A fable is a short
story that demonstrates an ethical principle. The main characters are usually animals; but plants, people or even forces of nature also make cameo appearances in fables attributed to Aesop. Literally hundreds of stories can be used to teach pre-school ethics; but, since brevity is the soul of wit (as anyone who has ever heard the story of ‘The Gazelle and The Lion’ knows) only a few of Aesop’s most often told
tales are summarized below.
In tales such as ‘The Tortoise and The Hare’ (slow and steady wins the race); ‘The City Mouse and The Country Mouse’ (better bread in comfort than cakes in fear); ‘The Ant and The Grasshopper’ (make haste while the sun shines); ‘The Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing’ (do not pretend to be something you are not); and ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ (a liar is not beleived even when he tells the truth) the
title and the
moral have become synonymous.
Some tales are known more by the moral than the title for instance (once bitten, twice shy) is remembered more readily than ‘The Dog and The Wolf’ and (beauty is only skin deep) is a more popular quote than ‘The Sheep and The Donkey’. Although (kindness is its own reward) from The Wolf and The Crane means essentially the same
thing as (selfishness is its own punishment) from 'The Cat and The Rooster' the emphasis is slightly different. For instance (one good turn deserves another) from The Mouse and the Lion stresses the positive while ‘The Mouse and The Frog’ (betray a friend and you betray yourself ) stresses the negative.
Some times the animal referred to in the moral isn’t even in the story (a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush) from ‘The Fisherman and the Minnow’ or (don’t count your chickens before they hatch) from ‘The Milkmaid and Her Pail’ or (one swallow doesn’t make a summer) from ‘The Fool and The Rose’. Perhaps because the phrase the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence has more of a ring to it than the wine you can’t have tastes sweeter than the water that quenches your thrist which is officially the moral of ‘The Fox and The Grapes’; although the phrase sour grapes is also remembered. Also, (look before you leap) is more well known than ‘The Stag and The Lion’ or even (out of the frying pan and into the fire) from the tale ‘The Careless Frog and the Careful Frog’ which actually concerns a frying pan, a fire and creatures that leap.
More than two characters in the title means trouble for someone as in ‘Two Lions, One Goat and a Fox’ (friend’s fights favor their foes) or ‘The Mice Council Meeting’ (fame carries its own penalties) or ‘The Lion, The Wolf, The Fox and The Hawk’ (might makes right) or ‘The Lion, The Gnat and The Spider’ (pride goeth before a fall). Only one living creature can be a good thing as with ‘The Crane and The Water Jar’ (necessity is the mother of invention) or a bad thing as with ‘The Ass and The Load of Sponges’ (don’t press your luck). Forces of nature behave accordingly like ‘The Wind and The Sun’ (persuasion is better than force).
Aesop told many tales; although, unlike 'The Old Man Who Sold His Ass' he knew that (you can’t please all of the people all of the time).
More reviews about the Aesop's Fables