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Fables
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
76 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1896
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159 people want to read
About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,463 books6,820 followersRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 27, 2018
-¿Acaso puedo yo saber la razón de este cuento? No sé cómo nosotros dos, que no existimos, estamos aquí hablando y fumando, como si fuéramos reales.
October 20, 2017
Il nobile straniero
Una volta, venne su questa terra un visitatore da un vicino pianeta. E gli andò incontro, nel luogo dove discese, un grande filosofo, che doveva mostrargli ogni cosa. Prima di tutto passarono per un bosco, e lo straniero guardò gli alberi. “Che cosa c'è qui?” disse. “Questi son solamente vegetali” disse il filosofo. “Sono vivi, ma per nulla interessanti.”
“Non saprei” disse lo straniero. “Pare che siano molto ben educati. Non parlano mai?”
“Mancano di questo dono” disse il filosofo.
“Eppure mi è sembrato di sentirli cantare” disse l'altro.
“Non è che il vento tra le foglie” disse il filosofo. “Vi spiegherò la teoria dei venti: è molto interessante.”
“Vorrei sapere” disse lo straniero, “a che cosa pensano.”
“Non possono pensare” disse il filosofo. “Non saprei” rispose lo straniero: e poi, posando la mano su d'un tronco: “Mi piace questa gente” disse. “Non son gente per nulla” disse il filosofo. “Andiamo.”
Poi passarono in un prato nel quale c'erano delle mucche. “Questa è gente assai sudicia” disse lo straniero. “Non son gente per nulla” disse il filosofo; e spiegò che cosa sia una mucca, con termini scientifici che ho dimenticati.
“Per me è tutt'uno” disse lo straniero. “Ma perchè non alzano mai gli occhi?”
“Perchè‚ sono graminivore” disse il filosofo, “e si cibano d'erba, che non è molto nutriente, e richiede tanta attenzione che non hanno tempo per pensare, nè per parlare, nè per guardare il panorama, nè per tenersi pulite.”
“Bene” disse lo straniero “questo è senza dubbio un modo di vivere. Ma preferisco la gente con la testa verde.”
Poi andarono in una città, e le strade erano piene d'uomini e di donne.
“Questa è gente assai strana” disse lo straniero. “Sono gli abitanti della più grande nazione del mondo” disse il filosofo.
“Dite davvero?” disse lo straniero. “Non l'avrei mai pensato.”
Una volta, venne su questa terra un visitatore da un vicino pianeta. E gli andò incontro, nel luogo dove discese, un grande filosofo, che doveva mostrargli ogni cosa. Prima di tutto passarono per un bosco, e lo straniero guardò gli alberi. “Che cosa c'è qui?” disse. “Questi son solamente vegetali” disse il filosofo. “Sono vivi, ma per nulla interessanti.”
“Non saprei” disse lo straniero. “Pare che siano molto ben educati. Non parlano mai?”
“Mancano di questo dono” disse il filosofo.
“Eppure mi è sembrato di sentirli cantare” disse l'altro.
“Non è che il vento tra le foglie” disse il filosofo. “Vi spiegherò la teoria dei venti: è molto interessante.”
“Vorrei sapere” disse lo straniero, “a che cosa pensano.”
“Non possono pensare” disse il filosofo. “Non saprei” rispose lo straniero: e poi, posando la mano su d'un tronco: “Mi piace questa gente” disse. “Non son gente per nulla” disse il filosofo. “Andiamo.”
Poi passarono in un prato nel quale c'erano delle mucche. “Questa è gente assai sudicia” disse lo straniero. “Non son gente per nulla” disse il filosofo; e spiegò che cosa sia una mucca, con termini scientifici che ho dimenticati.
“Per me è tutt'uno” disse lo straniero. “Ma perchè non alzano mai gli occhi?”
“Perchè‚ sono graminivore” disse il filosofo, “e si cibano d'erba, che non è molto nutriente, e richiede tanta attenzione che non hanno tempo per pensare, nè per parlare, nè per guardare il panorama, nè per tenersi pulite.”
“Bene” disse lo straniero “questo è senza dubbio un modo di vivere. Ma preferisco la gente con la testa verde.”
Poi andarono in una città, e le strade erano piene d'uomini e di donne.
“Questa è gente assai strana” disse lo straniero. “Sono gli abitanti della più grande nazione del mondo” disse il filosofo.
“Dite davvero?” disse lo straniero. “Non l'avrei mai pensato.”
April 7, 2023
3,5⭐
Nota a me stessa: leggere "L'isola del tesoro".
Nota a me stessa: leggere "L'isola del tesoro".
