What are Aesop's Fables?

What are Aesop's Fables?

Aesop's Fables is a collection of fables written by ancient Greek slave and storyteller, Aesop, in the 5th century BCE. Aesop and his fables are known to us due to their mentioning by ancient Greek philosophers and historians, such as Herodotus. Tales credited to Aesop have been gathered across the centuries in a variety of languages, such as Greek and Latin.

An observer of animals and people, Aesop's Fables include talking animals and plants with human characteristics. Aesop's Fables have a strong moral message at the core. His stories have been taught to children to educate them in ethical and moral behaviour.

Who was Aesop?

Aesop was an Ancient Greek fabulist and storyteller, famous for writing a collection of fables known as Aesop’s Fables.

It’s difficult to pull together information about Aesop’s biography and facts about him. His life is a bit of an enigma, and there isn’t enough concrete evidence to suggest he was even a real person! Some believe his name may have just been used by another writer. Despite this mystery, there is mention of Aesop throughout Greece history, which has allowed historians to build a somewhat fragmented biography.

It's believed Aesop lived between 620 and 560 BC, but there are disputing records about where he came from.

Facts about Aesop

While we don’t have a full picture of Aesop’s life, historians have managed to discover some facts about him:

1. Aesop’s Fables may not actually be... Aesop's Fables! That’s right, while most historians accept there was most probably a man named Aesop who wrote most of the fables, some scholars argue that a lot of the fables attributed to Aesop weren’t actually written by him. Sumerian proverbs tended to follow the same structure and story of Aesop’s Fables, so much so that it may be the case he didn’t write the proverbs.
2. He was a slave who was supposedly let go by his second master because he was so intelligent and witty!
3. It's theorised that he featured talking animals in his fables because he had difficulty speaking, but could speak freely through his anthropomorphised animals.

What are fables?

Fables are stories that feature animals, plants, legendary creatures, inanimate objects or forces of nature that are anthropomorphised (given human qualities). Fables always have an underlying moral lesson that's learned through reading the story. The importance of fables is not the story itself, but the moral learned.

Fables are told to children all around the world. Their simple themes make them easy to understand and help teach valuable life lessons.

Here is a list of Aesop's Fables:

• The Bear and the Bees
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf
• The Boys and the Frogs
• The Cat and the Rooster
• The Cat, the Rooster, and the Young Mouse
• The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
• A Council of Mice
• The Dog and His Reflection
• The Donkey and His Master
• The Fox and the Lion
• The Fox and the Crow
• The Fox and the Mask
• The Frog and the Ox
• The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg
• The Lion and the Mouse
• The Lion's Share
• The Man and His Two Wives
• The Peacock's Complaint
• The Rooster and the Fox
• The Rooster and the Jewel
• Sour Grapes
• The Tiger and the Crane
• The Tortoise and the Hare
• Two Men and the Bear
• The Wind and the Sun
• The Wolf and the Crane
• The Wolf and the Goat

Many of Aesop’s Fables have sparked popular sayings that are used today. Some of these include:

• 'Beauty is only skin deep.'
• 'Choose the lesser of two evils.'
• 'Every man for himself.'
• 'Slow but steady wins the race.'
• 'Think before you act.'
• 'You cannot escape your fate.'

Aesop's Fables - Morals

Every single one of Aesop's Fables has a moral that we can learn something from. Here, we'll go over some of the most famous fables and their morals.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

One of the most famous of Aesop's Fables, 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf', highlights the importance of always being truthful.

There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself, he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.

"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill.

Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away.

When the villagers saw no wolf, they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!"

But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leapt to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!"

But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.

At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.

"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"

An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.

"We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"

Take a look at our collection of The Boy Who Cried Wolf story teaching resources, featuring a range of engaging tools to use when teaching your children about the importance of truthfulness and honesty.

Teaching the Cry Wolf story in class

Are you looking for more ways to integrate the Cry Wolf Story into your lessons?

• Here's the Cry Wolf Story as an e-book. With delightful illustrations and simple text, this resource is a great way to share the story with children.
• Would you prefer a paper copy? This The Boy Who Cried Wolf Story Reading Pack also features great illustrations, but is ready for you to print onto A4 paper. Perfect for guided reading groups, this resource is already differentiated - you'll find three different versions of the text inside, based on different reading abilities. Just select the right version for your group, and you're good to go!
• Want to explore the Cry Wolf story together? This PowerPoint walks through the story, one slide at a time. It's bright, colourful, and great for engaging children. You could nominate members of the class to read sections aloud. See if your class guess what's coming. Do they feel sorry for the boy at the end?
• For the truly creative members of the class, stage your own version of the Cry Wolf story using these The Boy Who Cried Wolf Stick Puppets. Simply print, cut around the characters, and fix to the tops of pencils or pens to create a whole cast. This pack contains the boy, four villagers, a sheep and, of course, the Wolf himself.
• Why not use this The Boy Who Cried Wolf Themed Paper? A lovely way to make classwork look special.

But, of course, it's important not to forget the message behind the Cry Wolf story and one of Aesop's Fables most famous morals. Truthfulness, honesty and lying can be tricky concepts for children to understand. We have a range of resources you can use to have these difficult but essential discussions.

