Aesop's Fables: The Lion and the Mouse & The Wolf and the Shepherd
1.
2.
3.
4. Aesop
Is a Greek Fabulist
Is accredited with the introducing the fable to
literature.
Told more than 650 fables
Country of origin:
The name Aesop is derived from the Greek word
Aethiop which means Ethiopia.
A person who composes fables
5. Aesop
Is said to have lived around the 6th century
and was a slave (according to Greek Historian
Herodotus) ; a very hardworking and pious
slave; yet his cleverness, which was beyond
compare, made him ill-suited to have as a
servant.
It was believed that his first owner, Xanthus,
eventually freed Aesop
In Aesop's biography, Planudes describes
Aesop an ugly, deformed dwarf
6. What are Fables?
a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral
lesson.
Animal characters speak and act like humans
Ex.
The Two Goats
The Fox & the Grapes
The Wolf & the Crane
The Lion & the Mouse
The Gnat & the Bull
The Plane Tree
The Owl & the
Grasshopper
The Oak & the Reeds
The Crow & the Pitcher
7. What is a Moral Lesson?
Teaches or exhibits goodness or correctness of character and behavior
Serving to teach, or in accordance with the principles of right and wrong
Ex.
o There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth. - From
"The Shepherd’s Boy and the Wolf“
o Things are not always what they seem. - From "Bee-Keeper and the Bees“
o Necessity is the mother of invention. - From "The Crow and the Pitcher“
o Slow and steady wins the race. – From “The Hare and the Tortoise”
8. Aesop’s Fable: The Lion and the Mouse
A Lion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse
running over his face. Rising up in angry, he caught him and was about to
kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying: “If
you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay
your kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go. It happened shortly
after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who
bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing
the roar, came up and gnawed the ropes with his teeth,
and, setting him free, exclaimed: “You ridiculed the idea of my ever being
able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your
favor; but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer
benefits on a Lion.”
10. Aesop’s Fable: The Wolf and the Shepherd
A Wolf followed a flock of sheep for a long time,
and did not attempt to injure one of them. The
Shepherd at first stood on his guard against him, as against an
enemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements. But
when the Wolf, day after day, kept in the company of the sheep, and
did not make the slightest effort to seize them, the
Shepherd began to look upon him as a guardian of his
flock rather than as a plotter of evil against it; and when occasion called
him one day into the city, he left the sheep entirely in his
charge. The Wolf, now that he had the opportunity, fell upon the
sheep, and destroyed the greater part of the flock. The
Shepherd on his return, finding the flock destroyed, exclaimed: “ I have
been rightly served: why did I trust my sheep to a Wolf?