April 13, 2018
THE PENITENT
A man met a lad weeping. "what do you weep for?"
"I am weeping for my sins," said the lad.
"You must have little to do," said the man.
The next day they met again. Once more the lad was weeping. "Why do you weep now?" asked the man.
"I am weeping because I have nothing to eat," said the lad.
"I thought it would come to that," said the man.
First published bundled up with Jekyll and Hyde by Longmans, Green and Company two years after Stevenson's death, and then together in a pocket edition in 1906, this collection of literary fables ought to be better known than they are. Some, like 'The Penitent', are short, barely a page or two long, while others run to almost a dozen sides. Some are enigmatic, others cynical, others yet are Aesopian in that they feature animals, as in 'The Tadpole and the Frog':
"Be ashamed of yourself," said the frog. "When I was a tadpole, I had no tail."
"Just what I thought!" said the tadpole. "You never were a tadpole."
Stevenson's novellas (which include Jekyll and Hyde) were of one type of fable, as he saw it, his publishers typifying them as semi-supernatural, dreamlike and with an implicit moral. But he also tried more short-form compositions -- what we might perhaps now call flash fiction -- which followed more traditional lines. Three of these each have a Moral, one a rhyming couplet couched as an epigram or explicit, the other two being verses of a half dozen lines; their lessons, however, are inevitably opaque. What are we to make of the epilogue which concludes a dialogue between a book and its reader?
I have to say I really enjoyed these miniatures, especially with the scarcely concealed barbs about human nature. A well-travelled visitor argues the toss with a citizen, one filled with civic pride, and then pays the price for such foolishness. A philosopher tries and fails to put right a distinguished stranger -- a visitor from a neighbouring planet -- who mistakes trees and cows for people, while not thinking much of people reputedly from "the greatest nation in the world". Four reformers meet under a bramble bush to discuss what must be done in order to change the world; they disagree on what to abolish, until one of them suggests they start by abolishing mankind.
Many of the longer fables are more like traditional folktales but a little more twisted. There are stock archetypes like kings and princesses, wise women and holy men. A handful of tales were sent to the publishers from Samoa, where Stevenson ended his days, and retain a certain flavour of the South Seas; others have a Scottish setting, such as 'The Song of the Morrow', and very melancholy they are too.
The fable which opens the tale is of a different order, and somewhat metafictional. It is set between chapters 32 and 33 of Treasure Island when Captain Smollett and Silver have a break from the main action of the novel to sit down and have an acerbic conversation about human morals and such. Their dialogue comes to an end when the Author is heard opening his ink-bottle "to write the words: CHAPTER XXXIII."
Stevenson keeps the reader guessing while showing mastery over whichever voice he chooses to use, whether chiding, sneering, teasing or merely observing. Just occasionally he slides into prose that is pure poetry, as in the ending of 'The Song of the Morrow' that ends the collection. Here, after many years, the King's daughter of Duntrine has sat down on the beach where she first met the crone that gave her the advice that has dominated her life ever since:
The sea foam ran to her feet, and the dead leaves swarmed about her back, and the veil blew about her face in the blowing of the wind. And when she lifted up her eyes, there was the daughter of a King come walking on the beach. Her hair was like the spun gold, and her eyes like pools in a river, and she had no thought for the morrow and no power upon the hour, after the manner of simple men.
Every one of these carefully crafted fables bears repeated reading, for the joy of the language, the echoes of ancient tellers of tales or the puzzling out of enigmas. These are Aesopian indeed, in the nineteenth century sense, designating a superficially innocent narrative which, in truth, held a cryptic meaning to the initiated. To read these fables is enjoy the surface while reflecting on what meaning, if any, resides deep below.
Full review: https://wp.me/s2oNj1-fables
A man met a lad weeping. "what do you weep for?"
"I am weeping for my sins," said the lad.
"You must have little to do," said the man.
The next day they met again. Once more the lad was weeping. "Why do you weep now?" asked the man.
"I am weeping because I have nothing to eat," said the lad.
"I thought it would come to that," said the man.
First published bundled up with Jekyll and Hyde by Longmans, Green and Company two years after Stevenson's death, and then together in a pocket edition in 1906, this collection of literary fables ought to be better known than they are. Some, like 'The Penitent', are short, barely a page or two long, while others run to almost a dozen sides. Some are enigmatic, others cynical, others yet are Aesopian in that they feature animals, as in 'The Tadpole and the Frog':
"Be ashamed of yourself," said the frog. "When I was a tadpole, I had no tail."
"Just what I thought!" said the tadpole. "You never were a tadpole."
