One hot sunny day, a thirsty fox was looking down into a deep well, and fell in.
“I wanted some water, but not this much” said the fox to himself, as he splashed around in the water.
“Now how am I going to get out of here” he said, looking up at the top of the well.
Just then a thirsty goat came to the well. He looked down and was surprised to see the fox in the water.
“What are you doing down there?” asked the goat.
“I came down to get some of this wonderful cool water” said the fox, pretending everything was alright.
“Come on down and try some. It’s the best water you’ll ever taste” he shouted up at the goat. ‘And there isn’t any more water for miles.”
“I’m thirsty, and that water does look so good” thought the goat.
“OK. Look out, I’m coming down,” the goat shouted to the fox as he jumped down into the well.
Just as the goat started drinking, the fox said, “There’s one small problem. The top of the well is so high it’s going to be hard getting out of here. But don’t worry I have a plan.”
“If,” he said to the goat “you put your front feet on the wall of the well, I’ll run up your back and jump up to the top. Once I’m out I’ll help you to get out too.”
The goat did as he was told and the fox leapt onto his back, jumped up on to his horns, and then scrambled up out of the well.
“That was a really good plan” said the fox.
“See you later” he said, looking down at the goat.
“But, what about me?” cried the goat from the bottom of the well.
“If you had any brains you would never have gone down there until you had worked out how to get out.” said the fox.
“Have you ever heard the expression, look before you leap?” laughed the fox as he ran away.
Moral: Look before you leap.
Existing illustrations:
Profile view.
Bird’s eye view.
Bottom view.
Observation:
Top and bottom perspective provides greater visual enjoyment due to the exaggerated sense of scale and distance.
Modern interpretations of the story:
Modernized setting of baggage check. Fox makes use of naive goat to smuggle stuff. Look before you leap.
City scape of Fox falling into sewage hole.
Character analysis of Fox: Sly, witty, Clever
Character analysis of Goat: Naive, Gullible, Dumb
A Fox and a Leopard, resting lazily after a generous dinner, amused themselves by disputing about their good looks. The Leopard was very proud of his glossy, spotted coat and made disdainful remarks about the Fox, whose appearance he declared was quite ordinary.
The Fox prided himself on his fine bushy tail with its tip of white, but he was wise enough to see that he could not rival the Leopard in looks. Still he kept up a flow of sarcastic talk, just to exercise his wits and to have the fun of disputing. The Leopard was about to lose his temper when the Fox got up, yawning lazily.
“You may have a very smart coat,” he said, “but you would be a great deal better off if you had a little more smartness inside your head and less on your ribs, the way I am. That’s what I call real beauty.”
Moral:
A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind.
Beauty is often only skin deep.
Existing illustrations:
Observation: The two animals are always shown side by side.
Character analysis of Fox: Smart, witty
Character analysis of Leopard: Show-off, shallow
At one time the Fox and the Stork were on visiting terms and seemed very good friends. So the Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and for a joke put nothing before her but some soup in a very shallow dish. This the Fox could easily lap up, but the Stork could only wet the end of her long bill in it, and left the meal as hungry as when she began.
“I am sorry,” said the Fox, “the soup is not to your liking.”
“Pray do not apologize,” said the Stork. “I hope you will return this visit, and come and dine with me soon.”
So a day was appointed when the Fox should visit the Stork; but when they were seated at table all that was for their dinner was contained in a very long-necked jar with a narrow mouth, in which the Fox could not insert his snout, so all he could manage to do was to lick the outside of the jar.
“I will not apologize for the dinner,” said the Stork:
“One bad turn deserves another.”
Questions to discuss:
Did the Stork do the right thing in paying back the Fox’s rude behavior?
What do you think happened after the fable ended with the fox and the stork?
Once upon a time . . . a fox made friends with a stork and decided to invite her to lunch. While he was wondering what to serve for the meal, he thought he’d play a trick on the bird. So he prepared a tasty soup and poured it into two flat plates.
