This is an English reading of ten Aesop's Fables.
This English listening practice features easy-to-read on-screen text so you can listen and read
along while I narrate the stories.
Audio stories are a great way to help you perfect your English and become more fluent.
These Aesop's Fables are told in easy modern English.
The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg
A man and his wife had the good fortune of having a Goose that laid a Golden Egg every
day.
As lucky as they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough.
They figured the bird must be made of gold on the inside.
So, they decided to kill it in order to get all the precious metal at once.
But when they cut it open they found it was just like any other goose.
Thus, they didn't get rich at once, nor did they enjoy the added wealth of a golden egg
each and every day.
Greed doesn't pay.
The Tortoise and the Hare
One day, a hare was making fun of a tortoise for being so slow.
"Wait a bit," said the Tortoise; "I'll run a race with you, and I'll bet that I win."
The hare was much amused at this idea and said, "Oh, well, let's try and see."
So, it was soon agreed that the fox would set a course for them and be the judge.
When the time came for the race they both started off together.
But, soon the hare was so far ahead that he thought he might as well have a rest.
So he lay down and fell fast asleep.
Meanwhile, the tortoise kept plodding along and in time reached the finish line.
At last, the Hare woke up with a start and ran on as fast as he could, only to find that
the Tortoise had already won the race.
Slow and steady wins the race.
The Fir Tree and the Bramble.
One day, a fir tree was boasting to a bramble.
It said to the bramble, with contempt, "You poor creature, you are of no use whatsoever.
Now, look at me.
I am useful for all sorts of things, especially when men build houses.
They can't do without me then."
But the bramble replied, "Ah, that's all very well.
But just wait till they come with axes and saws and cut you down.
Then you'll wish you were a bramble and not a fir."
Better to be humble and free.
. The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea.
A shipwrecked man, after a great struggle on the waves, was cast upon the beach where
he fell asleep.
When he woke up, he bitterly reproached the sea for its treachery.
"You entice men with your smooth and smiling surface," said the man.
"Then, when they're far out to sea, you turn on them in fury and send both the ship and
the sailors to destruction."
The sea arose in the form of a woman, and replied, "Lay not the blame on me, O sailor,
but on the winds.
By nature, I am as calm and safe as the land itself.
But the winds fall upon me with their gusts and gales, and lash me into a fury that is
not natural to me."
The Crow and the Pitcher.
A thirsty crow found a pitcher with some water in it.
But it turned out that there was too little water in the pitcher.
Try as she might, she couldn't reach it with her beak.
It seemed as though she would die of thirst with the water just out of reach.
So close, yet so far.
At last, she hit upon a clever plan.
She began dropping pebbles into the pitcher, and with each pebble, the water rose a little
higher.
Eventually, in this way, the water reached the brim.
Then, at last, the clever bird was able to quench her thirst.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
The Fox and the Crow
A Crow was sitting on the branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak.
A fox saw her there and set his mind on trying to figure out some way of getting the cheese.
Coming up to the tree and standing under it, he looked up and said, "What a noble bird
I see above me!
Her beauty is without equal, the hue of her plumage exquisite.
If her voice is as sweet as her looks are fair, she without doubt ought to be the Queen
of the Birds."
The crow was tremendously flattered by this, and just to show the fox that she could sing
she gave a loud caw.
The cheese, of course, fell from her beak when she opened it to caw, and the fox snatched
it up, saying, "I see that you have a voice, madam.
What you lack are wits."
Never fall for flattery.
The Quack Frog
Once, a frog came up out of his home in the marsh and proclaimed himself a great healer.
He told all his neighbors that he was a learned physician.
Of course, he told them this in the most high-brow and complex language possible, so that they
found him all the more impressive.
"I am skilled in the use of all drugs," he said.
"In fact, there is nothing I cannot cure!"
The fox heard about this and went to see what was going on.
Arriving near the marsh, he looked the frog over carefully, before saying, "I've heard
you can cure anything!
If that is so, why don't you cure your own lame legs and your blotchy and wrinkled skin?
How can you claim to cure others if you can't even cure yourself?
Physician, heal thyself.
The Lion and the Mouse
A lion was asleep in his lair when he was awakened by a mouse running over his face.
Now, the mouse did not mean to run across the lion's face.
The poor thing had just come upon the lion unexpectedly.
Losing his temper, the lion seized the mouse with his paw and was about to kill it.
The Mouse, terrified, begged him pitifully to spare its life.
"Please let me go," it cried, "and one day I will repay you for your kindness."
The idea of such an insignificant creature ever being able to do anything for him amused
the Lion so much that he laughed aloud.
In fact, the thought placed him in such good humor that he let the mouse go.
But the Mouse's chance came eventually, after all.
One day the lion, while stalking his prey, got tangled in a net that had been spread
for game by some hunters.
He was unable to free himself no matter how hard he tried, and he roared loudly in anger
and frustration.
The mouse heard and recognized these roars of anger and ran to the spot.
Without hesitation, it set to work to gnaw the ropes with its teeth and before long succeeded
in setting the Lion free.
"There!" said the Mouse, "you laughed at me when I promised I would repay you.
But now you see, even a Mouse can help a Lion."
The Gnat and the Lion
A Gnat once went up to a Lion and said, "I am not in the least afraid of you.
I don't even think that you are a match for me in strength.
What does all your strength amount to after all?
So you can scratch with your claws and bite with your teeth.
That makes you no different than an angry man, and nothing more.
But I'm stronger than you.
If you don't believe it, let's fight and see who's the mightiest."
So saying, the gnat buzzed loudly and darted in and bit the lion on the nose.
When the lion felt the sting, he hastily tried to crush the gnat.
He failed altogether to hurt the gnat, but instead scratched his own nose and made it
bleed badly.
The gnat buzzed off in triumph, quite elated by its victory.
Before long, however, it got entangled in a spider's web and was caught and eaten by
the spider.
The mighty gnat fell prey to an insignificant insect after having triumphed over the King
of the Beasts.
The Miser, or The Secret of Hidden Treasure
A MISER sold everything he owned and bought a lump of gold.
He buried this lump of gold in a hole by the side of an old wall.
He then went back to look at it daily.
One of his workmen noticed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch his movements.
He soon discovered the secret of the hidden treasure.
Digging at the spot, he found the lump of gold, which he, of course, stole.
The next time the miser visited the spot, he found the hole empty and began to tear
his hair and to complain of his loss loudly.
A neighbor saw him overcome with grief and soon learned the cause, saying, “Do not
be so upset.
Just go take a stone, place it in the hole, and imagine that the gold is still lying there.
It will do you the exact same service.
After all, when the gold was there you didn't have it and failed to make the slightest use
of it."