Aesop's Fables, with eBook

Written by Aesop

Narrated by Jonathan Kent

Aesop, an ancient Greek poet who was sold into slavery in the early sixth century BC, relied on animal stories to convey his key points to his masters in court. Aesop's Fables are classic, memorable morality plays in which amusing animal characters drive home thought-provoking morals to generations of listeners and modern-day audiences. They illustrate what was fundamental to Greek culture, yet their appeal lies in logic we still understand. Translated into countless languages and familiar to people around the world, Aesop's fables never tarnish despite being told again and again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 22, 2008
• ISBN: 9781400178919

Aesop

According to legend, Aesop (620–564 BCE) spent much of his early life as a slave before earning his freedom with cleverness. No trace of his original writings survives, but Aesop’s fables were transcribed by others and passed down through the ages. In 1484 the first printed edition spurred a wave of translations around the world. Today his tales of moral instruction are some of the most cherished stories in the world.

Reviews for Aesop's Fables, with eBook

[psychedelicmicrobus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dad used to read these to us when we were children.

[John mathew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read this for the "1001" books and they're good little stories with great moral messages, but I found it hard to read them straight thru as a whole book. A...

[anietzerck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not sure if it was just the copy that I had but it seems that so many of the stories were the same or very similiar and there were also some that seemed to tell the same story but with different outcomes. I know that historians are pretty sure that other authors have added their own work to be included with Aesop's fables, and that made the repetitive stories a little easier to read. Individually though, most of the fables had a good lesson attached to it.

[briannad84 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Read this for the "1001" books and they're good little stories with great moral messages, but I found it hard to read them straight thru as a whole book. A few of the stories I even got a bit confused on because I kept mixing them up with others that were similar. I thought a few times "didn't I just read this this one?" But it was a good read and a keeper, and at least I finished it!

[trlchick25 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bill Myers is a good Christian Supernatural author. This book is good but I don't recommend it to everyone. In this book he made references to things that I could see why he'd write it in but I didn't necessarily agree with it. In my opinion it was a conservative view. So for those of you who are not conservative I don't recommend this book.

[allisonhood_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like Aesop's fables because of the simple stories that relate back to a moral. I don’t like some of the stories' because of the cruelness of some of them. These stories have been retold many times but still possess the same stories with the morals being connected.

[gildallie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quick and short are the ancient greek moralistic tales. This is a beautifully illustrated collection of a few of them. I read "The Wolf and The Crane". The story of a greedy wolf who overeats and starts choking on a bone. He then begs the animals to help him saying he'll do anything for it. A crane does, sticking her long beak down and drawing out the bone. She then asks for her reward and he states that she should be grateful for him not biting her head off when she stuck it down his throat. The moral: he who live on expectations are sure to be disappointed.

[jill5barrington · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Various fables by Aesop are presented in a collection.The book would be useful in discussing morals and fables with kids.

[goldenbeep · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book while taking a course on animal satire with a focus on the Aesopic tradition. The fables are very entertaining and make for good conversation with friends. The translator, Laura Gibbs, has posted many of the fables on her website. However, the book is organized by situations, and there is nothing more satisfying than quoting one of Aesop's fables to remedy a particular situation.

[coffeeandtea_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Who does not like Aesop's Fables? Come on.

[aricana_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Tortoise and the Hare, the Grasshopper and the Ant, and dozens more of the delightful creatures that have been entertaining and instructing people for thousands of years. The storyteller Aesop lived in Ancient Greece, far away from us in time and distance. But his clever little stories have as much meaning for us today as they did when he first told them so long ago...

[voracious_reader_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Every few years I enjoy rereading Aesop’s Fables. When I come across a different edition with wonderful, new-to-me illustrations, I just can’t help myself. The morals of the Fables are occasionally contradictory, that’s where they’re most interesting in fact. For example, some tales seem to indicate that opposites attract and can help one another; in other instances alike things are attracted to one another and those things that are different are dangerous and can cause them harm; still, one has to fight the urge, because they are so amusing, to agree with all of Aesop’s “lessons” on all points. The best thing you can get from it as a child is that the world can be a contradictory place and that the best thing to do is ask questions about the truth of any given assertion or act. Aesop, if he did exist, seems like he could probably move from being a skeptic to being paranoid pretty easily. It’s good to read the tales with a dose of good humor.

[librisissimo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The translated or retold stories are straight-forward, but the editor often chose to use English proverbs as his "Applications", some of which were not particularly applicable; it seems redundant to use an idiomatic phrase to explain a fable.

[meditationesmartini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A moral education, and Chesterton's perceptive remarks about fable as truism and fairytale as realism aside, also something of a sentimental one. It's like, if we worshipped Aesop, does anyone think the Bible would have caught on as instructive stories for children and maybe adults, as opposed to the bloodthirsty fever dreams of a Middle Eastern death cult?Plus some of them are just dumb jokes, and a surprising percentage of those are funny.

[Bel.book · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In such simple stories, one can find immense wisdom; it is a literary gem that supports the development of human common sense. (Translated from Spanish)

[Scheherezade · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Essential readings are fables, unfortunately increasingly forgotten. Who in their right mind would reject good advice? Both children and adults should always have these books on our nightstands to refresh our prudence, intelligence, and cleverness daily. (Translated from Spanish)

[Ezequiel ✔️ · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classics of the classics of fables, timeless morals, and stories that come back to our memory on every page. (Translated from Spanish)

[Lector de Colectivo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As the father of the most well-known fables, Aesop has the virtue of having compiled them first, echoing Greek oral traditions and the use of storytelling to morally educate children. He represents, if you will, a window into Greek education, which, in many ways, has been ours. (Translated from Spanish)

[Carolmm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aesop's fables inspired other fabulists like La Fontaine and Samaniego. The fables are tales with morals that are applicable in life. From the story of the hare and the tortoise to that of the lion who lost his teeth and claws to marry a human. Essential. (Translated from Spanish)

[watanabe21 ? · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The composition of their stories, which blends unique characters (talking animals, with humanoid forms and behaviors) with identities and temperaments typical of any human being, is a treat for learning from the youngest in the family, sharing in each of these tales a moral lesson, which are often simple yet very valuable, so much so that they promote emotional-cognitive development, a necessary recipe for growing as a person. (Translated from Spanish)

[Acua · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great life lessons that we can still apply and reflect on today. (Translated from Spanish)

[Luisdaluc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It has greater moral and ethical value than any self-help book, and it is also a very entertaining read. (Translated from Spanish)

[Edd62 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aesop, the collector of these brief teachings through anthropomorphized animals, repeated to the point of weariness, there are currently around 45 editions of them, most illustrated, all serving as introductions to morality, each with a non-accidental lesson, the vast majority recognized by oral tradition even in simple school chats, on the street, or within families. None is superior, none is inferior; all are what they are, with eternal relevance. For anyone who wants to read them, they are there, and they will realize that they know most of them, not all from having read them, after all, basic morals... what we so desperately need.
“The braggart is unable to recognize his mistakes, he feigns even his imminent end.”
“The virtues of the spirit should be more appreciated than those of the body.”
To infinity and beyond..... (Translated from Spanish)

[ISMAELSS · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found it to be a good book. I can't say that I like all the fables in this book, however, I believe that these brief fables have a moral that continues to surprise the reader. (Translated from Spanish)

[Nines65 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Who hasn't heard, in their childhood, some of these fables before going to sleep? These short stories, followed by a moral, are part of the collective imagination and have endured over time to this day. (Translated from Spanish)