Presenting the fab fabulist in 26 distichs (several of 'em expanded),
his tales encapsulated for any who'd otherwise give these myths a miss.
For fuller treatments, conduct a web search for 'em or their alternate
titles as provided in the footnotes.
A is for Aesop. 'Tis I.
(Who'd act brash spells it 'ash, sigma, omicron, pi.')*
* Æ, σ, o, π.
Reads one "Andra moi ennepe Mu-..." here...?*
Not one whit! This lit's wit's writ for you, dear.
* The opening line of Homer's Odyssey.
B's for my "Belling the Cat."*
Gist...? To say's not to do. (Dudes like you should know that.)
* Also known as "The Mice in Council."
C's for "The Cock and the Jew'l."
What's its gist...? Who'd persist fetching frills finds...a fool.
D's for "The Dog in the Manger."
Who accrues without using...? Snarls any cur stranger...?
E is for Ennus, my scion.
Me he jailed. Si! He failed. (Enn's no gens I'd rely on.)
F's for "The Fawn and His Mother."
No raisón favors fight -- not when flight is one's druther.
G's for "The Gnat and the Bull."
It's too true: you're just you. Don't let pride pull the wool.
H...? For "The Hare and the Tortoise."
Read and weep; never sleep! (Ring's a bell does Abe Fortas...?)*
* The Justice's descent into scandal is here considered
a sort of ethical somnolence.
I's for "The Idol of Clay."*
Not cajoled (to it pray though one may),
it spills gold when one breaks it one day.
(It appears the god hears -- in his roundabout way.)
* In Aesop's original, the idol is made of wood.
J's for my "Jove and the Monkey."*
Read! Take note! Your son's haut, be he fair-haired or funky.
* Aesop's fable, called "The Beauty Contest of the Animals,"
features Zeus as the judge.
K's for "The King of the Frogs."*
Moral? Don't for storks sue! Do make do with god's logs.
* Also called "The Frogs Who Wished for a King."
L's for "The Lion in Love."
Be how passion's irrational cognizant of.
M's for "The Miser's Lost Gold."
Knick'd: the lot. Nor is Cotta consoled.*
Still, some thought: naught he bought, naught he sold:
what's amiss...? Merely this: not one dollar he'd doled!
* In Aesop's "The Miser and His Gold," the miser
is unnamed. Cotta is Pope's miser in that poet's
"Epistle to Bathurst."
N's for "The Neats' Tongues Adventure,"*
when, on balance, droll talents proved awkward to censure.
* Not a fable but an incident recorded in various
versions of The Aesop Romance.
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 you shall glean all you're cravin.'
* Search for it as "The Swan and the Raven."
S...? For "The Stag at the Pool."
Don't say "Nay!" to what may prove a life-saving tool.
T's for "The Thieves and the Cock."
Your belief and a thief won't undo you...? A crock.
U's for "Four Oxen, United."*
Graze alone, on your own...? Quick demise you've invited.
* Better known as "The Oxen and the Lion."
V's for "The Vine and the Goat."
Keep your fast! Who laughs last when lies open your throat...?
W...? "Wolf and the Kid."
Acting smart ain't great art when one's cautiously hid.
X is for Xanthus, my master.*
Had slave not been my lot, would've pastures proved vaster...?
* Again, not a fable but biographical lore to be found
in Aesop's Vita.
Y's for "The Youth and His Mother."*
Raised your child to run wild...? Wait: he'll wind up not other.
* Also called "The Boy and His Mother" or "The Young
Thief and His Mother."
Z's for "the Zephyr/Sol War."*
What beats force...? Well, of course, domination will... Or...
* Search for it as "The North Wind and the Sun."
