Proverbs and Fables

A PROVERB is a saying that gives advice or teaches a lesson. “Like father, like son.” “The early bird gets the worm”

A FABLE is a short story that teaches a lesson A FABLE is a short story that teaches a lesson. This lesson is sometimes called a “moral.” You may have heard the expression: “Look before you leap.” This expression is the moral of several fables.

How do fables and proverbs compare?

What is a fable? A made up story that uses animals as its characters. In fables, animals talk and act like a person which is personification. Must pick an animal that fits the vice (bad characteristic) and or virtue (good characteristic.) A fable is very descriptive except in the title.

Usually have an idea or theme of good versus bad. They always have a moral or a lesson that should be learned.

. Aesop’s Fables Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller who lived around 550 BCE. He was also a slave. He lived in ancient Rome, in the home of a wealthy Roman family.   Legend says … Aesop’s Roman master was so delighted with Aesop’s fables that he granted Aesop his freedom!

*Most famous fables were told by a slave Aesop People realized the stories were about them so they wanted him to stop telling the fables. When he continued telling the fables, the people go very angry and ended up pushing him over a cliff and killing him. Since the fables were told, they often changed some from person to person.

Aesop’s Fables There are no records to prove that Aesop ever wrote anything down. Fortunately, after his death, people did write down every fable they could remember.   Over the centuries, Aesop's fables have been rewritten and illustrated and translated into nearly every language in the world.

Aesop’s Fables Today, we still enjoy these wonderful stories created over 2,500 years ago!  Each is a very short story, and each has a moral.   Like this one …

You do not name the characters in your fable; they are just known by what they are. You must capitalize what they are because this is considered their name.

Your fable must be: two pages long, must be decorated, and must have a moral that is at the bottom, centered, With quotation marks around it, and in italics. ****Remember your animals must be capitalized.