“Thank you very much!” said the stork, sniffing the soup. But she quickly saw the trick the fox had played on her. For no matter how she tried, she could not drink the soup from the flat plate. The sniggering fox urged her on:”Eat up! Do you like it?” But all the stork could do was bluff. With a casual air she said: “I’m afraid I’ve such a headache that I’ve lost my appetite!” And the fox fussily replied: “What a shame! And it’s such good soup too! Too bad! Maybe next time . . .” To which the stork quickly replied: “Yes, of course! Next time, you must have lunch with me!”
The very next day, the fox found a polite note pinned to his door: it was the stork’s invitation to lunch. “Now, isn’t that nice of her!” said the fox to himself. “And she hasn’t taken my little trick to heart either! A real lady!”
The stork’s house was much plainer than the fox’s, and she apologized to the fox. “My home is much humbler than yours,” she said, “but I’ve cooked a really special meal. Freshwater shrimps with white wine and juniper berries!” The fox licked his lips at the idea of these goodies and sniffed deeply when the stork handed him his jar. But, try as he might, he was unable to eat a bite, for he could not reach down with his nose into the long neck of the jar.In the meantime, with her long beak, the stork gobbled her lunch.
“Try it! Try it!” she said. “Do you like it?” But the unlucky fox, confused and outsmarted, could not think of an excuse for not eating. And as he tossed and turned hungrily in bed that night, thinking of his lost lunch, he said to himself with a sigh: “I might have known!”
Moral: Do unto other as you would have other do unto you!
I think this story has a lot of significance in today’s globalised world. We often act like the fox or the stork when dealing with people from a different country or culture.
I am from India. During my recent visit to Korea, I was invited to my Korean colleague’s home for dinner. Hospitaility was at its best. His wife and mother had prepared a 25 course meal for me; but hardly was anything palatable to me, as I was a vegetarian and also not fond of eating too much garlic!
If my Korean friend were to ever visit me in India, I would rather search out for a Korean restaurant to treat him, and not insist on offering Indian food!
This doesn’t apply only for food. Culture is so diverse, that you can find this fox and stork story in many other places.
A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree.
“That’s for me, as I am a Fox,” said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree.
“Good day, Mistress Crow,” he cried. “How well you are looking today: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds.”
The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox.
“That will do,” said he. “That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future: “Do not trust flatterers.”
A CROW having stolen a bit of meat, perched in a tree and held it
in her beak. A Fox, seeing this, longed to possess the meat
himself, and by a wily stratagem succeeded. “How handsome is the
Crow,” he exclaimed, in the beauty of her shape and in the
fairness of her complexion! Oh, if her voice were only equal to
her beauty, she would deservedly be considered the Queen of
Birds!” This he said deceitfully; but the Crow, anxious to refute
the reflection cast upon her voice, set up a loud caw and dropped
the flesh. The Fox quickly picked it up, and thus addressed the
Crow: “My good Crow, your voice is right enough, but your wit is
wanting.”
One day, while he was out walking, a fox saw a crow swoop down and pick up a piece of cheese in its beak. The crow then flapped its wings and flew up onto a high branch in a nearby tree.
“Man, that’s a tasty looking piece of cheese,” said the fox to himself.
“Hey, I should have that cheese. I’m the fox and I deserve it,” he said. “I’m a sly, smooth talking fox too. I’ll have it soon enough.”
The fox walked over to the foot of the tree. “Hi ya, Miss Crow” cried the fox.
“How are you today?” asked the fox. “You’re looking mighty fine. Is there something different about you? Have you changed shampoo?”
“Your feathers look so glossy and black and your eyes are sparkling like diamonds,” said the fox, flattering the crow. “Hey, have you lost weight? Your figure looks great,”
“Wow, if you can sing as good as you look then I’ll have to call you Queen of all Birds” said the fox.
Flattered by all the compliments from the fox, and wanting to be called Queen of all Birds, the crow lifted her head and began to sing.
But the moment she opened her mouth the cheese fell out, and the quick fox jumped and caught it before it hit the ground.
“Yes!!!” yelled the fox, holding the cheese up over his head as he did his victory dance. “I got what I wanted.”
The fox looked up at the sad crow in the tree. “To show you I’m not a really bad guy I’ll give you some advice for the future” he said to the crow.