Stevenson's novellas (which include Jekyll and Hyde) were of one type of fable, as he saw it, his publishers typifying them as semi-supernatural, dreamlike and with an implicit moral. But he also tried more short-form compositions -- what we might perhaps now call flash fiction -- which followed more traditional lines. Three of these each have a Moral, one a rhyming couplet couched as an epigram or explicit, the other two being verses of a half dozen lines; their lessons, however, are inevitably opaque. What are we to make of the epilogue which concludes a dialogue between a book and its reader?
The coward crouches from the rod,
And loathes the iron face of God.
I have to say I really enjoyed these miniatures, especially with the scarcely concealed barbs about human nature. A well-travelled visitor argues the toss with a citizen, one filled with civic pride, and then pays the price for such foolishness. A philosopher tries and fails to put right a distinguished stranger -- a visitor from a neighbouring planet -- who mistakes trees and cows for people, while not thinking much of people reputedly from "the greatest nation in the world". Four reformers meet under a bramble bush to discuss what must be done in order to change the world; they disagree on what to abolish, until one of them suggests they start by abolishing mankind.
Many of the longer fables are more like traditional folktales but a little more twisted. There are stock archetypes like kings and princesses, wise women and holy men. A handful of tales were sent to the publishers from Samoa, where Stevenson ended his days, and retain a certain flavour of the South Seas; others have a Scottish setting, such as 'The Song of the Morrow', and very melancholy they are too.
The fable which opens the tale is of a different order, and somewhat metafictional. It is set between chapters 32 and 33 of Treasure Island when Captain Smollett and Silver have a break from the main action of the novel to sit down and have an acerbic conversation about human morals and such. Their dialogue comes to an end when the Author is heard opening his ink-bottle "to write the words: CHAPTER XXXIII."
Stevenson keeps the reader guessing while showing mastery over whichever voice he chooses to use, whether chiding, sneering, teasing or merely observing. Just occasionally he slides into prose that is pure poetry, as in the ending of 'The Song of the Morrow' that ends the collection. Here, after many years, the King's daughter of Duntrine has sat down on the beach where she first met the crone that gave her the advice that has dominated her life ever since:
The sea foam ran to her feet, and the dead leaves swarmed about her back, and the veil blew about her face in the blowing of the wind. And when she lifted up her eyes, there was the daughter of a King come walking on the beach. Her hair was like the spun gold, and her eyes like pools in a river, and she had no thought for the morrow and no power upon the hour, after the manner of simple men.
Every one of these carefully crafted fables bears repeated reading, for the joy of the language, the echoes of ancient tellers of tales or the puzzling out of enigmas. These are Aesopian indeed, in the nineteenth century sense, designating a superficially innocent narrative which, in truth, held a cryptic meaning to the initiated. To read these fables is enjoy the surface while reflecting on what meaning, if any, resides deep below.
Full review: https://wp.me/s2oNj1-fables
April 15, 2019
Lyhyitä kertomuksia, joihin sisälle kirjoitettu jokin pohdinto/kummastus/opetus tai sitten ei. Ehkä missasin jotain tai sitten en.
December 19, 2014
The uneven experiments of a genius.
Some of the stories are incredible pieces of art that deserve a much, much higher degree of recognition. "The Poor Thing" & "The Song of the Morrow" deserve a place alongside Grimm and Perrault, Andersen and Lang as immortal classics. "The Four Reformers" is a perfect piece of fiction.
Other stories do not do so well. "The Sinking Ship" makes its point well, but the reading of it is tiresome; "The Persons of the Tale," in which Long John Silver and Captain Smollet debate the existence of "the Author" during their break between the writing of Chapter 32 and Chapter 33 of the writing of Treasure Island is charming without being particularly memorable.
Even so, this short collection is worth whatever price you find it offered for. These are, perhaps, the most personal of all of Stevenson's fiction.
Some of the stories are incredible pieces of art that deserve a much, much higher degree of recognition. "The Poor Thing" & "The Song of the Morrow" deserve a place alongside Grimm and Perrault, Andersen and Lang as immortal classics. "The Four Reformers" is a perfect piece of fiction.
Other stories do not do so well. "The Sinking Ship" makes its point well, but the reading of it is tiresome; "The Persons of the Tale," in which Long John Silver and Captain Smollet debate the existence of "the Author" during their break between the writing of Chapter 32 and Chapter 33 of the writing of Treasure Island is charming without being particularly memorable.
Even so, this short collection is worth whatever price you find it offered for. These are, perhaps, the most personal of all of Stevenson's fiction.
