Consider four of aesop's fables.
a lion and a bear seized a lamb at the same moment, and fought fiercely until they collapsed, exhausted. a fox ran in, seized the lamb, and quickly ran off. the lion and the bear watched him and said, "just our luck, that we fought, only to serve the reward up to the fox."
a hound chased a rabbit, but gave up after a long run. a shepherd watched and said, "the rabbit is the better runner." the hound replied, "i only ran for dinner. he ran for his life."
as patty walked to market, her milk pail on her head, she planned what she would do with the money she earned. "i'll buy hens, and sell their eggs. then i'll buy a new dress! polly will be jealous, but i shall just toss my head like this." as she tossed her head back, the pail fell off, and all the milk was spilt.
one day a farmer found an egg of pure gold in the goose's nest. the goose laid a golden egg every morning, and the farmer soon grew rich - and greedy. thinking he would get all the gold at once, he killed it, but found no gold inside.
which fable from aesop best illustrates the moral idea that incentive spurs effort?
a hound chased a rabbit
a lion and a bear
patty the milkmaid
a farmer who raised geese