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    Aesop's Fables
    Aesop's Fables
    Aesop's Fables
    Ebook336 pages3 hours

    Aesop's Fables

    By Aesop

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    Aesop’s Fables is a collection of stories attributed to Aesop (c. 620-560 BCE), thought to have been a slave in ancient Greece. Aesop’s fables are generally short, feature animals talking and acting like humans, and are instructive, typically ending with a moral lesson.

    HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJul 29, 2014
    ISBN9781443434522
    Author

    Aesop

    Aesop was a fabulist or story teller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as Aesop's Fables. Although his existence remains uncertain and (if they ever existed) no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a storytelling tradition that continues to this day. Many of the tales are characterized by animals and inanimate objects that speak, solve problems, and generally have human characteristics.

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    Reviews for Aesop's Fables

    4/5

    26 ratings42 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A cute collection of morality stories/fables collected into this volume. I have read it so many times--as an adult, as a kid, as a teen--and each time I take something different away from it. I love it.In fact, I took a tattoo idea from the Tortise and the Hare fable, and added to it my desire to travel, and voila! Two different ways to travel, but in my case, there isn't necessarily a correct one.
    • 3/5
      Aesops's Fables are short and sweet and easy to read for most ages. A number of the stories are very clever, all with a point or moral to be learned in the end. There are quite a few in this book that I have never heard before, many not as creative as the common Aesop's Fables I grew up knowing; however it was fun to read through them.
    • 4/5
      Just as relevant as ever.
    • 4/5
      short little proverbs usually using animals to tell a morality stories. Some of these proverbs are often spoken but wonder how many know whence they come? Remind me of the Proverbs from the Bible. Rating 3.75
    • 5/5
      Classic stories for people of any age. I have had a copy since I was little and it almost always is displayed on one of my shelves. It is full of small tales you have probably heard over and over, but delightfully do not grow old. There were wonderful illustrations as well.
    • 4/5
      This book contains 82 of Aesop's fables. Many of these short stories with a moral of the story at the end, I have never heard before. Many, many of these early stories have morals that I never knew the origin of - A stitch in time saves nine, honesty is the best policy. These moral little sayings have withstood the test of time.
    • 4/5
      Brilliant stuff, but some of the morals seem to contradict others. For example, The Ant And The Grasshopper teaches one to always prepare for the future, whereas The Frogs Desiring A King has the moral "Let well enough alone!" I think most adults can see the nuances differentiating those two stories, but a child might not be able to. And while some stories speak of the importance of teamwork, some exalt individual toughness and refusal to play along with others. So why do I still give this 4 stars? Because of life's pesky gray areas, of course.
    • 4/5
      I consider this a re-read - I can't quite remember when I read this previously, but most of the 100 fables included in this collection were familiar. I always knew that each fable included a moral - it was interesting in reading these that sometimes I didn't think the moral fit all that well.
    • 3/5
      Very, very simple anecdotes. Any fables that have been turned into lengthier morality tales such as "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" have been beefed up considerably.
    • 3/5
      Not the best book of fables in the whole wide world, but it does have its charm and its certainly brings back memories. There are lots of tales that I have heard before when I was a kid, several of them actually quite popular. However, this book goes straight to the point. You know the tale of the Turtle and the Hare, which has already been rewritten by several different authors, even having animated movies about it? Well, this book tells the story in half a page. Which isn't so bad, really. It's actually interesting to read those stories in a short format, with the emphasis on the story's lesson. A nice read for grown-ups, a good thing to give the children something to think about.
    • 3/5
      I liked this one better than "Grimm's Fairy Tales" because A) they're all super short, great for reading a teeny bit at a time and B) the language is much more understandable. But like "Grimm's Fairy Tales", the stories get repetitive after a while. They're all moral lessons, and they fall under three categories: evil is its own ruin, be honest and don't lie, don't be vain/greedy/prideful. Consequences of failing to heed lessons A, B, and C will result in you being eaten by a tiger 90% of the time.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this chapter book because of the moral messages learned from each short fable and how I could remember a majority of these stories from my own childhood. The moral lessons learned from these stories stem from always telling the truth, the idea that slow and steady will win the race, and to not judge someone by their appearance. As a child I remembered reading a great majority of these and enjoyed being able to reinterpret what was being said. Although the version I read did not contain illustrations, I did enjoy how the words came to life on the page. As one reads these stories, they can be illustrated in the reader's mind. The big idea of this chapter book is to give a recorded source of the oral stories told so as to teach moral lessons to children and adults.
    • 4/5
      The Boy Who Cried Wolf is a great story for young children. It has a very important lesson which is not to lie. The boy "cried wolf" and said there was a wolf when there was not. Then, when there actually was no one believed him. This is important for young children to learn. I really loved this story because of the lesson. I also enjoyed it because it was interesting and made the reader want to keep reading. The story was also great because it was a good length. It was not too long so it was not boring, but it also was not too short. The last thing I liked was that the story was well written. From the writing, I could envision the boy and what was happening in the story. This was a great book!
    • 5/5
      I always loved reading these fables when I was a kid, and they certainly permeated their way through my childhood even up until now. While they may seem a little silly and/or difficult to understand, there is certainly a message to be taken away from all of them if you are willing to think outside of the box.
    • 4/5
      It would be a benefit to mankind if these morals were taught today. Instead, everything seems to be nonjudgmental. "Who are you to tell me I'm wrong?!!"
    • 4/5
      Some were great, some were dull (or even rather mean), and some were in-between. Overall, not super crazy about it, but glad to have read the collection of them.
    • 5/5
      This was my first read through of Aesop's Fables in its entirety. Obviously I have encountered many of these fables before individually but was somewhat surprised by how dark they are. Aesop as a freedman was brilliant at seeing into the psyche of humankind. The Fables have held up well over the last 2500 years. I found it odd that the translator used the names of the Roman gods as opposed to the original greek gods.
    • 3/5
      Another reviewer said it best when stating that he enjoyed Aesop's Fables for the lessons rather than the storytelling. I was surprised to see how many of today's maxims originated from this collection of stories, and even moreso to hear that they had been penned in the 5th century BC. Definitely worth a read.
    • 4/5
      Summary:This book is a series of short, and a little weird, stories with a little bit of proverb advice at the end of each story.Personal Reaction:I think this is an outstanding set of fables and short stories. I found this to be very entertaining and a little bit of an eye-opener. Reading some of these stories to my children was entertaining to them and entertaining to me to watch their reactions. A lot of the proverb advice I had to explain a little deeper for my oldest to understand them, but all in all a very good and entertaining read.Classroom Extension:1. These stories can be intergraded in many fashion of ways. I think it would be ideal to use as a "brain-break" in between lessons.2. This book can be used as a good way to bring literature into the classroom and can be a good way to introduce fables, proverbs, and short stories.
    • 3/5


