Fables and Morals

What are fables?

Are they the same as fairytales?

What’s their purpose?

Are they found in every culture?

y

Early form of story tellingBelieved to be originated in IndiaAesop – Most famous fable teller –

a Greek Slave who lived about 620 B.C.

Some things you should know about Fables…

AESOP

Credited for most of the known fables heard today.

His fables include “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” and “The Lion and the Wolf.”

Short stories

What are some characteristics of fables?

Features animals, plants & forces of nature with human qualities

Handed down generation after generation

Fables teach a lesson that everyone can understand. They connect us with other cultures.

Which of these are characteristics of fables?

A) Human Gods

B) Animals with human characteristics

C) Happy endings

D) All of the above

So what are fairy tales?

Start with “Once upon a time”

Setting in a castle, forest or town

Story has good/evil characters

Fairy Tales cont.

Have many characters are animals or royalty

Have magic

Have the numbers 3 or 7 in it

Has a story with a problem

The problem in story is solved

Good wins over evil

A Fairy Tale also….

Which one is not a characteristic of a

fairytale?A) Has the numbers 3 and 7B) Once upon a timeC) Good wins over EvilD) Teaches a lesson

How are fables and fairy tales the same?

Handed down from generation to generation

Fictional stories – not true

Similarities: Fables &Fairy Tales

• Connect us with different cultures

• For all ages

Differences

FablesCharacters: Animals

that act like humans

Teaches a lesson

Fairy TalesCharacters: Royalty

Good vs. Evil

Fables of Different cultures

Involve animals found in that culture

Reflects cultural beliefs

Fable: The Tortoise and the Hare

• The hare laughed at the tortoise’s short feet and slow pace.

• The tortoise challenged him to a race

• The hare agreed

Tortoise and the Hare

• The tortoise never stopped, he went slow and steady the whole way

• The hare thought he had time and took a nap

• He finally woke up, and rushed to the finish line

Tortoise and the Hare

MORAL: Don’t rush into things

Fables can have more than one lesson.

Another lesson for the tortoise and the Hare is “Slow and Steady wins the race”

Animals Used in Fables

Lion – Strength, Big EgoDonkey- stupid

Fox – Sly• Hawk: tyrannical

Animals Used in Fables

Wolf – Greed, Dishonest Fly- wise

Hen- conceitedLamb – Shyness

Using Fables and their Morals

The Frog and the Ox

A young frog, amazed at the huge size of an ox, rushed to tell her father about the monster. The father frog, trying to impress his child, puffed himself up to look like the ox. The young frog said it was much bigger. Again the father puffed himself up. The young frog insisted the monster was even bigger. The father puffed and puffed - and burst!

Match the Moral to the Fable

.Persuasion is better

than force.

Make hay while the

sun shines.

Small friends can be powerful

allies.

Beauty is in the eye of

the beholder.

Don’t just follow the

crowd.

Liars may give

themselves away.

Pride can be costly.Sometimes

we do not see our own strengths.

The Monkey and the Dolphin

A monkey fell from a ship and was rescued by a dolphin. The dolphin asked if he lived nearby. The monkey lied and said that he did. “Do you know Seriphos?” asked the dolphin. The monkey, thinking Seriphos was a person’s name, boasted that it was his best friend. As Seriphos was a town, the dolphin knew the monkey was lying, so he dived, leaving him to swim to shore.

Match the Moral to the Fable

.Persuasion is better

than force.

Make hay while the

sun shines.

Small friends can be powerful

allies.

Beauty is in the eye of

the beholder.

Don’t just follow the

crowd.

Liars may give

themselves away.

Pride can be costly.Sometimes

we do not see our own strengths.

The Fox and the Old Lion

An old lion sent out word that he was ill and said that he would like the animals and birds to visit him. Most went but fox did not. Finally the lion sent for him, asking why he had not come to see him. The clever fox replied, “I had planned to, but I noticed that although many tracks led into your cave, none led out.”

Match the Moral to the Fable

.Persuasion is better

than force.

Make hay while the

sun shines.

Small friends can be powerful

allies.

Beauty is in the eye of

the beholder.

Don’t just follow the

crowd.

Liars may give

themselves away.

Pride can be costly.Sometimes

we do not see our own strengths.

The End…but not the end of

fables….

Click here for more examples.

*The Boy Who Cried “Wolf”*The Fox and the Grapes

*The Tortoise and the Hare