The Wolf And Crane

An Aesop Fable

"Expect no reward for serving the wicked"

Aesop's Fables - The Wolf And Crane By Milo Winter
The Wolf And Crane By Milo Winter

A Wolf had been feasting too greedily, and a bone had stuck crosswise in his throat. He could get it neither up nor down, and of course he could not eat a thing. Naturally that was an awful state of affairs for a greedy Wolf.

So away he hurried to the Crane. He was sure that she, with her long neck and bill, would easily be able to reach the bone and pull it out.

"I will reward you very handsomely," said the Wolf, "if you pull that bone out for me."

The Crane, as you can imagine, was very uneasy about putting her head in a Wolf's throat. But she was grasping in nature, so she did what the Wolf asked her to do.

When the Wolf felt that the bone was gone, he started to walk away.

"But what about my reward!" called the Crane anxiously.

"What!" snarled the Wolf, whirling around. "Haven't you got it? Isn't it enough that I let you take your head out of my mouth without snapping it off?"

The Moral Of This Tale

"Expect no reward for serving the wicked"

Sources And Further Reading

Aesop for Children (translator not identified), 1919. Illustrations by Milo Winter (1886-1956) (Project Gutenberg)

About Aesop And His Fables A short article we have written about what is known about Aesop and his stories.

Aesop (Wikipedia)

Aesop's Fables (Wikipedia)

Milo Winter In Other Illustrators Some information we have found out about Milo Winter.

Milo Winter (1886-1956) (Wikipedia)

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