Aesop’s Fables

1. Aesop’s Fables Information and Selected Fables

2. Definition • Fable: a short moral story (often with animal characters) • Moral: the significance of a story or event. wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

3. Who was Aesop? • Aesop was a Greek folk hero who is supposed to have lived in the 6th century BC. He gained a great reputation as a teller of animal fables.

4. Who was Aesop (Continued) • Through these many fables, Aesop showed the wise and foolish behaviour of people, and taught a lesson in the form of a moral.

5. Who was Aesop (Continued) • Not much is known about the life of Aesop. It is believed Aesop was a slave. It is said that his wisdom so delighted one of his masters that he was given his freedom. http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/fab_fables/aesop.htm

6. Selected Fables • The Bundle of Sticks • The Hare and the Tortoise • The Wind and the Sun • The Crow and the Pitcher • The Shepherd’s Boy • The Ant and the Grasshopper • The Lion and the Mouse • The Dog and the Shadow

7. Your Task • Answer the questions for each of Aesop’s Fables. Save them into a separate word document and email them to me. Marks will be deducted for not following the format. • Make sure you download the file AESOP.DOC,it has the stories and questions.

8. Format • Make a new word document • Write the title of each fable before you answer the questions • Questions must be answered in full sentences • Reread your answers

9. Your Assignment (Wednesday) • Choose a different moral that interests you (you may check on the internet if you’re having trouble). • Build a fable around that moral using animal characters. • Remember, fables are to the point and try to teach a moral by not being totally obvious (make your reader think)