It is more than likely that throughout our lives we have heard or been told a fable on some occasion.
These types of stories are story-like narratives generally starring animals, gods or inanimate objects but that in the narrative they have characteristics typical of human beings, and that are characterized by containing a final teaching or moral.
One of the best-known authors of this type of narrative is Aesop, a former Greek slave from Ancient Greece to whom a large part of the most popular and common fables in our culture are attributed, which have sometimes been reinterpreted or versioned by other great fabulists. Aesop has hundreds of stories to his credit, of which throughout this article we will see several: a selection of Aesop’s fables, with explanation
Below we will review several of Aesop’s fables, as well as the morals and lessons that are drawn from them. Among them we are going to see both some of the most common and others that are less known, but equally relevant.
Although Aesop also has several fables focused on gods, we will only see one as an example and Most of them are going to star animals
1. The hare and the tortoise
“One day a proud and fast hare saw a tortoise walking along the road and approached him. The hare began to make fun of the other animal’s slowness and the length of its legs. However, the tortoise replied that she was sure that despite the hare’s great speed she was capable of beating him in a race.
The hare, sure of his victory and considering the challenge impossible to lose, accepted. They both asked the fox to point out the goal, to which she accepted, as well as the crow to act as judge.
When the day of the competition arrived, when the race began, the hare and the tortoise left at the same time. The turtle moved forward without stopping, but slowly.
The hare was very fast, and seeing that he had a great advantage over the tortoise, he decided to stop and rest from time to time. But on one occasion the hare fell asleep. The turtle, little by little, continued to advance.
When the hare woke up, he found that the tortoise was about to cross the finish line. Although he started running it was too late and finally the turtle won the race.”
this fable It teaches us that hard work, perseverance, perseverance and effort will take us to our goals , even if it is little by little, if we do not give up. It also allows us to see how arrogance, lack of consistency and excess self-confidence can lead us to miss opportunities and not achieve our goals.
“It was a hot summer. A cicada, protected from the sun by the shade of a tree and enjoying the moment without any intention of getting to work, sang and sang continuously. While she saw how her neighbor, a hard-working ant, was working hard to bring food to her home.
The grasshopper offered to sing and rest, to which the ant told her that she should stop being idle and start collecting food. The grasshopper ignored her advice.
Months later, a cold winter arrived, which surprised the cicada with nothing to eat and nowhere to go. Desperate, she went to her neighbor the ant asking for help. However, the ant replied by asking what she had done during the summer. The cicada told her to sing, to which the ant replied that she should dance now since when she could she did nothing to avoid that situation, and she closed the door leaving the cicada out.”
Although it would later be reformulated by La Fontaine, this well-known fable is also considered or attributed to Aesop. The moral is clear: We must strive and work hard to survive and lead a dignified life that allows us to survive, while laziness and lack of action can cost us dearly. We must be constant, persevering and far-sighted.
3. The wolf and the lamb
“Once upon a time there was a wolf who saw a lamb on the bank of a river and wanted to eat it, offering a simple but plausible pretext. Despite being upstream, he accused him of not letting him drink by stirring the water. The lamb answered that since the wolf was upstream and the wolf was further down, it was not possible for it to be like that.
Seeing the failure, the wolf accused the lamb of having insulted its parents the previous year, to which the lamb replied that it had not yet been born a year ago. The wolf then said that although the lamb justified itself very well, he would not let it go and would not stop eating it.”
This fable teaches us that often those who want to cause us harm They are not going to stop regardless of our arguments or whether it is fair or not.
4. The dove and the ant
“Once upon a time there was an ant that, thirsty, went to a river to drink. However, once there she was swept away by the current. She was drowning when a pigeon, which was perched on a branch of a nearby tree, observed the scene and rushed to save her.
After getting her to safety, the grateful ant promised that one day he would return the favor if he could despite his tiny size.
Time passed and one day a hunter arrived in the area. Seeing the dove perched, he readied his weapon and prepared to hunt it.
However, the ant, who was nearby, saw the scene and rushed to fulfill his promise. The ant stung the hunter in the heel, who, due to the pain, dropped his weapon. The dove took the opportunity to fly away, saving his life.”