Answer: A fable is a short, pithy animal tale, most often told or written with a moral tagged on in the form of a proverb. Thus to convey a moral is the aim of most fables, and the tale is the vehicle by which this is done, providing both an illustration of and compelling argument for the moral.As a specific development in form and content of the animal tale, the fable is comparatively sophisticated and does not originate as a folktale, though it may make use of folk material, and once composed may be absorbed into a culture and exchanged as traditional oral folklore.
The oldest known fables are either Aesopic (Greek) in origin, or from Asian (Indian and/or possibly Semitic) roots — both dating back several centuries B.C.E.
Example: ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ by Aesop A Hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: “Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race.” The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal. On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.
Note: This post is just an add-on to my information on the origins of fables from different countries, not in continuation with my current FYP progress.
A fable is “a short story devised to convey some useful lesson, an apologue“. A distinctive feature of the fable is that it contains a moral truth.
Some Chinese fables concentrate on a certain period in the development of Chinese fables while others cover almost the entire history of Chinese literature up to the Qing Dynasty. Fables have served to enrich the Chinese language and the morals of these tales have found their way into the language and are still in use up to this day.
The Frog in the Shallow WellHave you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, “I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home,I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don’t you come often and look around my place?”
Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea.
“Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea’s width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. ln the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change along with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea.”
After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.
li: a Chinese unit of length equal to half a kimometre. ren: a Chinese unit of length, approximately equal to 21/3 metres.
Aping a BeautyXi Shi, a famous beauty, had a pain in her bosom, so she had a frown on her face when she went out. An ugly girl who lived nearby saw her and thought she looked very beautiful. Therefore when she went home, she also put her hands on her bosom and had a frown on her face.
When a rich man in the neighbourhood saw her, he shut his doors tightly and did not go out. When a poor man saw her, he took his wife and children and gave her a wide berth.
She only knew Xi Shi‘s frown looked beautiful but she did not know the reason for its beauty.
His Spear Against His ShieldA man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield.
“My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through.”
He also sang praises of his spear.
“My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything.”
“What would happen,” he was asked, “if your spear is used to pierce your shield?”
It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable.
Making His MarkA man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat.
“This is where my sword fell off,” he said.
When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.
The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword?
Ostrich LogicAt the time when Fan, a nobleman of the state of Jin, became a fugitive, a commoner found a bell and wanted to carry it off on his back. But the bell was too big for him. When he tried to knock it into pieces with a hammer there was a loud clanging sound. He was afraid that someone will hear the noise and take the bell from him, so he immediately stopped his own ears.
To worry about other people hearing the noise is understandable, but to worry about himself hearing the noise (as if stopping his own ears would prevent other people from hearing) is absurd.
Blessing or BaneNear China’s northern borders lived a man well versed in the practices of Taoism. His horse, for no reason at all, got into the territory of the northern tribes. Everyone commiserated with him.
“Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing,” said his father.
After a few months, his animal came back, leading a fine horse from the north. Everyone congratulated him.
“Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a cause of misfortune,” said his father.
Since he was well-off and kept good horses his son became fond of riding and eventually broke his thigh bone falling from a horse. Everyone commiserated with him.
“Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing,” said his father.
One year later, the northern tribes started a big invasion of the border regions. All able-bodied young men took up arms and fought against the invaders, and as a result, around the border nine out of ten men died. This man’s son did not join in the fighting because he was crippled and so both the boy and his father survived.
After consulting some children’s fable books in the library, I have compiled a list of fable stories. I organised them according to the category of the moral behind the story, for example moral about Self, Life and Friends. I also made a list of the animals and the number of times that they appear in the fables (appearance in 1 story is counted as once), and this is my list of the most common animals I found in fables:
1. Fox
2. Crow
3. Lion
4. Dog
5. Eagle/Hawk/Kite
6. Mouse
My concept for now is to develop on these most common animals as the “main characters” in my Fable story series. Hence, I will start working on stories that have these animals appearing in them to try to find a special angle, a new angle to tell the same story.
THE APOLOGUE
The Apologue, different kind of Fable.
