THE HARES AND THE FROGS | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | AESOP STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE HARES AND THE FROGS

The Hares once got together, and began to complain about their life:

"We perish from men, and from dogs, and from eagles, and from all the other beasts. It would be better to die at once than to live in fright and suffer. Come, let us drown ourselves!"

And the Hares raced away to drown themselves in a lake. The Frogs heard the Hares and plumped into the water. So one of the Hares said:

"Wait, boys! Let us put off the drowning! Evidently the Frogs are having a harder life than we: they are afraid even of us."

THE GARDENER AND HIS SONS | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | AESOP STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE GARDENER AND HIS SONS

A Gardener wanted his Sons to get used to gardening. As he was dying, he called them up and said to them:

"Children, when I am dead, look for what is hidden in the vineyard."

The Sons thought that it was a treasure, and when their father died, they began to dig there, and dug up the whole ground. They did not find the treasure, but they ploughed the vineyard up so well that it brought forth more fruit than ever.

THE CRANE AND THE STORK | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | AESOP STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE CRANE AND THE STORK

A peasant put out his nets to catch the Cranes for tramping down his field. In the nets were caught the Cranes, and with them one Stork.

The Stork said to the peasant:

"Let me go! I am not a Crane, but a Stork; we are most honoured birds; I live on your father's house. You can see by my feathers that I am not a Crane."

The peasant said:

"With the Cranes I have caught you, and with them will I kill you."

THE DOG AND HER SHADOW | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | AESOP STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE DOG AND HER SHADOW

A Dog was crossing the river over a plank, carrying a piece of meat in her teeth. She saw herself in the water and thought that another dog was carrying a piece of meat. She dropped her piece and dashed forward to take away what the other dog had: the other meat was gone, and her own was carried away by the stream.

And thus the Dog was left without anything.

THE FOX AND THE GOAT | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | AESOP STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE FOX AND THE GOAT

A Goat wanted to drink. He went down the incline to the well, drank his fill, and gained in weight. He started to get out, but could not do so. He began to bleat. A Fox saw him and said:

"That's it, stupid one! If you had as much sense in your head as there are hairs in your beard, you would have thought of how to get out before you climbed down."

THE FISHERMAN AND THE FISH | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | AESOP STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE FISHERMAN AND THE FISH

A Fisherman caught a Fish. Said the Fish:

"Fisherman, let me go into the water; you see I am small: you will have little profit of me. If you let me go, I shall grow up, and then you will catch me when it will be worth while."

But the Fisherman said:

"A fool would be he who should wait for greater profit, and let the lesser slip out of his hands."

THE MAIDS AND THE COCK | RETOLD BY LEO TOLSTOY | MASTER READING - LISTENING WITH GRAMMAR ANALYSIS | AESOP STORIES | EFL RESOURCES

THE MAIDS AND THE COCK

A mistress used to wake the Maids at night and, as soon as the cocks crowed, put them to work. The Maids found that hard, and decided to kill the Cock, so that the mistress should not be wakened. They killed him, but now they suffered more than ever: the mistress was afraid that she would sleep past the time and so began to wake the Maids earlier.