Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs), Part A
If I choose to do my story over this part of this week's readings, I will probably choose to do it over some of the lion fables as these are my favorites.
The Lion's Share in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
In this fable, the lion works with a fox and jackal to kill a stag. When they are all dividing up the meat, the lion claims all parts for himself for various reasons, one of which is that the others will not dare to challenge him over it. The jackal and fox are forced to let him have it, but note that the lion had no problem sharing the labor but did not want to share the rewards of the labor. (If I choose to do this story, I could place the story in modern times and have it involve various world leaders who fight a war as allies but after the war is won, one of them-the leader from the strongest nation-takes all of the territory and plunder and refuses to let the other nations reap any of the rewards of war.)
The Lion and the Statue in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
In this fable, a man discusses with a lion which of them is stronger. The man then takes the lion to a statue that shows a man slaying a lion and claims that this proves his point. The lion then remarks that the statue was made by a man and would therefore tell a very different story if it had been made by a lion. (If I were to retell this story, I could connect it with the above idea I have for retelling the first fable. I could have the story take place in modern times and involve a scholar from one nation that recently defeated another nation in war. This scholar could play the part of man while a scholar from the defeated nation could play the part of the lion. The scholar from the victorious nation uses a book written by a fellow countryman that outlines the virtues and superiority of their nation while the other scholar from the defeated nation notes that if one of his countrymen had written the piece, it would look quite different.)
The Four Oxen and the Lion in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
In this fable, a group of four oxen position themselves so as to protect each other from a lion. But the oxen start fight amongst themselves and the lion is able to infiltrate and kill all four of them. (Continuing with the other two ideas for retelling these fables, I could retell this story with four nations fighting as allies in modern times. In the beginning, they do a good job of protecting each other's borders and interests against their shared enemy, but over time, due to political and cultural differences, the four nations' alliance starts to break down and their enemy is able to defeat them all and win the war.)
The Lion's Share in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
In this fable, the lion works with a fox and jackal to kill a stag. When they are all dividing up the meat, the lion claims all parts for himself for various reasons, one of which is that the others will not dare to challenge him over it. The jackal and fox are forced to let him have it, but note that the lion had no problem sharing the labor but did not want to share the rewards of the labor. (If I choose to do this story, I could place the story in modern times and have it involve various world leaders who fight a war as allies but after the war is won, one of them-the leader from the strongest nation-takes all of the territory and plunder and refuses to let the other nations reap any of the rewards of war.)
The Lion and the Statue in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
In this fable, a man discusses with a lion which of them is stronger. The man then takes the lion to a statue that shows a man slaying a lion and claims that this proves his point. The lion then remarks that the statue was made by a man and would therefore tell a very different story if it had been made by a lion. (If I were to retell this story, I could connect it with the above idea I have for retelling the first fable. I could have the story take place in modern times and involve a scholar from one nation that recently defeated another nation in war. This scholar could play the part of man while a scholar from the defeated nation could play the part of the lion. The scholar from the victorious nation uses a book written by a fellow countryman that outlines the virtues and superiority of their nation while the other scholar from the defeated nation notes that if one of his countrymen had written the piece, it would look quite different.)
The Four Oxen and the Lion in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
In this fable, a group of four oxen position themselves so as to protect each other from a lion. But the oxen start fight amongst themselves and the lion is able to infiltrate and kill all four of them. (Continuing with the other two ideas for retelling these fables, I could retell this story with four nations fighting as allies in modern times. In the beginning, they do a good job of protecting each other's borders and interests against their shared enemy, but over time, due to political and cultural differences, the four nations' alliance starts to break down and their enemy is able to defeat them all and win the war.)
Photo by Martin Pettitt. Source: Flickr
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