Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables, Part A

I love that after every story, there is one quote that sums up the moral/theme of the story. The quotes apply to everyday life as well, which is why writing up a story about one of these stories could go many different ways!

Lions

I like that all of the lion stories portrayed the animal in different lights. It is easy to judge an animal or a group of people based on the stereotypes we see daily, but in reality, everybody is different. This is seen when each lion story depicts the animal in a different way; one shows him as cunning and frightening, yet others depiact him as weak or a friendly pet. If I did a story about this, I would try to pick an animal that is misunderstood. I would write two mini stories of the animal, each with a different personality than what everyone knows it by. For example, if everyone thinks snakes are venomous and dangerous, I would write a plot story in which the snake actually helps others get rid of poison, or another one where the snake gives little kids rides around a town. 

Foxes

In one of the stories, The Fox and the Lion, the moral of the story at the end is "familiarity destroys fear." If I were to rewrite this one, I would write about a common fear people have and how to overcome it through familiarizing yourself with it. For example, there have been many experiments done in which a person who is afraid of spiders is put in the same room as a spider in a box. Then, they are asked to move closer to the box with the spider. Slowly, they will ask the person to lift the lid of the box, to where the spider is exposed. Eventually, they will get to the point where the spider is on the person's arm. This example embodies the theme/moral that was at the end of the story. Familiarity with the spider soon destroyed the fear of the spider, once seen how harmless it is. 

Wolves

If I were to rewrite one of these stories, I might only retell the ending. I would change the ending to where the wolf was seen in a positive light. This kind of goes off of what I was saying in the Lions paragraph, about misunderstood animals. Maybe I could combine all my ideas!

Source: I really liked the quote in this picture from the fables about lions; "The story depends on the teller."

Bibliography: Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs.