Activity One:

Fables vs. Morals

Activity Two:

Aesop

More fables from: http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/

What are fables?What are fables?

• Fables are short stories which teach a lesson and are often about animals.

• Websters’ definition: – (adj.) of or relating to principles of rig

ht and wrong in behavior,

– (adj.) expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior.

– (n.) the moral significance or practical lesson (as of a story)

What are morals?What are morals?

InstructionsInstructions• There are 10 cards

– 5 number cards: fables– 5 alphabet cards: morals

• Pick a number card first, and guess which alphabet card carries its moral.

• Whenever your team get a matched pair (a number card with the corresponding alphabet card), you can get 10 points.

• If not, it’s another team’s turn.

answers

Click the number chosen by students.

A crab, forsaking the seashore, chose a neighboring green meadow as its feeding ground. A hungry fox came across him, and ate him up. Just as he was on the point of being eaten, the Crab said, “I well deserve my fate, for what business had I on the land, when by my nature and habits I am only adapted for the sea?”

Two Frogs lived together in a marsh. But one hot summer the marsh dried up, and they left it to look for another place to live in. By and by they came to a deep well, and one of them looked down into it, and said to the other, “This looks a nice cool place. Let us jump in and settle here.” But the other, who had a wiser head on his shoulders, replied, “Not so fast, my friend. Supposing this well dried up like the marsh, how should we get out again?”

A thirsty Ant went to the bank of a river for water. Somehow, he was carried away by the rush of the stream and was on the point of drowning. To save the ant, a Dove plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream. The Ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, preparing to harm the Dove with twigs. The Ant stung him in the foot. In pain the birdcatcher threw down the twigs, and the noise made the Dove take wing.

A man took an ass home on trial to see what he was like. When he reached home, he put the ass into his stable along with the other asses. The newcomer took a look round, and immediately chose a place next to the laziest and greediest beast. On seeing this, the man took the animal back to its owner right away. “Why, have you tested him already?” asked the owner. “I don’t want to put him through any more tests,” replied the other. “I could see what sort of beast he is from the companion he chose for himself.”

A dying old man summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. He ordered his servants to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son: “Break it.” The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break it. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. “Untie the buddle,” said the father, “and each of you take a stick.” When they had done so, he called out to them: “Now, break,” and each stick was easily broken. “You see my meaning,” said their father.

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Ant and the Dove

Moral: One good turn deserves another.

好心有好報 。

Fable: The Crab and the Fox

Moral: Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness.

知足常樂。

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Bundle of Sticks

Moral: Union gives strength.

團結就是力量。

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Frogs and the Well

Moral: Look before we leap.三思而後行。

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Ass and his Purchaser

Moral: A man is known by the company he keeps.

觀其友，知其人。

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Ant and the Dove

Moral: One good turn deserves another.

好心有好報 。

Go back to the cards

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Crab and the Fox

Moral: Contentment with our lot is an

element of happiness.

知足常樂。

Fable: The Bundle of Sticks

Moral: Union gives strength.

團結就是力量。

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Frogs and the Well

Moral: Look before we leap.三思而後行。

Go back to the cards

Go back to the cards

Fable: The Ass and his Purchaser

Moral: A man is known by the company

he keeps.

觀其友，知其人。

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THE END

Instruction 1/2Instruction 1/2

• You are going to read a short biography of a famous writer—Aesop.

• While showing the slides, your teacher won’t do any explaining for you. Each page will stay for 20~30 seconds, depending on how fast you can read.

Instruction 2/2Instruction 2/2

• You have to work on the worksheet while reading the slides, answering 10 True/False questions based on the slides.

• In the end, we’ll check the answers together and then we can go through the slides and the teacher will explain things you don’t understand.

• The author of these Fables, Aesop, is thought to have lived from 620 to 560 B.C., but his place of birth is uncertain. Whether he came from Ethiopia, Phrygia, Samos, Athens, Sardis or Thrace, we do not know, but some early writers said that he was the slave in what is now Greece.

