Reading Assignment
Aesop and His Fables
Aesop lived in Greece about six hundred years before the birth of Jesus, 600B.C. Not much is known about his life, but it is reported that he was a slave who was given his freedom by his master. The fables that are said to have been written by Aesop were passed along by word of mouth for a long time before people decided to write them down.

A fable is a very short story in which a lesson or a moral is given to us about how we act or should act. Even though many of these fables seem to be stories about animals, they are really stories about human beings.
The Fox and the Goat

One day a fox was nosing around a well. By accident, his foot slipped on a wet stone and he fell in. The water wasn't deep, but the well was. Though the fox tried and tried, he could not get out of the well. "What are you doing down there?" he heard someone ask.

Upon looking up, the fox saw a goat peering at him. Quickly, the fox replied, "Enjoying myself! They say there will be no rain for a long time, and all the wells will go dry. I am drinking my fill, so I won't die and be left for the

vultures to feed on. Come on down-the water's fine!"

The foolish goat didn't stop to think but jumped right down into the well.
The fox, of course, wanted to use him to get out of the well. He leaped at once on the goat's back, set one foot on his horns, and jumped out of the well.
As the fox left, he called out to the poor goat, "You're a silly goat, my friend. Otherwise, you would have looked before you leaped!"
Moral: Think how you will get yourself out of a difficult spot before you get yourself into one.
2
The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
A farmer had a gray goose which gave him a big surprise one day. In her nest, he found a strange egg which was as yellow as gold and very heavy. At first, the farmer was certain someone had played a trick on him. Then he realized that the egg was real
gold. "Wife!" he chattered happily as soon as he got in the house. "See what our gray goose has laid-an egg of real gold!"
The next day the farmer found another golden egg in the nest. And the next day he found another. It was wonderful! But by this time, the farmer had grown greedy for more and more wealth. "Why should I wait?" he thought. "If I cut the goose open, I shall get all her golden eggs at once. I will have great wealth in a minute!" So, with great boldness, the farmer killed the goose, but found not a single egg inside. And his good gray goose was dead.

Moral: People who are greedy often throw away what they already have.

The Old Lion and the Fox
A lion grew so old that he could no longer hunt for his food. But old or not, he had to eat, so he thought of a scheme to solve his problem. He would pretend he was sick. Then, when any animals came to visit, he would eat them up.
The lion's scheme worked out just as he had planned. He lay down near the mouth of his cave and began to groan. One after another, the beasts came to ask him what the matter was. The lion invited them in, and that was the end of them.
One day, the fox heard the lion groaning. He came up and sat down in the hollow of an old tree outside the lion's cave. "Aren't you feeling well?" he inquired.
"I am very ill, my friend," the lion replied. "It is so lonely lying here by myself all day. Do come in and visit me for a little while."
"Well, I'd like to," responded the fox. "But I see by the tracks that you've had quite a lot of animals visiting you lately. I also see that the tracks go only one way. Until the animals that have gone into your cave come out again, I think I shall visit
friends elsewhere."

Moral: Be warned by what happens to others.

The Monkey and the Cat
A monkey and a cat were pets in the same house. They were good friends and were always doing something naughty together. One day they were sitting in front of a fire, watching some chestnuts roasting.
"How nice it would be to have some chestnuts," the monkey sighed. "You're no coward like me, Kitty. You are so brave. Pull some chestnuts out of the fire, and we shall have ourselves a fine treat."
Now the cat didn't want to put her paw so close to the flames, but she was flattered by what the monkey had said about her. So she crept carefully right up to the fire and, just as carefully, drew out a chestnut with her paw. Even though she burned her paw each time she did this again and again. As fast as she pulled the chestnuts out of the fire, the monkey gobbled them up.
At last, the cat could stand the pain no longer, and she sat down to lick her paw. Glaring at the monkey, she said, "Next time, I'll know better. I'll never pull chestnuts out  of the fire for you again."
Moral: Watch out! The person who flatters you always wants to get something out of you.

Why did Aesop use animals instead of people in his stories? 
A. He did not want to offend anyone he knew. 
B. He wanted the stories to be easy for children to understand. 
C. He though animals represented virtue. 
D. None of the above, the readings do not support any of the above answers.