(1) Raven and the Swan烏鴉和天鵝
A RAVEN saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful plumage. Supposing that the Swan's splendid white color arose from his washing in the water in which he swam, the Raven left the altars in the neighborhood where he picked up his living, and took up residence in the lakes and pools. But cleansing his feathers as often as he would, he could not change their color, while through want of food he perished.
Change of habit cannot alter Nature.
烏鴉非常羨慕天鵝潔白的羽毛。他猜想天鵝一定是經常洗澡，羽毛才變得如此潔白無 瑕。於是，他毅然離開了他賴以生存的祭壇，來到江湖邊。他天天洗刷自己的羽毛，不但一 點都沒洗白，反而因缺少食物飢餓而死。
這故事是說，人的本性不會隨著生活方式的改變而改變。
(2) Goat and the Goatherd 山羊與牧羊人
A GOATHERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to his flock. He whistled and sounded his horn in vain; the straggler paid no attention to the summons. At last the Goatherd threw a stone, and breaking its horn, begged the Goat not to tell his master. The Goat replied, "Why, you silly fellow, the horn will speak though I be silent."
Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid.
很多山羊被牧羊人趕到羊圈裡。有一隻山羊不知在吃什麼好東西，單獨落在後面。牧羊 人拿起一塊石頭扔了過去，正巧打斷了山羊的一隻角。牧羊人嚇得請求山羊不要告訴主人， 山羊說：“即使我不說，又怎能隱瞞下去呢?我的角已斷了，這是十分明顯的事實。”
這故事說明，明顯的`罪狀是無法隱瞞的。
(3) 郭氏之墟(the ruin of the capital of Guo Shi)
On a vacation trip, Duke Huan of the state of Qi came to the ruin of the capital of Guo Shi , which perished long ago. Seeing the desolate and bleak prospects of broken tiles, collapsed walls, and clusters of weeds, he could not help asking the local people about the reason of the ruin of Guo Shi. They replied,"Guo Shi was fond of doing good deeds, and averse to evildoing, which led to the perdition." When the Duke could not understand the answer, people explained ," Though he liked doing good, he had never been able to do so; though he hated evildoing, never could he help not participating. That caused the ruin of his capital." 齊桓公出遊途中，來到已經滅亡許久的郭氏都城的廢墟。 看到瓦礫殘垣、雜草叢生的蕭條景象，忍不住問當地百姓郭氏滅亡的原因。 百姓們回答說："郭氏由於喜愛善行善事。厭惡邪惡醜行而導致滅亡。" 齊桓公不能理解這種回答，百姓們便解釋說："郭氏雖然喜愛善行善事，但從來都不能做到;儘管厭惡邪惡醜行，卻總是忍不住參與其中。這就是他的都城變成廢墟的原因。"
(4)老鼠和公牛(a mouse and a bull)
A mouse once took a bite out of a bull's tail as he lay dozing. The bull jumped up in a rage and, with his head low to the ground, chased the mouse right across the yard. The mouse was too quick for him, however, and slipped easily into a hole in the wall. The bull charged the wall furiously again and again, but although he bruised his head and chipped his horns, the mouse stayed safely inside his hole. After a time the bull gave up and sank down to rest again. As soon as the bull was asleep, the little mouse crept to the mouth of the hole, pattered across the yard, bit the bull again -- this time on the nose -- and rushed back to safety. As the bull roared helplessly the mouse squeaked: "It's not always the big people who come off best. Sometimes the small ones win, you know." 老鼠和公牛 有一次，公牛躺著打盹，一隻老鼠咬了他的尾巴。公牛怒氣衝衝地跳起來，低著頭追老鼠，一直追過院子。然而，老鼠跑得比他快多了，從容地鑽到牆洞裡去了。 公牛一次又一次地猛撞牆壁，儘管頭撞腫了，角撞裂了，老鼠卻安然待在洞裡。過了一會兒，公牛不撞了，倒下歇著。 公牛剛睡著，小老鼠就爬到洞口，嗒嗒地跑過院子，又咬了公牛一口 老鼠這回咬了鼻子 老 又跑回安全的地方去。當公牛毫無辦法地吼叫時，老鼠吱吱叫道： "大人物並不總佔上風。有時小人物也會取勝。"