Aesop’s Fables
Historians doubt whether a Greek storyteller named Aesop ever lived, however, there’s a number of fables attributed to him. Scholars believe that he was a figure invented by ancient storytellers for the purpose of telling fables, and if real, he’s presumed to be born around 600 B.C. Aesop Fables use animals to tell simple morals, such as the value of hard work or the danger in believing flattery. Although children today read these in simple storybook collections, the fables of Aesop concern the moralistic nature of man and pack some powerful lessons in a few sentences.
The biography of Aesop comes from mentions by other historical figures, and with these mentions, scholars are able to piece together a portrait of the fabulist. According to Aristotle, Aesop was a slave from Samos, and he died in Delphi. Further complicating the history of Aesop and his Fables is that no writing from his hand has been found, and he’s only referenced by other authors, who speak of reading him. The Aesop Romance, a fictional biography of the storyteller, tells the story of Aesop as a slave in Samos who gains freedom from his master, then becoming a riddle solver for a king, before finally being forced to jump to his death after telling insulting fables in Delphi. It’s believed that Aesop was invented by a number of writers so his name could be synonymous with fable.
Fairy tales by Aesop’s Fables
- The Ass and the Lapdog
- The Ass and the Charger
- Androcles
- The Astronomer
- The Ant and the Grasshopper
- The Ass and His Shadow
- The Ass in the Lion's Skin
- Avaricious and Envious
- The Ass and the Old Peasant
- The Ass and his Driver
- The Ass's Brains
- The Butcher and His Customers
- The Bat and the Weasels
- The Bald Man and the Fly
- The Bird Catcher, the Partridge and the Rooster
- The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts
- The Belly and the Members
- The Bee and Jupiter
- The Boasting Traveler
- The Boy and the Nettles
- The Boy and the Filberts
- The Bee-Keeper
- The Bat, the Bramble and the Seagull
- The Blacksmith and His Dog
- The Bear and the Fox
- The Bear and the Travelers
- The Boy Bathing
- The Blackamoor
- Belling the Cat
- The Boy and the Filberts
- The Boys and the Frogs
- The Bundle of Sticks
- The Crow and the Raven
- The Cat and the Mice
- The Cat and the Birds
- The Cock and the Pearl
- The Cat and the Cock
- The Cock and the Jewel
- The Charcoal-Burner And The Fuller
- The Charger and the Miller
- The Cat and Venus
- The Cock and the Fox
- The Crow and the Pitcher
- The Clown and the Countrymen
- The Crow and Mercury
- The Rooster and the Pearl
- The Cat-Maiden
- The Dog and the Sow
- The Dog and the Shadow
- The Dog and the Wolf
- The Dog, the Cock and the Fox
- The Dog and the Cook
- The Dog in the Manger
- The Dog and the Oyster
- The Dog and the Hides
- The Dolphin, the Whales and the Sprat
- The Dog Chasing a Wolf
- The Eagle, the Cat and the Wild Sow
- The Eagle and the Jackdaw
- The Eagle and His Captor
- The Eagle and the Arrow
- The Fox and the Bramble
- The Foxes and the River
- The Fox and the Hedgehog
- The Fox Who Served a Lion
- The Fox and the Leopard
- The Farmer and His Dogs
- The Fox and the Crow
- The Frogs Desiring a King
- The Fisherman Piping
- The Farmer and the Stork
- The Farmer and the Snake
- The Farmer and the Cranes
- The Fox and the Stork
- The Fox and the Goat
- The Fox and the Mask
- The Frog and the Ox
- The Flies and the Honey-Pot
- The Frogs’ Complaint Against the Sun
- The Fox and the Grapes
- The Fox and the Monkey
- The Fox and the Lion
- The Fox and the Cat
- The Farmer and His Sons
- The Farmer and Fortune
- The Fisher
- A Father and His Two Daughters
- The Four Oxen and the Lion
- The Fisher and the Little Fish
- The Fly and the Moth
- The Fawn and His Mother
- The Fir-tree and the Bramble
- The Flea and the Man
- The Fox, the Cock and the Dog
- The Fox and the Mosquitos
- The Fox Without a Tail
- The Fox and the Snake
- The Goat and the Vine
- The Goat and the Goatherd
- The Goods and the Ills
- The Gardener and His Dog
- The Goose with the Golden Eggs
- The Gnat and the Bull
- The Goatherd and the Wild Goats
- Grief and Its Due
