Aesop for Today

Aesop for Today, January 29

Aesop lives on today in many forms. There are storybooks filled with beautiful illustrations and easy to understand wording created just for small children. We have books with collections of many of Aesop's fables. Even the Internet is full of uses for Aesop's wisdom. Just today I ran across this website.  One of the professors at the University of Massachusetts challenged the students to illustrate some of Aesop's Fables using computer graphics programs as part of their assignments. I really do encourage you to click on the links I've provided and check out the online versions of the following Aesop's Fables. Some of them will surprise you!

Most people can view flash presentations and so I have included in this collection some stories already discussed in my previous articles about Aesop. You can see these fables illustrated in slide presentations, with some animation or even with sound.

One such story is the Rooster and the Pearl. If you go to this page, you will see a traditional version and a more modern version of this fable online.

Another story that I have already featured has also been illustrated online. This is the Lion and the Mouse. One of the stories modernizes its illustrations for today's world.

A third story I featured recently is about the Frogs Desiring the King. On this page there is a traditional version of the fable and a more modern version reflecting today's circumstances.

And now, for today's new story: The Countryman and the Snake*

A villager, one frosty day in the depth of winter, found a Snake under a hedge almost dead with the cold. Having pity on the poor creature, he brought it home, and laid it on the hearth near the fire. Revived by the heat, it reared itself up, and with dreadful hissings flew at the wife and children of its benefactor. The man, hearing their cries, rushed in, and, seizing a mattock, soon cut the snake in pieces.

"Vile wretch!" said he; "is this the reward you make to him who saved your life? Die, as you deserve; but a single death is too good for you."

Ingratitude is a crime.

View this fourth story online at this page called The Woodman and the Serpent. There are three versions of this story in flash presentation. Enjoy!

*Story version taken from The Fables of Aesop
Based on the texts of L'Estrange and Croxall

Books, Inc. Publishers
New York, Boston, no date
page 14

Part 9: Aesop for Today