Aesop's Fables - The Tortoise and the Eagle

The Tortoise and the Eagle

A TORTOISE, lazily basking in the sun, complained
to the sea-birds of her hard fate, that
no one would teach her to fly. An Eagle, hovering
near, heard her lamentation and demanded
what reward she would give him if
he would take her aloft and float her in the
air. "I will give you," she said, "all the riches
of the Red Sea." "I will teach you to fly then,"
said the Eagle; and taking her up in his
talons he carried her almost to the clouds
suddenly he let her go, and she fell on a lofty
mountain, dashing her shell to pieces. The
Tortoise exclaimed in the moment of death:
"I have deserved my present fate; for what
had I to do with wings and clouds, who can
with difficulty move about on the earth?' If
men had all they wished, they would be often
ruined.

Aesop's Fables - The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

THE ASS and the Fox, having entered into
partnership together for their mutual protection,
went out into the forest to hunt. They
had not proceeded far when they met a Lion.
The Fox, seeing imminent danger, approached
the Lion and promised to contrive
for him the capture of the Ass if the Lion
would pledge his word not to harm the Fox.
Then, upon assuring the Ass that he would
not be injured, the Fox led him to a deep pit
and arranged that he should fall into it. The
Lion, seeing that the Ass was secured, immediately
clutched the Fox, and attacked the
Ass at his leisure.

Aesop's Fables - The Mountain in Labor

The Mountain in Labor

A MOUNTAIN was once greatly agitated.
Loud groans and noises were heard, and
crowds of people came from all parts to see
what was the matter. While they were assembled
in anxious expectation of some terrible
calamity, out came a Mouse. Don't
make much ado about nothing.

Aesop's Fables - The Swallow and the Crow

The Swallow and the Crow

THE SWALLOW and the Crow had a contention
about their plumage. The Crow put an
end to the dispute by saying, "Your feathers
are all very well in the spring, but mine protect
me against the winter." Fair weather
friends are not worth much.

Aesop's Fables - The Bear and the Fox

The Bear and the Fox

A BEAR boasted very much of his philanthropy,
saying that of all animals he was the
most tender in his regard for man, for he had
such respect for him that he would not even
touch his dead body. A Fox hearing these
words said with a smile to the Bear, "Oh!
that you would eat the dead and not the
living."

Aesop's Fables - The Fawn and His Mother

The Fawn and His Mother

A YOUNG FAWN once said to his Mother,
"You are larger than a dog, and swifter, and
more used to running, and you have your
horns as a defense; why, then, O Mother! do
the hounds frighten you so?" She smiled, and
said: "I know full well, my son, that all you
say is true. I have the advantages you mention,
but when I hear even the bark of a
single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly away
as fast as I can." No arguments will give
courage to the coward.

Lissianna Vs. Greg ~ A Quick Bite

"You've heard of Atlantis?"
It wasn't really a question, but Greg grunted a "yes" despite being a tad confused by what the mythical land could have to do with vampires."The lost civilization, Plato, Poseidon, Creita. A paradise with wealthy people who displeased Zeus by becoming greedy," he recalled from his courses at university.
"Zeus punished them by gathering all the gods together and wiping them out."
"That's what the books say," Lissianna agreed with a hint of amusement.
"What does the mythical Atlantis have to do with your being a vampire?"
"Atlantis is no more a myth than vampires are," she announced. "It was a very advanced race, and just before the fail, scientists there developed a sort of nano."
"Those tiny little computer thingies?"Greg asked.
"Yes," she said. "I don't pretend to understand it all. I've never really found science that interesting. My brother, Bastien, could explain this all more clearly, but basically, they combined the nanotechnology with some sort of bio something or other—"
"Bioengineering?" he asked.
"Something like that," she allowed. "They combined the two technologies to create microscopic nanos that could be shot into the bloodstream, where they would live and replicate."
"I don't understand what that has to do with—"
"These nanos were programmed to repair tissue," Lissianna interrupted. "They were meant to be medical aids, to help heal people who were seriously wounded or ill."
Greg arched an eyebrow. "And they worked?"
"Oh yes. They worked better than anyone had expected. Once in the body, they not only repaired damaged tissue, they destroyed any sort of infection and even regenerated dead or dying tissue."
"Ah," Greg said, suddenly understanding why she was telling him about Atlantis. "And these nanos are how you live so long and stay so young."
"Yes. It was an unexpected side effect. They were programmed to self-destruct once the damage in the body had been repaired, but—"
"The body is constantly under attack from sunlight, pollution, and simple aging," Greg finished for her.

"Yes." She smiled with pleasure at his understanding. "So long as there is damage to repair, the nanos will live and create others of their kind, using blood from the bloodstream. And there is always damage to repair."
Greg closed his eyes, his mind whirling with the knowledge she'd just given him. It raised as many questions as it answered. "What about the blood?Your … er… feeding, I mean? Is that because the nanos use the blood?"
"Yes. They use it both to fuel themselves and to make the repairs. The more damage, the more blood is needed. But even with just the damage from day-to-day living, the body can't supply enough blood to satisfy them."
"So you have to drink blood to feed the nanos," he reasoned.
"Yes. Drink it or take transfusions."
"Transfusions?" he echoed, pleased to hear such a common word in this conversation. "So it's really rather like hemophilia? Sort of a blood disorder…" Then he paused, and added wryly, "Except for the fact that you're all from an ancient, but scientifically advanced, race of people." He paused as a thought confused him. "But you were born just a little more than two hundred years ago. You aren't from Atlantis yourself. Is it passed from mother to child?"
"It was passed to me through my mother," Lissianna admitted. "But my mother wasn't born with it."
"Your father?" he queried, and realized he hadn't asked how old Jean Claude Argeneau had been when he died just a couple years ago. "How old was your father?"
"He, his twin brother, and their parents were amongst those who fled Atlantis when it fell. Aunt Martine was born a couple hundred years later."
Her father and his family had fled Atlantis when it fell, he considered silently. When had that been? He wasn't sure.Certainly before Roman times, before the birth of Christ… Dear God, it didn't bear thinking about.
"My father introduced the nanos to my mother when they were married," Lissianna added when his silence continued.
Greg gave a start at this news. "So anyone could…"
"You don't have to be born one," she admitted softly when he paused. "They were introduced to the blood intravenously to start with and still can be."
"And the blood doesn't necessarily have to be consumed," he said, his mind going back to that point. He didn't know why.Maybe because it made them seem less alien when he thought of it as a blood disorder
like hemophilia.

Aesop's Fables - The Farmer and the Snake

The Farmer and the Snake

ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff
and frozen with cold. He had compassion on
it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom.
The Snake was quickly revived by the
warmth, and resuming its natural instincts,
bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal
wound. "Oh," cried the Farmer with his last
breath, "I am rightly served for pitying a
scoundrel." The greatest kindness will not
bind the ungrateful.

Aesop's Fables - The Farmer and the Stork

The Farmer and the Stork

A FARMER placed nets on his newly-sown
plowlands and caught a number of Cranes,
which came to pick up his seed. With them
he trapped a Stork that had fractured his leg
in the net and was earnestly beseeching the
Farmer to spare his life. "Pray save me,
Master," he said, "and let me go free this
once. My broken limb should excite your
pity. Besides, I am no Crane, I am a Stork, a
bird of excellent character; and see how I
love and slave for my father and mother.
Look too, at my feathers—they are not the
least like those of a Crane." The Farmer
laughed aloud and said, "It may be all as you
say, I only know this: I have taken you with
these robbers, the Cranes, and you must die
in their company." Birds of a feather flock
together.

Aesop's Fables - The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble

The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble

THE POMEGRANATE and Apple-Tree disputed
as to which was the most beautiful.
When their strife was at its height, a Bramble
from the neighboring hedge lifted up its
voice, and said in a boastful tone: "Pray, my
dear friends, in my presence at least cease
from such vain disputings."

Aesop's Fables - The Hare and the Tortoise

The Hare and the Tortoise

A HARE one day ridiculed the short feet and
slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied,
laughing: "Though you be swift as the wind, I
will beat you in a race." The Hare, believing
her assertion to be simply impossible, assented
to the proposal; and they agreed that the
Fox should choose the course and fix the
goal. On the day appointed for the race the
two started together. The Tortoise never for
a moment stopped, but went on with a slow
but steady pace straight to the end of the
course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside,
fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving
as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise
had reached the goal, and was comfortably
dozing after her fatigue. Slow but steady
wins the race.

