinglat, including over 400 pieces, most daintily illustrated. ALICE IN WONDERLAND. THE edition of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece. “ The birds all set off for the castle of King Eagle.”

Æsop’s Fables] [Frontispiece Æsop’s Fables

Retold by BLANCHE WINDER

WITH 30 COLOUR PLATES AND 18 SEPIA ILLUSTRATIONS BY HARRY ROUNTREE

WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED LONDON AND MELBOURNE MADE IN ENGLAND Printed in Great Britain by The Whitefriars London and Tonbridge Press Ltd. CONTENTS AND PLATES * Printed in Sepia. All others in Colour. Page The Donkey and his Shadow [Plate) . . 13 Crying “ Wolf ” [Plate) .... 16 The Story of the Bat [Plate) . . . 22 The Frog and the Ox [Plate) . . . 3 1 The Man who Stared at the Stars [Plate) . 37 The Little Crab and the Big Crab . . 42 The Lion, and, the Mouse .... 44 The Groaning Mountain [Plate) . . . 47 The Raven and the Swan (* Plate) . . 53 The Treasure in the Orchard [Plate). . 59 The Miller’s Do n k e y ...... 65 The Donkey and the Lap-Dog [Plate) . . 69 The Goose who Laid Golden Eggs (* Plate) 75 The Enchanted Cat (* Plate) . . . 8 1 The Three Wishes (* Plate) .... 90 The Two Jars [P la te )...... 97

The Oak and the Reed (* Plate) . . . 103 vii CONTENTS AND PLATES

Page The Elephants and the Moon 108 The Little Boy and the Nettle (* Plate) . 114 The Blackamoor (Plate) . 119 The Hare and the Tortoise (Plate) 124 The Dog in the Manger . 132 The Owl and the Eagle's Daughter (Plate) 134 The Fox and the Grapes (* Plate) 142 The Fox and the Cock (Plate) 147 The Man and the Satyr . 154 The Crow and the Snake (Plate). 157 The Bee and the Dove (* Plate) 163

The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse (* Plate) . 169

The Committee of Mice (* Plate) . 177 The Shepherd with his Flute 185 The Fox and the Stork (Plate) . 189

The Frogs who Asked for a K ing 196

The Boys and the Frog (Plate) . 200

The Miser (* P l a t e ) ...... 205 The Merchant and his Friend (Plate). 210

The Two Bags , . 217 The Wolf and the Fox (Plate) . 219 T he Monkey and the Cheese (* Plate). 227 The Widow and her Little Maidens (* Plate) 233 Vlll CONTENTS AND PLATES Page The Lioness’s So n ...... 240 The Milkmaid and her Pail (* Plate) . . 244 The Dragon in the Moon [Plate] . . 249 The Hermit and the Mouse (* Plate) . . 255

The Tiger’s Golden Bracelet (* Plate) . 263

The Fox who had Lost his Tail [Plate) . 271 The Lion in Love (* Plate) . . . 277

The Flies in the Honey .... 284 Jupiter and the Horse (* Plate) . . . 286

The Jay and the Nightingale [Plate) . . 293 The Little Partridge’s Stolen Eggs [Frontispiece) 299

The Moon and her New Dress . 306 The Vain Jackdaw (Plate) . 311 The Acorn and the Vegetable Marrow (Plate) 317 The Ass Dressed in a T iger's Skin . 322 The Dog and his Shadow . . . . 327 The Man and the L ion (Plate) 328 The Fox and the Rook (Plate) . 333

IX PREFACE HE first glimpse we get of the author of these Fables shows him to us very clearly, although T we have to look back twenty-five centuries. A party is setting out for Ephesus, and one of the slaves, an odd-looking fellow who, because of his dark skin, has been nicknamed Æsop, or Ethiopian, shrewdly takes as his share of the load the bread to be eaten on the journey, which, of course, will be diminishing all the time. Later, we see Æsop, now a freed man, employed on important missions by the rich King Croesus. The stories in this book are not direct translations from any of the numerous Greek and Latin editions of Æsop’s Fables, but have been rewritten for modern children. Some of the longer stories, for example “ The Little Partridge's Stolen Eggs ” (a perfect gem), are taken directly from the old Indian tales of the Hitopadesa, a source from which Æsop himself drew freely. There has been no alteration of Æsop’s nat­ ural history, which is wonderfully correct, according to the knowledge of his time. Frogs can distend themselves with air; the lonely bat is not a bird, although it looks like one ; and men at times are as absurd as the bewildered astronomer who found . a dragon in the moon, or the priceless noodles who fought for the donkey’s shadow. x “ The traveller and the Arab made such a noise with their shouts and blows that the donkey took fright and galloped away. So there they were left, not only without the shadow, but without the donkey.”

12 Æ . F . B ÆSOP’S FABLES

THE DONKEY AND HIS SHADOW

NE fine morning, in a sunny Eastern country, an Arab stood with his donkey at the door of an inn. The donkey was for hire ; and the Arab knew there were travellers sleeping at the inn who would be glad to engage such a fine animal to carry them across the desert. Sure enough, as the Arab waited, one of the travellers came out. Seeing the donkey, he asked if he could hire it. The Arab said “ Yes,” and the two agreed upon the sum that the traveller should pay for the donkey to carry him over the hot sands to the city on the other side. T hey set off at once, the traveller and all his baggage on the donkey, the Arab walking behind. The Arab was used to the desert, and did not much mind the long tramp. He munched a green lettuce nearly as big as his head, and thought cheerfully of the money the traveller was to pay him at the end of the journey. Æ.F. 13 B