The Fables of Aesop

Aesop Is a Greek Fabulist

Is accredited with the introducing the fable to literature.

Told more than 650 fables

Country of origin: The name Aesop is derived from the Greek

word Aethiop which means Ethiopia.

A person who composes fables

AesopIs said to have lived around the 6th century and was a slave (according to Greek Historian Herodotus) ; a very hardworking and pious slave; yet his cleverness, which was beyond compare, made him ill-suited to have as a servant.

It was believed that his first owner, Xanthus, eventually freed Aesop

In Aesop's biography, Planudes describes Aesop an ugly, deformed dwarf

What are Fables? a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a

moral lesson. Animal characters speak and act like humans

Ex.The Two GoatsThe Fox & the GrapesThe Wolf & the CraneThe Lion & the MouseThe Gnat & the Bull

The Plane TreeThe Owl & the GrasshopperThe Oak & the ReedsThe Crow & the Pitcher

What is a Moral Lesson? Teaches or exhibits goodness or correctness of character and behavior Serving to teach, or in accordance with the principles of right and wrong

Ex.o There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth. -

From "The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf“o Things are not always what they seem. - From "Bee-Keeper and the

Bees“o Necessity is the mother of invention. - From "The Crow and the

Pitcher“o Slow and steady wins the race. – From “The Hare and the Tortoise”

Aesop’s Fable: The Lion and the MouseA Lion was awakened from sleep by a

Mouse running over his face. Rising up in angry, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying: “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go. It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing the roar, came up and gnawed the ropes with his teeth, and, setting him free, exclaimed: “You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favor; but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.”

Moral

In time of need the weak may help the strong

Aesop’s Fable: The Wolf and the ShepherdA Wolf followed a flock of sheep for a long

time, and did not attempt to injure one of them.

The Shepherd at first stood on his guard against him, as against an enemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements. But when the Wolf, day after day, kept in the company of the sheep, and did not make the slightest effort to seize them, the Shepherd began to look upon him as a guardian of his flock rather than as a plotter of evil against it; and when occasion called him one day into the city, he left the sheep entirely in his charge. The Wolf, now that he had the opportunity, fell upon the sheep, and destroyed the greater part of the flock. The Shepherd on his return, finding the flock destroyed, exclaimed: “ I have been rightly served: why did I trust my sheep to a Wolf?

Moral

A false friend is more dangerous than an open enemy

Resources:

WORLD LITERATURE, “Reading Selection for Grade 10”------ pp.35 http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/historical/a/aesop.htm http://www.britannica.com/biography/Aesop http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-morals.html http://www.taleswithmorals.com/