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Three hundred and fifty AEsop's fables

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

324 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2011

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About the author

Aesop

2,476 books1,106 followers
620 BC - 564 BC
Tradition considers Greek fabulist Aesop as the author of Aesop's Fables , including "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Fox and the Grapes."

This credited ancient man told numerous now collectively known stories. None of his writings, if they ever existed, survive; despite his uncertain existence, people gathered and credited numerous tales across the centuries in many languages in a storytelling tradition that continues to this day. Generally human characteristics of animals and inanimate objects that speak and solve problems characterize many of the tales.

One can find scattered details of his life in ancient sources, including Aristotle, Herodotus, and Plutarch. An ancient literary work, called The Aesop Romance tells an episodic, probably highly fictional version of his life, including the traditional description of him as a strikingly ugly slave (δοῦλος), whose cleverness acquires him freedom as an adviser to kings and city-states. Older spellings of his name included Esop(e) and Isope. A later tradition, dating from the Middle Ages, depicts Aesop as a black Ethiopian. Depictions of Aesop in popular culture over the last two and a half millennia included several works of art and his appearance as a character in numerous books, films, plays, and television programs.

Abandoning the perennial image of Aesop as an ugly slave, the movie Night in Paradise (1946) cast Turhan Bey in the role, depicting Aesop as an advisor to Croesus, king; Aesop falls in love with a Persian princess, the intended bride of the king, whom Merle Oberon plays. Lamont Johnson also plays Aesop the Helene Hanff teleplay Aesop and Rhodope (1953), broadcast on hallmark hall of fame.

Brazilian dramatist Guilherme Figueiredo published A raposa e as uvas ("The Fox and the Grapes"), a play in three acts about the life of Aesop, in 1953; in many countries, people performed this play, including a videotaped production in China in 2000 under the title Hu li yu pu tao or 狐狸与葡萄 .

Beginning in 1959, animated shorts under the title Aesop and Son recurred as a segment in the television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, its successor. People abandoned the image of Aesop as ugly slave; Charles Ruggles voiced Aesop, a Greek citizen, who recounted for the edification of his son, Aesop Jr., who then delivered the moral in the form of an atrocious pun. In 1998, Robert Keeshan voiced him, who amounted to little more than a cameo in the episode "Hercules and the Kids" in the animated television series Hercules.

In 1971, Bill Cosby played him in the television production Aesop's Fables.

British playwright Peter Terson first produced the musical Aesop's Fables in 1983. In 2010, Mhlekahi Mosiea as Aesop staged the play at the Fugard theatre in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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Author 13 books57 followers
November 5, 2014
1 down, 1,000 to go. Huh? What? What am I talking about? Well, you know those popular "1,001 x1 to x2 Before You Die" books? I'm tackling the x1=books/x2=read version, because hey, that's the hardest. Aesop's Fables was #1 in the first edition of the book, so that's where I've started. It's a smart choice, as the reading was light, and easy to motor through, pausing only when appreciating a choice one with an excellent moral lesson. The fact that the animals represent specific traits and aspects of humanity was not lost on me. My kids enjoyed some of the tales too, as did the strangers during my commute, staring at a man reading fairy tales.
104 reviews1 follower
January 21, 2016
I haven't finished this book yet but I've got around 100 pages done, fun read so far. It was a book that a lot of Aesop's stories. I recommend it if you want a book for fun to get away from the other books.
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