Aesop’s Fables, whether composed by a single raconteur or a consortium of bards, has enshrined and even branded the name of Aesop for generations of readers. “The firm foundation of common sense, the shrewd shots at uncommon sense, that characterize all the Fables,” wrote G. K. Chesterton, “belong not to him but to humanity.” As legend has it, the storyteller Aesop was a slave who lived in ancient Greece during the sixth century B.C. His memorable, recountable fables have brought amusing characters to life and driven home thought-provoking morals for generations of listeners and modern-day readers. Translated into countless languages and familiar to people around the world, Aesop’s fables never tarnish despite being told again and again. This collection presents nearly 300 of Aesop’s most entertaining and enduring stories—from “The Hare and the Tortoise” and “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” to “The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs” and “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” Populated by a colorful array of animal characters who personify every imaginable human type—from fiddling grasshoppers and diligent ants to sly foxes, wicked wolves, brave mice, and grateful lions—these timeless tales are as fresh and relevant today as when they were first created. Full of humor, insight, and wit, the tales in Aesop’s Fables champion the value of hard work and perseverance, compassion for others, and honesty. They are age-old wisdom in a delicious form, for the consumption of adults and children alike. Aesop may not be a historical figure but rather a name that refers to a group of ancient storytellers. And if a man named Aesop did exist, it is unlikely that he committed any fables to paper before his death by execution. Tradition says that around 620 B.C., Aesop was born a slave owned by Xanthus, and then Iadmon; because of Aesop’s marvelous wit and capacious intellect, Iadmon gave him his freedom. According to Plutarch, Aesop served as a shrewd and capable emissary to the wealthy Croesus, king of Lydia, who employed the fabulist in his court, where he dined with philosophers and from which he traveled on ambassadorial missions. Features numerous illustrations and an alphabetical index of the fables Introduction and Notes by D. L. Ashliman The author of A Guide to Folktales in the English Language, D. L. Ashliman received a B. A. degree from the University of Utah, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Rutgers University, with additional studies at the Universities of Bonn and Göttingen in Germany. He taught folklore, mythology, German, and comparative literature at the University of Pittsburgh for thirty-three years and was emeritized in 2000. He also served as a guest professor in the departments of comparative literature and folklore at the University of Augsburg in Germany. What is the moral philosophy preached by the ancient Greek creators of Aesopic fables? “The Man and the Lion” concludes that “There are two sides to every question,” a view that could serve not only as a moral for this one story, but also as a motto for almost the entire body of Aesopic fables. Given the prevailing view that these tales were actually composed and assembled by many different storytellers and editors, it should come as no surprise that the fables, in spite of their nearly unanimous interest in moral issues, do not form a self-consistent ethical system. In fact, quite the contrary is the case. Paradox, ambiguity, and irony permeate the collection. —from the Introduction by D. L. Ashliman