Aesop's fables generally communicate some kind of moral message, often through the depiction of animals, who speak or otherwise take on human characteristics.
The Cock and the Pearl The Wolf and the Lamb The Dog and the Shadow The Lion’s Share The Wolf and the Crane The Man and the Serpent The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse The Fox and the Crow The Sick Lion The Ass and the Lapdog The Lion and the Mouse The Swallow and the Other Birds The Frogs Desiring a King The Mountains in Labour The Hares and the Frogs The Wolf and the Kid The Woodman and the Serpent The Bald Man and the Fly The Fox and the Stork The Fox and the Mask The Jay and the Peacock The Frog and the Ox Androcles The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts The Hart and the Hunter The Serpent and the File The Man and the Wood The Dog and the Wolf The Belly and the Members The Hart in the Ox-Stall The Fox and the Grapes The Horse, Hunter, and Stag The Peacock and Juno The Fox and the Lion The Lion and the Statue The Ant and the Grasshopper The Tree and the Reed The Fox and the Cat The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing The Dog in the Manger The Man and the Wooden God The Fisher The Shepherd’s Boy The Young Thief and His Mothers The Man and His Two Wives The Nurse and the Wolf The Tortoise and the Birds The two Crabs The Ass in the Lion’s Skin The Two Fellows and the Bear The Two Pots The Four Oxen and the Lion The Fisher and the Little Fish Avaricious and Envious The Crow and the Pitcher The Man and the Satyr The Goose With the Golden Eggs The Labourer and the Nightingale The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog The Wind and the Sun Hercules and the Waggoner The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey The Miser and His Gold Fox and the Mosquitoes The Fox Without a Tail The One-Eyed Doe Belling the Cat The Hare and the Tortoise The Old Man and Death The Hare With Many Friends The Lion in Love The Bundle of Sticks The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts The Ass’s Brains The Eagle and the Arrow The Milkmaid and Her Pail The Cat-Maiden The Horse and the Ass The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner The Buffoon and the Countryman The Old Woman and the Wine- Jar The Fox and the Goat

The Fisher and the Little Fish

It happened that a Fisher, after fishing all day, caught only a little fish. ‘Pray, let me go, master,’ said the Fish. ‘I am much too small for your eating just now. If you put me back into the river I shall soon grow, then you can make a fine meal off me.’

‘Nay, nay, my little Fish,’ said the Fisher, ‘I have you now. I may not catch you hereafter.’

A little thing in hand is worth more than a great thing in prospect.

The Miser and His Gold - Stories for Kids : Aesop's Fables
Aesop's fables generally communicate some kind of moral message, often through the depiction of animals, who speak or otherwise take on human characteristics.
The Cock and the Pearl The Wolf and the Lamb The Dog and the Shadow The Lion’s Share The Wolf and the Crane The Man and the Serpent The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse The Fox and the Crow The Sick Lion The Ass and the Lapdog The Lion and the Mouse The Swallow and the Other Birds The Frogs Desiring a King The Mountains in Labour The Hares and the Frogs The Wolf and the Kid The Woodman and the Serpent The Bald Man and the Fly The Fox and the Stork The Fox and the Mask The Jay and the Peacock The Frog and the Ox Androcles The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts The Hart and the Hunter The Serpent and the File The Man and the Wood The Dog and the Wolf The Belly and the Members The Hart in the Ox-Stall The Fox and the Grapes The Horse, Hunter, and Stag The Peacock and Juno The Fox and the Lion The Lion and the Statue The Ant and the Grasshopper The Tree and the Reed The Fox and the Cat The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing The Dog in the Manger The Man and the Wooden God The Fisher The Shepherd’s Boy The Young Thief and His Mothers The Man and His Two Wives The Nurse and the Wolf The Tortoise and the Birds The two Crabs The Ass in the Lion’s Skin The Two Fellows and the Bear The Two Pots The Four Oxen and the Lion The Fisher and the Little Fish Avaricious and Envious The Crow and the Pitcher The Man and the Satyr The Goose With the Golden Eggs The Labourer and the Nightingale The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog The Wind and the Sun Hercules and the Waggoner The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey The Miser and His Gold Fox and the Mosquitoes The Fox Without a Tail The One-Eyed Doe Belling the Cat The Hare and the Tortoise The Old Man and Death The Hare With Many Friends The Lion in Love The Bundle of Sticks The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts The Ass’s Brains The Eagle and the Arrow The Milkmaid and Her Pail The Cat-Maiden The Horse and the Ass The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner The Buffoon and the Countryman The Old Woman and the Wine- Jar The Fox and the Goat

The Miser and His Gold

Once upon a time there was a Miser who used to hide his gold at the foot of a tree in his garden; but every week he used to go and dig it up and gloat over his gains. A robber, who had noticed this, went and dug up the gold and decamped with it. When the Miser next came to gloat over his treasures, he found nothing but the empty hole.

He tore his hair, and raised such an outcry that all the neighbours came around him, and he told them how he used to come and visit his gold. ‘Did you ever take any of it out?’ asked one of them.

‘Nay,’ said he, ‘I only came to look at it.’

‘Then come again and look at the hole,’ said a neighbour; ‘it will do you just as much good.’

Wealth unused might as well not exist.