Extra Reading Diary: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

While trying to decide what I wanted to read for this week's extra reading diary, I found Aesop's Fables to be very interesting. I've heard various fables before in elementary school and all throughout grade school, but I thought it would be fun to dive into them and see what other stories and characters I hadn't heard before. I also really like the concept of a fable, bringing animals to life in order to portray a certain moral or belief.

I really enjoyed the Dogs and Cats portion of the fables; I found it really interesting that the character of a dog has not always been the friendly and loyal type like we today would view them. Both stories about the dogs ("The Dog and the Shadow" and "The Dog in the Manger") have morals that are in regards to humbling oneself as opposed to being selfish and greedy. I'm curious about how the more negative connotation was placed upon dogs and when the positive, loyal connotation began. As I continued reading, I stumbled upon the story "The Cat-Maiden". I thought it was really funny that I would find this story again because this is the story I chose to edit for the first proofreading exercise; however, the version in the UnTextbook version varied ever so slightly. Although the concept of changing a cat into a women is a bit farfetched, I think the underlying meaning is important. So often there are people who think that they can change another person, and while change can be a good thing, people always seem to have bits and pieces of the way they "used to be". I think in this story, the idea that even though Venus was able to change the cat, her original desires that she had as a cat never actually went away.

Another story I enjoyed reading and learning about was of course, the fox. The fox is, perhaps, the most famous animal/character in all of Aesop's Fables because of the trickery and deceit that often accompanies the stories. In Foxes, Part 1, I really enjoyed the quick story "The Fox and the Stork" because it made me laugh. The fox seemed to always appear to have the upper hand, but the stork was the one who outsmarted the fox. Although the story was quick and simple, the message of "two can play at the same game" was made very clear. In Foxes, Part 2, "The Fox and the Goat" was an interesting read. The trick the fox pulled on the goat reminds me of how people in life can be. It can be easy to trick someone into thinking they are being protected or doing the "right" thing, but in reality, the trick is often used for a single person's gain -- and that's exactly what the fox did.

(The Fox and the Stork, by johnny_automatic)