Sjömansbiblioteket

‘The Ant and The Grass Hopper’ is a fable that teaches the importance of planning, of self-reliance and hard work. The frolicking grass hopper spends his summer dancing and never working while the ant makes sure to put aside supplies for the coming winter. It is a tale that resonates to this day thanks to its important message of the importance of hard work as well as having fun. It is great reading for all ages on the importance of being able to plan and support yourself.

Aesop (620-564 BCE) was a Greek story teller and fabulist who’s collection of fables continue to resonate and be taught to this day. His work is characterised by animals and inanimate objects with distinctly human traits, that speak and solve problems. None of his original work survives to this day, it is thanks to his popularity that his works survive in sources from Aristotle, Plutarch and Herodotus. Little is known about him but ancient stories describe him as an exceptionally ugly slave who, thanks to his cleverness, acquired his freedom, becoming an advisor to Kings and city-states.

Aesop's fables feature animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that speak, solve problems, and generally have human characteristics. All the stories story lead to a particular moral lesson.