Aesop's The Hare and the Tortoise video using real Animals

I like this version of the Tortoise and the Hare. The use of real animals is interesting.

Aesop Fables Storyboards

I found these 8" x 5" Felt Story Boards at www.LearningWonders.com.
The stories shown are:

Ant and the Grasshopper
Hare and the Tortoise
Lion and the Mouse
The Plain Tree
The Dog and His Shadow
Fox and the Grapes
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Bees and the Bear
Goose with the Golden Egg
Boy who Cried Wolf
Maid and her Milk
The Heron

Stories on their FREE curriculum page

The Dog in the Manger...an Aesop fable

A Dog was lying in a Manger on the hay which had been put there for the cattle.
When the cattle came and tried to eat, he growled and snapped at them and wouldn't let them get at their food.
"What a selfish beast," said one of them to his companions; "he can't eat the hay himself and yet he won't let those eat who can."

The Tiger King....an animated Aesop Fable

The Talkative Tortoise.....a tale from the Panchatantra

Once upon a time, a Tortoise lived in a pond with two Ducks, who were her very good friends. She enjoyed the company of the Ducks, because she could talk with them to her heart's content; the Tortoise liked to talk. She always had something to say, and she liked to hear herself say it.

After many years of this pleasant living, the pond became very low, in a dry season; and finally it dried up. The two Ducks saw that they could no longer live there, so they decided to fly to another region, where there was more water. They went to the Tortoise to bid her good-by.

"Oh, don't leave me behind!" begged the Tortoise. "Take me with you; I must die if I am left here."

"But you cannot fly!" said the Ducks. "How can we take you with us?"

"Take me with you! take me with you!" said the Tortoise.

The Ducks felt so sorry for her that at last they thought of a way to take her. "We have thought of a way which will be possible," they said, "if only you can manage to keep still long enough. We will each take hold of one end of a stout stick, and do you take the middle in your mouth; then we will fly up in the air with you and carry you with us. But remember not to talk! If you open your mouth, you are lost."

The Tortoise said she would not say a word; she would not so much as move her mouth; and she was very grateful. So the Ducks brought a strong little stick and took hold of the ends, while the Tortoise bit firmly on the middle. Then the two Ducks rose slowly in the air and flew away with their burden.

When they were above the treetops, the Tortoise wanted to say, "How high we are!"

But she remembered, and kept still.

When they passed the church steeple she wanted to say, "What is that which shines?" But she remembered, and held her peace.

Then they came over the village square, and the people looked up and saw them.

"Look at the Ducks carrying a Tortoise!" they shouted; and every one ran to look.

The Tortoise wanted to say, "What business is it of yours?" But she didn't.

Then she heard the people shout, "Isn't it strange! Look at it! Look!"

The Tortoise forgot everything except that she wanted to say, "Hush, you foolish people!" She opened her mouth,-- and fell to the ground. And that was the end of the Tortoise.

It is a very good thing to be able to hold one's tongue!

from Stories to Tell to Children by Sara Cone Bryan

The Tale of Tristan and Harriet based on an Aesop Fable

As you all know (or you ought to know) you can't keep a good story down....or something like that.
"Tristan and Harriet" is a stop-motion "claymation" film based on Aesop's fable, The Tortoise and the Hare.
It a fun story and shows what you can do with a little ...or maybe a lot of imagination.
Enjoy!!!

The Dog and the Shadow

A Dog was crossing a river, with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he saw his own shadow reflected in the stream below. Thinking that it was another dog, with a piece of meat, he resolved to make himself master of that also; but in snapping at the supposed treasure he dropped the bit he was carrying, and so lost all.

Grasp at the shadow, and lose the substance.

The Fox and the Mask.....an Aesop Fable

A fox entered the house of an actor, and, rummaging through all his properties, came upon a Mask, an admirable imitation of a human head.

He placed his paws on it, and said: "What a beautiful head! yet it is of no value, as it entirely wants brains."

Moral: A fair face is of little use without sense.

The Frog Who Wished To Be As Big As The Ox

There was a little Frog
Whose home was in a bog,
And he worried 'cause he wasn't big enough.
He sees an ox and cries:
"That's just about my size,
If I stretch myself--Say Sister, see me puff!"



So he blew, blew, blew,
Saying: "Sister, will that do?"
But she shook her head. And then he lost his wits.
For he stretched and puffed again
Till he cracked beneath the strain,
And burst, and flew about in little bits.



from Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks From the French of La Fontaine
written by La Fontaine, Jean de, 1621-1695
illustrated by Rae, John, 1882-1963
Translator Larned, W.T. (William Trowbridge)

The Fox and the Rooster

A Fox, one day, saw a Rooster on the roof of a barn.

“Come to me, my dear Master Rooster,” said he, “I have always heard you are such a clever fellow and I want to ask you a riddle.”

Glad to hear himself praised, the foolish Rooster came down.
And the Fox caught him, and ate him in a moment.

The praise of the wicked is always dangerous.

The Fox and the Grapes---an Aesop Fable

One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an orchard when he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine.
"Just the thing to quench my thirst," thought the fox.
Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success.
Again and again he tried to reach the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up.
Finally, the fox walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I am sure they are sour."

Moral: It is easy to despise what you cannot get.

Picture from The Baby's Own Aesop (verse fables by W.J. Linton), 1887. Illustrations by Walter Crane

The Lion Beaten by Man....a fable by Jean de la Fontaine

A picture once was shown,
In which one man, alone,
Upon the ground had thrown
A lion fully grown.

Much gloried at the sight the rabble.
A lion thus rebuked their babble:—

That you have got the victory there,
There is no contradiction.
But, gentles, possibly you are
The dupes of easy fiction:
Had we the art of making pictures,
Perhaps our champion had beat yours!"


