Wednesday, November 21, 2007

THE ASS, THE FOX, AND THE LION

Ah Ha,.... I got your attention with the Ass part huh? We all know one, admire one or at least own one! But do you remember this one?


THE ASS, THE FOX, AND THE LION

An Ass and a Fox went into partnership and sallied out to forage for food together. They hadn't gone far before they saw a Lion coming their way, at which they were both dreadfully frightened. But the Fox thought he saw a way of saving his own skin, and went boldly up to the Lion and whispered in his ear, "I'll manage that you shall get hold of the Ass without the trouble of stalking him, if you'll promise to let me go free." The Lion agreed to this, and the Fox then rejoined his companion and contrived before long to lead him by a hidden pit, which some hunter had dug as a trap for wild animals, and into which he fell. When the Lion saw that the Ass was safely caught and couldn't get away, it was to the Fox that he first turned his attention, and he soon finished him off, and then at his leisure proceeded to feast upon the Ass.



Betray a friend, and you'll often find you have ruined yourself.


As you may know, this is one of many of Aesop's fables; Aesop's Fables or Aesopica refers to a collection of fables credited to Aesop (620560 BC), a slave and story-teller who lived in Ancient Greece. These stories generally involved animals and are used to articulate a story with a moral. They are particularly useful in educating children.

Another very popular and widely known fable involves a fox and the grapes:

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

A hungry Fox saw some fine bunches of Grapes hanging from a vine that was trained along a high trellis, and did his best to reach them by jumping as high as he could into the air. But it was all in vain, for they were just out of reach: so he gave up trying, and walked away with an air of dignity and unconcern, remarking, "I thought those Grapes were ripe, but I see now they are quite sour."


This of course is where the term sour grapes comes from.

A Free Aesop's Fables download


Click here and follow this link to get a free copy of Aesop's Fables
Aesop, as depicted in the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel. Here he is shown wearing 15th century German clothing

2 comments:

Leena Helttula said...

Thank you for the link!
I love Aesop's Fables :)

intrepidideas said...

You're welcome Leena. I've downloaded my free copy and I've been reading them and enjoying them.

Thanks for the visit. Please come back anytime.

Intrepid