1-9

• Aesop had undoubtedly been freed by his master, for he later lived at the court of King Croesus. There, he met the great ruler of Athens. Aesop visited his court and persuaded the citizens to allow their ruler to keep his throne. He did this by telling them the Fable of the Frogs Desiring a King.

2-9

• Some stories recorded Aesop’s violent death. Again, exactly how he was given offence is uncertain. One writer says it was due to the sarcasm in the Fables; another says that he embezzled money given him by King Croesus of Lydia; and yet another version has it that Aesop stole a silver cup.

3-9

• There are some writers who deny the existence of such a person as Aesop, and it is true that we have but little details of his life and work. Some said Aesop was an ugly, deformed dwarf. But others said nothing about his appearance. For many, Aesop remains to be a mysterious figure in the history.

4-9

• Even so, people believe that Aesop told his stories to many people and they were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth and were not written down for over two hundred years.

5-9

• By the time of the Middle Ages, three collections of the so-called Aesop's Fables existed: one put together by a monk in the 14th century; another published in 1610; and a manuscript discovered in Florence, dating back probably to the 13th century.

6-9

• Animals in Aesop’s fables are always treated in an abstract or impersonal manner and are never given names. However, depending on the translator, the stories are often humorous and entertaining.

7-9

• Today, Aesop’s Fables can be read in more than 250 languages. The work was first printed in English by William Caxton in 1484, from his own translation made from the French.

8-9

• Children read fables as a part of literature, but Aesop used the fable as a means of political and social criticism. His fables have meaning for us today, but to assure that the reader understands the message, a moral is added to the fable.

9-9

Answers to the QuestionsAnswers to the Questions

1-5 T T T F T

6-10 T F T T T

• The author of these Fables, Aesop, is thought to have lived from 620 to 560 B.C., but his place of birth is uncertain. Whether he came from Ethiopia, Phrygia, Samos, Athens, Sardis or Thrace, we do not know, but some early writers said that he was the slave ( 奴隸 ) in what is now Greece.

1-9

• Aesop had undoubtedly ( 毫無疑問地 ) been freed by his master, for he later lived at the court of King Croesus. There, he met the great ruler of Athens. Aesop visited his court and persuaded ( 說服 ) the citizens to allow their ruler to keep his throne ( 擁有王位 ). He did this by telling them the Fable of the Frogs Desiring a King.

2-9

• Some stories recorded Aesop’s violent death ( 死於暴力 ). Again, exactly how he was given offence is uncertain. One writer says it was due to the sarcasm ( 諷刺 ) in the Fables; another says that he embezzled ( 盜用 ) money given him by King Croesus of Lydia; and yet another version ( 版本 ) has it that Aesop stole a silver cup.

3-9

• There are some writers who deny ( 否認 ) the existence of such a person as Aesop, and it is true that we have but little details of his life and work. Some said Aesop was an ugly, deformed dwarf ( 畸形的侏儒 ). But others said nothing about his appearance. For many, Aesop remains to be a mysterious figure ( 人物 ) in the history.

4-9

• Even so, people believe that Aesop told his stories to many people and they were passed down from generation to generation ( 代代相傳 ) by word of mouth and were not written down for over two hundred years.

5-9

• By the time of the Middle Ages, three collections of the so-called Aesop‘s Fables existed: one put together by a monk ( 僧侶 ) in the 14th century; another published in 1610; and a manuscript ( 手稿 ) discovered in Florence, dating back ( 追溯到 ) probably to the 13th century.

6-9

• Animals in Aesop’s fables are always treated in an abstract ( 抽象的 ) or impersonal manner and are never given names. However, depending on the translator, the stories are often humorous and entertaining ( 有趣味的 ).

7-9

• Today, Aesop’s Fables can be read in more than 250 languages. The work was first printed in English by William Caxton in 1484, from his own translation ( 翻譯 ) made from the French.

8-9

• Children read fables as a part of literature ( 文學 ), but Aesop used the fable as a means ( 手段 ) of political and social criticism ( 批判 ). His fables have meaning for us today, but to assure that the reader understands the message, a moral is added to the fable.

9-9

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THE END