Records show that there really was a real man named Aesop who told real fables. He lived in ancient Greece, about six hundred years BC. One of the early historians, Herodotus, who also spoke of Jesus in his books, mentions Aesop as having been a slave in the service of Iadmon, who later gave him his freedom, on account of his wit.
Like Homer, the greatest of Greek poets, Aesop's birthplace is a matter of dispute, several cities in Asia Minor claiming the honor. He was probably born in Phrygia Major about 520 BC, and a slave of Xanthus, who was earlier attracted to Aesop and favored him. He is spoken of, though not certainly, as having a very ugly face, but his droll wisdom stood him in such good stead that he speedily rose in the world, despite his ugliness. After he left Xanthus for the service of Iadmon, the latter soon ceased to treat Aesop as a slave, but employed him as a confidential advisor and companion.
The Stag at the Pool
A Stag, drinking at a clear pool, admired the handsome look of his spreading antlers, but was much displeased at the slim and ungainly appearance of his legs.
"What a glorious pair of branching horns!" said he. "How gracefully they hang over my forehead! What a fine air they give my face! But as for my spindle-shanks of legs, I am heartily ashamed of them."
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when he saw some huntsmen and a pack of hounds making towards him. His despised legs soon placed him at a distance from his followers, but, on entering the forest, his horns got entangled at every turn, so that the dogs soon reached him and made an end of him.
"Fool that I was!" he gasped at his last breath; "had it not been for these wretched horns, my legs would have saved my life."
Beauty may have fair leaves and bitter fruit.
*gleaned from the book, The Fables of Aesop.
Part 1 of The Fables of Aesop
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