March 17, 2022
An unusual, enjoyable little read. The stories average around 350 words, so if one doesn't hit the mark, there'll be another one along in a minute. No reason I should still be surprised by how contemporary some of Stevenson's work feels, but the flashes of modernity are still surprising and fun.
Has to be measured alongside Aesop, and Fables emerges from the comparison well. Hardly any animals feature. The morals, which are only rarely spelled out, have an inclination to the unobvious. Although Fables is a collection of late-career works, I can't help but read it through the lens of an Edinburgher reading an Edinburgher. As such, the way occasional shafts of viciousness punch through the mostly gnomic stories seems to reflect the character of the city, and it is striking and pleasing.
Having said all that, I suspect that being an RLS fanboy inclines me to round up from 3.5 to 4 stars. The fact that Fables delivers plenty of fun and interest in quick bites certainly works in its favour.
Has to be measured alongside Aesop, and Fables emerges from the comparison well. Hardly any animals feature. The morals, which are only rarely spelled out, have an inclination to the unobvious. Although Fables is a collection of late-career works, I can't help but read it through the lens of an Edinburgher reading an Edinburgher. As such, the way occasional shafts of viciousness punch through the mostly gnomic stories seems to reflect the character of the city, and it is striking and pleasing.
Having said all that, I suspect that being an RLS fanboy inclines me to round up from 3.5 to 4 stars. The fact that Fables delivers plenty of fun and interest in quick bites certainly works in its favour.
November 20, 2023
A veces me cuesta situar a los autores en su contexto. Es difícil saber, sin leer al respecto, si fueron precursores de algo o no. De todas formas y a simple vista, me parece que Stevenson fue un genio.
No por nada fue de los autores preferidos de Borges. Y se puede ver mucho de lo que luego será Borges en él: “Los personajes de la fábula” tiene algo de “La muerte y la brújula”, “La canción le mañana” tiene ese ritmo cíclico y de repetición que yo solo le había visto a Borges antes y así.
Literatura consciente de que es literatura.
El problema de esta antología, que reúne todas sus fábulas, es precisamente ese: las reúne todas, buenas y no tan buenas. Y es que malas no hay, pero hay mucho de Esopo aquí, de chiste corto que te saca de onda.
No por nada fue de los autores preferidos de Borges. Y se puede ver mucho de lo que luego será Borges en él: “Los personajes de la fábula” tiene algo de “La muerte y la brújula”, “La canción le mañana” tiene ese ritmo cíclico y de repetición que yo solo le había visto a Borges antes y así.
Literatura consciente de que es literatura.
El problema de esta antología, que reúne todas sus fábulas, es precisamente ese: las reúne todas, buenas y no tan buenas. Y es que malas no hay, pero hay mucho de Esopo aquí, de chiste corto que te saca de onda.
July 18, 2022
Lo compré en una edición muy económica, cuya portada me encantó. Es traducido por Borges y Roberto Alifano. El contenido es excelente, Stevenson fue un gran observador del espíritu humano y, como indican los traductores en el prólogo, alguien apegado a la ética universal. Una lectura breve y amena. Vale la pena su relectura.
May 30, 2020
Libro cortito, 22 fábulas. Algunas muy cortas y todas dan mucho en qué pensar.
Para mí son destacables las siguientes fábulas:
- Los personajes del relato
- Las dos cerillas
- El diablo y el posadero
- La piedra de toque
Para mí son destacables las siguientes fábulas:
- Los personajes del relato
- Las dos cerillas
- El diablo y el posadero
- La piedra de toque
September 3, 2023
Confusing at times, painfully true at others. It gave me a whole new perspective on Stevenson. I need to read it in English, though. This translation did not help at all to getting the message behind the fable.
November 28, 2024
Absoluta joya: pequeña obra maestra, casi secreta, labrada por uno de los mejores novelistas de la historia. Esta edición lleva prólogo y traducción de Borges. Fábulas donde la moraleja es menos valiosa que la fábula misma.
December 22, 2019
2018: Stevenson deslumbra con sus fábulas en donde una tras otra asombra al lector por su estilo propio y la imaginación que hay en ellas.
August 8, 2021
"El hombre tiene que ser justo, aunque Dios no lo sea o aunque no exista Dios" JLB
October 24, 2022
Kiire ja tore ajaviide. Head lühikesed jutud, mis on ka huvitavad. Lugesin nagu niuhti läbi :)
January 5, 2024
❤️❤️❤️
January 29, 2025
Mostly terse prose with morality embedded but often the language changed so much and the fable so breath that the meaning lay uncovered by the simple reader.
February 3, 2025
κἄποιοι στιχοπλοκοῦν, ἄλλοι συγγράφουν, μερικοί καταγράφουν· ὁ RS Stevenson κάνει κἄτι ἄλλο πολύ πολύ καλά.