Until the lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.
An African Proverb

Little Fables

Not only a fabulous fable but excellent shadow puppetry!
Actually it's animation that looks like shadow puppetry but it's great no matter what it is.
Enjoy!

Two Hungry Cats.......a fable

Two hungry cats, having stolen some cheese, could not agree how to divide it.
So they called in a monkey to decide the case.

"Let me see" says the monkey with an arch look, "this slice weighs more than the other."
With that, he bit off a large piece, in order, as he said, to make them balance.
The other scale was now too heavy.
This gave the upright judge a fine pretense to take a second mouthful.

"Hold! Hold!" cried the two cats, "give each of us his share of the rest and we will be content."

"If you are content," says the monkey, "justice is not. The law my friends, must have its course."
So he nibbled first one piece, and then the other.

The poor cats, seeing their cheese in a fair way to be eaten up, most humbly begged the judge to give himself no further trouble.

"Not so fast, I beseech you, my friends",says the judge. "We owe justice to ourselves as well as to you. What is left is due to me in right of my office."
So saying, he crammed the whole into his mouth, and very gravely dismissed the court.

Moral: This fable teaches us that it is better to bear a slight wrong, rather than to resort to the law for trifles.
(Taken from McGuffey’s Third Reader, c 1836)

Hmmmmm.....what do you think?
Is that really the moral of this story???

The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg...an Aesop Fable

Here's a two in one blog.
The story is written out for you to read and...
Read to you!

The Sun and the Wind....a fable by Aesop

This is a very cute and creative version of the story of the Sun and the Wind.

The Fox and the Cat - An Aesop's Fable

A Fox was boasting to a Cat of its clever devices for escaping its enemies.

"I have a whole bag of tricks," he said, "which contains a hundred ways of escaping my enemies."

"I have only one," said the Cat, "but I can generally manage with that."

Just at that moment they heard the cry of a pack of hounds coming towards them, and the Cat immediately scampered up a tree and hid herself in the branches.

"This is my plan," said the Cat. "What are you going to do?"

The Fox thought first of one way, then of another, and while he was debating the hounds came nearer and nearer, and at last the Fox in his confusion was caught up by the hounds and soon killed by the huntsmen.

The Cat, who had been looking on, said:
"Better one safe way than a hundred on which you cannot decide."

The Two Bags or The Alms Bag

Every person, according to an ancient legend, is born into the world with two bags suspended from their neck.

One bag hangs down our back and one bag hangs in the front.

The bag in front is full of our neighbors' faults.

The bag hanging down our back is a large bag filled with our own faults.

That is why people are quick to see the faults of others, and yet are often blind to their own failings.

*Alms Bag or Besace - A Beggars Bag. A cylindrical bag with an opening
in centre, forming two pouches. It was usually carried over
a shoulder.

**(the purse shown at the top of the blog is known as a miser's, or beggar's, bag and came into fashion at the end of the 18th century; it was used by men and women until the early part of the 20th century to hold money. The two silver rings, or sliders, cover the center opening and can be moved to hold the coins in the bag.)

Aesop's The Bear and the Two Travelers

TWO MEN were hiking in Denali together, when a Bear suddenly appeared on their path.

One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and managed to hide himself in the branches.
The other, not being as quick as his companion, realized that he was going to be attacked by the bear.
He quickly fell flat on the ground.
The Bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over.
The man held his breath and remained as still as death.
The Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch a dead body.
When the bear was long gone, his friend climbed down from the tree.
Jokingly, he asked his friend what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear.

"He gave me this advice," his friend replied. "Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger."

Moral: Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

retold by LLL,Storysinger

The Bear and the Two Companions by Jean de la Fontaine

As I think I said in a previous post, Jean de la Fontaine rewrote some of Aesop's fables.
This particular story is much longer than the orignal Aesop's fable which I will post in a day or so.

THE BEAR AND THE TWO COMPANIONS

Two fellows, needing funds, and bold,
A bearskin to a furrier sold,
Of which the bear was living still,
But which they presently would kill--
At least they said they would.

And, if their word was good,
It was a king of bears--an Ursa Major--
The biggest bear beneath the sun.
Its skin, the chaps would wager,
Was cheap at double cost;
'Twould make one laugh at frost--
And make two robes as well as one.

Old Dindenaut,[25] in sheep who dealt,
Less prized his sheep, than they their pelt--
(In their account 'twas theirs,
But in his own, the bears.)
By bargain struck upon the skin,
Two days at most must bring it in.

Forth went the two. More easy found than got,
The bear came growling at them on the trot.
Behold our dealers both confounded,
As if by thunderbolt astounded!
Their bargain vanish'd suddenly in air;
For who could plead his interest with a bear?

One of the friends sprung up a tree;
The other, cold as ice could be,
Fell on his face, feign'd death,
And closely held his breath,--
He having somewhere heard it said
The bear ne'er preys upon the dead.

Sir Bear, sad blockhead, was deceived--
The prostrate man a corpse believed;
But, half suspecting some deceit,
He feels and snuffs from head to feet,
And in the nostrils blows.
The body's surely dead, he thinks.
'I'll leave it,' says he, 'for it stinks;'
And off into the woods he goes.

The other dealer, from his tree
Descending cautiously, to see
His comrade lying in the dirt,
Consoling, says, 'It is a wonder
That, by the monster forced asunder,
We're, after all, more scared than hurt.
But,' addeth he, 'what of the creature's skin?
He held his muzzle very near;
What did he whisper in your ear?'

'He gave this caution,--"Never dare
Again to sell the skin of bear
Its owner has not ceased to wear."'