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Aesop's Fables by Aesop
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Aesop's Fables

by Aesop

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4,95770841 (3.77)113
1001 (39) 1001 books (57) Aesop (106) Ancient Greece (48) animals (76) children (85) children's (131) children's literature (77) classic (160) classics (245) ebook (62) fable (47) fables (498) fairy tales (96) fantasy (35) fiction (463) Folio Society (77) folklore (143) folktales (43) Greece (53) Greek (109) Greek literature (78) illustrated (46) Kindle (42) literature (156) morals (33) mythology (106) read (48) short stories (137) unread (40)
  1. 50
    Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights Giftset by Robert Irwin (TineOliver)
    TineOliver: Any selection (or the complete set) of the tales from the Arabian Nights would be a good complement to Aesop's fables. Although the tales from the nights are much longer and more detailed, they also contain moralistic stories, however these are based on Arabic traditions.… (more)
  2. 51
    Pushkin's fairy tales, Palekh painting by A.S. Pushkin (Voracious_Reader)
    Voracious_Reader: Allegory and fables.
  3. 20
    On the shortness of life by Seneca (BeeQuiet)
    BeeQuiet: Though unsuitable for youngsters due to its basis in letter form as opposed to short fables, this is good for people wanting a different outlook on life. It can encourage tolerance to your own misfortune and an appreciation of other's.
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English (66)  Spanish (2)  French (1)  All languages (69)
Showing 1-5 of 66 (next | show all)
Yet another I should reread, although so many of the fables are so familiar. Who could forget the fox and the grapes? The lessons in Aesop are still worthwhile today. ( )
  auntieknickers | May 17, 2013 |
Collections of these short tales with a moral were among the very first works--after the Bible--to be published on the printing press. It's amazing how many catch phrases come from these fables: Honesty is the best policy. Don't count your chickens before they've hatched. Look before you leap. Aesop himself, like Homer, may never have existed in history. Tradition makes him a slave in Asia Minor, possibly of Ethiopian descent, born in 620 and eventually freed for his cleverness becomes a counselor to kings and companion to philosophers. Herodotus, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Horace all mentioned Aesop and his tales, and the earliest surviving collection is from the first century. They're been used by orators and in primers ever since, and definitely should be read in the interest of cultural legacy. They're short. One of the most famous ones is only three lines:

Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.' People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply this story to themselves.

To be honest, I tend to think these are best read by children, preferably in an illustrated edition. There's really no authoritative canon for the fables, the two primary collections from antiquity consist of only a few hundred tales. A lot of translations use antiquated language, or put the pithy tales into rather elaborated verse, or cut the moral, so you might want to scan various editions before deciding which to get. They're worth knowing, if only to be able to recognize where so many familiar stories and phrases come from. ( )
  LisaMaria_C | May 12, 2013 |
This was the first time I ever read any of Aesop's Fables and I loved each little story. These nuggets of morality hidden within tiny stories truly makes one think about their actions towards themselves and toward others. It is an excellent book to read to your little ones in hopes of helping them understand decency towards others.

I would recommend this book to others. ( )
  Pauline.Ramsey | May 10, 2013 |
Nothing in it is true - though some argue that it has 'truths' (of a sort). I gave it one star... ( )
  vegetarian | Apr 26, 2013 |
What is there to say about Aesop's Fables? We all grew up with them, but I found it interesting to read them all in one place. Several of them were new to me. I will admit, though, that it was difficult to read more than a few in one sitting. I recommend that everyone reads them all at least once in their lifetime. ( )
  aharey | Apr 3, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 66 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (232 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Aesopprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Detmold, Edward JuliusIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Handford, S. A.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Handford, S. A.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Holder, HediIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Holzberg, NiklasEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Phaedrussecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Robb, BrianIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Temple, OliviaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Temple, RobertTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Townsend, George FylerTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Voskuhl, ThomasEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
So the tales were told age before Aesop;  and asses under lions' manes roared in Hebrew;  and sly foes flattered in Etruscan; and wolves in sheep;s clothing gnashed their teeth in Sanskrit, no doubt. - Thackeray, The Newcomes
Dedication
To Prof. F. J. Child of Harvard
First words
A half-starved fox, who saw in the hollow of an oak tree some bread and meat left there by shepherds, crept in and ate it.
A WOLF, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him.
A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something shining amid the straw. - 1966 Schocken edition.
A hungry fox saw some fine bunches of grapes hanging from a vine that was trained along a high trellis and did his best to reach them by jumping as high as he could into the air.
Quotations
Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 159308062X, Paperback)

Aesop's Fables, by Aesop, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:
All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
 
As legend has it, the storyteller Aesop was a slave who lived in ancient Greece during the sixth century B.C. His memorable, recountable fables have brought amusing characters to life and driven home thought-provoking morals for generations of listeners and modern-day readers. Translated into countless languages and familiar to people around the world, Aesop’s fables never tarnish despite being told again and again.

This collection presents nearly 300 of Aesop’s most entertaining and enduring stories—from “The Hare and the Tortoise” and “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” to “The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs” and “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” Populated by a colorful array of animal characters who personify every imaginable human type—from fiddling grasshoppers and diligent ants to sly foxes, wicked wolves, brave mice, and grateful lions—these timeless tales are as fresh and relevant today as when they were first created.

Full of humor, insight, and wit, the tales in Aesop’s Fables champion the value of hard work and perseverance, compassion for others, and honesty. They are age-old wisdom in a delicious form, for the consumption of adults and children alike.

D. L. Ashliman is emeritus professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He taught folklore, mythology, German, and comparative literature at that institution for thirty-one years. He has also served as guest professor at the University of Augsburg in Germany.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:28:29 -0500)

(see all 9 descriptions)

The story goes that a sow who had delivered a whole litter of piglets loudly accosted a lioness. "How many children do you breed?" asked the sow. "I breed only one," said the lioness, "but he is very well bred!"' The fables of Aesop have become one of the most enduring traditions of European culture, ever since they were first written down nearly two millennia ago. Aesop was reputedly a tongue-tied slave who miraculously received the power of speech; from his legendary storytelling came the collections of prose and verse fables scattered throughout Greek and Roman literature. First published in English by Caxton in 1484, the fables and their morals continue to charm modern readers: who does not know the stories of the tortoise and the hare, and the boy who cried wolf? This new translation is the first to represent all the main fable collections in ancient Latin and Greek, arranged according to the fables' contents and themes. It includes 600 fables, many of which come from sources never before translated into English.… (more)

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Audible.com

Eight editions of this book were published by Audible.com.

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Penguin Australia

Three editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0140446494, 0451529537, 0140369848

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