# The Woodman — Aesop's Fables character guide

> The Woodman in Aesop's Fables by Aesop.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The Woodman, the Woodman, A Woodman, The Hunter

**First appearance:** 0018-mercury-and-the-woodman

## Who they are

A laborer whose honesty is tested when Mercury offers him a golden axe he never lost, and he refuses it.

## In the story

### [Mercury and the Woodman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se/chapters/mercury-and-the-woodman)

The honest woodman who loses his axe and is rewarded by Mercury for his truthfulness.

### [The Three Tradesmen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-three-tradesmen)

Advises using wood for fortifications, citing its availability and ease of working.

### [The Travellers and the Plane-Tree](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-travellers-and-the-plane-tree)

One of the two travellers who rests under the Plane-tree and complains about its lack of fruit.

### [The Trees and the Axe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-trees-and-the-axe)

Requests a handle from the Trees and then uses the axe to fell them.

### [The Hunter and the Woodman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-hunter-and-the-woodman)

Offers to show the hunter the lion itself, revealing the hunter's cowardice.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se/characters/the_woodman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fables_se/characters