Fables of Aesop

Fables of Aesop are one of the surest bets in the world of publishing for children. They are free of copyright, they are short, they are easy to remember and understand. In case somebody still doesn't get the point, there's often an explicitly written moral in the end. No wonder the collection edited by W. T. Stead started with Aesop's fables in the first series.

Unfortunately at the moment, we don't have access to one of the surviving copies from the first series of Aesop. But we can offer a pretty decent scan of the second series with, as the title page claims "illustrated with new sketches by Brinsley Le Fanu". Le Fanu, indeed, made a great job with his line drawings, catching the crucial moments of numerous presented fables.

The most well-known ones are obviously in the first book, but these may be even more intriguing. And you'll probably notice you actually know quite a few of them already. They offer some freshness, and a few surprises, so it's best to look at them, one by one, as they are printed. We decided to offer full scans, with text and illustration, including pagination which (considering it's the second book a logic sequel of the first one), starts with page 65!

So here we go:

The Pedlar's Ass;

or, The Dodger Outdodget

The Shepherd and the Wolf;

or, Never Trust Until You Test

The Lion, the Ass, and the Fox;

or, Treachery is Sometimes Avenged

The Sick Stag;

or, Cupboard Friends are Often Foes

The Kid and the Wolf;

or, The coward's Castle

The Charcoal-burner and the Fuller;

or, Let Birds of a Feather Flock Together
 

The Swan and the Raven;

or, Be Content

The Miser;

or, What You Cannot Use Is of No Use

The Thieves and the Cock;

or, Don't Plead Good Deeds to Bad Men

The Two Frogs;

or, Look Before You Leap

The Dog at the Feast;

or, Getting Out of a Tight Place the Wrong Way

The Wolf and the Goat;

or, Distrust Counsel That Puts You In the Power of the Counsellor

The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape;

or, Blackguards Both

The Fox without a Tail;

or, You Can't Always Set the Fashion To Suit Yourself

The Eagle and the Arrow

While we don't have a subtitle/moral for this one, we can present it in a video version:

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing;

or, The Bitter Bit

The Flies and the Honey Pot;

or, don't Be Greedy

The Travellers and the Bear;

or, Only a Friend In Need Is a Friend In Deed

The Tortoise and the Eagle;

or, Don't Try to Soar Too High

The Lion's Kingdom;

or, Only In Peace Have the Weak any Chance

The Boys and the Frogs;

or, Put Yourself in Their Place

The Fox and the Boar;

or, In Time of Peace Prepare for War
Two Frogs;

or, Emigrate in Time

The Fox and the Woodcutter

The Lion and the Dolphin;

or, England's Fleet Cannot Fight on Land
 

The Two Pots;

or, The Weaker Always Go To the Wars

The Lion and the Mouse;

or, The Smallest Can Offend the Greatest

The Crow and the Swallow;

or, What Is of Most Use Is the Best

The Piper and the Fish

The Fawn and its Mother;

or; The Instinct of Self-Preservation

Tho Bear and the Fox;

or, Better Spare the Living Than the Dead

The Swallow at the Law Courts;

or, The Devil Loves Holy Places
 

The Cat and Birds

The Goat and the Vine;

or, The Day of Judgement Will Come

Hares and Frogs;

or, There's a Crook In Every Lot

The Peacock and the Crane;

or, Better Strong Wings Than Painted Tail

The Wolf and the Shepherds;

or, Circumstances Alter Cases
 

The Brazier's Dog;

or, A Good Moral in the Wrong Place

The Birdcatcher and the Cock;

or, Necessity Knows No Law

The Playful Donkey
 

The Lion and the Wolf;

or, The Pot Calling the Cattle Black

The Astrologer;

or, Look Where You Are Going
 

The Two Crabs;

or, Example Is Better Than Precept

The Foolish Camel;

or, Don't Attempt What You Are Not Cut Out For

The Vain Wolf;

or, A Man Looks Ridiculous When He Gets Too Big for His Boots

The Doe and the Lion;

or, Out of the Frying-Pan Into the Fire
 

The Fir-tree and Bramble;

or, High Place, Great Danger
 

The Strolling Crab;

or, Stay in Your Own Station

The Leopard and the Fox;

or, Beauty's Only Skin Deep
 

The Man and the Eagle;

or, One Good Turn Deserves Another

The Raven and the Crow
 

The Ass and the Frogs;

or, Don't Pity Yourself Too Much

The Shoemaker as Doctor;

or, Any Quack Can Fool the Public

The Lion and the Boar;

or, Sink All Little Differences in Face of a Common Enemy
 

The One-eyed Doe;

or, False Confidence Is a Snare

The Stag in the Ox-stall

The Dogs and the Fox;

or, Any Cur Can Bite a Dead Lion
 

The Over-fed Fox
 

The Camel and the Arab;

or, Don't Meet Trouble Halfway

The Fox and the Monkey;

or, A Crowned Head May Have No Sense

The Fox and the Mask;

or, Beauty and Brains Don Not always go Together
 

The Stag at the Spring;

or; We Seldom Know Our Best Friends

The Archer and the Lion
 

The Hart and the Vine;

or, The Ingrate Punished

The Sheep and the Acorns

The Little Fish;

or, A Bird In the Hand Is Worth Two In the Bush
 

The Owl and the Grasshopper;

or, Beware of the Flatterer

The Hunter;

or, Brave Words Are Not Brave Deeds
 

The Bragging Ape;

Dead Man Tell No Tales

The Negro;

or, You May Kill the Man, but You Can not Change His Skin

The Farmer and the Fox;

or, Cruelty Often Comes home to Roost

The Shepherd turned Merchant;

or, Once Bit, Twice Shy

The Donkey and the Wolf;

or, Let the Cobbler Stick to His Last

The Snake and the Wasp;

or, You Can Carry Teasing Too Far

The Seagull;

or, The Hawk's Nonsense

The Old Lion;

or, The Coward's Kick

The Ass and the Precipice;

or, Victory at the Cost of His Life

The Jackdaw and the Doves;

or, Don't Pretend What You Are Not

The Eagle, the Cat, and the Sow;

or, Beware of Treachery

The Geese and the Cranes;

or, The Fat May Be Caught, While the Thin Go Away

The Goat and the Ass;

or, Be Content with Your Lot, or You May Find a Worse One

The Wild Goats;

or, Never Be Unjust to a Friend in Order to Win Over a Foe

The Lion and the Fox;

or, Two Are Sometimes Better Than One

The Hen and the Swallow;

or, Stick to Your Own Bustness in Life

The Fox and the Hedgehog;

or, There Is No Trouble So Bad But There May Be a Worse

The Wolf as a Piper;

or, Use Your Wits When Your Enemies Have All the Power on Their Side

This concludes all Brinsley Le Fanu's illustrations of Aesop's Fables, the book number XXVI from Books from the Bairns, edited by W. T. Stead and published at "The Review of Reviews" Office, London.

It may be interesting to compare Le Fanu's methodical, realistic, and almost educational work with a bit younger illustrator who was aong the stars of so-called Golden Age of illustration, so we a link to offer Charles Robinson's Aesop's Fables, as well.

Enjoy!