Aesop's Fables

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Engage Books, 2013 - Juvenile Fiction - 130 pages
In this collection of over three hundred fables, Aesop masterfully unravels the morals behind every action in human nature. Included are the favouries "The Shepherd-Boy and the Wolf," "The Tortoise and the Hare," and "The Dog and the Shadow." These time-honoured morals teach children that persuasion is better than force, slow but steady wins the race, and to look before you leap. A fable is often thought of as a story intended to help children learn wholesome values and how to behave within society at large. However, in ancient Greece, fables were used as a means of persuasion, as the moral of a fable can be delivered in an indirect manner. This helped philosophers such as Plato, Aristophanes, and Socrates argue controversial points without offending their audience.

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About the author (2013)

Though many modern scholars dispute his existence, Aesop's life was chronicled by first century Greek historians who wrote that Aesop, or Aethiop, was born into Greek slavery in 620 B.C. Freed because of his wit and wisdom, Aesop supposedly traveled throughout Greece and was employed at various times by the governments of Athens and Corinth. Some of Aesop's most recognized fables are The Tortoise and the Hare, The Fox and the Grapes, and The Ant and the Grasshopper. His simple but effective morals are widely used and illustrated for children.

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