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Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables, Another Lion



Hi! For my first reading this week I read Aesop's Fables. I have always thought these were fun stories and enjoyed some of the lessons they teach. One in particular that I read was about listening to one's parents which I think is really important, because that is how we learn to be adult and keep ourselves safe. However, this story was told from the perspective of two lions, a father and son. The father tells the son when he is young not to go picking a fight with humans because he will lose. Later when the little lion is older, he disregards what his father taught him, and goes looking for a man to grapple with. When he finds the man, he is tricked into putting his paw in a trap and to get free he loses his claws. While this is a great lesson, I thought it was kind of backwards. If anything I think that humans would be wise to avoid picking a fight with lions. So if I were to rewrite it I would put the characters in the opposite position. I would have a father tell his children not to pick fights with lions, and then the children would have to learn that he was right the hard way.


I have included two photos of a lions that I might use if I write a story based on this Aesop's Fable. The drawing is of an extinct Cape Lion done by Rembrandt. I liked it for it's aged appearance because it looked to me like what an illustration in an old children's book. The other is of an adult lion and a cub which would be fitting for the original story.



Bibliography 


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