The Dog and the Shadow
Once there was a Dog who had gotten himself a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. On his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never seen more.

"BEWARE LEST YOU LOSE THE SUBSTANCE BY GRASPING AT THE SHADOW.”
Aesop's Fables
 

The Lion and the Mouse
Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him, which soon awakened 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 afterward, 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, 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.”
Aesop's Fables
 

The Fox and the Grapes
One hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard untill he happened upon a bunch of grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. “Just the things to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”

“IT IS EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT GET.”
Aesop's Fables
 

The Seagull and the Kite 
A seagull having bolted down too large a fish, burst its deep
gullet-bag and lay down on the shore to die. A Kite saw him and
exclaimed: "You richly deserve your fate; for a bird of the air
has no business to seek its food from the sea." 

"EVERY MAN SHOULD BE CONTENT TO MIND HIS OWN BUSINESS"
Aesop's Fables
 

Chinese Proverbs
 - Different flowers look good to different people
 - There is no wave without wind.
 - A leopard cannot change its spots
 - If you are in a hurry you will never get there.
 - Matrimony is the grave of romance.
 - A child's words have no guile.
 - You cannot fight a fire with water from far away.
 - In shallow waters, shrimps make fools of dragons.
 - If you plant melons , you get melons; if you plant beans, you get beans.
 - Water thrown out is hard to put back into the container.
 - Road is made by people walking on the ground .
 - One's true nature is revealed in time of difficulty.
 - To cultivate trees, you need 10 years. To cultivate people, you need 100 years.
 - One step in the wrong direction will cause you a thousand years of regret.
 - The saddest thing is the death of the heart.
 - A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.
 - You won't help shoots grow by yanking on them.
 - A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood
 - A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
 - Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
 - He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
 - If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
 - Once on a tiger's back, it is hard to alight.
 - One never needs their humor as much a when they argue with a fool.
 - To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
 - Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.
 - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
 
 

Hatian Proverbs
 - A Monkey never thinks her baby is ugly
 - The donkey sweats so the horse can be decorated with lace
 - To speak French does not mean you are smart
 - If work were a good thing, the rich would have grabbed it a long time ago.
 
 

Proverbs of Tibet
 - Better than the young man's knowledge is the old man's experience
 - If the inner mind is not deluded, the outer actions will not be wrong.
 - The wise man's wealth lies in good deeds that follow ever after him.
 - Cling not to experiences for ever-changing are they
 - Rebellious thoughts are like an abandoned house overtaken by robbers.
 - Having drunk the country's water, one should obey the country's laws
 
 

African Proverbs
 - Even a close friend cannot rescue one from old age
 - Do not follow a person who is running away
 - A man's wealth may be superior to him
 - Do not tell the man carrying you that he stinks
 - The eye is a coward
 - A man who dictates separates himself from others
 - A hyena cannot smell its own stench
 - A crime eats its own child
 - It takes a whole village to raise a child
 - You must judge a man by the work of his hands
 - A child's hand is not burned by hot yam which is placed into his palm by his mother
 - Do not look where you fall but where you slipped
 - Having a good discussion is like having riches
 - Lack of knowledge is darker than night
 - The bitter heart eats its owner
 - Even the mightiest eagle comes down to the treetops to rest
 - To love a king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better
 

Irish Proverbs
 - There is no use in carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking
 - Take gifts with a sigh because most men give in order to be paid
 - The older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune
 - If you put a silk dress on a goat, he is a goat still
 - A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse
 - If the knitter is weary, the baby will have no clothes
 - The best way to keep loyalty in a man's heart is to keep money in his purse
 
 

English Proverbs
 - Opportunity seldom knocks twice
 - The first step is usually the hardest
 - The early bird catches the worm
 - There's no fool like an old fool
 - Things are not always what they seem
 - One good turn deserves another
 - Love is blind
 - Let sleeping dogs lie
 - Life is just a bowl of cherries
 - Laughter is the best medicine
 - Justice delayed is justice denied
 - It never rains but it pours
 - All good things must come to an end
 - A man's home is his castle
 - Actions speak louder than words
 - A fool and his money are soon parted
 - A friend in need is a friend indeed
 - Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches
 - Practice makes perfect
 - The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
 - There's no place like home
 

Aping a Beauty
Xi Shi, a famous beauty, had a pain in her bosom, so she had a frown on her face when she went out. An ugly girl who lived nearby saw her and thought she looked very beautiful. Therefore when she went home, she also put her hands on her bosom and had a frown on her face.

When a rich man in the neighbourhood saw her, he shut his doors tightly and did not go out. When a poor man saw her, he took his wife and children and gave her a wide berth.

She only knew Xi Shi's frown looked beautiful but she did not know the reason for its beauty. 
Chinese Fable
 

His Spear Against His Shield
A man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield.
"My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through." He also sang praises of his spear.
"My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything."

"What would happen," he was asked, "if your spear is used to pierce your shield?"
It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable. 
Chinese Fable
 

Making His Mark
A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat. "This is where my sword fell off," he said.

When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat. The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword? 
Chinese Fable
 

Wise Sayings From Ben Franklin
 - Necessity never made a good bargain
 - Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead
 - Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
 - The worst wheel of a cart makes the most noise
 - Keep your eyes wide open before marriage; half-shut afterward
 - Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other
 - When the well's dry, we know the use of the water
 - Little strokes fell great oaks
 - Fish and visitors stink after three days
 - Well done is better than well said
 - What you seem to be, be really
 - There are more old drunkards than old doctors
 - Love your neighbor, yet don't pull down your hedge
 - The discontented man finds no easy chair
 - He that speaks much is much mistaken
 - Silence is not always a sign of wisdom but babbling is ever a folly
 - There was never a good war or a bad peace