The Fables of Avianus

Avianus's fables are retellings of the fables of Babrius's fables which are part of the Aesop and Indic fable tradition. Zipes' forward provides a very short history of the fable tradition. The translated by Slavitt is brilliant - the translation is loose in a way that translates the irony of the original. The fables as great fun to read - never the heavily preachy tone that often appears in translations. Here you will meet Charlie the Tuna; you'll find the crabby crab mother lecturing "Why can't you look where you're going, go where you're looking, pick up your feet, put your best foot forward, try a little harder, stand up straight, pay attention, put yourself sometines in the other person's shoes, ..." If you can't have fun with this collection of fables, don't be such a sourpuss, look on the bright side, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed? ...