fables

Hace mucho tiempo, había un niño pastor que cuidaba un rebaño de ovejas. Las ovejas comían su pasto en un prado cerca de un bosque oscuro, pero no muy lejos de un pueblito. El niño, que era un joven con mucha energía, disfrutaba su trabajo al principio: pastoreaba las ovejas a lugares con pasto más verde, cuidaba a las ovejas de animales hambrientos que se las querían comer, y se aseguraba de que las ovejas que no eran tan inteligentes no se comieran plantas venenosas. Pero cuando la novedad de estas actividades pasó, el pequeño pastor se empezó a aburrir de la vida en el prado.

The Tortoise and the Hare One day a hare (a kind of rabbit) was bragging about how fast he could run and laughing at a tortoise (a kind of turtle) for being slow. Much to the hare’s surprise, the tortoise challenged the hare to a race. Thinking that this was very funny, the hare accepted the challenge. The tortoise and the hare asked their friend the fox to judge the race. The race began, and of course, the hare was soon far ahead of the tortoise. Soon the hare had reached the halfway point in the race.

Este cuento se llama El cuervo y la jarra, una fábula de Esopo, leída por Daniel Fernando. Esta es una traducción y grabación de LibraryCall. Un día de verano, un calor despiadado le pegó a la tierra. Arriba, en el cielo, un cuervo sediento había volado por muchas horas buscando agua. Su pico y sus plumas estaban secos, y él sabía que tenía que encontrar agua pronto. Justo cuando el cuervo empezó a perder esperanza, vio algo brillando en una mesa en la distancia. ¡Era una jarra! El cuervo, aliviado, voló hacia ella. Aterrizó en la mesa e investigó.

Este cuento se llama El león y el ratón, basado en una fábula tradicional de Esopo, adaptada por Ryan Aoto y narrada por Daniel Fernando. Esta es una grabación de LibraryCall. En los pastizales de África, vivía un león. Era más grande y más rápido que los otros leones. De manera física, era el mejor león. Desafortunadamente, de manera social, era absolutamente el peor León. “¿A eso le llaman correr?”, le decía a los demás. “Soy muchísimo más rápido que ustedes. Estoy sorprendido que pueden atrapar comida.” Los leones viven en familias grandes que se llaman manadas.

A Wolf had been feasting too greedily, and a bone had stuck crosswise in his throat. He could get it neither up nor down, and of course he could not eat a thing. Naturally that was an awful state of affairs for a greedy Wolf. So away he hurried to the Crane. He was sure that she, with her long neck and bill, would easily be able to reach the bone and pull it out. "I will reward you very handsomely," said the Wolf, "if you pull that bone out for me." The Crane, as you can imagine, was very uneasy about putting her head in a Wolf's throat.

This story is called the Ant and the Grasshopper, adapted from Aesop’s fable and read by Ryan Aoto. This is a LibraryCall recording. Far from the cities, across the fields, over the mountains, and deep in the woods, there lived an ant. As is the nature of ants, this ant did not live alone. She lived with hundreds of thousands of her family members in a great colony. Every member of the colony had a role and worked hard to help the family. The little ant was excited to go out and help. She loved to explore. Every day, she would head out to a new area, in search of food.

A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them. The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain. Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust. "What a fool I am," he said.

This story is called The Lion and the Mouse, based on a traditional fable by Aesop, and adapted and read by Ryan Aoto. This is a LibraryCall recording. On the grasslands of Africa there lived a lion. He was bigger and faster than the other lions. In every measurable, physical way, he was the best lion. Unfortunately, in every social way, he was the absolute worst lion. “You call that running?” he would say to the others. “I am much faster than you. I’m surprised you can catch any food at all.” Lions live in large families called prides. Normally, the lionesses do all the hunting.