In which today's story is THREE tales from Aesop, with timely morals

 A Lion and Four Bulls (Aesop, Greece) 

Four Bulls had been friends all their lives, kept always near one another, and fed together.  

The Lion often saw them and had a mind to make one of them his prey; but though he could easily have subdued any of them singly, he was afraid to attack the whole alliance, knowing they would have been too hard for him, and therefore contented himself for the present with keeping at a distance.  

One day, the Lion began by whispers and hints, to foment jealousies and raise divisions among them.  

This stratagem succeeded so well, that the Bulls grew cold and reserved towards one another, which soon after ripened into a downright hatred and aversion.   

At last, the friendship ended in a total separation. 

The Lion had now obtained his ends; and, as impossible as it was for him to hurt them while they were together, he found no difficulty, now they were parted, to seize and devour every Bull of them, one after another.

Unity is strength.

The Donkey and His Shadow (Aesop, Greece) 

A Traveler had hired a Donkey to carry him to a distant part of the country.

The owner of the Donkey went with the Traveler, walking beside him to drive the Donkey and point out the way.

The road led across a treeless plain where the Sun beat down fiercely. 

So intense did the heat become, that the Traveler at last decided to stop for a rest, and as there was no other shade to be found, the Traveler sat down in the shadow of the Donkey.

Now, the heat had affected the Driver as much as it had the Traveler, and even more, for he had been walking. 

Wishing also to rest in the shade cast by the Donkey, he began to quarrel with the Traveler, saying he had hired the Donkey and not the shadow it cast.

The two soon came to blows, and while they were fighting, the Donkey ran away, and neither of them had any shade at all.   

In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance.

The Lion and the Boar (Aesop, Greece) 

Once upon a time, in a hot and dry land, there was a big Lion, the king of all animals, and a strong Boar. 

There was only one small pond in this hot place, which was very important for all the animals, especially on very hot days. 

One day, the Lion and the Boar were very thirsty and came to the pond at the same time. 

The Lion, with his loud roar, and the Boar, with his sharp tusks, both wanted to drink first. They did not want to wait.

he Lion showed his big teeth, and the Boar showed his tusks. They started to fight, making a big cloud of dust around them. 

They fought hard for a long time, but neither could win. When they stopped for a moment, tired and breathing heavily, they saw some vultures flying above them.

The vultures were waiting, watching them fight, ready to eat the loser. 

Seeing this, the Lion and the Boar realized that by fighting, they were only helping the vultures.

Their fight would not help them drink the water they needed.

They were fighting for pride, not for the important thing, which was drinking water.

They stopped fighting and went back to the pond. They drank the water together in peace.

Cooperation can lead to greater strength than rivalry ever could.