Audiobook · read by volunteers
Aesop's Fables, Volume 12 (Fables 276-284)
Aesop (620–564 BC)
Read by Alex Buie, Alan Davis Drake (1945-2010), Annie Coleman Rothenberg, Brennan Holtzclaw, JemmaBlythe · 9 chapters · 11 min
About the book
The twelfth volume of Aesop's Fables is the shortest of the series, gathering just nine tales numbered 276 to 284. Here are Grief and His Due, The Hawk, the Kite and the Pigeons, and The Woman and the Farmer, along with six more miniatures. Each one sets up a small problem and settles it in a few lines: a protector who proves worse than the danger, a god who shapes humankind, a figure of Grief who claims his due. Five LibriVox volunteers, including Alex Buie and Alan Davis Drake, share the reading. With a running time of just a few minutes more than ten, it is the perfect little finale to a long journey through the collection, or a first taste for someone who wants to see what these old stories sound like. Short, plain and quietly wise, they ask for nothing but your attention.
Introduction
Aesop is the name linked to a very large body of fables, traditionally set in the sixth century BC. The years 620 to 564 BC are often cited. His historical existence is uncertain, but the stories attributed to him have been told so widely that they have become part of a shared worldwide heritage.
This recording is the twelfth and last of a numbered series of the fables in an English edition dated 1912, and it holds fables 276 to 284. It is deliberately short, because the numbering of the collection simply ends here, and the volume therefore contains nine pieces rather than twenty-five. Among them is Grief and His Due, a different kind of tale in which an abstract idea behaves like a person, a reminder that the fables are not all about animals.
The audio edition has 9 chapters and lasts about 0.2 hours. Five volunteers read, including Alex Buie and the late Alan Davis Drake.
Why listen today? The fables are efficient: each takes less time than a song and leaves a lasting thought. Completing the series is satisfying, and this small volume makes that easy. It is also a good reminder that moral stories can be witty, concise and free of heavy solemnity. Since there are only nine tales, you can listen to the whole thing at a single sitting, or choose one at random for a moment of quiet. It also makes a suitable companion to the earlier volumes for readers who like to complete a series, tracing how the style stays constant while the situations change.
Public domain
Aesop died in 564 BC: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text