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

The Fox and the Monkey

So they can elect a new ruler
The Animals had a meeting
The Monkey was asked to dance for them
After they finished greeting

With a thousand smiles and capers
And moves carefully selected
The Animals were carried off their feet
So this new king they all elected

Fox did not vote for Monkey
With the others, he was disgusted
For electing such an unworthy creature
As a ruler whom can't be trusted

One day Fox found a trap with meat
He hurried to tell the king
That he'd found a treasure but did not touch it
For it belonged to him

Fox led the greedy Monkey to the trap
At the meat he eagerly grasped
But only setted off the trap
And found himself held fast

"You pretend to be our king," he said
"And yourself you can't protect"
Fox turned and began to walk away
"A new king, we'll just elect"

'The true leader proves himself by his qualities'

I'm going to talk about myself for this one. I never got elected to be a leader but I was chosen to be. Hopefully I have proven myself through my qualities that if there was an election that I would be the one to choose. a leader should be chosen by worthy qualities. Anyone can be good at something but that doesn't necessarily mean it makes them a good leader. Probably a bit more of a novelty but if that's the case, they usually don't last long in their position.

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

The Fox and the Stork

Fox had a plan to amuse himself
At the expense of the Stork
"Come and dine with me," he said
Smiled to himself at the thought

Not knowing the trick he planned
Stork gladly took the invite
Stork arrived in a very good time
And with a good appetite

For dinner the Fox served soup
In a very shallow dish it was set
All Stork could do was to wet his bill
Not a drop of soup could he get

Fox was pleased with his little plan
And to add to the disappointment
He took Stork's bowl and lapped it up
Showing his enjoyment

The hungry Stork was much displeased
But he was a calm nice fellow
Instead of rage, he politely asked
"Come dine with me tomorrow?"

The Fox arrived at the agreed time
And smelt a delightful aroma
But when dinner was finally served
It came served in a long tall jar

The Stork could easily get the food
For his long bill reached it well
Fox could only lick the top of the jar
And sniff at the delicious smell

When Fox lost his temper, Stork calmly said
"There's no reason for your resentment"
"Don't play tricks on your neighbours if"
"You can't stand the same treatment

'Do not play tricks on your neighbours unless you can stand the same treatment yourself'

Who can blame anyone for playing a revenge prank on someone. It is always great to be able to see the expression on the other person's face when they see they get beaten. I believe that if you want to prank someone, you should be able to take back the same treatment. I like to play pranks myself but I also like being pranked. I actually admire their wit if they do manage to prank me. But prank me and I will prank you back *smile*.

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

The Gnat and TheBull

Gnat was buzzing around one morn
Settled on the tip of one of Bull's horn
After a lengthy rest he got ready to fly away
And excused himself to Bull for his resting place
"You must be glad for me to go," the little Gnat declared
"It's all the same to me, Gnat, I did not know you were there"

'We are often of greater importance in our own eyes than in the eyes of our neighbor'

  Another one of the things we've all experienced. Probably have one friend who acts like this. These are the people we can't seem to avoid. Just come buzzing in out of nowhere. At the same time though, we've probably been guilty of doing the same thing ourselves. I know I have seen myself as more important even though it was only my opinion but it's not something you're aware of until you're told about it.

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

The Goose with the Golden Eggs

Once there was a Countryman
The most wonderful Goose possessed
And every day he went to her
A golden egg was in her nest

He took the eggs to the market
And soon became quite rich at last
But only gets one egg a day
He needed to get more eggs fast

Then one day while counting money
The idea came into his mind
Kill the Goose and cut her open
Take all the eggs that he can find

When this terrible deed was done
He discovered to his dread
Not a single golden egg was found
And his precious Goose was dead

'Too much greed will leave you with nothing'

You hear about this one all the time. People losing all their possessions either from gambling or from the stock markets. It's probably good to want more because that gives us motivation but if we want more even though we're pretty comfortable with what we have. If something was giving you a good thing, be happy with it instead of wanting more. Better than ruining it and having nothing afterwards. Not much you can do with a dead goose except eat it.

By the way, you probably noticed but I got bored so decided to make everything a little bit more prettier with illustrations!!

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

The Travellers and the Plane Tree

Two travellers walking in the sun
Sought the shade of a tree
As they laid down under the leaves
They saw it was a Plane Tree

"How useless is the Plane," said one
"It bears no fruit at all"
"All it serves is to litter"
"All its leaves on the floor"

"Ungrateful creatures!" said a voice
"You lie in my shade cooling"
"Yet you say I am useless"
"You do not deserve this blessing"

'Some men underrate their best blessings'

Many people are unhappy with what they get. You see it all the time. They're always complaining about things and it's always the little things. They need to see the bigger picture. I guess everyone takes something for granted. It's almost in our nature I reckon. We don't realise what we have until someone either tells us or we lose it.

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

The Crab and Its Mother

A Mother crab said to her son one day
"Why on Earth do you walk sideways"
"You should always walk straight forward"
Young crab said, "Please show, if you may"

"I will promise to walk the way you want"
"If only you show me the way."
So the old crab tried but it was all in vain
For she too could only walk sideways

'Do not tell others how to act unless you can set a good example'

 I don't think I have ever told anyone to do anything that I am not willing to do myself first. I like to lead by example. It would be too hypocritical to tell others what to do if you're unable or unwilling to do it. However, like all of us, I think we've encountered someone like this, someone who tells us what to do but doesn't follow it themselves. And based on that, we automatically hate them as well.

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

The North Wind and the Sun

The North Wind argued with the Sun
To see who was most strong
As they continued bickering
A cloaked traveller passed along

They decided that the stronger one
Be Whomever can remove
The cloak right off the traveller's back
So the North Wind set to prove

A chilly howling blast was sent
That whipped the cloak about
But he wrapped it even closer to him
North Wind failed without a doubt

The Sun shone out with all its warmth
The rays made all less colder
The traveller loosened his cloak
And hanged it from his shoulder

As the rays got warmer and warmer
The traveller removed his hat
Until at last he pulled off his cloak
And in the shade he sat

'Persuasion is better than force'

Now I definitely agree with this one since I have had more success with persuading someone than using force. However others will beg to differ with me as force will also do the job but in terms of energy used, you use less energy trying to persuade someone than with force. With the same outcome, persuading is definitely more efficient. But I have to mention, you also have to know what you're doing.

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