Aesop’s Fables

Remember Aesop’s Fables? You know, those old-timey anthropomorphic wildlife stories with a built-in human moral at the end to make you feel like you got your money’s worth? For instance, The Fox and The Grapes: A fox can’t jump high enough to reach some tasty-looking grapes. So he imagines they are sour and not worth the effort anyway. Thus the origin of the term “sour grapes.” And a reinforcement of the lesson that scorn for that which is beyond our reach is rarely justified.

Or, The Tortise and The Hare: A hare makes fun of a tortise for being slow. So the tortise challenges him to a race. Jumping out to a big early lead, the hare curls up for a nap, only to end up losing to the patiently plodding reptile. Moral of the story? The race is not always to the swift. Or, as I learned it: Slow and steady wins the race.

 

 

Ever hear the one about The Owl and the Grasshopper? Me neither, but here goes: A wise old owl trying to sleep during the day is disturbed by a grasshopper’s incessant racket. Instead of arguing with him, the owl invites him up to his tree to share a drink of wine, promising that it will make the grasshopper’s “song” even sweeter. The foolish – and vain – grasshopper, taken in by the owl’s flattery, is quickly eaten, thus preserving the owl’s peace. The moral? Don’t let flattery fool you or you might just end up as somebody’s dinner.

 

 

The real moral of these stories? Aesop’s Fables draw pithy life-lessons from “nature” to impress upon gullible children the enduring wisdom of human virtues like sincerity, patience, and – oh yes, let’s not forget – rank flattery.

 

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See here, here, and here for the originals.

Care to come up here for some fine wine, Grasshopper?

It’ll make you sound like Taylor Swift.

And it pairs well with insects.

😉