      Enjoyed the ones I was familiar with, many of them seemed repetitious. Overall a book everyone should and usually are familiar with.
    • 3/5
      I read this book over the course of maybe a year reading generally one fable a day. Like a lesson of the day. Some were great, some kind of goofy but I found overall the many lessons imparted as valid as most religious doctrine.Aesop himself is somewhat of a mysterious person of Greece much like Homer with only conjecture of who he was and how he put together this book of wisdom using the animated figures to deliver the message. In any event I found it intriguing to read them all and experience the lessons of such an ancient time that can have such relevance today.
    • 3/5


      Enjoyed the ones I was familiar with, many of them seemed repetitious. Overall a book everyone should and usually are familiar with.
    • 4/5
      Yet another I should reread, although so many of the fables are so familiar. Who could forget the fox and the grapes? The lessons in Aesop are still worthwhile today.
    • 1/5
      Nothing in it is true - though some argue that it has 'truths' (of a sort). I gave it one star...
    • 5/5
      This was the first time I ever read any of Aesop's Fables and I loved each little story. These nuggets of morality hidden within tiny stories truly makes one think about their actions towards themselves and toward others. It is an excellent book to read to your little ones in hopes of helping them understand decency towards others.

      I would recommend this book to others.
    • 4/5
      Collections of these short tales with a moral were among the very first works--after the Bible--to be published on the printing press. It's amazing how many catch phrases come from these fables: Honesty is the best policy. Don't count your chickens before they've hatched. Look before you leap. Aesop himself, like Homer, may never have existed in history. Tradition makes him a slave in Asia Minor, possibly of Ethiopian descent, born in 620 and eventually freed for his cleverness becomes a counselor to kings and companion to philosophers. Herodotus, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Horace all mentioned Aesop and his tales, and the earliest surviving collection is from the first century. They're been used by orators and in primers ever since, and definitely should be read in the interest of cultural legacy. They're short. One of the most famous ones is only three lines:Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.' People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply this story to themselves.To be honest, I tend to think these are best read by children, preferably in an illustrated edition. There's really no authoritative canon for the fables, the two primary collections from antiquity consist of only a few hundred tales. A lot of translations use antiquated language, or put the pithy tales into rather elaborated verse, or cut the moral, so you might want to scan various editions before deciding which to get. They're worth knowing, if only to be able to recognize where so many familiar stories and phrases come from.
    • 4/5
      This book contains 82 of Aesop's fables. Many of these short stories with a moral of the story at the end, I have never heard before. Many, many of these early stories have morals that I never knew the origin of - A stitch in time saves nine, honesty is the best policy. These moral little sayings have withstood the test of time.
    • 5/5
      A collection of the greatest stories with a moral attribute ever. Attributed by Aristotle as the best. Transformed into verse by Socrates, these stories captured the imagination of the greatest thinkers in human history, and continue to do so today. No child stands to be harmed by learning these tales, in fact, and argument could be made for the opposite effect. The most highly recommended literature for children by indisputable sources.
    • 2/5
      Written, according to legend, by the Greek slave Aesop, these one or two page fables offers the readers lessons and morals for a variety of circumstances. The edition that I read did not contain all of Aesop’s fables (there are over 350+ stories), but did include many of familiar ones, Androcles and the Lions, the Fox and the grapes, story of the tortoise and the hare, the country mouse and the city mouse etc. For the most part I was disappointed (I think my previous exposure to the Aesop Fables was from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and the "Aesop & Son" segments—very funny and much more insightful than the original)—most of the tales appear to be pointless, with some either hypocritical or abhorrent—many of the fables the reader is presented with a character of honorable behavior that is taken advantage of by those who are not. I suppose the moral of any story is life is hard—get used to it! I would not recommended this to any child—even though this book is often marketed that way—only 2 out of 5 stars.
    • 5/5
      Dad used to read these to us when we were children.

