Reading Notes: Aesop (Winter) Part A
My reading is a collection of Aesop's Fables. These usually involve animals and include a lesson, or moral, to be learned at the end of the story. I like this style of story telling as it is fairly concise, not excessively rambling on.
The Wolf and the Kid warned of the dangers of letting things distract you from what you're supposed to be doing, which is very important. This story is a little different because the character learning the lesson was not the main character, nor the protagonist. This twist could provide an interesting new view on other stories.
The Tortoise and the Ducks illustrates the importance of knowing when to keep your mouth shut. It does this by killing its main character, which is also a cool way to twist a story.
The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox is one of my favorite stories in this reading section. It involves the archetype trickster, that I wrote about earlier. The moral even centers on this, as the fox, who is normally tricky, himself gets tricked. Irony is always fun.
The Eagle and the Jackdaw warns of vanity and once again kills the main character. The Jackdaw's vanity was inspired by trying to imitate what a larger bird had done. This failed imitation is an interesting idea.
The Boy and the Filberts tells a story of a small child unable to retrieve his hand from a jar because he has too many snacks in it. This is very similar to how raccoons can be caught, as they also refuse to let go of something even if it means they get stuck.
The Ass and his Driver warns of ignorance leading to your own downfall. In the case of the Ass, literally. Another case of irony that I enjoy.
The Oxen and the Wheels is an interesting story, because it's the first one whose analogy I don't agree with. If the wheels are creaking, they are likely under a lot of tension and stress and close to breaking. the moral is also questionable for basically the same reason.
The Gnat and the Bull is also a little about vanity, mainly that we are often more important to ourselves than we actually are.
The Plane Tree talks about not appreciating what we have. Irony can be imposed here by removing the gifts and proving how much the characters take for granted.
The Dog and His Master's Dinner introduces the idea of a progression in the story. The final conflict of the story gets reached by gradual steps and this idea could be used in my own story telling.
The Monkey and the Dolphin tells of a monkey who gets himself killed by speaking too much. He was on his way to becoming a trickster, but instead died.
The Wold and the Ass basically repeats the story from the first time we met a wolf. Irony abounds.
The Monkey and the Cat introduces more successful tricky monkey. This one convinces a cat to get chestnuts out of a fire and eats them before the cat can share them. Trickery is very fun.
The Dogs and the Fox shows that it is easy to kick a man that is down. It's also safer than doing it while he is up
The Dogs and the Hides shows that dogs are not smart at coming up with plans, but will fail humorously and bring joy to any who read of their adventures.
The Rabbit, the Weasel, and the Cat finally has a trickster cat, as they seem like they should be tricksters by nature. Once again, the protagonists of the story die and they both lose the argument.
The Wolf and the Kid warned of the dangers of letting things distract you from what you're supposed to be doing, which is very important. This story is a little different because the character learning the lesson was not the main character, nor the protagonist. This twist could provide an interesting new view on other stories.
The Tortoise and the Ducks illustrates the importance of knowing when to keep your mouth shut. It does this by killing its main character, which is also a cool way to twist a story.
The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox is one of my favorite stories in this reading section. It involves the archetype trickster, that I wrote about earlier. The moral even centers on this, as the fox, who is normally tricky, himself gets tricked. Irony is always fun.
The Eagle and the Jackdaw warns of vanity and once again kills the main character. The Jackdaw's vanity was inspired by trying to imitate what a larger bird had done. This failed imitation is an interesting idea.
The Boy and the Filberts tells a story of a small child unable to retrieve his hand from a jar because he has too many snacks in it. This is very similar to how raccoons can be caught, as they also refuse to let go of something even if it means they get stuck.
The Ass and his Driver warns of ignorance leading to your own downfall. In the case of the Ass, literally. Another case of irony that I enjoy.
The Oxen and the Wheels is an interesting story, because it's the first one whose analogy I don't agree with. If the wheels are creaking, they are likely under a lot of tension and stress and close to breaking. the moral is also questionable for basically the same reason.
The Gnat and the Bull is also a little about vanity, mainly that we are often more important to ourselves than we actually are.
The Plane Tree talks about not appreciating what we have. Irony can be imposed here by removing the gifts and proving how much the characters take for granted.
The Dog and His Master's Dinner introduces the idea of a progression in the story. The final conflict of the story gets reached by gradual steps and this idea could be used in my own story telling.
The Monkey and the Dolphin tells of a monkey who gets himself killed by speaking too much. He was on his way to becoming a trickster, but instead died.
The Wold and the Ass basically repeats the story from the first time we met a wolf. Irony abounds.
The Monkey and the Cat introduces more successful tricky monkey. This one convinces a cat to get chestnuts out of a fire and eats them before the cat can share them. Trickery is very fun.
The Dogs and the Fox shows that it is easy to kick a man that is down. It's also safer than doing it while he is up
The Dogs and the Hides shows that dogs are not smart at coming up with plans, but will fail humorously and bring joy to any who read of their adventures.
The Rabbit, the Weasel, and the Cat finally has a trickster cat, as they seem like they should be tricksters by nature. Once again, the protagonists of the story die and they both lose the argument.
A visual depiction of the Monkey and the Dolphin
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