Section 57
The Lamp explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
Excerpt preview
A Lamp, well filled with oil, burned with a clear and steady light, and began to swell with pride and boast that it shone more brightly than the sun himself. Just then a puff of wind came and blew it out. Some one struck a match and lit it again, and said, "You just keep alight, and never...
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Public-domain original
A Lamp, well filled with oil, burned with a clear and steady light,
and began to swell with pride and boast that it shone more brightly
than the sun himself. Just then a puff of wind came and blew it out.
Some one struck a match and lit it again, and said, "You just keep
alight, and never mind the sun. Why, even the stars never need to be
relit as you had to be just now."
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A lamp boasts that it shines like the sun, then a wind blows it out.
Why this scene matters
This fable warns against pride that forgets its own weakness.
Characters in this scene
- Lamp: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
Simple story version
A lamp thinks it is brighter than the sun. A small puff of wind proves how fragile it is.