About Aesop...
Much is known about Aesop's Fables,
as they have been retold again and again through the ages. Aesop
himself is kind of a mystery. His origins have been disputed to the
point of questioning his existence at all. Historians believe that he
is from Phrygia in Asia Minor. He is believed to have been a slave in
Samos in 550 B.C. His owner was believed to have given him freedom. He
displeased the tyrannical ruler, Peisistratus, because he was against
tyranny and voiced his opinion. The cause of Aesop's death is unknown,
but has been suggested that it might have to do with his sarcasm. After
reading his fables, you might agree with this assumption.
Aesop's Fables are very short stories about lessons learned through
various situations. In many of his fables, there is a dirty, rotten,
bad character. I'm going to take you to a place where these characters
go to let off some steam and talk about their problems. It's called
Grizzly's. There, Grizzly himself runs the place. He has his own bad
wrap. After people started reading the fables, no one wanted to chat
with bears for fear that they would attack. So all of his friends would
play dead around him so that he wouldn't attack. He became very lonely
and opened up the bar in the middle of the woods so that he could
regain the trust of other animals. Grizzly
is a friendly bartender and stays behind the bar at all times so
that no one will worry about getting attacked. Naturally, it became
popular for the misunderstood characters of Aesop's Fables.
The only kids who come into my bar are mostly guys needing to talk
about their bad reputation from this Aesop character. His fables really
get to the kids around here... most of them aren't so bad, just
misunderstood.
Grizzly at his bar in the woods
My name is Grizzly. I run this bar. It's tucked back in the woods, so
people can take a load off, tell me their problems, and have a brew if
they want. If the authorities knew I was here, they'd surely shut the
place down. I'm not exactly liked in the village, because of this Aesop
guy... He really messed up my reputation. After people read his fables,
I didn't even have a chance to make friends!
We get a lot of fugitives, unfortunately. They're kids on the run
because the fables that Aesop is writin' gives them a bad name and they
get shunned out of their community.
It's a shame, really... But they know if they start trouble here, I can
handle them. So all of them come to my place and tell me their problems
and relax. They know I won't judge 'em. Ain't no problem too tough to
stump me. I've always got a piece of advice for 'em. But sometimes
Aesop ain't tellin' the whole story.
That really gets under my skin. I always wondered why his stories were
so short, and I think it's cause he's lazy.
These bad guys are just misunderstood most of the time. I used to be a
bad guy too, but it was cause I had to. I've learned since my crazy
days... I grew up with a rough life. I didn't have no choice!
But I turned out to be a good guy... for the most part. He makes some
of these kids look like awful liars. They're some of my regulars. And
they're much kinder than the fables make 'em out to be. Aesop just
caught them on a bad day. Like the fox, or the shepherd's boy, or even
the blue jay! Man, despite some of their
actions, they've all got a
heart of gold. I mean, I can relate. I was once in their shoes...
I think it's all well and good that Aesop is teachin' others to have
good morals, but these guys are just misunderstood! That's why I'm
here. To tell 'em that there's always redemption. I mean, it's the 6th
century BC! We shouldn't be so quick to judge now a days. This Aesop
fellow is just givin' them a bad name!
Well speak of the devil, my good friend Fox looks pretty upset. I
wonder what he's gotten himself into this time...
the fox and the crow
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