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Aesop’s Fables
The calamities that befall the hapless creatures of Aesop’s Fables! The fox can’t reach his grapes, then gets attacked by biting flies and loses his tail in a trap. And things don’t go much better for the hare, who is chased relentlessly by a hound, barely escaping with his life—only to be beaten in a race by a lowly tortoise. Misfortune turns to mayhem when a wolf is killed by his sweetheart’s father, a sheepdog preys on his own flock, and the mouse and his friend the frog are eaten by a hawk. On the brighter side, a tiny ant saves her new friend the dove from a hunter’s arrow, a bat persuades two different weasels not to eat her, and a kid goat uses his wits to escape from the jaws of a hungry wolf...
For nearly three thousand years, the fables of Aesop have amused people of all ages as they provide commonsense lessons in the conduct of everyday life. The colorful characters and brief tales, by turns amusing and frightening, deliver a how-to course in applied moral philosophy. This edition features more than forty illustrations by the celebrated artist Ernest Griset.
For nearly three thousand years, the fables of Aesop have amused people of all ages as they provide commonsense lessons in the conduct of everyday life. The colorful characters and brief tales, by turns amusing and frightening, deliver a how-to course in applied moral philosophy. This edition features more than forty illustrations by the celebrated artist Ernest Griset.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2013
31 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Aesop
2,477 books1,107 followers620 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.
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 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 28, 2025
The edition I have, while charming in some ways, is also frustrating in others. There are lovely drawings every few pages that pertain to certain stories. And pithy little "explanations" at the end of each fable. Which are...iffy at best. Some of them seem outright baffling actually. And also, many of these fables are clearly not Aesopic. They mention Great Britain, Shakespeare, and American birds...bitch how Aesop gonna know about America? He died in 564 BC! It was also very obvious which ones were not Aesop because of the dramatic prose and verbage differences. I normally wouldn't be bothered by this but there is no indication of that on the cover or flaps. That shit frustrated me more than it should have.
However, since this is a review of "Aesop's" Fables I don't want to be too harsh in my judgement because that isn't his fault. Most all of his fables were very good. Simple, concise, and with easy to grasp little morals. I wish I had grabbed a better version, but it is what it is.
However, since this is a review of "Aesop's" Fables I don't want to be too harsh in my judgement because that isn't his fault. Most all of his fables were very good. Simple, concise, and with easy to grasp little morals. I wish I had grabbed a better version, but it is what it is.
October 18, 2022
It's impressive that a guy from Gainesville that went to college in Louisiana became so whimsically adept with British colloquium and witticisms- they added an enjoyable flair to his well crafted anthropomorphic characters!
His settings were accurate and exciting; among others, he included: Victorian London, the American Wild West, the Ancient Far East, a Coney Island-like beach retreat, Mount Olympus, Ancient Egypt, European country-sides, pre-Lawrence Arabia BUT BEST OF ALL was his worker ants in Russia with their unquestionably communist garb upbraiding the Grasshopper to get a job!
His settings were accurate and exciting; among others, he included: Victorian London, the American Wild West, the Ancient Far East, a Coney Island-like beach retreat, Mount Olympus, Ancient Egypt, European country-sides, pre-Lawrence Arabia BUT BEST OF ALL was his worker ants in Russia with their unquestionably communist garb upbraiding the Grasshopper to get a job!
January 8, 2025
In consideration of the actual writing of this, Aesop did a great job of finding morals in different stories, although I wish there were less human-based stories.
In terms of collection and presentation, I loved the images shown for different stories, and hated the means of organization of the stories ( in that there was none).
Overall, it was a nice thought, but not worth the read.
In terms of collection and presentation, I loved the images shown for different stories, and hated the means of organization of the stories ( in that there was none).
Overall, it was a nice thought, but not worth the read.
May 29, 2024
A mess of random fables which can be found almost anywhere. I wish there was more organization and research instead of just story after story about animals learning morals.
Really a 2.5ish, but avg. 3.75? C’mon.
Really a 2.5ish, but avg. 3.75? C’mon.
April 23, 2011
Well, last night I just finished the Count of Monte Cristo. I must say that I've heard of this book before, but it just didn't satisfy me. The stories and little fables I thought were very short and well, sometimes that's a good thing, I just see it as leaving me wanting.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews