The Philosopher, the Ants, and Mercury

A Philosopher witnessed from the shore
The sinking of a ship
The going down of crew and all
Into pieces it was ripped

He thought about the injustice
As one was a criminal
For the sake of punishing him
The fate was shared by all

While he reflected on his thoughts
Near a ant's nest he did put
His feet and soon the ants came out
One stung him on the foot

He began to trample them all
When Mercury appeared
"Why do you judge the dealings of Gods"
"When yourself, you can't adhere"

'Don't pass judgment on others if you don't follow it yourself'


Copyright ©Zenmoda 2010, Aesop In Verse - Classic Fables Retold

The Man and the Snake

One day a cottager's infant son
Was bitten by a Snake
A mortal bite inflicted
And the Father in his heartache

When he saw Snake leave his hole
His axe, at Snake, did swing
But in his haste he missed the head
And now Snake's tail's missing

Afraid that he'll be bitten too
He endeavoured to make peace
Bread and salt, in the hole he placed
But at this the Snake just hissed

"There is no peace for when you see me"
"You'll be reminded of your son"
"And everytime that I see you"
"I'll remember what you've done."

'Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten'


Copyright ©Zenmoda 2010, Aesop In Verse - Classic Fables Retold

The Mountain in Labour

One day the Mountain was in labour
With smoke arising from its summit
The earth was quaking at its feet
And huge rocks were tumbling all around it

The people gathered in one place
To see what terrible thing would take
They waited and waited, but nothing came
Until at last came one big quake

On the side a huge gap formed
They got in close and looked about
They saw a teeny, tiny head
As a little mouse came running out

'Don't make much ado about nothing'

Shakespeare would probably like this one. People are always making big deals over nothing. Some thing might be a big deal to me but not to you. However some people do need to be brought back to Earth. The world doesn't revolve around them. If it was a big deal, no one would say anything except take your side.

Copyright ©Zenmoda 2010, Aesop In Verse - Classic Fables Retold

The Raven and the Swan

One day a Raven saw a Swan
Its beauty he admired
The same magnificent plumage
Became his new desire

He supposed the slendid white arose
From washing in the lake
So chose to leave the neighbourhood
And the pools he went to take

But trying to cleanse his feathers
A hard task to have pursued
He could not change their colour
And died from lack of food

'Change of habit cannot alter Nature'

The Raven should have opted for plastic surgery or a chemical bleach. That's the go these days. Everyone's trying hard to change their appearance. Asians are dying their black hair to ther colours and caucasians dying their hair to black. Kind of strange to me but I guess I understand it, I went through that phase myself. However, even if you change the colour of the raven, it's still a raven and not a swan.

Copyright ©Zenmoda 2010, Aesop In Verse - Classic Fables Retold

The Boys and the Frogs

Some boys were playing near a pond
Threw stones at frogs in the water
They killed a few before one responded
"Pray stop, my boys: you oughta"
Fun and sport is what you're fond
of but to us it's worse than torture

'One man's pleasure may be another's pain'

This is what bullying is about. You might find it fun to bully someone but imagine being the one that's bullied. It's not a nice feeling. Not everyone is about to defend themselves and those that can't will be the ones that are affected the most. So think of the pain you might be dealing to others before you think it's a fun thing to do.

Copyright ©Zenmoda 2010, Aesop In Verse - Classic Fables Retold