Trusting God Gives Strength

"Union gives strength," said Aesop. As the quotation below, Isaiah 40:28-31, from the Second Edition (1992) of the Good News Translation of the Bible says, so does trusting God.

Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God; he created all the world. He never grows tired or weary. No one understands his thoughts. He strengthens those who are weak and tired. Even those who are young grow weak; young people can fall exhausted. But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

 

"The Lion and the Mouse": A Fable of Aesop

Just a small kindness can turn a day around. Here is one of the fables of Aesop in both prose and poetry. It is a good example of a small kindness turning a day around.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

from The Aesop for Children (1919)

     A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

     "Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you."

     The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

     Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

     "You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."

     A kindness is never wasted.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

from Aesop and Hyssop (1912)

by William Ellery Leonard

[A fable adapted from Aesop]

A Lion, dreaming in his pride of place,

Was waked by Mouse who ran across his face.

Rising in wrath he caught and was about

To claw and kill, when little Mouse cried out:

"O spare my life and I'll repay you well."

The Lion laughed and loosed him. . . . .

                                                        It befell

A little later that some hunters bound

This king of beasts with ropes upon the ground;

When Mouse, who knew him by his roar, in glee

Came up and gnawed the ropes and set him free.

Scorn no man's friendship, howso small he be.

The Lion and the Mouse,

a painting by Peter Paul Rubens

and Frans Snyders

(To read about this painting,

click here.)

"The Lion and the Ass": Two Fables of Aesop

THE LION AND THE ASS

Two Fables of Aesop

from The Aesop for Children (1919)

     One day as the Lion walked proudly down a forest aisle, and the animals respectfully made way for him, an Ass brayed a scornful remark as he passed.

     The Lion felt a flash of anger. But when he turned his head and saw who had spoken, he walked quietly on. He would not honor the fool with even so much as a stroke of his claws.

     Do not resent the remarks of a fool. Ignore them.

     A Lion and an Ass agreed to go hunting together. In their search for game the hunters saw a number of Wild Goats run into a cave, and laid plans to catch them. The Ass was to go into the cave and drive the Goats out, while the Lion would stand at the entrance to strike them down.

     The plan worked beautifully. The Ass made such a frightful din in the cave, kicking and braying with all his might, that the Goats came running out in a panic of fear, only to fall victim to the Lion.

     The Ass came proudly out of the cave.

     "Did you see how I made them run?" he said.

     "Yes, indeed," answered the Lion, "and if I had not known you and your kind I should certainly have run, too."

     The loud-mouthed boaster does not impress nor frighten those who know him.

"The Final Say: The Hen and the Golden Eggs" by Monty Gilmer

The following poem, titled "The Hen and the Golden Eggs" (1912), is a fable that William Ellery Leonard adapted from Aesop:

A cottager and wife possessed a Hen

Who laid each day a golden Egg again;

So each one thought that in its fair inside

A lump of gold there surely must abide.

And thus they killed it in the hope of gain,

And found no more than entrails, quite as plain

As fill the insides of all mortal chicks.

The foolish pair were in a silly fix.

And thus 'tis ever with the Get-rich-quicks.

The following quotation is an observation that Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal on October 9, 1860:

This haste to kill a bird or quadruped and make a skeleton of it, which many young men and some old ones exhibit, reminds me of the fable of the man who killed the hen that laid golden eggs, and so got no more gold. It is a perfectly parallel case. Such is the knowledge which you may get from the anatomy as compared with the knowledge you get from the living creature.

"The Fox and the Grapes" by William Ellery Leonard

According to British Labour Party politician Neil Kinnock, "The unforgivable political sin is vanity; the killer diet is sour grapes."


THE FOX AND THE GRAPES
A fable adapted by William Ellery Leonard
from "The Fox and the Grapes" by Aesop

A famished Fox did chance to spy
Some ripe grape clusters hanging high.
She leapt, she pawed the tree, she screeched,
But not a single grape she reached.
She turned away and said, "I guess
They're after all a sour mess."

When things go wrong, O Fox or Man,
Philosophize the best you can.


Source: Aesop and Hyssop (1912) by William Ellery Leonard

"The Ants and the Grasshopper": A Fable Adapted from Aesop

THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER
A fable adapted by William Ellery Leonard
from "The Ant and the Grasshopper" by Aesop

The Ants one winter day were drying grain,
Collected in the summer not in vain.
A famished Grasshopper desired to take,
He said, a little for his stomach's sake.
The Ants inquired: "Why didst thou nothing store
On those warm days in bounteous months of yore?"
The Grasshopper: "I had no leisure then;
I sang, and having sung, I sang again."

"Who sings in summer," thus an old Ant said,
"In winter dances supperless to bed."


Source: Aesop and Hyssop (1912) by William Ellery Leonard

 

Two quotations: Aesop and the Bible on diligence

GO TO THE ANT
from the Bible: Proverbs 6:6-8 (King James Version)

"It is thrifty to prepare today for the
 wants of tomorrow." -- Aesop

Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
Consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide,
Overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer,
And gathereth her food in the harvest.

"The Two Pots" by William Ellery Leonard

THE TWO POTS
A fable adapted by William Ellery Leonard
from "The Two Pots" by Aesop

Two Pots adown the river pass.
One is earthen, one is brass.
The Earthen to the Other saith:
"Don't come nigh me -- you'll be my death,
For if you bump, you'll thump and shiver
All my person in the river,
And that would be a sorry end."

An equal makes the only friend.


Source: Aesop and Hyssop (1912) by William Ellery Leonard