Aesop for Children (Winter)
The Wolf and the Kid
The moral of this story was "Do not let anything turn you from your purpose." Even though in this story it was specifically talking about the wolf and his purpose of killing the kid so he had something to eat, I think this is applicable to life in general...for humans that is! As a college student, we are often required to wear many "hats". For me personally, I wear the student hat, the employee hat, the organization leader hat; and then of course the friend, daughter, etc. hat. With all these different roles we are expected to play, it is easy to get distracted from our main goal(s). For me, right now, my main goal is to finish out my last semester of undergrad with good grades, and prepare myself for graduate school. The point of all of this is to say that I liked that such a simple story could be so helpful at reminding me of something that is important in my life.
The Boy and the Filberts
When I think of Aesop's fables, I typically think of the main characters as animals. However I liked that the focus of this story was a child. Because much like animals, children have an innocence about them that makes their actions more believable. It reminds me of watching shows like America's Funniest Home Videos. In some videos, you can tell that the people in the video were trying too hard to make something funny happen, and in my opinion, that isn't funny at all. But in other videos, particularly those involving animals or young children, you can tell that it was not staged at all, making it that much more funny.
The Ass and His Driver
This story reminded me of myself in some ways. I will be the first person to tell you that I am stubborn and hardheaded. However, I like to think that I am not as foolish as the ass in this story. I do make a concerted effort to follow the advice of my friends, even though some of them may not be wiser than me, ha!
The Travelers and the Purse
"We cannot expect anyone to share our misfortunes unless we are willing to share our good fortune also." I love this moral! I am beginning to feel like I am going to be obsessed with Aesop's fables because they offer such simple, but very practical advice. Probably one of my favorite thing about Aesop's fables is that sometimes I can predict, or at least get pretty close, the moral of the story. This was one of those stories. I would brag on myself, but I know from reading through various fables that vanity leads to misfortune...
The Boys and the Frogs
This is a story that almost anyone could benefit from reading. Given that we are now living in the "me generation", I think everyone could use a reminder that there are other people in the world, and that their actions can have lasting effects on those people.
The Two Goats
As I mentioned earlier, I am a very stubborn person. However, I also have friends who are very stubborn. So I like that stubbornness leading to misfortune is a common theme in Aesop's fables. After reading several stories with this theme, I feel better equipped to give advice to my stubborn friends!
The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion
This story held the common stereotypes for the Ass and the Fox, foolish and trickster, respectively. However, I have started noticing that the Lion has a few options for his stereotype; he could be wise, noble, violent, etc. In this story, the Lion is noble and protects the foolish Ass who is betrayed by the deceitful Fox. It makes me feel good and reminds me that there are powerful people in the world who can do the right thing!
The Mice and the Weasels
Although the moral of this story is "Greatness has its penalties," I think it can easily align with the "vanity leads to destruction" theme that can be seen throughout Aesop's fables. Despite the fact that this moral is rather accurate, I do not like the connotative it gives off. This story almost makes me feel guilty, or at least hesitant, about chasing my dreams and achieving greatness.
The Wolf and the Ass
I really enjoyed the twist in character traits in this story. Typically the Ass is very foolish and the Wolf is wise, or at least a trickster. In this story however, the roles were essentially reversed. As someone who tends to root for the underdog, I enjoyed this twist!
The Dogs and the Hides
"Do not try to do impossible things." The moral of this story serves me very well for a couple of reasons: (1) I tend to take on a lot of tasks because I feel like if I want it done right, I have to do it myself, and (2) I do not always think before I act.
The Fox and the Leopard
Although the moral of this story was "A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind," I found that it could also be interpreted as "you can't judge a book by it's cover." Despite the fact that these two morals have different meanings, I think they both fit the story very well.
The Farmer and His Sons
Something very similar to what happened to the sons in this story happened to me one time. I was visiting some family who owned a farm. All of us kids were told that there was treasure buried outside one of the garage buildings. Naturally we began digging in search of the treasure. After we had dug a decent-sized ditch, we discovered that we had been tricked into doing the groundwork for laying pipe outside the garage.
The Astrologer
This story, like many of the others, contains the theme of "foolishness leads to misfortune." However, unlike other stories, it is a man who could be regarded as very smart for being able to read the stars who is foolish. He is foolish, like many people today, for worrying too much about the future and, consequently, missing out on the present.
Mercury and the Woodman
Such a great story of honesty! Growing up, I was always taught that "Honesty is the best policy." However, as a child, and even as an adult, it is hard to believe that sometimes. When I was younger, I feared getting in trouble for telling the truth about who spilled the nail polish on the carpet. But as an adult, I often fear hurting people's feelings for telling them how I honestly feel sometimes.
The Wolf and the Shepherd
This story goes to show that hypocrites are nothing new to society. However, I like to think that in Aesop's day the biggest hypocrites only did things like the Shepherd and his family - eat the lamb after hating the Wolf for doing the same. The world would probably be a less hateful place if that was the biggest issue in today's culture...
The Mischievous Dog
The Dog in this story is very similar to some people who I know - loves attention, no matter if it's good or bad! Perhaps I should invest in a wooden clog to tie around their necks...
The Fox and the Monkey
I have always been a firm believer in leading by example. Although it does not always work to my benefit, this is still the leadership style I like best. This story just goes to show that even though it may not happen right away, true leaders will be rewarded for their actions/false leaders will suffer consequences.
The Cat and the Old Rat
I have always been a fan of the phrase, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Even though I believe in and am fond of that lesson, it has not always been simple for me to follow that advice when making decisions in life. Hopefully I won't have to lose a portion of a limb to finally become as wise as Old Rat!
The Swallow and the Crow
As terrible as it is, I am rather certain that everyone has had a "fair weather friend" at some point in their life. I know I personally have had a few. When I was younger, I did not realize that quality really is better than quantity. So it took me a while to weed out the shallow friends, but now I am thankfully past those days!
The Fighting Cocks and the Eagle
This story goes along with the common theme among Aesop's fables: pride, vanity, and boasting will often lead to one's demise. Additionally, it also touches on the subject of humility. I consider myself to be a humble person, and this story demonstrates how humility, rather than pride, will take you further in life.
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