The Dolphins, the Whales and the Gudgeon by Aesop

The Dolphins, the Whales and the Gudgeon Reviews

• 
  Sean Barrs

  Aesop’s fables are as true today as when they were first written, which was over two and a half thousand years ago. They are a revealing collection of life lessons, or morals, that are represented (mainly) through the interactions of animals such as the lion, wolf, fox and ass. The animals represent humans that are of a particular mind set or act in a certain way. The little fables often reveal in a harsh truth for the story dwellers.
  
  
  
  I do, however, only recommend this edition if you’ve never read any of Aesop’s fables, though very few people probably haven’t. This edition has a nice little selection of the fables, though it excludes my personal favourites such as the Lion and the Frog and The Lioness and The Fox.
  
  If you’re already familiar with the fables then you’re better off avoiding this and buying an illustrated version such as the Fall River Classic one. This is because the illustrations are very fine and really help to add to the fables; they almost improve the reading process. The ones in this are just printed in a standard way, one to each page, which really fails to capture the essence of the work.
  
  Penguin Little Black Classic- 61
  
  
  
  The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
• 
  Lea

  I'm not a big fan of fables in general, but these are short enough and pretty straight forward. I also enjoyed reading a sentence about tortoises not being content with the anarchy in their land. That was a nice image.
• 
  JK

  It’s enchanting to think how Aesop’s fables, said to be written in the sixth century, resonate so well today. Despite the fables here being written mainly from the point of view of animals, it’s clear to see that people never change.
  
  Little Black Classics have given us a short fable on each page, with a short description of the moral, or lesson learned, after each of them. Although I had initially welcomed these explanations, I feel on reflection they made things too easy - I would have preferred to have mulled the fables over and considered their meanings for myself. The way they were set out here allowed me to plough through them, making this a very quick read.
  
  Despite the meagre length of these tales, they all had resonance and meaning on the way we live our lives. My favourite, by far, was The Bat, the Bramble, and the Gull, which spoke to us about holding on to things. I found the behaviour of the bramble to be melancholically beautiful; a strange way to feel about a plant, indeed.
  
  Another excellent dip into otherwise uncharted territory for me; bring me more Aesop, please.
• 
  Amirtha Shri

  Aesop is claimed to have lived first as a slave and then as an adviser around 600 BC, while he also indulged in spinning fables that give voices to animals and objects. This book contained ~50 stories spanning a page each, some of them as short as 2 sentences. Most of them come with morals that I could no way associate with the stories, and were sometimes just too ridiculous that I wouldn't want to recommend it to anyone. But, it was a ton of fun to read it !
• 
  [ J o ]

  A great introduction to Aesop's Fables. They are not quite what I expected of them, but found them to be interesting enough. Some were very relevant, both to the modern era and to myself, but some are a little Machiavellian, or perhaps, to fit in with this series, Gracián. The italicised explanations underneath each one was also very welcomed.
  
  
  
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• 
  Darwin8u

  Rating Aesop is like rating the King James Bible or rating the Brother Grimm. The stories are so ubiquitous it is easy to both overappreciate and underappreciate them at the same time. I'll come back and give this more attention as soon as this damn snake warms up.
• 
  Rizal

  I have raved about all these Little Black Classics before and its never enough.
  
  This book is genius and very witty. I never read any of Aesop books before and I actually never heard of him but it is never too late to love his works (maybe when I was a kid but can't remember it). This book used nature/gods to reflects the moral or lessons/advises into daily life. It contains short and very short stories about animals and gods and how the author used all these characters 'mimicking' our life. What interesting the most for me is that most of these stories/fables are just a paragraph long, how genius is that?! They might be short but they are very sharp, bold and 'full'. At the end of each fables, there are sentences that describes each fables and the meaning behind that stories. Awesome.
  
  It is only 58 pages, and almost 50 pages of that book filled with bookmarks and highlights indicated that I really really impressed, obsessed and enjoyed reading it. This is another book that really great for people who want to start reading classics. Highly recommend this to anyone.
  
  From all of my favourites in this book, I chose these 3 titles and its morals as my all time gold:
  
  1. The Field Mouse and The Town Mouse : Live simply and free from passion, instead of luxuriously in fear and dread.
  2. The Ass Who Was Taken For A Lion : Be poor and ordinary. Dont have pretensions to wealth or you will be exposed to ridiculed and danger. For we cannot adapt ourselves to that which is alien to us.
  3. The Mole and His Mother : Similarly, boastful people promise the impossible and are proved powerless in the most simple affairs.
  
