The Fables of Aesop
Themes
Caution57 fablesThe second look before the leap, and the creatures who forget to take it.Folly44 fablesThe trusting, the vain, the careless — undone by a folly they could not see.Pride41 fablesThe high opinion that stands tallest just before the fall.Deception39 fablesThe trap dressed as a favour, and who springs it on whom.Self-knowledge34 fablesKnowing what you are, before the world teaches it to you the hard way.Greed33 fablesReaching for more and losing what was already in hand.Power31 fablesThe strong deciding what the weak may keep, and calling it order.Consequences29 fablesEvery choice keeps an account, and the fable always settles it.Justice24 fablesThe account that comes due, and the scales that finally balance.Appearance23 fablesThe handsome surface and the plain truth it fails to cover.Fear18 fablesThe shadow that governs a creature more surely than the thing itself.Work18 fablesThe grain gathered in summer, and who goes hungry when winter comes.Fate17 fablesWhat the gods have decided, arriving however the creature runs from it.Gratitude17 fablesThe kindness remembered, and the small debt repaid when it matters.Hypocrisy17 fablesThe gap between what a creature preaches and what its teeth actually do.Moderation17 fablesEnough is a feast; the fables punish the appetite that cannot stop.Trust17 fablesThe faith placed in another, and whether it is kept or betrayed.Ambition16 fablesThe reach that outruns the grasp, and where the climb ends.Cruelty16 fablesThe harm done for sport or spite, weighed on Aesop's cold scales.Education16 fablesWhat is learned in time, and what a creature refuses to be taught.Cleverness15 fablesThe quick wit that finds the way out while the strong are still deciding.Betrayal14 fablesThe trusted hand that strikes, and the friendship spent on the wrong friend.Character14 fablesWhat is born a wolf dies a wolf: nature does not change its coat.Inequality12 fablesThe lion's share, and the smaller creatures who must live beneath it.Loyalty12 fablesThe bond that holds when it would be easier to let go.Self-interest12 fablesAdvice and kindness offered with one eye on their own advantage.Generosity11 fablesThe open hand, and what it gains or loses by giving.Anger10 fablesThe heat that acts before it thinks, and pays for it after.Envy10 fablesCoveting another's coat and losing the comfort of one's own.Friendship10 fablesThe companion tested by danger, and who is still there afterward.Revenge10 fablesThe wrong repaid, sometimes by the smallest and most patient of enemies.Adaptability8 fablesMeeting the world as it turns, and changing the plan before the plan fails.Cooperation8 fablesWhat many weak creatures manage together that no strong one could alone.Resilience8 fablesThe reed that bends and lives where the proud oak breaks and falls.Honesty7 fablesThe plain truth, and what it costs — or saves — the one who tells it.Perseverance7 fablesThe slow, steady step that reaches the goal while the swift sleep.Courage5 fablesThe nerve to stand when standing is the harder and rarer thing.Freedom5 fablesThe lean liberty of the wild, weighed against the collar and the full bowl.Flattery4 fablesThe sweet word that opens the beak, and drops the cheese to the fox.Responsibility3 fablesThe burden a creature is answerable for, whether or not it chose to carry it.