Aesop’s Fables

A little mouse saves the life of a great lion; hungry Grasshopper, too lazy to store food, gets no mercy from the industrious ants; crafty Jackal tricks Klipspringer to escape death – but is himself tricked by the cock and the dog…. Here are 16 of Aesop’s wise, witty and timeless fables, portrayed for the first time in an African setting.

 

Pea Boy and Other Stories from Iran

Retells folktales and fables from Iran, including the story of a mouse and a cockroach who fell in love, a foolish weaver’s apprentice, and a boy with the head of a chickpea.

 

Unwitting Wisdom: An Anthology of Aesop’s Fables

For over 2,500 years the simple stories and wry humor of Aesop’s fables have entertained children and adults alike. Their lessons have seeped into the very fabric of our language, as evidenced by expressions such as ‘sour grapes’ and ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing.’ Through the centuries many artists have risen to the challenge of interpreting their favorite tales. In this magnificent edition, award-winning illustrator Helen Ward has chosen a dozen of her favorite fables, creating with words and watercolors.

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse

Everyone loves Willy the wind-up mouse, while Alexander the real mouse is chased away with brooms and mousetraps. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be loved and cuddled, thinks Alexander, and he wants to be just like him until he discovers that Willy is to be thrown away.

Nicolas, Where Have You Been?

When the young mouse Nicolas sets out across the great meadow alone in search of ripe red berries, he is grabbed up by the claws of a huge bird and carried high into the sky. But that is only the beginning of Nicolas’s adventure. How he gets the berries he was hoping to find, and learns to trust the very creatures he thought were his enemies, makes this Leo Lionni fable one that young children will want to hear again and again.

Tiger and Turtle

Tiger says he saw the flower first, but Turtle disagrees. Through pages of glorious color, Tiger and Turtle continue their argument. They’re worthy opponents as a tiger’s claws could not harm a turtle’s shell any more than a turtle’s feet could outrun a tiger’s.

The Turtle and the Two Ducks: Animal Fables Retold from La Fontaine

The fables of La Fontaine are one of the great treasures of French literature. Based on Aesop’s legendary tales, La Fontaine’s stories capture the charm, the humor, and the wisdom of the seventeenth century. This book offers prose adaptations of the fables of La Fontaine’s most beloved poems.

Animal Fables from Aesop

Here, in all their wisdom and humor, are the timeless fables of Aesop. This collection includes such well-known fables as “The Fox and the Grapes,” as well as such lesser-known tales as “The Wolf and the Lamb” and “The Crow and the Peacocks.”