Aesop's fables

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Arthur Racham en.wikipedia.org
Look at this picture. What can you see? What famous fable is being pictured here? That's right! Can you tell the story?

Definition of fable

1) Make a list of 3-5 fables you remember.
2) Can you write a definition of fable?
3) How is it structured?
4) What makes a good fable?
You can check your answers here.
 



Aesop 

Aesop by Velázquez, Prado Museum. Wikimedia Commons

Physical appearance
Most of the world's best known fables are attributed to Aesop, a Greek slave who lived around 550 BC. In the anonymous Aesop Romance (dated 1st or 2nd century AD) we find a vivid description of Aesop's appearance: "of loathsome aspect... potbellied, misshapen of head, snub-nosed, swarthy, dwarfish, bandy-legged, short-armed, squint-eyed, liver-lipped—a portentous monstrosity" (Source: Wikipedia).

Don't you think this description is a bit of an exaggeration? Visit the Linguee page and translate  Aesop´s description into Spanish.


Did Aesop really exist?
Do you know whether this Greek story teller ever existed?  How reliable are the sources from which historians can work? Click here to learn about his life.


Aesop's fables
How many fables are attributed to Aesop? Do you know the titles of some of his famous fables?
Click here  and do the following three tasks:
  1. Count the total number of fables attributed to Aesop.
  2. Click on 2-3 fables you are interested in and take notes about the story.
  3. Compare the title of the fables you listed at the beginning of this post, under the Definition of fable heading, and the real titles in English. Any differences?

 

Listen to a selection of fables

Look at the three pictures below. Do you remember the titles of, at least, three Aesop's fables in connection with the animals depicted? Write the titles down.



Image by Googie man. CC-BY-SA en.wikipedia.org


Daniela Hartmann CC-BY-NC-SA. Flickr.com


Red foxes by  Ken Billington CC-BY-NC. Wikimedia Commons


Practise your listening skills by choosing a fable of your choice. There are a total of 40 fables listed on this webpage. Most recordings are about 4 minutes long. You can:
  1. Listen to the fable and practise your listening skills.
  2. Download the written version of the fable and practise your reading skills.
  3. Read and listen to the fable at the same time and focus on pronunciation.

 Let me know how you get on with this BBC site. I hope you enjoy it.






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