• 
  Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive)

  Read all my reviews on
  https://urlphantomhive.wordpress.com
  
  3.5 stars
  
  I used to translate these fables in Greek class, and as such one spends a lot of time analyzing the structure even more than the actual stories. In this collection, I could focus on the stories.
  
  It is an introduction into Aesop and fables in general, so if you have already read some before, there might not be much new for you in this one. However, I did enjoy reading them. These are some very early surviving stories and still they run true, with the animals representing human characteristics.
  
  ~Little Black Classics #61~
• 
  Bernie Gourley

  This tiny book is part of a series put out by Penguin called Little Black Classics. This one collects about 55 of Aesop’s fables together. These are all short fables, few longer than a page and many of only a few lines.
  
  The title is an interesting choice in that that fable isn’t among the most well-known of those assembled. However, some oft the most famous have rather banal titles like: “The Fox and the Goat” or “The Wolf and the Lamb.”
  
  I found the collected fables to be thought-provoking, as well as being a broad sample (not a lot of the same moral repeating.) My favorites, for their cleverness, were: “The Stag at the Spring and the Lion,” “The Field Mouse and the Town Mouse,” “The Woodcutter and Hermes,” and “The Ass Carrying Salt.” Your results may vary.
  
  I like that they’ve embraced the short format with these books. It often used to be the case that they would pad out a 50- or 60-page book like this to 120 pages, using filler, forwards, needless illustrations, and useless epilogues. This book is just the fables. (Most, but not all the fables, include a single line summation of the fable’s moral. While I don’t think this is necessary for adult readers, it might be helpful in explaining the story to children.)
  
• 
  Tatiana

  A collection of fables, some of which I remember from my childhood. Suitable for all ages, and with some good moral, but not exactly riveting.
  
  Fancied something short and simple today, and this definitely fit that bill.
• 
  Sofia

  outdated morals
• 
  Paula (lovebookscl)

  Fabulas con ese estilo "tale as old as time". Me recuerda mucho a un libro que leía de pequeña, tiene ese aire.
• 
  Charlotte

  Not only are the Penguin Little Black Classics the perfect size to slip into your bag, and the perfect length to read on a bus journey or in free time at work or college, they are the perfect introduction to classics.
  
  The range available is very impressive, and as someone with a growing interest in classic authours and literature, I found myselfdrawn to a number of titles. Aesop's fables ended up extremely high on my list, and I'm beyond glad I got my hands on a copy.
  
  Going in to it, I expected one or two long fables. Upon reading it, I found that there were lots - I didn't count each one so I don't know exact numbers, but I'd safely say well over 40.
  
  Each fable was set out nicely on it's own page, making it easy to read and clear to see when one ended and another began. A lot also had their morals or meanings printed at the bottom, which I felt was a very nice touch, as sometimes lessons aren't always abundently clear.
  
  Overall, I felt this was a very easy, gentle introduction to classics and Greek work. And for 80p, you really can't go wrong.
• 
  Akke

  *2.5 stars
  It was okay, very very short and I found some good quotes.
  "Often it is the place and the occasion which give one the daring to defy the powerful."
  "Those who hold their own against the first people who attack them make themselves formidable to others who do so." (this one reminded me of Ender's Game)
  "When some people decide upon doing harm, the fairest defence has no effect whatsoever."
• 
  Ariana Semerean

  This is one of my favourite books of all time.
  
  I specifically like The Cat and The Cock, The Two Cocks and The Eagle, The Ass,The Cock,and The Lion, The Ass Carrying Salt, and The Ass Who Was Taken For A Lion
  
  These fables truly convey the remarkable similarities between nature and our own lives.
  
  
  10/10 would recommend.
• 
  Hanna de Koning

  These fables are honestly really weird, but also hilarious. I enjoyed this little collection of Aesop's fables a lot!
• 
  Dane Cobain

  This is a cute little collection of Aesop’s fables, and I’m glad that I finally got to reading it. I’d love to read a full collection of all his work.
  
  
• 
  Sara

  Witty , especially for something written in 6 BCE . But overall , I thought it was just ok .
• 
  Jan de Vries

  De overgrootvader van Toon Tellegen
• 
  Ananya M

  Love these so much
• 
  Kyo

  Personally I really like fables, I like how writers use animals to show flaws in human thinking; it's so simple, but for me it's really fun to read.
  
