Favourite Aesop Fable.

[The Atheist]

I'll see if we can get any players - list your favourite Aesop fable & why.

For me, the cowardly bat, who changes sides to the one who's winning is my favourite.

The attitude was exemplified by several countries in WWII, none of which came out of it well and it never does work, a turncoat will always be remembered as a turncoat.

Stay true to yourself and your friends.

Seems good advice to me!

Anyone else?

[caesar]

I'm a great admirer of Aesop's Fables too. They are so simple yet effective in teaching children about worldly wisdom. It has been a long time since I read them. But two fables come to my mind, presently, because I often relate the message in these two fables with my day to day experience and observation. First is, "The fox and the grapes" and the other is about an old man and his son who, while returning home with a donkey which they have recently bought, are ridiculed by the passers-by. Heeding to the ridicule they try to do what the others say is right and end up losing the donkey by dropping it in the river as they try to carry it on their shoulders while passing over a bridge.

I'm also reminded of "The Tortoise and the Hare". When I was about 8 years old, my math teacher in class-2 had nick-named me as "the lazy tortoise", because I was always slow in doing my work, but I was definitely not lazy. And, like the tortoise, I was very persevering and I outdid everyone in the exam. Even in athletics, at the age of 12, I went on to become the best athlete in my school in long distance running beating all my seniors in both the 800 mts and the 5 kms event. Today, as a lawyer, I’m still slow in doing my job, because of my obsessive compulsiveness to be meticulously accurate and perfect.

[The Atheist]

Brilliant!

Great story.

[Phangirl7]

My favorite would have to be "The Tortise and the Hare", because I find that I do a better job if I take my time at things instead of rushing through them.
P.G.7.

[drexy]

You mean those favorite stories of my childhood. The people getting ridiculed from the passers-by with their donkey and the tortoise and the hare are both from Aesop's fable? I must read it then

[The Atheist]

You mean those favorite stories of my childhood. The people getting ridiculed from the passers-by with their donkey and the tortoise and the hare are both from Aesop's fable? I must read it then

I'm sure you'll recognise others as well.

[Delta40]

Yeah, I've taken nine years to get my degree. I really am a tortoise. What a long haul. I've watched so many young folk pass me by on their way to exciting careers (or otherwise...) while I struggled with sharing out the burdens of responsibilities on my shoulders. The finish line is now in sight. Boy is my shell heavy. I am gonna PARTAY when I crawl across....

[a_little_wisp]

The Crow and the Pitcher, by far. I think, partly because it was the fable that stuck the most when I was little (That, and the Fox and the Grapes). I thought the Crow was so clever, and I remember that anticipation:

"He took a pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher.
He took another pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher."

And I was thinking, "GO CROW. GO." ... I was a very easily amused and a very emotional child.

The Crow and the Pitcher has fit my life since I came into college and didn't do as well as I wanted starting off, so the building back up is that much harder.

You know, it was foolish not to find the water in the jug when it was full, and now, dying of thirst, I had to regain what I lost, pebble by pebble.

I think I'll get there and be able to drink from it, but the work will be harder, but then...

Maybe the water will taste that much sweeter.

[The Atheist]

The finish line is now in sight. Boy is my shell heavy. I am gonna PARTAY when I crawl across....

I think I'll get there and be able to drink from it, but the work will be harder, but then...

Maybe the water will taste that much sweeter.

Brilliant, the pair of you!

Better get those party unvites out!

[SuzEtruscan]

Hey A!
I really like "The Dog and The Bone"
When I first learned psych "101" was to be the study of Primates I was bummed as I had hoped to hop right into the brain of mine and that of my fellow man....
No advanced classes could ever teach a human more about their racial natures as the study of our furry sibs-
Primates to rats....
Just some dogs never catch onto the condition.
AesopAesopAesopAesop
Yeah lets bring him back
S:-) have fun Suzi

[The Atheist]

Excellent!

[Stargazer86]

I've always liked The Ant and the Grasshopper, The Fisherman and the Little Fish, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and the Frog and the Scorpion.
All very wise lessons

[TheFifthElement]

For me it will always be the Sun and the North Wind.

Persuasion is more effective than force.

Brilliant.

[Sapphire]

It is difficult to choose a favourite, but one I really like is this:

Jugs In The Water

Two jugs, one of clay and one of shiny brass, floated in the raging river, which was swollen from the rain.

As the jugs swirled between the rocks jutting up out of the water, the brass jug said, "Stay close to me, friend. I'll help you make your way! I'm hard and made of brass. I'm much stronger than clay."

"Dear friend," said the clay jug, "Until we are in calm waters and we find a peaceful place, be thoughtful. Keep your distance! What I really need is space! You can protect YOURSELF from breaking on the rocks. That is true. But, how can you protect ME from bumping into YOU?"

I guess this is not the original version. I think that one is closer to the one in this book: fable IV - The two Vessels. The moral is the same though: If you're weaker than an other person, it is not always a smart idea to let the other "protect" you and to stay near to them... Sometimes it is better to find your own way

[The Atheist]

Woohoo! Action in the Aesop thread!

There aren't many sitations the old bloke didn't figure out:

...The Boy Who Cried Wolf....

They are indeed all very good lessons, but I think that one's particularly topical: SARS, H1N1, Y2K - a lot of wolf-crying goes on nowadays.

...Persuasion is more effective than force.

Brilliant.

Yep!

It is difficult to choose a favourite, but one I really like is this:

Jugs In The Water

Sometimes it is better to find your own way [/color]

I'd even go as far as "most of the time".

Cheers!