    Book preview

    Aesop's Fables - Aesop

    CONTENTS

    Introduction

    The Fox and the Grapes

    The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs

    The Cat and the Mice

    The Mischievous Dog

    The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller

    The Mice in Council

    The Bat and the Weasels

    The Dog and the Sow

    The Fox and the Crow

    The Horse and the Groom

    The Wolf and the Lamb

    The Peacock and the Crane

    The Cat and the Birds

    The Spendthrift and the Swallow

    The Old Woman and the Doctor

    The Moon and Her Mother

    Mercury and the Woodman

    The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

    The Lion and the Mouse

    The Crow and the Pitcher

    The Boys and the Frogs

    The North Wind and the Sun

    The Mistress and Her Servants

    The Goods and the Ills

    The Hares and the Frogs

    The Fox and the Stork

    The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

    The Stag in the Ox-Stall

    The Milkmaid and Her Pail

    The Dolphins, the Whales, and the Sprat

    The Fox and the Monkey

    The Ass and the Lap Dog

    The Fir Tree and the Bramble

    The Frogs’ Complaint Against the Sun

    The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox

    The Gnat and the Bull

    The Bear and the Travellers

    The Slave and the Lion

    The Flea and the Man

    The Bee and Jupiter

    The Oak and the Reeds

    The Blind Man and the Cub

    The Boy and the Snails

    The Apes and the Two Travellers

    The Ass and His Burdens

    The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf

    The Fox and the Goat

    The Fisherman and the Sprat

    The Boasting Traveller

    The Crab and His Mother

    The Ass and His Shadow

    The Farmer and His Sons

    The Dog and the Cook

    The Monkey as King

    The Thieves and the Cock

    The Farmer and Fortune

    Jupiter and the Monkey

    Father and Sons

    The Lamp

    The Owl and the Birds

    The Ass in the Lion’s Skin

    The She-Goats and their Beards

    The Old Lion

    The Boy Bathing

    The Quack Frog

    The Swollen Fox

    The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk

    The Boy and the Nettles

    The Peasant and the Apple Tree

    The Jackdaw and the Pigeons

    Jupiter and the Tortoise

    The Dog in the Manger

    The Two Bags

    The Oxen and the Axletrees

    The Boy and the Filberts

    The Frogs Asking for a King

    The Olive Tree and the Fig Tree

    The Lion and the Boar

    The Walnut Tree

    The Man and the Lion

    The Tortoise and the Eagle

    The Kid on the Housetop

    The Fox without a Tail

    The Vain Jackdaw

    The Traveller and His Dog

    The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea

    The Wild Boar and the Fox

    Mercury and the Sculptor

    The Fawn and His Mother

    The Fox and the Lion

    The Eagle and His Captor

    The Blacksmith and His Dog

    The Stag at the Pool

    The Dog and the Shadow

    Mercury and the Tradesmen

    The Mice and the Weasels

    The Peacock and Juno

    The Bear and the Fox

    The Ass and the Old Peasant

    The Ox and the Frog

    The Man and the Image

    Hercules and the Wagoner

    The Pomegranate, the Apple Tree, and the Bramble

    The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox

    The Blackamoor

    The Two Soldiers and the Robber

    The Lion and the Wild Ass

    The Man and the Satyr

    The Image-Seller

    The Eagle and the Arrow

    The Rich Man and the Tanner

    The Wolf, the Mother, and Her Child

    The Old Woman and the Wine Jar

    The Lioness and the Vixen

    The Viper and the File

    The Cat and the Cock

    The Hare and the Tortoise

    The Soldier and His Horse

    The Oxen and the Butchers

    The Wolf and the Lion

    The Sheep, the Wolf, and the Stag

    The Lion and the Three Bulls

    The Horse and His Rider

    The Goat and the Vine

    The Two Pots

    The Old Hound

    The Clown and the Countryman

    The Lark and the Farmer

    The Lion and the Ass

    The Prophet

    The Hound and the Hare

    The Lion, the Mouse, and the Fox

    The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner

    The Wolf and the Crane

    The Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow

    The Wolf and the Sheep

    The Tunny-Fish and the Dolphin

    The Three Tradesmen

    The Mouse and the Bull

    The Hare and the Hound

    The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

    The Lion and the Bull

    The Wolf, the Fox, and the Ape

    The Eagle and the Cocks

    The Escaped Jackdaw

    The Farmer and the Fox

    Venus and the Cat

    The Crow and the Swan

    The Stag with One Eye

    The Fly and the Draught-Mule

    The Cock and the Jewel

    The Wolf and the Shepherd

    The Farmer and the Stork

    The Charger and the Miller

    The Grasshopper and the Owl

    The Grasshopper and the Ants

    The Farmer and the Viper

    The Two Frogs

    The Cobbler Turned Doctor

    The Ass, the Cock, and the Lion

    The Belly and the Members

    The Bald Man and the Fly

    The Ass and the Wolf

    The Monkey and the Camel

    The Sick Man and the Doctor

    The Travellers and the Plane Tree

    The Flea and the Ox

    The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat

    The Man and His Two Sweethearts

    The Eagle, the Jackdaw, and the Shepherd

    The Wolf and the Boy

    The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass

    The Stag and the Vine

    The Lamb Chased By a Wolf

    The Archer and the Lion

    The Wolf and the Goat

    The Sick Stag

    The Ass and the Mule

    Brother and Sister

    The Heifer and the Ox

    The Kingdom of the Lion

    The Ass and His Driver

    The Lion and the Hare

    The Wolves and the Dogs

    The Bull and the Calf

    The Trees and the Axe

    The Astronomer

    The Labourer and the Snake

    The Cage-Bird and the Bat

    The Ass and His Purchaser

    The Kid and the Wolf

    The Debtor and His Sow

    The Bald Huntsman

    The Herdsman and the Lost Bull

    The Mule

    The Hound and the Fox

    The Father and His Daughters

    The Thief and the Innkeeper

    The Pack-Ass and the Wild Ass

    The Ass and His Masters

    The Pack-Ass, the Wild Ass, and the Lion

    The Ant

    The Frogs and the Well

    The Crab and the Fox

    The Fox and the Grasshopper

    The Farmer, His Boy, and the Rooks

    The Ass and the Dog

    The Ass Carrying the Image

    The Athenian and the Theban

    The Goatherd and the Goat

    The Sheep and the Dog

    The Shepherd and the Wolf

    The Lion, Jupiter, and the Elephant

    The Pig and the Sheep

    The Gardener and His Dog

    The Rivers and the Sea

    The Lion in Love

    The Beekeeper

    The Wolf and the Horse

    The Bat, the Bramble, and the Seagull

    The Dog and the Wolf

    The Wasp and the Snake

    The Eagle and the Beetle

    The Fowler and the Lark

    The Fisherman Piping

    The Weasel and the Man

    The Ploughman, the Ass, and the Ox

    Demades and His Fable

    The Monkey and the Dolphin

    The Crow and the Snake

    The Dogs and the Fox

    The Nightingale and the Hawk

    The Rose and the Amaranth

    The Man, the Horse, the Ox, and the Dog

    The Wolves, the Sheep, and the Ram

    The Swan

    The Snake and Jupiter

    The Wolf and His Shadow

    The Ploughman and the Wolf

    Mercury and the Man Bitten By an Ant

    The Wily Lion

    The Parrot and the Cat

    The Stag and the Lion

    The Impostor

    The Dogs and the Hides

    The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass

    The Fowler, the Partridge, and the Cock

    The Gnat and the Lion

    The Farmer and His Dogs

    The Eagle and the Fox

    The Butcher and His Customers

    Hercules and Minerva

    The Fox Who Served a Lion

    The Quack Doctor

    The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox

    Hercules and Plutus

    The Fox and the Leopard

    The Fox and the Hedgehog

    The Crow and the Raven

    The Witch

    The Old Man and Death

    The Miser

    The Foxes and the River

    The Horse and the Stag

    The Fox and the Bramble

    The Fox and the Snake

    The Lion, the Fox, and the Stag

    The Man Who Lost His Spade

    The Partridge and the Fowler

    The Runaway Slave

    The Hunter and the Woodman

    The Serpent and the Eagle

    The Rogue and the Oracle

    The Horse and the Ass

