The 11 best Aesop’s fables

A selection of stories invented by this famous fabulist of Ancient Greece.

It is more than likely that throughout our lives we have heard or have been told on occasion a fable.

This type of stories are narratives similar to fairy tales, usually starring animals, gods or inanimate objects, but in the narration they have but that in the narration have characteristics of the human being, and that are characterized by containing a teaching or final moral.

One of the best known authors of this type of narration is Aesop, an ancient Greek slave from Ancient Greece to whom a large part of the most popular and common fables in our culture are attributed, which sometimes have been reinterpreted or versioned by other great fabulists. Aesop has hundreds of stories to his credit, of which we will see several in this article: a selection of Aesop's fables, with explanation..

Aesop's best-known fables.

Below we will review several Aesop's fables, as well as the morals and lessons drawn from them. Among them we will look at both some of the most common and some lesser known, but equally relevant.

Although Aesop also has several fables centered on gods, we will only look at one as an example and most of them will feature animals..

1. The Hare and the Tortoise

"One day a hare, proud and swift, saw a tortoise walking along the road and approached him. The hare began to make fun of the other animal's slowness and the length of its legs. However, the tortoise replied that he was sure that despite the hare's great speed he was capable of beating him in a race.

The hare, sure of his victory and considering the challenge impossible to lose, accepted. Both asked the fox to point out the finish line, to which the fox agreed, as did the raven to act as judge.

When the day of the competition arrived, at the start of the race the hare and the tortoise set off at the same time. The tortoise advanced without stopping, but slowly.

The hare was very fast, and seeing that he had a great advantage over the tortoise, he decided to stop and rest from time to time. But on one of the occasions the hare fell asleep. The tortoise, little by little, continued to advance.

When the hare woke up, he found that the tortoise was about to cross the finish line. Although he started to run, he was too late and finally the tortoise won the race".

This fable teaches us that hard work, perseverance, perseverance and effort will lead us to our goals, even if it is little by little, if we can only reach them slowly.even if it is little by little, if we do not give up. It also allows us to see how arrogance, lack of constancy and excessive self-confidence can lead us to miss opportunities and fail to achieve our goals.

2. The cicada and the ant

"It was a hot summer. A cicada, protected from the sun by the shade of a tree and enjoying the moment without any intention of getting down to work, sang and sang continuously. As she watched her neighbor, a hard-working ant, was working hard to bring food to her home, the cicada offered to sing and rest.

The cicada offered to sing and rest, to which the ant told her that she should stop being idle and start gathering food. The ant ignored his advice.

Months later a cold winter came, which surprised the cicada with nothing to eat and nowhere to go. In desperation she turned to her neighbor the ant for help. However, the ant answered by asking what she had done during the summer. The cicada told him to sing, to which the ant replied that he should dance now, since when he could he did nothing to avoid this situation, and closed the door, leaving the cicada outside".

Although it would later be reformulated by La Fontaine, this well-known fable is also considered or attributed to Aesop. The moral is clear: we must strive and work hard to subsist and achieve a dignified life that allows us to survive. We must be constant, persevering and farsighted.

3. The wolf and the lamb

"Once upon a time there was a wolf who saw a lamb on the bank of a river and wanted to eat it, offering a simple but plausible pretext. Although he was upstream, he accused him of not letting him drink by stirring the water. The lamb replied that since the wolf was upstream and he was further downstream, it was not possible for him to do so.

Seeing the failure, the wolf accused the lamb of having insulted his parents the previous year, to which the lamb replied that a year ago he had not yet been born. The wolf then said that although the lamb justified himself very well, he would not let him go and would not stop eating him".

This fable teaches us that often those who want to cause us harm will not stop regardless of our arguments or whether or not it is just.

4. The dove and the ant

"Once upon a time there was an ant who, thirsty, went to drink at a river. Once there, however, he was swept away by the current. She was drowning when a pigeon, perched on a branch of a nearby tree, observed the scene and rushed to her rescue.

After bringing her to safety, the ant gratefully promised that one day she would return the favor if she could, despite her diminutive size.

Time passed and one day a hunter came to the area. Seeing the dove perched, he readied his weapon and prepared to hunt it.

However, the ant, who was nearby, saw the scene and rushed to fulfill his promise. The ant stung the hunter in the heel, who, in pain, dropped his weapon. The pigeon took the opportunity to fly away, saving his life".

This fable is an example of the importance of generosity and how every good deed has its reward in the end.

5. The bat and the weasels.

"A bat fell to the ground and was seized by a weasel. Seeing that he was about to die, the bat begged for his life. The weasel told him that he could not let him go because he was born an enemy of birds. The bat replied that he was not a bird but a mouse, thus freeing himself with great cunning.