April 25, 2025
Näevad välja kuidagi viimistletud. Mis ei tähenda, et ma kõigest aru saan.
March 19, 2017
Прослушала "Дом старости" (House of Eld) в "Модели для сборки". Зацепило.
March 6, 2014
This collection of 20 short 'fables' seems to be an attempt by Stevenson to combine the moral lessons of Aesop's Fables with the Samoan culture in which he was then immersed (these were published two years after his death on the islands), adding an occasional sprinkling of Greek mythology. After a surprising, brisk and fun meta-fiction introduction by two characters from Treasure Island, the stories themselves tend to be too short, too obscure or of too vague a foundation to serve as a clear lesson to anyone.
Stevenson's literary voice is as vibrant and compelling here as in any of his works, but the use to which he puts it is sadly pointless, resulting in an unfortunate posthumous statement.
Stevenson's literary voice is as vibrant and compelling here as in any of his works, but the use to which he puts it is sadly pointless, resulting in an unfortunate posthumous statement.
April 4, 2014
“Una breve y secreta obra maestra”, dijo Borges al traducirlas.
“Un compendio de fábulas nada ñoñas: aguijonazos ácidos”, dijo Bruce Lee como Kato al patearlas.
“Aquí también se encuentra la imaginación, el coraje y la gracia de Stevenson”, dijo Roberto Alifano al prologar junto con Borges.
“Moralejas para niños grandes, para esos que aún les queda algo de molleja”, rimó Roald Dahl después de una segunda lectura.
“Tal vez recuerden a su autor con obras como El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y Mr. Hide o La isla del tesoro”, anunció Troy McClure después de embolsarse un cheque.
“No las subestimes, te sorprenderás; palabra”, les digo yo.
“Un compendio de fábulas nada ñoñas: aguijonazos ácidos”, dijo Bruce Lee como Kato al patearlas.
“Aquí también se encuentra la imaginación, el coraje y la gracia de Stevenson”, dijo Roberto Alifano al prologar junto con Borges.
“Moralejas para niños grandes, para esos que aún les queda algo de molleja”, rimó Roald Dahl después de una segunda lectura.
“Tal vez recuerden a su autor con obras como El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y Mr. Hide o La isla del tesoro”, anunció Troy McClure después de embolsarse un cheque.
“No las subestimes, te sorprenderás; palabra”, les digo yo.
December 26, 2015
Robert Louis Stevensonin sadut on kirjan alaotsikon mukaisesti tarkoitettu aikuisille. Aiheina on satukirjoille tyypillisesti kasvutarinoita, seikkailuja, ihmetarinoita ja matkoja. (Vladimir Propp luokittelisi tällaisen valikoiman varmasti innoissaan.)
Saduissa on enimmäkseen synkähkö perussävy. Muutama juttu jäi mieleen useaksi päiväksi, mutta kun nyt reilun kuukauden päästä lukemisesta kirjoitan tätä, en kykene muistamaan tarkasti enää yhtäkään satua. Se ei välttämättä ole eduksi kirjalle - toisaalta näin voin lukea tämän viehättävän pikku kirjan uudelleen juonten kärsimättä.
Saduissa on enimmäkseen synkähkö perussävy. Muutama juttu jäi mieleen useaksi päiväksi, mutta kun nyt reilun kuukauden päästä lukemisesta kirjoitan tätä, en kykene muistamaan tarkasti enää yhtäkään satua. Se ei välttämättä ole eduksi kirjalle - toisaalta näin voin lukea tämän viehättävän pikku kirjan uudelleen juonten kärsimättä.
March 5, 2014
Tämä hämmentävä pikkukirja on täynnä lyhyitä faabeleita. Osa moraalitarinoista toimii hienosti, osa hieman huonommin. Kirjalle kannattaa antaa mahdollisuus, sillä Stevensonin faabelit ovat monimuotoisia ja taidokkaasti kirjoitettuja, ja kirjailija selvästi piti lajityypin tuomista rajoituksista. Satasivuisen läpyskän lukemiseen ei kauaa aikaa kulu.
March 13, 2015
Interesting little book, but doesn't really bring out any emotions in me. These still seem quite modern to be something that was written so long ago.
Worth reading, but not an eye opening experience.
Worth reading, but not an eye opening experience.
November 8, 2014
No son fábulas para niños.
October 27, 2014
Stevenson nos deja estas pequeñas historias con una moraleja, pero lo interesante es que nos deja la libertad de elegir esa moraleja...
August 22, 2016
Interesante lectura, necesaria
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews