More Aesop's Fables doodles. I wonder if other cartoonists doodle on topic every day? Oh well, I'm not other cartoonists I suppose.
A couple of goodie's today, I think. Enjoy.
"Mercury and the Woodsmen"
One day a woodsman while felling trees near a riverbank, with a wayward swing lost his trusty ax into the river. Crouching on the bank and pondering what fate would befall a woodsman without an ax, he was surprised by the god Mercury who asked the woodsman what troubled him. The woodsman no sooner told of his predicament than Mercury dived beneath the water and re-emerged with an ax forged of gold. "Is this your lost tool?", asked Mercury. Wondering at the beauty and value of so great an ax, but being as honest as they come, the woodsman's reply was. "No.". Mercury again dove under the water and re-emerged with an ax forged of solid silver. "Is this your trusty ax?" he asked. "No. Would that it be, but it is not." answered the woodsman, and Mercury dove into the river's depths once again. When he arose from the water with the woodsman's own common wood and iron ax, the woodsman bounded with glee and thankfulness at it's return. "Oh thank you, Great Mercury! I am forever in your debt for returning my ax to me that I so foolishly lost!" cried the man. Mercury was so struck by the man's honesty that he dove back down a 4th time and returned with the gold and silver axes and gave them to the woodsman as a reward.
The woodsman returned to his village and showed with great pride his new found wealth of axes made of such valuable metals and told his story to everyone he met. I greedy and envious woodsman overheard this and decided to recreate this scenario for himself. Taking his own ax and going down to the riverbank, he threw it in purposefully and then commenced to moan and cry to the god Mercury. Mercury appeared soon and asked of the woodsman's plight, to which the man explained how he had lost his ax and would now not be able to make a living. Mercury dove under the swift waters and came back up with an ax made of solid gold as he'd done before. The greedy woodsman cried, "That's it! That's it! That, Great Mercury, is my ax true and sure!!". Mercury, disgusted by the man's dishonesty stole back the golden ax and plunged it into the river and for good measure refused to recover the man's actual ax, costing him his way of living.
MORAL:
"Honesty is the Best Policy"
and another'n...
"The Mischievous Dog"
A young and mischievous dog, perhaps a bit too aggressive and playful for his own good, used to run up to people and bite them from behind for no other reason than his own sick pleasure of being able to do so. Hi owner, embarrassed and exasperated at the way his dog was treating his friends, neighbors and strangers alike, placed a bell around the dogs neck that would ring loudly and warn anyone of his rearward approach. The dog, proud of the shiny medal around his neck, pranced around town showing off his pride to anyone who would see. When he finally approached an old hound who was acknowledged by all the dogs of the village as wise beyond his years. The Wise Old Hound saw the bell and said, "Why do you make such a spectacle of yourself? That clanging thing that your master harnessed you with is NOT an award of merit for being a grand dog. It's rather a mark of disgrace. Public notice to all that hear, that a poorly behaved and fairly worthless dog is approaching.".
MORAL:
"Notoriety is Often Mistaken for Fame"
That one's for all the Kardasians out there. And all the Donald Trumps.
Aesop wrote this one 2,600 years before you were born so you wouldn't miss it.
Talk to you soon.
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