Aesop Abbrev'd (A Nonsense Rhyme)

A is for Aesop. ('Tis I.
You'd act brash? Spell it 'ash, sigma, omicron, pi.')

Read here: "Andra moi ennepe Mu-..."?*
Not one whit! Here's writ lit -- bits of wit fit for fou.**
     * The opening words of Homer's Odyssey.
     ** French for 'crazy.'

B is for "Belling the Cat."
Point? To say ain't to do. (Dudes like you should know that.)

C's for "The Cock and the Jew'l."
What's its gist? Who persists fetching frills finds a fool.

D's for "The Dog in the Manger."
Who accrues without using: purrs any cur stranger?

E is for Ennus, my scion.
Me he jail'd. Si, he fail'd. (Enn's no gens I'd rely on.")

F's for "The Fawn And His Mother."
No raison favors fight -- not when flight be one's druther.

G's for "The Gnat and the Bull."
'Tis so true: you're just you. Let not pride pull the wool.

H? For "The Hare And The Tortoise."
Rule to keep: Never sleep! (Just remember Abe Fortas.)

I's for "The Idol of Clay."
Not cajol'd, to it pray though you may,
it spills gold when you break it one day.
(It appears this god hears...in his roundabout way.)

J is for "Jove and the Monkey."
Please to note: one's son's haut, be he fair-faced or funky."

K's for "The King of the Frogs."
Lesson? Don't for storks sue; do make do with god's logs.

L's fpr "The Lion in Love."
Be that passion's irrational cognizant of.

M's for "The Miser's Lost Gold."
Knick'd: the lot! Nor is Cotta* cajol'd.
"Still," folks thought, "nowt got bought; nowt got sold:
what's amiss?" Merely this: not one dollar he doled!
     * Alexander Pope's personification of the miser.

N? For "The Neats Tongues Adventure."
When our gallant's droll talents prov'd awkward to censure.

O's for "The Old Man and Death."
Don't entreat Death's relief! Save your breath! Death's a thief.

P's for "The Peacock And Juno."
Point? You can't have it all. Folks will call you...(well, you know).

Q's for "The Quack Frog: A Fable."
First, Docteur: thyself cure! Or deserve your 'quack' label.

R? "The Irrational Raven."
Change of scene doesn't mean that you'll glean all you're cravin.'

S? For "The Stag at the Pool."
Don't write off that which oft proves a life-saving tool.

T's for "The Thieves and the Cock."
Your belief that a thief won't undo you's a crock.

U? "The Four Oxen United."
Graze alone, on your own? Quick demise you've invited.

V's for "The Vine and the Goat."
Break your fast: who'll laugh last when lays open your throat?

W? "The Wolf and the Kid."
Acting smart ain't no art when one's cautiously hid.

X is for Xanthus, my master.
Were slave not Aesop's lot, would've pastures proved vaster?

Y's for "A Youth and His Mother."
Raise your child to run wild; watch him wind up no other.

Z's for "The Zephyr/Sol War."
What beats force? Well, of course, exhortations do. Or...