"We spend a good amount of our income on food (much of which we probably don't need) and less of our income on food for thought (which all of us probably need much more)." ******************************************** " ... all I can say is 'Bravo!' It's about time somebody resurrected Aesop ... " " ... less than the price of a cup of 'designer' coffee you can obtain these well-written, re-imaginings of Aesop's most famous fables ... " " ... fun, ultra-quick reads that occasionally make you stop and think." ***************** ***************** Written for adults, Shannon Hill's second published work, Aesop's Twist, is for all those who enjoyed hearing Aesop's Fables as children and who still fondly harbor happy memories. The most famous and beloved of Aesop's Fables are all here and ... they have new endings. New amusements, new life lessons. New ... twists.

"Necessity is the mother of invention." "Practice what you preach." Join the wolf, polar bear, raven, and many more as they learn (and teach!) many of life's invaluable lessons in this arctic retelling of the classic Aesop's Fables. A ringed seal discovers that the truth can be a powerful friend; an Arctic Ground Squirrel learn to be careful what she wishes for; and the porcupine knows that slow and steady wins the race. With beautiful illustrations by Alaskan painter Jim Fowler, the twelve fables here are uniquely set in the landscape of the Alaskan wilderness.

"The Hare and the Tortoise" and "The Lion and the Mouse" are just two of the thirteen classic fables presented in this bright picture book for early readers. Reprint.

Turns a critical eye on Aesop's Fables to ask whether there is any scientific truth to Aesop's portrayal of his animals. Despite originating more than two-and-a-half thousand years ago, Aesop's Fables are still passed on from parent to child, and are embedded in our collective consciousness. The morals we have learned from these tales continue to inform our judgements, but have the stories also informed how we regard their animal protagonists? If so, is there any truth behind the stereotypes? Are wolves deceptive villains? Are crows insightful geniuses? And could a tortoise really beat a hare in a race? In Aesop's Animals, zoologist Jo Wimpenny turns a critical eye to the fables to discover whether there is any scientific truth to Aesop's portrayal of the animal kingdom. She brings the tales into the twenty-first century, introducing the latest findings on some of the most fascinating branches of ethological research – the study of why animals do the things they do. In each chapter she interrogates a classic fable and a different topic – future planning, tool use, self-recognition, cooperation and deception – concluding with a verdict on the veracity of each fable's portrayal from a scientific perspective. By sifting fact from fiction in one of the most beloved texts of our culture, Aesop's Animals explores and challenges our preconceived notions about animals, the way they behave, and the roles we both play in our shared world.

A Lion had come to the end of his days and lay sick unto death at the mouth of his cave, gasping for breath. The animals, his subjects, came round him and drew nearer as he grew more and more helpless. When they saw him on the point of death they thought to themselves: ‘Now is the time to pay off old grudges.’ So the Boar came up and drove at him with his tusks; then a Bull gored him with his horns; still the Lion lay helpless before them: so the Ass, feeling quite safe from danger, came up, and turning his tail to the Lion kicked up his heels into his face. ‘This is a double death,’ growled the Lion. Only cowards insult dying majesty. A Farmer one day came to the stables to see to his beasts of burden: among them was his favourite Ass, that was always well fed and often carried his master. With the Farmer came his Lapdog, who danced about and licked his hand and frisked about as happy as could be. The Farmer felt in his pocket, gave the Lapdog some dainty food, and sat down while he gave his orders to his servants …

ABOUT THE BOOK I was fascinated by Aesop’s fables as a child. The colorful animal characters and gripping plots captivated my imagination. I was intensely curious to find out how the conflict at hand would be resolved and what magical animal character would be introduced next. Still enthralled by this appealing genre, I now find myself amazed at how loudly the enchanting tales’ morals resonate in real life. Indeed, it is a struggle to find any Aesop moral that does not manifest itself in everyday life. I am taken by the fables’ unique ability to transcend geographic and cultural divides. This truly powerful meme has seen translations to countless languages worldwide as well as film adaptations, commercials and theater. The fables are an integral part of mainstream education worldwide and have even inspired a long list of widely used phrases and expressions. The impact of Aesop’s Fables on modern culture is immense. Rarely does a work of art bear such overwhelming relevance to human existence. This relevance may indeed be the secret to the fables’ long lasting appeal and unfading success. These fables don’t just entertain but deliver sound, prudent advice. Through the simplest of narratives they provide useful life-improving lessons such as, ‘Beware of False Flattery,’ ‘Prepare for a Rainy Day,’ ‘Beware the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,’ and ‘Appreciate That Truth is in the Eye of the Beholder.’ As a writer I am in awe of Aesop’s storytelling skill and impeccable delivery. With cleverly crafted dialogue and immaculately thought-out hidden messages, Aesop leads readers to the one inevitable conclusion that is the moral of the story. His ability to guise human emotions in animal characters is uncanny, and his insight into human psyche simply priceless. MEET THE AUTHOR Hannah Gal is an award winning artist, filmmaker and writer. She studies fine arts and photography and exhibited work and films in in galleries and film festivals worldwide. Gal has been nominated to the prestigious Beck's Futures award and made the multi award winning Adobe commissioned film Breathe. This was followed by a documentary about the life of Leon Greenman (An Englishman in Auschwitz) and Savage based on the worst recorded case of child abuse in the US. Hannah's credits include The Independent, BBC1, Huffington Post, three book titles, MacWorld, PDN, MTV, Sky and many more. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK All fables teach a lesson but each fable’s moral is different. Through The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing we learn that appearances are often deceiving, while The Fox and the Lion concludes that familiarity breeds contempt. It is safe to say that the overriding consistent theme throughout all the fables is the advocacy of a decent, honest, wise and, in a sense, riotous behavior. Among other qualities, the morals promote prudence, patience, avoidance of futile arguments, consideration of others’ viewpoints, favoring action over cheap talk, planning ahead, unity, and caution. Some fables, such as Jupiter and the Monkey, maintain the positive theme but, rather than giving advice, simply offer observations on human behavior. Through this particular fable we learn that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, whereas The Goose Who Laid the Golden Eggs comments on how destructive human greed can be. The characters in Aesop’s fables are animals and objects that assume human qualities. These characters change from one short fable to another but carry the same motifs throughout the entire collection; the fox is always cunning, the tortoise remains timid and slow and the wolf is cruel in all the fables in which he appears. Aesop’s animal and object characters speak to each other and display human emotions, such as paternal love, jealousy, greed, and respect, among a multitude of others. At the heart of the fables there is always a dilemma or conflict which the characters work to resolve. This is a recurring theme in all of Aesop’s fables, where the curiosity-inducing conflict/dilemma is introduced very early on in the story and animals help bring it to a conclusion. The story of The Lion and the Mouse, for example, presents a situation in which the fierce lion is angry after being awakened by a mouse. The conflict here is in the mouse’s successful pleading for his life, with the suggestion that he might be able to return the favor some day, which the lion finds laughable. The improbable idea of a tiny mouse being of use to the king of the jungle is soon met when the mouse nibbles through a hunter’s net to free the trapped, exhausted lion. Buy a copy to keep reading!

