Aesop’s Fable ‘The Bear and the Bees’: To Bear in Silence

"The fable of the bear and the bees," 1672, by Jan van Kessel. Oil on copper, 1672. Public Domain

When we fail to restrain our passions or impatience, we cultivate harmful habits that can lead us to act out in detrimental and intractable ways. However, rather than being the slaves of these habits, we can prevent disaster by cultivating the virtues that counter these vices: temperance and patience.

In the fable, “The Bear and the Bees,” Aesop ponders the weak human inclination to give way to passions and impatience. By inspecting the actions of an impatient and greedy bear, he proves that we must restrain ourselves in silence.

Lost Temper

In Aesop’s story, a bear, roaming through the woods for food, finds a fallen tree that contains a beehive. Wanting some of the honey, the bear begins nosing around the log.