Birds
The Crow and the Pitcher
A crow, nearing death from thirst, comes across a pitcher filled with water. However, when the crow goes to take a drink, he discovers that the water is so low in said pitcher that he is unable to reach it with his beak, no matter how much he tries. He thinks, and proceeds to fill the pitcher with pebbles, stone by stone, until the water is high enough that he can reach it and quench his thirst.
The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts
A bat is caught in the middle of a potential quarrel between the birds and the beasts, and is asked by both sides to join them in the fight. He declines both of them, claiming to be a beast to the birds, and a bird to the beasts, as he did not want to choose a side. However, the fight did not occur, and when the bat went to each faction to celebrate, he was shunned by both, as he had spurned both of them, meaning they did not want him to suddenly align with them.
Insects, Snakes, Crabs
The Man and the Snake
A man is walking through the snow, and comes across a snake that appears to be dead. He still takes it home and places it near the fire in an attempt to help it survive. The snake warms and does come back to life, but when one of the man's children tries to stroke the snake, the snake attempts to bite the child. The man reacts by taking an axe and slicing the snake into two pieces, effectively killing it for attempting to kill his child.
Frogs and Fish
The Frogs Desiring a King
A group of frogs were living alone in a swamp, and became discontent with a lack of leadership. They began wishing for a king to rule over them to keep them managed and in order. They asked Jove to give them a leader, and Jove responded by placing a log into the swamp with the frogs. The frogs, initially fearful of the log, began to realize that the log was not moving, and danced on the log, and continued on with their ways from before the log's presence. After some time, they went back to Jove and asked for a new leader that would actually rule over them. Jove responded by sending a stork, who would eat all of the frogs instead of ruling them, which was worse than the lack of leadership from the log.
The frogs hiding from their stork king
Source: Flickr
Nature and Inanimate Objects
The Man and the Wood
A man enters a forest full of trees with an axe head in his hand, and asks the trees for a branch, as he needed it for a specific reason. The trees were kind, giving him the branch that he desired and asked for. To repay the trees, the man attached the branch to his axe head, turning it into a handle, and proceeded to chop all of the trees down, which he could not have done if the trees had not given him his handle.
Humans and Gods
Hercules and the Wagoner
A man is driving a horse-driven cart carrying a heavy load. As he approaches a fork in the road, one side of the wagon begins sinking into the sand, only becoming more and more stuck as he tries to escape. Desperate to finish his journey, he calls out to Hercules for help. Hercules appears, and says he will not help someone who will not try and help himself get the cart unstuck.
Family and Friends
The Man and his Mother
A man was caught stealing, and was sentenced to death for his crimes. He asks to see his mother one last time, and says he must whisper something to her. When she leans her ear near him, he proceeds to bite it in an attempt to rip it off, mortifying the people around. He says he did so to teach her a lesson for never scolding him when he stole as a child, and instead ended up encouraging him to steal instead of living a life without such actions.
People Wise and Foolish
The Buffoon and the Countryman
A man was at the fair, causing people to laugh by imitating the sounds of various animals. After he attempts a pig's squeal, a farmer says that his squeal is not the real thing, and promises the people who laughed that he will do a much better imitation the next day. The farmer shows up the next day, and as promised, performs a squeal that people find horrifying, and they throw things at him so that he will stop. The farmer then reveals that he was not making the sounds, but that they were those of an actual pig making these noises.
The Goose With the Golden Eggs
A man goes to check on his goose, only to find a golden egg laying in the nest. Once he discovers it is real, he goes back each day, finding more golden eggs, and sells them for large amounts of money. The man, greedy for more gold, kills the goose in an attempt to obtain much more gold, but finds none inside of his goose, and now no longer receives the golden eggs.
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