- The Horse and the Stag
- Hercules and Minerva
- Hercules and Plutus
- The Horse and Groom
- The Horse and His Rider
- The Hound and the Hare
- The Herdsman and the Lost Bull
- The Hares and the Frogs
- The Hart and the Hunter
- The Heifer and the Ox
- The Hart in the Ox-Stall
- The Horse, Hunter, and Stag
- Hercules and the Wagoneer
- The Hunter and the Horseman
- The Hare and the Tortoise
- The Hawk, the Kite and the Pigeons
- The Hare with Many Friends
- The Hunter and the Woodman
- The Horse and the Ass
- The Jay and the Peacock
- The Jackdaw and the Pigeons
- Jupiter and the Tortoise
- Jupiter and the Monkey
- The Lion, the Wolf and the Fox
- The Lion's Share
- The Lion and the Mouse
- The Lion, the Mouse and the Fox
- The Lion and the Statue
- The Lion, Jupiter and the Elephant
- The Lion and the Boar
- The Lamp
- The Lion, the Bear and the Fox
- The Lioness and the Vixen
- The Labourer and the Nightingale
- The Lark and the Farmer
- The Lion and the Three Bulls
- The Lion in Love
- The Lion, the Fox and the Beasts
- The Lion, the Fox and the Stag
- The Miser
- The Mischievous Dog
- The Man and the Serpent
- The Mountains in Labor
- The Mole and His Mother
- The Man and the Wood
- The Monkey and the Dolphin
- The Man Bitten by a Dog
- Mercury and the Woodman
- The Mistress and the Servants
- The Monkey as King
- The Man and the Wooden God (Aesop)
- The Man with Two Wives
- The Mouse, the Frog and the Hawk
- The Man and the Lion
- Mercury and the Sculptor
- The Man and the Satyr
- Mercury and the Tradesman
- The Mice and the Weasels
- The Man and the Image
- The Man, the Boy and the Donkey
- The Miser and His Gold
- The Moon and Her Mother
- The Milkmaid and Her Pail
- The Man Who Lost His Spade
- The Old Woman and the Doctor
- The Old Hound
- The Old Woman and the Wine Jar
- The Owl and the Birds
- The Old Lion
- The Boy Who Stole Apples
- The Oxen and the Axle-Trees
- The Olive-Tree and the Fig-Tree
- The Ox and the Frog
- The Oxen and the Butchers
- The Oak and the Reeds
- The Oaks and Jupiter
- The One-Eyed Doe
- The Old Man and Death
- The Peacock and the Crane
- The Prophet
- The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble
- The Piglet, the Sheep, and the Goat
- The Peacock and Juno
- The Peasant and the Apple-Tree
- The Pig and the Sheep
- The Pomegranate, the Apple-Tree and the Bramble
- Prometheus and the Making of Man
- The Panther and the Shepherds
- The Partridge and the Fowler
- The Rich Man and the Tanner
- The Rose and the Amaranth
- The Raven and the Swan
- The Rivers and the Sea
- The Rogue and the Oracle
- The Rat and the Elephant
- The Runaway Slave
- The Soldier and His Horse
- The Sick Lion
- The Sheep, the Wolf and the Stag
- The Swallow and the Other Birds
- The Sick Stag
- The Salt Merchant and His Ass
- The Serpent and the File
- The Swallow, the Serpent, and the Court of Justice
- The Stag in the Ox-Stall
- The Slave and the Lion
- The She-Goats and Their Beards
- The Shepherd's Boy
- The Swollen Fox
- The Ship-Wrecked Man and the Sea
- The Spendthrift and the Swallow
- The Stag at the Pool
- The Swallow and the Crow
- The Serpent and the Eagle
- The Three Tradesmen
- The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
- The Thrush and the Fowler
- The Tunny-Fish and the Dolphin
- The Thirsty Pigeon
- The Two Bags
- The Tree and the Reed
- The Thieves and the Cock
- The Tortoise and the Birds
- The Two Crabs
- The Two Fellows and the Bear
- The Two Pots
- The Traveler and His Dog
- The Travelers and the Plane Tree
- The Traveler and Fortune
- The Tortoise and the Eagle
- The Tortoise and the Ducks
- The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner
- The Witch
- The Wolf and the Lamb
- The Wolf, the Mother and Her Child
- The Wolf and the Crane
- The Wolf and the Lion
- The Wolf and the Kid
- The Woodsman and the Serpent
- The Wolf and the Sheep
- The Wolves and the Sheep
- The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
- The Walnut-Tree
- The Wolf and the Horse
- The Wasp and the Snake
- The Wild Boar and the Fox
- The Woman and Her Hen
- The Wind and the Sun
- The Woman and the Farmer
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