Aesop's FablesSeptember 27, 1984Copyright © 1997 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
Aesop was a Greek slave who seemed to possess a fine sense of morality. His fables illustrate many human flaws and, in many cases, the way in which one can overcome these flaws. They also illustrate strengths of human nature. Common topics of Aesop's fables are: greed, pride, and pity. They were used in fanciful tales to teach people virtue, propriety, and grace. Aesop never wrote down any of his fables. They were handed down by word-of-mouth for many generations. Because of this, the meanings of many of the fables have become obscure. Also, the wording has changed through the ages to suit changing language conventions. The meanings of the words were also altered by bridging the gap between languages. They still have deeper meanings for observant readers, however. To better illustrate the fables of Aesop, I will now discuss two fables. The first fable I will discuss is entitled "The Dog and His Shadow." It deals with a dog who was overcome by greed. This dog was crossing a smooth stream by means of a bridge. He had a piece of meat in his mouth, and was wishing he had more. Partway across, he noticed his reflection in the water. Thinking it was another dog, with another piece of meat, that he saw, he tried to snap the meat away from the reflection. In his greed, he dropped his own meat in the stream and lost it. This fable seems to be a very good illustration of man's tendancy to desire that which another has, even when the first man has all that he needs. The second fable is entitled "The Ants and the Grasshopper." This fable illustrates the results of all play and no work. It deals with a grasshopper and some ants. The grasshopper had spent the summer singing and making music. The ants had spent the summer putting food aside for the winter. When winter came the grasshopper was starving. He went to the ants and asked for food. The ants asked what the grasshopped had done all summer. When he said that he had spent the summer singing, they said, "Now, then, you can dance." This fable is a good illustration of the results of irresponsibility. Aesop has used this tale to show that nothing is gained without hard work of some sort. Please View and Sign My Guestbook © 1998-2000 Debbie Fletcher, joiya@tcia.net
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