Some time later he fell again into the hands of a second weasel, whom he begged not to devour him. The weasel told him that he hated mice, so he could not let him go. The bat, however, replied that he was not a mouse but a bird, so he managed to get away again".

This little fable by Aesop has as its moral that we must be able to adapt ourselves to situations quickly and flexibly, something that is undoubtedlyThis is undoubtedly what will allow us to thrive and survive.

6. The donkey and the fox meet the lion

"The donkey and the fox, having united for their mutual protection, went out one day to hunt. They did not go far when they met a lion. The fox, certain of the immediate danger, approached the lion and promised to capture the ass if he would give his word not to harm her.

Then, assuring the donkey that it would not be mistreated, she led it into a deep pit, telling it to stay there. The lion, seeing that the donkey was already secured, immediately seized the fox, and then attacked the donkey as he pleased".

This fable teaches us as a moral that we should never betray our friends for fear of our enemies. we should never betray our friends for fear of our enemies, since in the end you will also come out of itbecause in the end you will also be betrayed.

7. The one-eyed doe

"A doe with one eye missing was grazing on the seashore, turning her intact eye towards the land to watch the arrival of hunters and giving the side with the missing eye to the sea, because she did not expect any danger from there.

But it happened that some people were sailing by this place, and seeing the doe they shot her down with their darts. And the doe said to herself in agony: "Woe is me! I was watching the land, which I thought was full of dangers, and the sea, which I considered a refuge, has been much more disastrous for me".

This fable teaches us never to underestimate or overestimate things or to take them for granted, but to we must analyze all options and their positive and negative and their positive and negative aspects in a realistic manner, without being biased by subjectivity.

8. The dog and its reflection in the river

"A dog was wading in a river carrying a piece of meat in his snout. He saw his own reflection in the water of the river and believed that the reflection was in reality another dog carrying a piece of meat bigger than his own. And wishing to take possession of the other dog's piece, he let go of his own to snatch the piece from his compadre.

But the result was that he was left without his own and without the other's: the latter because it did not exist, it was only a reflection, and the other, the real one, because it was carried away by the current".

This Aesop's fable teaches us the importance of not coveting or focusing on obtaining or usurping the goods or achievements of othersThis fable teaches us the importance of not coveting or focusing on obtaining or usurping the goods or achievements of others, since this can cause us to lose what we have achieved by ourselves.

9. The fox and the grapes

"A fox was very hungry, and when she saw some delicious bunches of grapes hanging from a vine, she wanted to catch them with her mouth. But not being able to reach them, she walked away, saying: "Actually, I don't even like them, they are too green...".

This little story lets us see how often when we give up on something we want we blame it on that something or on others. The moral is precisely that we should not pass the blame for not achieving what we want to others..

10. The wolf in sheep's clothing

"One day a wolf thought of changing his appearance to make it easier to hunt for food. He put on a sheepskin and then went to graze with the flock, so that he misled the shepherd. When dusk came, he was taken along with the rest of the flock to an enclosure, remaining inside with his desired prey.

In the evening, however, the shepherd went inside looking for meat for the next day. He took the wolf, believing it to be a lamb, and sacrificed it".

The moral to be drawn from this fable tells us that deceiving others does not generate benefits for us, but will end up causing us harm, the greater the greater the deceit.The greater the deception, the greater the harm.

11. Bóreas and Helios

"Bóreas and Helios disputed who was stronger, deciding that the victory would be given to the one who managed to remove the clothes of a walker in the area. Bóreas blew and blew with great force to remove it. However, faced with the strong wind the man clutched his clothes with increasing force, and even went so far as to put on a thicker garment due to the cold.

Tired, Bóreas left the turn to Helios. This at first glowed moderately, so that the man stopped being cold and began to take off the thick garment. Gradually Helios increased the warmth, until finally the man decided to take off his clothes to bathe."

This is one of Aesop's fables starring gods and humans, and its moral is that it is easier and more useful to convince someone of something than it is to convince them of something else. is that it is simpler and more useful to convince someone of something (as Helios did (as Helios did by allowing the temperature to rise little by little) than to try to get it by force (as Boreas tried to do with his wind).

Bibliographical references:

• Instituto Latinoamericano de la Comunicación Educativa ILCE (s-f.)Classic works of all time. Fables, Aesop (620-564 B.C.). [Online]. Available at: http://bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx/Colecciones/CuentosMas/Esopo.pdf.
• Pinkney, J. (2004). Fables of Aesop. Vicens Vives.