Aesop's Fables - The Herdsman and the Lost Bull

The Herdsman and the Lost Bull

A HERDSMAN tending his flock in a forest
lost a Bull-calf from the fold. After a long and
fruitless search, he made a vow that, if he
could only discover the thief who had stolen
the Calf, he would offer a lamb in sacrifice to
Hermes, Pan, and the Guardian Deities of
the forest. Not long afterwards, as he ascended
a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion
feeding on the Calf. Terrified at the sight, he
lifted his eyes and his hands to heaven, and
said: "Just now I vowed to offer a lamb to the
Guardian Deities of the forest if I could only
find out who had robbed me; but now that I
have discovered the thief, I would willingly
add a full-grown Bull to the Calf I have lost,
if I may only secure my own escape from him
in safety."

Aesop's Fables - The Mole and His Mother

The Mole and His Mother

A MOLE, a creature blind from birth, once
said to his Mother: "I am sure that I can see,
Mother!" In the desire to prove to him his
mistake, his Mother placed before him a few
grains of frankincense, and asked, "What is
it?" The young Mole said, "It is a pebble." His
Mother exclaimed: "My son, I am afraid that
you are not only blind, but that you have lost
your sense of smell.

Aesop's Fables - The Dog and the Shadow

The Dog and the Shadow

A DOG, crossing a bridge over a stream with
a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his own
shadow in the water and took it for that of
another Dog, with a piece of meat double his
own in size. He immediately let go of his
own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog to
get his larger piece from him. He thus lost
both: that which he grasped at in the water,
because it was a shadow; and his own, because
the stream swept it away.

Aesop's Fables - The Traveler and His Dog

The Traveler and His Dog

A TRAVELER about to set out on a journey
saw his Dog stand at the door stretching
himself. He asked him sharply: "Why do you
stand there gaping? Everything is ready but
you, so come with me instantly." The Dog,
wagging his tail, replied: "O, master! I am
quite ready; it is you for whom I am waiting."
The loiterer often blames delay on his more
active friend.

Aesop's Fables - The Ants and the Grasshopper

The Ants and the Grasshopper

THE ANTS were spending a fine winter's day
drying grain collected in the summertime. A
Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed
by and earnestly begged for a little food. The
Ants inquired of him, "Why did you not
treasure up food during the summer?" He
replied, "I had not leisure enough. I passed
the days in singing." They then said in derision:
"If you were foolish enough to sing all
the summer, you must dance supperless to
bed in the winter."

Aesop's Fables - Hercules and the Wagoner

Hercules and the Wagoner

A CARTER was driving a wagon along a
country lane, when the wheels sank down
deep into a rut. The rustic driver, stupefied
and aghast, stood looking at the wagon, and
did nothing but utter loud cries to Hercules
to come and help him. Hercules, it is said,
appeared and thus addressed him: "Put your
shoulders to the wheels, my man. Goad on
your bullocks, and never more pray to me for
help, until you have done your best to help
yourself, or depend upon it you will henceforth
pray in vain." Self-help is the best help.

Aesop's Fables - The Fisherman Piping

The Fisherman Piping

A FISHERMAN skilled in music took his
flute and his nets to the seashore. Standing
on a projecting rock, he played several tunes
in the hope that the fish, attracted by his
melody, would of their own accord dance into
his net, which he had placed below. At
last, having long waited in vain, he laid aside
his flute, and casting his net into the sea,
made an excellent haul of fish. When he saw
them leaping about in the net upon the rock
he said: "O you most perverse creatures,
when I piped you would not dance, but now
that I have ceased you do so merrily."

Aesop's Fables - The Wolf and the Crane

The Wolf and the Crane

A WOLF who had a bone stuck in his throat
hired a Crane, for a large sum, to put her
head into his mouth and draw out the bone.
When the Crane had extracted the bone and
demanded the promised payment, the Wolf,
grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed:
"Why, you have surely already had a sufficient
recompense, in having been permitted
to draw out your head in safety from the
mouth and jaws of a wolf." In serving the
wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if
you escape injury for your pains.

Aesop's Fables - The Kingdom of the Lion

The Kingdom of the Lion

THE BEASTS of the field and forest had a
Lion as their king. He was neither wrathful,
cruel, nor tyrannical, but just and gentle as a
king could be. During his reign he made a
royal proclamation for a general assembly of
all the birds and beasts, and drew up conditions
for a universal league, in which the
Wolf and the Lamb, the Panther and the Kid,
the Tiger and the Stag, the Dog and the Hare,
should live together in perfect peace and
amity. The Hare said, "Oh, how I have
longed to see this day, in which the weak
shall take their place with impunity by the
side of the strong." And after the Hare said
this, he ran for his life.

Aesop's Fables - The Cock and the Jewel

The Cock and the Jewel

A COCK, scratching for food for himself and
his hens, found a precious stone and exclaimed:
"If your owner had found thee, and
not I, he would have taken thee up, and have
set thee in thy first estate; but I have found
thee for no purpose. I would rather have one
barleycorn than all the jewels in the world

Aesop's Fables - The Boy Hunting Locusts

The Boy Hunting Locusts

A BOY was hunting for locusts. He had
caught a goodly number, when he saw a
Scorpion, and mistaking him for a locust,
reached out his hand to take him. The Scorpion,
showing his sting, said: If you had but
touched me, my friend, you would have lost
me, and all your locusts too!"

Aesop's Fables - The Father and His Sons

The Father and His Sons

A FATHER had a family of sons who were
perpetually quarreling among themselves.
When he failed to heal their disputes by his
exhortations, he determined to give them a
practical illustration of the evils of disunion;
and for this purpose he one day told them to
bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had
done so, he placed the faggot into the hands
of each of them in succession, and ordered
them to break it in pieces. They tried with all
their strength, and were not able to do it. He
next opened the faggot, took the sticks separately,
one by one, and again put them into
his sons' hands, upon which they broke them
easily. He then addressed them in these
words: "My sons, if you are of one mind, and
unite to assist each other, you will be as this
faggot, uninjured by all the attempts of your
enemies; but if you are divided among
yourselves, you will be broken as easily as
these sticks."

Aesop's Fables - The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller

The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller

A CHARCOAL-BURNER carried on his trade
in his own house. One day he met a friend, a
Fuller, and entreated him to come and live
with him, saying that they should be far better
neighbors and that their housekeeping
expenses would be lessened. The Fuller
replied, "The arrangement is impossible as
far as I am concerned, for whatever I should
whiten, you would immediately blacken
again with your charcoal." Like will draw
like.

Aesop's Fables - The Lion and the Mouse

The Lion and the Mouse

A LION was awakened from sleep by a
Mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily,
he caught him and was about to kill
him, when the Mouse piteously entreated,
saying: "If you would only spare my life, I
would be sure to repay your kindness." The
Lion laughed and let him go. It happened
shortly after this that the Lion was caught by
some hunters, who bound him by ropes to
the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar,
came gnawed the rope with his teeth, and set
him free, exclaiming, "You ridiculed the idea
of my ever being able to help you, expecting
to receive from me any repayment of your favor;
I now you know that it is possible for
even a Mouse to con benefits on a Lion."

Aesop's Fables - The Ass and the Grasshopper

The Ass and the Grasshopper

AN ASS having heard some Grasshoppers
chirping, was highly enchanted; and, desiring
to possess the same charms of melody,
demanded what sort of food they lived on to
give them such beautiful voices. They
replied, "The dew." The Ass resolved that he
would live only upon dew, and in a short
time died of hunger.

Aesop's Fables - The Bat and the Weasels

The Bat and the Weasels

A BAT who fell upon the ground and was
caught by a Weasel pleaded to be spared his
life. The Weasel refused, saying that he was
by nature the enemy of all birds. The Bat assured
him that he was not a bird, but a
mouse, and thus was set free. Shortly afterwards
the Bat again fell to the ground and
was caughtby another Weasel, whom he likewise
entreated not to eat him. The Weasel
said that he had a special hostility to mice.
The Bat assured him that he was not a
mouse, but a bat, and thus a second time escaped.
It is wise to turn circumstances to
good account.

Aesop's Fables - The Wolf and the Lamb

The Wolf and the Lamb

Wolf, meeting with a Lamb astray from the
fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on
him, but to find some plea to justify to the
Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him. He thus
addressed him: "Sirrah, last year you grossly
insulted me." "Indeed," bleated the Lamb in
a mournful tone of voice, "I was not then
born." Then said the Wolf, "You feed in my
pasture." "No, good sir," replied the Lamb, "I
have not yet tasted grass." Again said the
Wolf, "You drink of my well." "No," exclaimed
the Lamb, "I never yet drank water,
for as yet my mother's milk is both food and
drink to me." Upon which the Wolf seized
him and ate him up, saying, "Well! I won't
remain supper-less, even though you refute
every one of my imputations." The tyrant will
always find a pretext for his tyranny.

Dr. Edward Anthony Jenner & Smallpox

Edward Anthony Jenner (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Jenner is widely credited as the pioneer of smallpox vaccine, and is sometimes referred to as the "Father of Immunology"; his works have been said to have "saved more lives than the work of any other man".