The origination of fables has been claimed for the Jews (Solomon is reputed to have composed two or

three thousand of them), the Greeks, the Indians, and the Egyptians. Aesop is said to have lived in the 6th
century B.C., but there are indications of fables in Egyptian papyri of 800 to 1,000 years earlier. Jotham’s
apologue of the trees who desired a king was for long thought to be the oldest, but the Hebrew Book of
Judges, in which it is found, dates in its present form only from about the 3rd century B.C.
‘The Hawk and the Nightingale,’ given here, is from the works of the Greek poet Hesiod, who
flourished about 800 B.C. It has been regarded by many as the earliest complete fable traceable to a
literary work. It has been attributed to Aesop and others, but Hesiod is the earliest source. It certainly
seems like the prototype of ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’

The Hawk and the Nightingale

A nightingale was sitting alone among the shady branches of an oak tree. She sang with so melodious and
trilling a voice that the woods echoed with her song.
A hawk, perched not far away, was searching the woods for something to catch. No sooner had he
found the tiny songster than he swooped, caught her in his talons, and told her to prepare for death.
“Oh!” said she, “do not do anything so barbarous and so unbecoming as to kill me. Remember, I
never did anything wrong—and I would only be a mouthful for such a one as you. Why do you not attack
some larger bird, which would be a braver thing to do and would give you a better meal, and let me go?”
“Yes,” said the hawk, “You may try to persuade me if you can. But I had not found any prey today
until I saw you. And now you want me to let you go in hope of something better! But if I did, who would be
the fool?”

Works Cited

Shah, Idries. World Tales: the extraordinary coincidence of stories told in all times, in all
places. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979.