Aesop's Fables · Chapter
The Sick Stag explained
A Stag falls ill and lies helpless in a forest clearing.
What happens
A Stag falls ill and lies helpless in a forest clearing. Other beasts visit him and, in their thoughtlessness, eat all the grass within his reach. Though he begins to recover, he is too weak to seek food elsewhere and ultimately dies of starvation due to the carelessness of his friends.
Themes in this chapter
Human Nature and Vice
The fable illustrates how thoughtlessness and lack of foresight in friends can lead to unintended harm.
Wisdom and Foolishness
The beasts' foolishness in consuming the Stag's only food source while visiting him highlights a lack of wisdom in friendship.
Characters to notice
- The Stag
Falls ill and is unable to move; dies of hunger after friends eat all nearby grass.
Key passages
“A Stag fell sick and lay in a clearing in the forest, too weak to move from the spot.”
A deer became ill and lay helpless in a forest clearing, unable to move.
Establishes the Stag's vulnerable condition.
“they one and all nibbled a little of the grass that grew round the invalid till at last there was not a blade within his reach.”
Each visiting animal ate some of the grass around the sick Stag until none was left for him.
Describes the thoughtless act that leads to the Stag's demise.
“In a few days he began to mend, but was still too feeble to get up and go in search of fodder; and thus he perished miserably of hunger owing to the thoughtlessness of his friends.”
Though he started to recover, he remained too weak to find food elsewhere, so he died of starvation because his friends had carelessly eaten all the grass.
Reveals the ironic and tragic consequence of the friends' actions.