Let’s see how the Apologue is characterized and the luck of this different kind of Fable.
A kind of fable, which has no more animals as main characters but men with their faults and features, is the Apologue. The moral intention is deprived of its fanciful ornament and shows the truth as it is, with no distortions or simple personifications. In comparison with the fable, we find a greater allegorical and moral sense. We can take as an example the famous apologue of the stomach and the limbs with which Menenius Agrippa would have persuaded the plebeians of putting an end to the secession on the Mount Sacred. The fable has in fact become an apologue.
*
“THE ARROGANCE” Apologue – fable by Luciano Folgore
*
“THE STONE” Apologue – fable by Lev Tolstoj
*
“THE FRUIT OF PATIENCE” Apologue – fable by Leonardo da Vinci
Il nostro consiglio per la lettura – da stampare e conservare:
“THE TRUTH AND THE FABLE”
di Jean Pierre Claris De Florian
The following apologue was born during the absolute monarchy before the French Revolution, but it is good in every time. The Truth, when it shows herself with her plain(bare) face is humiliated and rejected, when she is dressed up with the fable’s clothes, she can make the men accept her moral teaching.
The Truth, they say, goes naked all around and lives at the bottom of a well. One day, maybe she got bored of her deep solitude, she got off the well and went among the people. Nice idea! Soon all those who saw her went off like a shot. The Truth tried to knock at some house: they all slammed the door in her face. Nobody wanted to put her up. The poor Truth, humiliated and numb, took a country road. There, she met a beautiful lady dressed with lace and silk, feathered as an ostrich, covered with jewels, most of which were imitation, but they were very glittering: it was the Fable.
- Oh, Good Morning – said the Fable friendlily – But what the hell are you doing all by yourself on this road?
- You see – answered sadly the Truth – I’m freezing with cold. There’s nobody who wants to have anything to do with me. As soon as I get near, they all run away.
- And yet, you and I, we are close relatives, and I’m welcomed wherever I go. But I understand – laughing, she added – You’re wrong: you show yourself too little dressed…No, no! You know what we’re going to do? Come and protect yourself under my cloak and let’s go together, as good sisters. You’ll see, it’d be better for both of us. The wise will welcome me thanks to the Truth I’m hiding, and the mad ones will give you their hearty welcome because you’ll be rustling thanks to my silk and glittering thanks to my jewels.
LET’S PLAY WITH THE FABLES
Games for children with the fables.
* Write and dramatize two dialogues starting from the suggested (prompted) situations:
a wolf and a dog are competing for a piece of meat next to a hen house(poultry pen);
two children are quarrelling(arguing) in a courtyard over a pierced (perforated)ball (with holes in)
* Invent a fable in which the characters are a penguin and a seal, and its moral is “his bark is worse than his bite”.* Try to illustrate a fable with drawings and tell or make a friend tell the situation and the characters’ actions without the help of written parts (texts).
* Invent or tell some fact, realistic or real, which could reflect (mirror) the situation of the fables you have read, without omitting (neglecting)today’s moral principles in its conclusion.* Here you find two lists. Keeping in mind the fables (which you have read) where these animals are present, match each animal with the compatible (associable-right) adjective:
lion sly
fox silly
hawk tyrannical
donkey stupid
fly wise
hen conceited
Illustrate with words or drawings the peculiarities of the behaviour and of the physical appearance of these animals that you have matched with the chosen adjective.* If you had to draw some people you know in the animals’ features(appearance), how would you depict them? Choose one or more persons and depict them; then, under each drawing, write the reasons why you have chosen that animal.* Try to write a fable in order to expound a moral you have decided; otherwise you can choose one among the following ones:
a) you must not be selfish because in the end you hurt yourself
b) think before acting
c) envy can lead you to dramatic consequences.
We listen to fables and stories as children, and I am sure these stories more or less affect our personal values and behavior.
Let's revisit familiar stories and discover new stories. It is a way of remembering our childhood innocence and the excitement as the new stories unfold before us.
Just as the goat started drinking, the fox said, “There’s one small problem. The top of the well is so high it’s going to be hard getting out of here. But don’t worry I have a plan.”
Simple shapes.
