Sunday, August 18, 2019
The Lion and the Mouse who Returned a Kindness :: Aesop, Aesops Fables
     Aesop among many other prominant authors wrote tales of animals taking on human characteristics, but none is so prevelant as the reputation of the mighty lion. Known as the king of animals, the lion appears as an object of strength and nobility in countless aspects of life including history, literature, art, astronomy, movies, and dance.      Who is this amazing creature? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the lion (Panthera Leo) is a flesh-eating animal that live cheifly in sandy plains and rocky places where there are thorn thickets and tall grass. Male lions can reach a length of 2.50m (8ft), and a weight of 250kg (550lb). They can live for 15 years, but in captivity some have reached an age of up to 30 years. They mainly eat larger herbivores such as buffalo, zebra, and in cultivated areas an occasionally human. There strength is amazing, and both parents take great care in tending to their young, often referred to as cubs (168-69).      Much is to be said about the mannerisms and personalities of lions, and no one has summed this up as well as Aesop. There are four fables listed in our textbook dealing with the qualities humans believe to be true about lions. These assumptions may have begun with Aesop’s fables, but really knows.                     In the first fable, The Lioness and the Vixen, the saucy personality of the lioness is shown. When denounced for the birth of only one cub, the lioness quickly snaps back aat the vixen, â€Å"Only one, she said, but a lion†(Aesop 607). This answers the question of quality over quanity; and for most the lion is considered the best in quality the â€Å"cream of the crop†as some would say. Aesop iterprets here that the lion knows he is the best, and doesn’t mind sharing it with the rest of the animal kingdom.      Aesop again illustrates the lion as being king in The Lion, The Wolf, , and The Fox. Aesop clearly writes â€Å"all the animals came to pay respect to their king,†(Aesop 607). Even in the title of the fable Aesop lists the lion first before the wolf and fox. This could just be by mishap, or as seen in other fables the animals could be listed in order of appearance in the text. Regardless of the title Aesop gives the lion dominating powers of the other animals. He writes â€Å"the lion demanded to know at once what cure he had found,†(Aesop 608).
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