    The Dog Chasing a Wolf

    Grief and His Due

    The Hawk, the Kite, and the Pigeons

    The Woman and the Farmer

    Prometheus and the Making of Man

    The Swallow and the Crow

    The Hunter and the Horseman

    The Goatherd and the Wild Goats

    The Nightingale and the Swallow

    The Traveller and Fortune

    About the Author

    About the Series

    Copyright

    About the Publisher

    Introduction

    Aesop embodies an epigram not uncommon in human history; his fame is all the more deserved because he never deserved it. The firm foundations of common sense, the shrewd shots at uncommon sense, that characterise all the Fables, belong not him but to humanity. In the earliest human history whatever is authentic is universal: and whatever is universal is anonymous. In such cases there is always some central man who had first the trouble of collecting them, and afterwards the fame of creating them. He had the fame; and, on the whole, he earned the fame. There must have been something great and human, something of the human future and the human past, in such a man: even if he only used it to rob the past or deceive the future. The story of Arthur may have been really connected with the most fighting Christianity of falling Rome or with the most heathen traditions hidden in the hills of Wales. But the word Mappe or Malory will always mean King Arthur; even though we find older and better origins than the Mabinogian; or write later and worse versions than the Idylls of the King. The nursery fairy tales may have come out of Asia with the Indo-European race, now fortunately extinct; they may have been invented by some fine French lady or gentleman like Perrault: they may possibly even be what they profess to be. But we shall always call the best selection of such tales Grimm’s Tales: simply because it is the best collection.

    The historical Aesop, in so far as he was historical, would seem to have been a Phrygian slave, or at least one not to be specially and symbolically adorned with the Phrygian cap of liberty. He lived, if he did live, about the sixth century before Christ, in the time of that Croesus whose story we love and suspect like everything else in Herodotus. There are also stories of deformity of feature and a ready ribaldry of tongue: stories which (as the celebrated Cardinal said) explain, though they do not excuse, his having been hurled over a high precipice at Delphi. It is for those who read the Fables to judge whether he was really thrown over the cliff for being ugly and offensive, or rather for being highly moral and correct. But there is no kind of doubt that the general legend of him may justly rank him with a race too easily forgotten in our modern comparisons: the race of the great philosophic slaves. Aesop may have been a fiction like Uncle Remus: he was also, like Uncle Remus, a fact. It is a fact that slaves in the old world could be worshipped like Aesop, or loved like Uncle Remus. It is odd to note that both the great slaves told their best stories about beasts and birds.

    But whatever be fairly due to Aesop, the human tradition called Fables is not due to him. This had gone on long before any sarcastic freedman from Phrygia had or had not been flung off a precipice; this has remained long after. It is to our advantage, indeed, to realise the distinction; because it makes Aesop more obviously effective than any other fabulist. Grimm’s tales, glorious as they are, were collected by two German students. And if we find it hard to be certain of a German student, at least we know more about him than We know about a Phrygian slave. The truth is, of course, that Aesop’s Fables are not Aesop’s fables, any more than Grimm’s Fairy Tales were ever Grimm’s fairy tales. But the fable and the fairy tale are things utterly distinct. There are many elements of difference; but the plainest is plain enough. There can be no good fable with human beings in it. There can be no good fairy tale without them.

    Aesop, or Babrius (or whatever his name was), understood that, for a fable, all the persons must be impersonal. They must be like abstractions in algebra, or like pieces in chess. The lion must always be stronger than the wolf, just as four

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