This fable is a sample of the importance of generosity and like every good action it has its reward in the end.
5. The bat and the weasels
“A bat fell to the ground and was grabbed by a weasel. Seeing himself close to death, he begged the bat for his life. He told the weasel that she could not let him go because by birth she was an enemy of birds. The bat replied that it was not a bird but a mouse, thus getting rid of it with great cunning.
Some time later he fell again into the hands of a second weasel, which he begged not to devour him. The weasel said that she hated mice, so she couldn’t let him go. The bat, however, replied that he was not a mouse but a bird, so she managed to escape again.”
This little fable by Aesop has the moral that we must be able to adapt to situations quickly and flexibly something that is undoubtedly what will allow us to thrive and survive.
6. The donkey and the fox find the lion
“The donkey and the fox, having united for their mutual protection, went out one day hunting. They didn’t go far when they found a lion. The fox, sure of the immediate danger, approached the lion and promised to capture the donkey if he gave his word not to harm her.
Then, assuring the donkey that it would not be mistreated, he took it to a deep pit, telling it to take shelter there. The lion, seeing that the donkey was already secured, immediately grabbed the fox, and then attacked the donkey as he pleased.”
This fable teaches us as a moral that we should never betray friends for fear of enemies since in the end you will also come out betrayed.
7. The one-eyed deer
“A doe that was missing an eye grazed on the seashore, turning its intact eye toward the land to observe the arrival of hunters and facing the sea on the side that lacked the eye, because it did not expect any danger from there.
But it turns out that some people were sailing through this place, and when they saw the deer, they shot it down with their darts. And the dying doe said to herself: – Poor me! “I watched over the land, which I believed was full of danger, and the sea, which I considered a refuge, has been much more fatal to me.”
This fable teaches us that we should never undervalue or overvalue things or take them for granted, but rather We must analyze all the options and its positive and negative aspects in a realistic way, without allowing ourselves to be biased by subjectivity.
8. The dog and its reflection in the river
“A dog was wading through a river carrying a piece of meat in his mouth. He saw his own reflection in the river water and believed that that reflection was actually another dog carrying a piece of meat larger than his own. And wanting to take possession of the other’s piece, he let go of his own to snatch the piece from his compadre.
But the result was that he was left without his own and without someone else’s: this one because it did not exist, it was just a reflection, and the other, the true one, because it was carried away by the current.”
This Aesop fable teaches us the importance of not covet or focus on obtaining or usurping the property or achievements of others since this can make us lose what we have achieved for ourselves.
9. The fox and the grapes
“There was a very hungry fox, and when she saw some delicious bunches of grapes hanging from a vine, she wanted to catch them with her mouth. But not being able to reach them, she walked away, saying: -Actually, I don’t even like them, they are very green… “
This little story lets us see how often when we give up on something we want we blame it on said something or on others. The moral is precisely that We should not pass the blame for not achieving what we want onto others
10. The wolf in sheep’s clothing
“One day a wolf thought to change his appearance to make it easier to hunt for food. He got into a sheepskin and then went to graze with the flock, so he misled the shepherd. When dusk arrived, he was taken along with the rest of the flock to an enclosure, remaining inside with his desired prey.
However, at night the shepherd came in looking for meat for the next day. He caught the wolf believing it to be a lamb, and sacrificed it.”
The moral that is drawn from this fable tells us that Deceiving others does not generate benefits for us but will end up causing us harm greater the greater the deception.
11. Boreas and Helios
“Bóreas and Helios disputed who was stronger, deciding that the victory would be given to the one who managed to remove the clothes of a walker in the area. Boreas blew and blew with great force to remove it. However, in the face of the strong wind, the man grabbed his clothes with increasing force, and even put on a thicker garment due to the cold.
Tired, Boreas left the turn to Helios. At first it shone moderately, so that the man stopped feeling cold and began to take off the thick garment. Little by little Helios increased the heat, until finally the man decided to take off his clothes to bathe.”
This is one of Aesop’s fables that features gods and humans, and its moral is that it is easier and more useful to convince someone of something (as Helios did by allowing the temperature to rise little by little) than trying to achieve it with force (as Boreas tried with his wind).
