While a beekeeper is away, a thief enters his apiary and steals all the honey.

When the
bees return, they assume the beekeeper took all their honey and start to sting him. He
calls them ungrateful because they let someone steal the honey and then attack the
person who looks after them. The moral is, "Make sure you're seeking revenge on the
right person."
A Raven, which you know is black as coal, was envious of the Swan, because her feathers were
as white as the purest snow. The foolish bird got the idea that if he lived like the Swan,
swimming and diving all day long and eating the weeds and plants that grow in the water, his
feathers would turn white like the Swan’s.

So he left his home in the woods and fields and flew down to live on the lakes and in the
marshes. But though he washed and washed all day long, almost drowning himself at it, his
feathers remained as black as ever. And as the water weeds he ate did not agree with him, he
got thinner and thinner, and at last he died.
A long, long time ago, the Mayas said the world was quiet and empty. Back then, an expansive
sky and a vast ocean were all the world had. There was no earth. There were no trees. There
were no flowers. There were no animals. And there were no men.

One day, the gods got together. They talked and talked. They all agreed that the world was too
empty. They needed to make some changes. So they made the earth. They made mountains
and valleys. They made trees. Then they made animals. They created deer. They created birds.
They created snakes. They created pumas. And they created jaguars. After they were done,
they were very pleased with their work. But they soon realized that they had made a big
mistake -- animals could not speak and praise the gods. Sure, they could make noises. But they
could not understand each other, let alone worship the gods together.

Many, centuries ago there lived two brothers. Their names were Prometheus and
Epimetheus. They were not like other men; they were the sons of Titans. Zeus, the king of the
gods, instructed Epimetheus to create all the animals in the world. Then he asked Prometheus
to make human beings to live in the world. He shaped them out of lumps of clay and breathed
life into them.
Prometheus did not care for the idle life among the gods on Mount Olympus. Instead he
preferred to spend his time on the earth, helping men to find easier and better ways of living.
The people of earth were very poor and miserable, living in caves and ditches and dying of
starvation and cold. They had no fire and little food; hunted by wild beasts and by one another.
Prometheus thought of a way to help the people.

Arthur went to the cube of marble stone and he laid his hands upon the
haft of the sword that was thrust into the anvil. And he bent his body and drew
very strongly and, to! the sword came forth with great ease and very smoothly.
And when he had got the sword into his hands, he swung it about his head so that it flashed
like lightning. And after he had swung it thus thrice about his head, he set the point thereof
against the face of the anvil and bore upon it very strongly, and, behold! the sword slid very
smoothly back again into that place where it had aforetime stood; and when it was there,
midway deep, it stood fast where it was. And thus, did Arthur successfully accomplish that
marvelous miracle of the sword in the eyes of all the world.
One day a Scottish Giant, Benandonner, began to shout insults at his rival in Northern Ireland,
Finn McCool. He shouted across the narrow sea channel between Northern Ireland and
Scotland. Benandonner threw a rock at Finn. Finn was very angry, and he began lifting huge
stones from the beach and throwing them into the sea to make a causeway, so that the
Scottish giant could come to Ireland to face him. However, when Finn had finished making the
causeway, he was very tired. When he saw the size of the Scottish giant, he decided that
fighting him was probably not a good idea. Instead, Finn McCool thought of a clever plan. His
wife, Oonagh, disguised him as a baby in a cot. When Benandonner came to confront him,
Oonagh told the Scottish giant that Finn was away hunting but showed him their son sleeping
in the cot.
At the start of the world, there was only Tawa and the Spider Woman. Tawa was the sun god.
Spider Woman was the earth goddess. Tawa and Spider Woman loved each other. When they
had children, they were gods also. At that time, the earth was full of water. It moved this way
and that, but it had no life.
One night, Tawa had a dream. He dreamed of many living things, of fish, birds, and animals. He
told Spider Woman about it. Spider Woman took some clay. She could see the pictures in
Tawa's mind. One by one, she made them into clay. The things did not move. They were only
clay. Tawa wanted the things to move. He wanted them to have life. Spider Woman helped
him make a blanket. It was soft and fluffy like a cloud but it was made of magic. They put the
blanket over the clay figures. Soon they began to move. Tawa was happy with what he saw.
Then he wanted to make some more shapes. This time Spider Woman should shape the clay
like themselves. When they were done, Tawa covered them with the blanket, but they did not
live. Spider woman picked them up and held them in her arms. Tawa looked at them. They
sang a song of life over the figures, and they came alive. "Now we are done," said Tawa. "We
will make no more new things. Everything we have made will grow in numbers. Those who look
like us shall rule over the other things."