Reading Notes: Aesop (Winter), Part B

Story Source: Aesop for Children, illustrations by Milo Winter (1919) 

The Bear and the Bees

• Very short story
• Plot - Bear looks for honey in a tree, a bee stings him. He gets angry and tries to destroy the hive which brings out the rest of the bees.
• Moral - It is wiser to bear a single injury in silence than to provoke a thousand by flying into a rage

The Cat, the Cock, and the Young Mouse

• Longer story
• Plot - A little mouse describes his experience going out to his mother. He was scared of a mean-looking, feathered animal and wanted to talk to the gentle-looking, fluffy nice one. His mom explains that the bird is actually not dangerous, and the cat is the one they should fear.
• Moral - Do not trust alone to outward appearances

The Cat and the Birds

• Plot - A cat hears that some birds are sick and dresses up as a doctor to trick them. But the birds know it's the cat
• The animals in this are even more anthropomorphized (i.e. dressing up in costumes)
• The moral is very specific
• Moral - Be wise and shun the quack

The Astrologer

• Plot - An astrologer stares up at the stars while he is walking and thinks he can read that the end of the world is near. But then he falls into a hole and villagers have to get him out.
• Moral - Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.