The Tortoise and the Slacker Easter Bunny

Once upon a time there was a slacker Easter Bunny who was always bragging about how he was faster than anyone.  (He claims that was how he delivered all the eggs while in truth, his wife did all the work.)  

And he was always teasing the tortoise for being so slow.

One day the tortoise, with a few drinks under his shell, had had enough.  "You think you're so fast," he said, "But I bet I could beat you."

This gave the Easter Bunny a good laugh.

"You?  Beat me?  Like that's gonna happen," the Easter Bunny said.  

This annoyed the tortoise even more.

The Easter Bunny continued.  "I could beat you with one paw tied behind my back."

The tortoise was steaming by now and (rather foolishly) accepted the challenge.  A course was mapped out, and the next day at dawn, the tortoise and the Easter Bunny were ready at the starting line.

The Easter Bunny was yawning as the now-sober tortoise started his slow trek along the track.  And quite honestly, the Easter Bunny was pretty sleepy, and decided to take a little nap before starting.

“Take your time!” he yelled at the tortoise. “I’ll catch some Zs and catch up with you before you hit the first marker."

Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.  He slept and slept.

Finally he awoke with a start.  He looked around, fully expecting to see the tortoise plodding along nearby... and he was.

So the Easter Bunny decided to have some breakfast,  and went to find a nearby breakfast burrito.  The breakfast burrito, however, made the Easter Bunny sleepy again.  So, with a quick glance at the tortoise, the Easter Bunny settled in for a snooze, chuckling about how he'd leave the tortoise in the dust.  Soon he was snoring happily.

The sun started to sink slowly in the sky and the tortoise, who had been trucking all day, was within a foot of the finish line.  At that moment, the Easter Bunny awoke with a start.  He could see the tortoise far off in the distance.  

He leapt to his feet and started running as fast as he could, gasping and wheezing.  Just a little further and he’d be the first to cross the finish line.

But it was too late.  The tortoise had reached the finish line.

The Easter Bunny, tired and disgraced, collapsed by the tortoise, who was smiling silently.

"Bummer!" said the tortoise.  

“Slowly does it every time!”

ebay charms

etsy charms

The Lion and the Mouse ~ a CHARMed Aesop's Fable

Once upon a time, a Lion was taking his daily 23 hour nap. 

A small Mouse, figuring the Lion was out for the rest of the day and possible acting on a bet made by the other mice, began to run up and down the length of the Lion.

Contrary to what the mice were thinking, this woke the Lion, who was none too pleased.  He smacked his large paw upon the Mouse and opened his jaws, ready to consume the Mouse as an hors d'oeuvre.

The Mouse thought fast, and spoke up.  "Pardon, O great wise and wonderful King," he said.  "Please forgive my intrusion this one time, and I shall never forget your kindness.  And who knows?  Perhaps, one day, I will be able to do a life-saving favor for you!"

The Lion thought that highly unlikely.  But he also thought that a Mouse, straight up, didn't make much of a snack.  And he was amused at the idea that a scrawny Mouse would one day we able to help him.  Having thought these deep thoughts, the Lion lifted his paw, releasing the Mouse, who scampered back to his friends.

Not a week had passed, however, before the Lion, during his daily one-hour hunt, found himself caught in a trap.  The hunters who caught him, determined to carry a live lion back to their King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon for their triumphant march home. 

Try as he might, the Lion could not get free, and was sure his hours were numbered.  Just then, who should appear but the little Mouse.  When he saw the dire situation of the Lion, he leaped onto the trap and began to gnaw at the ropes. He gnawed and gnawed and gnawed until he had freed the King of Beasts.

The Lion was overcome with gratitude.  The Mouse merely shrugged.  "Told you so," he said.

Moral: Little friends may prove great friends.

Secondary moral: Mice make unpleasant hors d'oeuvres.

The Lion and the Mouse can be found here.

The Grasshopper and the Owl

THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE OWL

by Aesop

An Owl, who lived in a hollow tree, was in the habit of feeding by night and sleeping by day; but her slumbers were greatly disturbed by the chirping of a Grasshopper, who had taken up his abode in the branches. She begged him repeatedly to have some consideration for her comfort, but the Grasshopper, if anything, only chirped the louder.

At last the Owl could stand it no longer, but determined to rid herself of the pest by means of a trick. Addressing herself to the Grasshopper, she said in her pleasantest manner, "As I cannot sleep for your song, which, believe me, is as sweet as the notes of Apollo's lyre, I have a mind to taste some nectar, which Minerva gave me the other day. Won't you come in and join me?"

The Grasshopper was flattered by the praise of his song, and his mouth, too, watered at the mention of the delicious drink, so he said he would be delighted. No sooner had he got inside the hollow where the Owl was sitting than she pounced upon him and ate him up

The moral of the story (which came to late for Grasshopper) is: Do no let flattery throw you off your guard against an enemy.

Or... don't mess with Owl.

Many owls can be found here and here.

The Lion and the Mouse, as Told by Charms

An Aesop's Fable

Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. 

"Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?" 

The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. 

Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. 

Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. 

"Was I not right?" said the little Mouse.

Little friends may prove great friends

You never know when you may need a lion or a mouse.