An astronomer used to walk out every night to gaze upon the stars．It happened one night that，as he was wandering in the outskirts of the city，with his whole thoughts rapt up in the skies，he fell into a well．On his holloaing and calling out，...
The Disobedient Donkey There was once a donkey who never did what he was told to．If his master wanted him to go to right he pulled to left．If his master wanted him to go to left he pulled to right．In fact he always wanted to do exactly the oppo...
Three at Dawn and Four at Dusk In the state of Song there was a man who kept monkeys．He was very fond of monkeys and kept a large number of them．He could understand the monkeys and they could also understand him．He reduced the amount of food fo...
The Cock and the Jewel As a cock was scratching up the straw in a farmyard，in search of food for the hens，he hit upon a jewel that by some chance had found its way there．Ho！said he，you are a very fine thing，no doubt，to those who prize y...
The Stray Dogs Five stray dogs were roaming about looking for something to eat when they came to a deep river．On the river bed they could see a bag full of bones that someone had thrown away． The bones looked very good and the dogs sat on the ban...
Seagulls A man who lived by the sea loved seagulls．Every morning at daybreak he would go to the seaside and play with the gulls．Hundreds of gulls would come to him and not fly away．His father said，I heard that seagulls like to play with you．...
The Dogs and the Fox Some dogs found the skin of a lion and began to tear it to pieces with their teeth．A fox，seeing them，said，If this lion were alive，you would soon find out that his claws were stronger than your teeth． It is easy to kic...
The Donkey and the Statue A donkey was once chosen to carry a holy statue through the town．Crowds of people came from all over the countryside to see the procession．They lined both sides of the street，pushing and jostling to get nearer to the f...
The Worrler of Qi A man of the state of Qi was afraid that the sky would fall down and the earth would cave in．The thought that he would not be able to find shelter when that happened worried him so much that he had no appetite for food and slept v...
The Mules and the RobbersTwo mules well laden with packs were trudging along．One carried panniers filled with money，the other，sacks weighted with grain．The mule carrying the treasure walked with head erect，as if conscious of the value of hi...
The Goose that laid the Gold EggsA farmer and his wife once had a goose that laid a solid gold egg every day．Each evening they settled it securely in its pen in the corner of their kitchen with a bowl of the best corn and a saucer of freshwater Eac...
Aping a BeautyXi Shi，a famous beauty，had a pain in her bosom，so she had afrown on her face when she went out．An ugly girl who lived nearby saw her and thought she looked very beautiful Therefore when she went home，she also put her hands on...
Giving the Seedligns a Hand A man of the state of Song was worried about his seedlingsgrowing too slowly He pulled up the seedlings one by one and went home exhausted．I am tired out today．I helped the seedlings to grow，he said to his family．H...
The Wolf and the Lion A wolf，roaming by the mountain's side，saw his own shadow，as the sun was setting，become greatly extended and magnified，and he said to himself，Why should I being of such an immense size，and extending nearly an acre i...
The Leopard and the Fox A leopard and a fox were arguing about which of them was the better animal．My spotted coat is the most beautiful fur in the world，said the leopard．You cannot see my beauty，said the fox，for it is inside myhead．But i...
