Aesop's Fables

By: Aesop

Narrated by: Jonathan Kent

Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

By their nature, "fables" are "fabulous", larger than life, the characters often using wit and guile to save themselves from circumstances. Thus Brer Rabbit is more than a bunny in a briar patch, just as Mowgli is more than a wolf child.

Aesop, an ancient Greek poet who was sold into slavery in the early sixth century B.C, relied on animal stories to convey his key points to his masters in court. Aesop's Fables are now classic, memorable morality plays in which amusing animal characters drive home thought-provoking morals to generations of listeners and modern day readers. They illustrate what was fundamental to Greek culture yet their appeal lies in logic we still understand.

Fables from different cultures frequently overlap in the lessons they teach. If we would only stop to listen, there is an important lesson for us to learn from these fables; mankind is one, not several.

Public Domain (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

an ageless classic

I enjoyed revisiting this collection of ancient fables. I'm always amazed at how much the wise words of this man who was born a slave have influenced western culture, and how timeless they still are.

classic fables

It is what it is. This is a huge collection of fables. Narration is good. Simple.

Very important stories

Very enjoyable even for adults. Though the audio is quite old. Very interesting and good tidbits of knowledge.

Must for all English speaking interpreters!

Listen & learn where all those cliches we use really come from! As a bilingual & bicultural interpreter, I highly recommend this book in order to better understand descriptive grammar.

Hundreds of fables, one after the other

What did you like best about Aesop's Fables? What did you like least?

Love hearing all of these in one place. Amazing how they're millenia old, but so ingrained in our culture.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

HAHAHA

Loved the Fables!

This audio collection had 160 of the fables, and I liked the variety of the selections. This was very enjoyable to revisit some childhood stories that I recalled and I had forgotten that they were such short tales. I had read some of them before, but others were new to me. I also enjoyed the use of animals to illustrate the morals of the tales. I was amazed that some common expressions we use today (such as physician heal thy self) comes from the morals of these fables; I guess I had never thought about where these expressions came from before nor had I recognized them as a youngster. The narrator did a decent job, so overall, I really liked this selection.

Short, sweet and to the point

Each fable is completed in less than ninety seconds. They are read clearly, and with just the right touch of character. I think it would be perfect night time listening for a young child about to go to sleep.

a must read

all of these tales are jewels for us in our own lives. great rules to live by.

Reminds me of childhood sort of

The fables were exactly as I remember from childhood. The sound quality and performance speed were awful. I slowed the speed to 0.9 so that it didn't sound like Aesop was telling you stories after snorting lines. The volume jumps too so be prepared to have it yelling at you or inaudible.

Classic Tales Greatly Performed

I read these classic tales when I was in middle school, and I enjoy them now just as much, if not even more so. I know there is a current push to move away from talking animals and over-moralization in children's literature nowadays, but the advice given through "Aesop's Fables" is as applicable today as it was when written during the Roman Empire.

A full collection, beautifully illustrated, of "Aesop's Fables" should be in every family's home, every middle school library, and every public library. I gave this only 4 stars, however, because I wish some of the stories were a bit longer. 4 or 5 paragraphs instead of 1 or 2 would allow the reader to live in the stories a little more. Nonetheless, the audio book is less than 3 hrs. long, which is great for adults brushing up on these favorites when in a hurry.