Aesop

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Aesop_pushkin03.jpg


Aesop was a slave and storyteller who lived in Ancient Greece between 620 and 560 B.C. He is best known, and well remembered for his fables. A fable is s a story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson, which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim. In his lifetime, Aesop told many of these, which were later written and compiled into what we now know as Aesop's fables or Aesopica. These fables are commonly use to teach and instill values and morals and are especially used for children. Below is a copy of one of Aesop's Fables.

The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs

A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it. Then, they thought, they could obtain the whole store of precious metal at once; however, upon cutting the goose open, they found its innards to be like that of any other goose.

More about Aesop's Fables can be read here.
You can find an online collection of Aesop's fables here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aesop

Beautiful September Morning

Photo:
http://www.mikiedees.com/pig_roast.htm

Hi everyone,

It's a very beautiful day...a bit cold I must say, but I'm so excited to see this new day :). Well... I've just stopped by to share a little bit of poetry. Over the past few months I've developed a new love - science, and I have not been paying much attention to Literature but there are times when poetry is needed to help you just lighten up and relax. Today, I will share a more light-hearted poem. Laughter can never be enough, for that matter it is the best medicine. Do enjoy. :-)!

The Pig's Tale

Sir I was cooking my dinner
When I saw the neighbour's hog
Walk straight up to my cooking
And sniff it like a dog.

I warned that pig your honour
Your honour I warned that pig.
I told him to leave my dinner
But the pig was acting big.

I told him 'Dog eat your supper
If you eat my food tonight,
If you touch my fish and ackee
I promise you, I will fight.'

I continued to eat my dinner
I ignored the stupid pug
But the hog was hard of hearing
And he didn't care a fig.

I was going to get the flour
And I'd hardly turn around
When I heard a big commotion
And my pot was on the ground.

You can't imagine, your honour
How it must really feel
To see a 'hard-ears' shoat pug
Treating your dinner like peel!

I'd not have been so angry
If it had been a dog,
But i couldn't stand the thought
Of sharing dinner with a hog.

So, I rushed out in great anger
And I gave a mighty shout
I threw my wooden spoon at him,
It caught him on the snout.

Would you believe your honour,
That the hog look up and grunted,
Then he lay down and pretended
To be completely stunted?

So I thought he had a conscience
And in shame had hung his head.
But when I looked, your honour
The stupid pig was dead!

But as I said your honour
I warned the pig before.
I warned him once, I warned him twice.
I couldn't do much more!

A wise and clever judge therefore
Could not find it unfair
For me to clean and cook that pig
And eat him then and there.

And that's exactly what I did
It surely served him right
You can't ignore such warnings
And not expect a fight!

Just one more thing your honour
That pig was full of spite
For that pig made me suffer
From a belly-ache all night!

'Enough, enough, you've said enough
And silence in the court!'
His honour banged the table
To cut the laughter short.

'As i listened to you state your case
I understood your plight
But you have made one error
And so you can't be right.

That you had warned the creature
Is clear on every hand,
But why did you use a language
Which he did not understand?

To sum up, you took advantage
Of his inability
To comprehend a language
Which is plain to you and me.

The verdict then is 'Guilty" -
Yes, it is clear to me
That any wise or clever judge
Could not let you go free

Pay a fine of twenty dollars
Or sixty days in jail
Give the man a pig or money
Yes, sir, justice must prevail!'

There's a moral to the story
Don't forget it anytime
A pig is not a person
So don't cast your pearls on swine!
Grace Walker Gordon

Enjoy your day everybody!
Cheers!!

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Beautiful September Morning