A Presentation of 2 Aesop's Fables with good moral lessons. The texts are in English. For the Video presentation with audio narration and explanation in English, please check out the Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNVBRn8LwlE

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一意

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There was once a house that was
overrun with mice. A cat heard of this
and said to herself, "That's the place
for me."

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And off the cat went and took up her
quarters in the house and caught the mice
one by one and ate them.
At last the mice could stand it no longer,
and they determined to take to their holes
and stay there.

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“That's awkward," said the cat to herself. "The
only thing to do is to coax them out by a trick."
So she considered awhile, and then climbed up
the wall and let herself hang down by her hind
legs from a peg and pretended to be dead.

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By and by a few mice very
cautiously peeped out and saw
the cat hanging there.

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"Aha! " one of the mice cried. "You're
very clever, madam, no doubt; but you
may turn yourself into a bag of meal
hanging there, if you like, yet you won't
catch us coming anywhere near you."

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If you are wise you won't be
deceived by the tricks and
deceit of those whom you
have once found to be
dangerous.
And so the cat’s trick fell flat. The mice were very
mindful and cautious not to go near the cat.
The cat was very disappointed. For days she could
not catch even one mouse for her meal. Dejected, she
left the house and the mice found peace and safety.

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A woodman was felling a tree on the
bank of a river, when his ax, glancing off
the trunk, flew out of his hands and fell
into the water. As he stood by the water's
edge lamenting his loss, Mercury
appeared and asked him the reason for
his grief; and on learning what had
happened, out of pity for his distress he
dived into the river and, bringing up a
golden ax, asked him if that was the one
he had lost.
Mercury is commonly identified
with the mythological Greek god
Hermes, the fleet-footed messenger
of the gods.

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The woodman replied that it was not and Mercury
then dived into the river a second time. He brought
up a silver ax. He asked the woodman if the silver
ax was his.
"No, that is not mine either," said the woodman.

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He thanked Mercury his
benefactor warmly; and
the latter was so pleased
with his honesty that he
made him a present of
the other two axes, the
golden and the silver ax.
Once more Mercury dived into the river, and
brought up the missing ax. The woodman was
overjoyed at recovering his property.

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When the woodman told the story to his fellow
villagers, one of them was filled with envy of
the woodman’s good fortune and he was
determined to get the same good fortune.

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So the villager went and began to fell a tree at the
edge of the river. He purposely let his ax drop into
the water. Mercury appeared as before, and, on
learning that the villager’s ax had fallen in, Mercury
dived into the river and brought up a golden ax as
he had done on the previous occasion.

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Without waiting to be asked whether it was his or
not the fellow cried, "That's mine, that's mine!” and
stretched out his hand eagerly for the prize. But
Mercury was so disgusted at his dishonesty that
he not only declined to give the villager the golden
ax, but also refused to recover for him the one he
had let fall into the stream.
The Dishonest Villager

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End of The 2 Aesop’s Fables
Important Moral Lessons to be remembered and practiced
* We must always be mindful and very careful.
* Beware of those with bad character. They can deceive.
* Have moral values of Honesty and Integrity.
* Do not be conquered by Jealousy and Greed.
“When you live life according
to Dhamma,
you will have less suffering
or dukkha.”
With Metta,
Bro. Oh Teik Bin