In 1489 Johan Hurus printed the first collection of fables in Spain, Lavida del Ysopetconsusfabulas hystoriadas. Illustrated with nearly 200 woodcuts, this work quickly became the most-read book in Spain, beloved of both children and adults. Reprinted many times in the next three centuries and carried to the New World, it brought to Spanish letters a cornucopia of Aesopic fables, oriental apologues, and folktales that were borrowed by such writers as Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and especially the fabulists Iriarte and Samaniego. John Keller and Clark Keating now present the first English translation of this important literary work. The Latin and German lineage of La vida was significant, for it placed Spain in the mainstream of European fable lore. The highly fictitious life of Aesop, the misshapen Greek slave who reached the highest social level, contributed to the development of medieval romance and the picaresque novel. The book is thus important to students of comparative literature, literary history, and the development of the Spanish language. Of equal value are the woodcuts, which depict the daily life of medieval Europe and contribute to a better understanding of fifteenth-century art history, bookmaking, natural history, and the visualization of narrative. La vida del Ysopet thus constitutes one of the finest concordances of text and illustration in European literary history.

In 1489 Johan Hurus printed the first collection of fables in Spain, Lavida del Ysopetconsusfabulas hystoriadas. Illustrated with nearly 200 woodcuts, this work quickly became the most-read book in Spain, beloved of both children and adults. Reprinted many times in the next three centuries and carried to the New World, it brought to Spanish letters a cornucopia of Aesopic fables, oriental apologues, and folktales that were borrowed by such writers as Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and especially the fabulists Iriarte and Samaniego. John Keller and Clark Keating now present the first English translation of this important literary work. The Latin and German lineage of La vida was significant, for it placed Spain in the mainstream of European fable lore. The highly fictitious life of Aesop, the misshapen Greek slave who reached the highest social level, contributed to the development of medieval romance and the picaresque novel. The book is thus important to students of comparative literature, literary history, and the development of the Spanish language. Of equal value are the woodcuts, which depict the daily life of medieval Europe and contribute to a better understanding of fifteenth-century art history, bookmaking, natural history, and the visualization of narrative. La vida del Ysopet thus constitutes one of the finest concordances of text and illustration in European literary history.

Despite originating more than two-and-a-half thousand years ago, Aesop's Fables are still passed on from parent to child, and are embedded in our collective consciousness. The morals we have learned from these tales continue to inform our judgements, but have the stories also informed how we regard their animal protagonists? If so, is there any truth behind the stereotypes? Are wolves deceptive villains? Are crows insightful geniuses? And could a tortoise really beat a hare in a race? In Aesop's Animals, zoologist Jo Wimpenny turns a critical eye to the fables to discover whether there is any scientific truth to Aesop's portrayal of the animal kingdom. She brings the tales into the twenty-first century, introducing the latest findings on some of the most fascinating branches of ethological research – the study of why animals do the things they do. In each chapter she interrogates a classic fable and a different topic – future planning, tool use, self-recognition, cooperation and deception – concluding with a verdict on the veracity of each fable's portrayal from a scientific perspective. By sifting fact from fiction in one of the most beloved texts of our culture, Aesop's Animals explores and challenges our preconceived notions about animals, the way they behave, and the roles we both play in our shared world.

"Everything I needed to know about Fox and Grapes mirror, I knew the moment I first saw it" What antiques restorer Maryalice Huggins knew when she stumbled across the mirror at a country auction in Rhode Island was this: She was besotted. Rococo and huge (more than eight feet tall), the mirror was one of the most unusual objects she had ever seen. Huggins had to have it. The frame's elaborate carvings were almost identical to a famous eighteenth-century design. Could this be eighteenth-century American? That would make it rare indeed. But in the rarefied world of American antiques, an object is not significant unless you can prove where it's from. Huggins set out to trace the origins of her magnificent mirror. Fueled with the delightfully obsessive spirit of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, Aesop's Mirror follows Huggins on her quest as she goes up against the leading lights of the very male world of high-end antiques and dives into the historical archives. And oh, what she finds there! The mirror was likely passed down through generations of the illustrious Brown family of Providence, Rhode Island. Throughout history, mirrors have been seen as having mystical powers, enabling those who peer into them to connect the past and the future. In Aesop's Mirror, Maryalice Huggins does just that, creating a marvelous, one-of-kind book about a marvelous, one of-a-kind American treasure.