• This Truthfulness and Honesty PowerPoint is a great way to open up the subject. Children will have to choose statements they think are correct and statements they think are false, before considering some of the more complicated ethical decisions they may have to make when confronted with falsehood.
• This Truthfulness and Honesty Assembly Pack will help you spread the message to the whole school.
• Bring it all home with this Truth vs. Lie PowerPoint. This presentation walks children through scenarios they're bound to encounter in real life. What should they do? Discuss their answers as a class.

The Tortoise and The Hare

Another of Aesop's most famous fables, 'The Tortoise and The Hare', tells the story of a race between a tortoise and a hare. The moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the race.

There once was a speedy hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady, the tortoise, challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.

Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"

Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."

Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never, ever stopped until he came to the finish line.

The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, they woke up Hare.

Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was over the line.

After that, Hare always reminded himself, "Don't brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!"

Our collection of The Tortoise and the Hare resources are a great help when teaching your children about Aesop's Fables.

The Lion and The Mouse

'The Lion and The Mouse' tells the story of a mouse, who's showed mercy by a lion, and returns this same kindness. The moral of the story is kindness, that mercy always has a reward and that regardless of size, one is always able to demonstrate kindness and helpfulness to another.

A small mouse crept up to a sleeping lion. The mouse admired the lion's ears, his long whiskers and his great mane.

"Since he's sleeping," thought the mouse, "he'll never suspect I'm here!"

With that, the little mouse climbed up onto the lion's tail, ran across its back, slid down its leg and jumped off of its paw. The lion awoke and quickly caught the mouse between its claws.

"Please," said the mouse, "let me go and I'll come back and help you someday."

The lion laughed, "You are so small! How could you ever help me?"

The lion laughed so hard he had to hold his belly! The mouse jumped to freedom and ran until she was far, far away.

The next day, two hunters came to the jungle. They went to the lion's lair. They set a huge rope snare. When the lion came home that night, he stepped into the trap.

He roared! He wept! But he couldn't pull himself free.

The mouse heard the lion's pitiful roar and came back to help him.

The mouse eyed the trap and noticed the one thick rope that held it together. She began nibbling and nibbling until the rope broke. The lion was able to shake off the other ropes that held him tight. He stood up free again!

The lion turned to the mouse and said, "Dear friend, I was foolish to ridicule you for being small. You helped me by saving my life after all!"

Browse through this collection of The Lion and The Mouse resources and find the resources best suited to you and your children.

The Fox and The Crow

The moral of The Fox and The Crow is to not believe everything you hear -an important message for young children.

There once was a big black crow sitting high up in the trees. In his beak, he had a nice, round cheese.

Along came a fox, as clever as they come, "Mmmm," he thought. "I'd like to have a bite of that cheese. It will be easy to get some...."

"Oh Crow," called fox, "if your voice is half as beautiful as those fine feathers I see, it would please my ears to hear you sing a little melody!"

Well, Crow had never heard anyone say such a complimentary thing. So, he opened up his beak and he began to squawk and sing.

Down fell the cheese into the waiting mouth of the fox below.

"Oh no!" squawked the crow, "you've stolen my dinner!"

"Not at all!" said the fox, licking his lips. "It was a fair enough trade! Vain crow, with your head up in the trees! You got the compliments, and I got the cheese!"

Our collection of The Fox and The Crow resources should be a great help when telling your children this story.

Aesop's Fables - Morals at a Glance

Not sure which Aesop's Fable to read with your class or your child? Here's a quick run-down of some of Aesop's most famous fables and the morals that children can learn from them.

• The Tortoise and the Hare - Never give up.
• The Ants and the Grasshopper - Work hard and play hard, but always be prepared.
• The Dog and the Shadow - Be happy with what you have and don't be greedy.
• The Crow and the Pitcher - If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.
• The Bell and the Cat - Having lots of ideas is good, but having one idea that works is better.
• The Two Crabs - Lead by example.
• The Gnat and the Bull - The world doesn't revolve around you.
• The Hart and the Hunter - Your weaknesses can also be a strength.
• The North Wind and the Sun - Kindness and persuasion are better than force.
• The Wolf and the Crane - Don't always expect a reward.
• The Lion and the Rabbit - Often, being smart is more useful than brute strength.
• The Monkey and the Crocodile - Don't underestimate yourself. Trust your instincts.
• The Frog and the Ox - Be humble and truthful, rather than boastful.

When do children learn about fables?

Children are likely to be introduced to fables in KS1 through to KS2.
They may start by exploring a range of fables to grow their understanding of the genre. They then might move onto activities such as writing a diary entry as one of the characters in a fable or writing their own fable. Both of these are activities are useful for checking their understanding of the typical convention of a fable (animals with human qualities, a conflict, a moral to be learnt etc.)

How to Write a Fable

1. Choose the moral. The moral is what makes a fable, well, a fable! So deciding what it will be from the beginning will help you plan the rest of your fable.
2. Decide on the problem. The problem is what the moral will be learnt from.
3. Decide who the characters will be. What will their traits and qualities be?
4. Determine the characters archetypes. This is where the powerful effect of anthropomorphisation comes in, as your character will have typical traits associated with it, e.g. a fox is cunning.
5. Choose the setting. Where will your story take place?
6. Decide the resolution to the problem. Remember to make sure the resolution is relevant to the rest of the story.