Aesop's Fables by Aesop — cover

Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables are a set of prose fables attributed to the Greek writer Aesop, who lived between the end of the seventh century BC and the beginning of the sixth century BC.

The book includes those attributed to him and a group of fables that circulated before him orally and with the same characteristics. All fables belonged to the oral tradition and were not collected until several centuries after Aesop's death. Not only were his original creations attributed to him but also many others from earlier sources. Even today, new stories continue to be added to the set of Aesop's Fables.

Originally fables were created for adults and covered social, political and religious topics. They were often ethical guides for the population and the education of children.

This digital edition is based on the 1921 translation by V. S. Vernon Jones

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Fable Folklore Morality Wisdom Human Nature Consequences of Actions

Public domain (US)·No sign-up·DRM-free·Real text, not scans

Pages
334
Reading time
3 hours 37 minutes
Pace
fast
First published
-560
Language
Greek
Downloads
4,811

2586 years later, still timely

Why Read Aesop's Fables in 2026?

One-page dramas where cunning meets consequence. Foxes boast, crows bargain, ants plan, and every choice has a bill. Short, memorable, and built to be retold.

Today's connection

Use them as daily prompts for kids and teams alike: decision-making, incentives, and empathy explained by creatures with very human habits.

Portable wisdom

Bite-sized stories that travel well.

Critical thinking

Spot the incentive; predict the end.

Made to discuss

Easy to share, hard to forget.

Perfect for Children Students Philosophers General Readers

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About the author

Portrait of Aesop

Aesop · -620–-564

Portable wisdom in short tales; clear images that teach economy, wit, and care.

1 books by Aesop in the library →

If this one stays with you…

From Aesop's Fables

A Dog and a Sow were arguing and each claimed that its own young ones were finer than those of any other animal. "Well," said the Sow at last, "mine can see, at any rate, when they come into the world: but yours are born blind."

— THE DOG AND THE SOW 589

The Moon once begged her Mother to make her a gown. "How can I?" replied she; "there's no fitting your figure. At one time you're a New Moon, and at another you're a Full Moon; and between whiles you're neither one nor the other."

— THE MOON AND HER MOTHER 574

Injuries are never forgotten in the presence of those who caused them.

572

The fewer airs you give yourself the better, my friend. You don't think, do you, that your bell was given you as a reward of merit? On the contrary, it is a badge of disgrace.

— THE MISCHIEVOUS DOG 562

Some mischievous Boys were playing on the edge of a pond, and, catching sight of some Frogs swimming about in the shallow water, they began to amuse themselves by pelting them with stones, and they killed several of them. At last one of the Frogs put his head out of the water and said, "Oh, stop! stop! I beg of you: what is sport to you is death to us."

— THE BOYS AND THE FROGS 553

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