A Fable is a type of short story that uses animals as the main characters. In fables, the animals can imitate human behaviors. For example, they can communicate with each other with the languages that human uses. The animal characters in the story can wear shirts and trousers like human.
They can also walk like human, for example, the goat standing upright on the hind leg in the story. The short stories written by Aesop are good examples of fable. Aesop is a Greek slave believed to have existed in Ancient Greece sometime around 550 B.C. Some claim that Aesop did not write the stories but they were written by Phaedrus.
Aesop fable is an inspiration to the Western tradition of fables. Aesop fables is one of the biggest collection of fables in the public domain with more than 665 stories to read. The earliest collection of Aesop fables was found to be dated back to the 4th century. Its stories have been rewritten and published by many other modern authors.
Many phrases that are used in everyday conversation such as sour grapes are actually taken from the fables written by Aesop. Besides Aesop, there are other popular ancient writers such as Babrius, Phaedrus, and Abstemius. Modern writers of fables include Rudyard Kiping, Beatrix Potter and Lewis Caroll.
Fables have been around for thousands of years and many parents are still reading them as bedtime stories for kids. It flourishes during the Middle ages just like other forms of literatures. Marie de France is among the first to compile a collection of fables in the 12th century. Many of the stories that she compiled feature a heroic theme. Fables become popular as they are being introduced into children literature in the 19th century.
In a fable, animals are used to highlight the weaknesses of human beings in order to make a point in the moral lesson. It is very rare to find human characters in a fable story. These short stories can be great for teaching young readers about life lessons. Your child can reflect on the stories and understand why he should have good behavior.
Fables can be as short as a single paragraph which makes them easy to read during the little spare time that you have, for example, office lunch break, and waiting for bus. Many of the Aesop fables have illustrations by Walter Crane. Some have black and white illustrations. But the illustrations are not important as you can imagine the stories in your own mind as you read them.
Because it is short, it is easy to read for young children who are starting to learn how to read. Another reason why fable makes a perfect story reading time is because children like to interact with animals and they would find them cute. Your kids will be able to learn various types of animals as they read the stories.
If your child has no interest in reading longer stories, you can get them started by reading fables first. They will have more patience in reading short fable stories which can lead to a good reading habit. After your child has read one story, you can ask him to tell you about what he had read and recount the storyline. You can ask your child a series of questions to see how well he remember and understand what he has read.
In conclusion, encouraging your child to read fables can offer a lot of benefits to him. He will be able to spend his time meaningfully learning moral values that will have positive impact on his life afterwards. Many of the popular fables that you have read in your childhood are now in the public domain. If you search online, you can find them on children literature sites.
Fable short story explains moral values in a straightforward way that is easy for a child to understand. You should encourage your children to regularly read fables which contains moral lessons that can help them to grow up to become better people.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Zirkon_Kalti/517955
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9823734