  Especially because this is one of the Little Black Classics, it's an incredibly fast read which is fine with these fables.
  A whole book must be read 'in pieces', meaning that reading all those fables back-to-back will become boring or maybe even monotonous (the stories are usually around 20 lines!) because of their shortness.
  
  Overall, really happy I picked this up and definitely a recommendation for everyone who likes fables!
  
  Happy reading!
• 
  Regienne Zamora

  Some of these fables are just ridiculous.
• 
  Henna

  I've been meaning to read Aesop's fables for quite some time, so when I saw the Little Black Classic The Dolphins, the Whales and the Gudgeon, I thought it was a perfect time to read a few of the fables and see if it's something I enjoy.
  
  Aesop's fables are short and full of impact, and most of the times there's one sentence included to explain what's the aim of the fable. Some included in this collection are more poignant and influential than others, but I enjoyed the diversity of the fables. Some felt really familiar from my childhood, so I'm pretty sure I've heard some of them or adaptations of them.
  
  I'll definitely pick up Aesop's full collection of fables at some point, and I enjoyed this Little Black Classic compilation. If you're looking for a taste of Aesop's writing and fables, then I definitely recommend this for you.
  
• 
  Irerahs ✰

  The stories are brilliant. The explanations, not so. I personally, would have liked this book more if it was up to me as a reader to find the moral of the story. Many times, I interpreted what happened in a different way than Mr. Aesop. And many times I found his "explanations" to the stories a bit snide, a personal trait that also, according to Wikipedia, caused his death. Sooo, seems like Aisop himself has some things to lean from the Jackdaws and the Gudgeon!! However, some of these stories - like the one about the donkey that carried salt and sponges into the water - are so classic and well-known that Aesop deserves to be read. I still have a hard time grasping that he wrote this down about 25oo years ago!! So overall, quite a good book. Well worth reading.
• 
  Will

  A selection of stories from Aesop's fables. Amazing how many of the morals of each story would be considered amoral today. For example, the titular story of the Dolphins, Whales and the Gudegeon ( small fish) sees a war between the dolphins and the whales. The gudgeon offers to mediate a truce, to which the dolphins and whales reply that they would rather die in war than submit to the shame of accepting help from a gudgeon. Apparently, the moral of the story is that small people should know their place. But surely, the moral should be that you should be humble enough to accept assistance instead of being dumb and choosing death?
• 
  Kat Alex

  The fables are great food for thought, politically/ interpersonally/morally.
  
  However, the commentries that follow the fables, to highlight their message are very off-putting. They sound very dated and moralistic.
  
  Aesop was a radical thinker at his time, challenging authority with his critical thinking. It is a shame that his work is commented by very conservative readings that miss the point.
  
  For example: ' Don't be too proud of youthful strength, for many a man's old age is spent in hard work.'
  
  I hope that Penguin will revisit their decision and publish the fables on their own.
• 
  Liam

  What I found most disturbing was the constant reminder that you shouldn‘t have aspirations or challenge the powerful. That you should remember what class you were born into and that nothing can change that (what makes it worse was that aesop himself was an enslaved person). also objectification of women and stepmother-shaming (but props to the woman who carried her passed out drunk husband).
  
  There were some decent ones reminding people not to boast or to pretend to be nice people while doing mean things.
• 
  Sarah

  Kind of dull stories (some of them entertaining, and I liked remembering The Bat, The Bramble and the Gull from my childhood), with some odd messages - like we need to blend into the crowd, we should be ashamed of being different, our mistakes will haunt us our whole lives etc... Just not really compatible with a positive outlook on life :P
• 
  Antonio Delgado

  Reading Aesopo’s fables today may seem timeless. However, time has passed, and many of them require several readings. However, they can always be brought forward anew. Such is the case since Kafka, who transforms fables into labyrinths, nightmares or parables. Today we read them through the terrible last century so well described by Kafka.
• 
  Mohammad

  Over 50 fables. Particularly enjoyed 'The House-ferret and Aphrodite', 'The Dolphins, the Whales and the Gudgeon', 'The Camel Seen for the First Time', 'The Kithara-player', 'The Jackdaw and the Ravens', 'The Wolf and the Lamb' and 'The Field Mouse and the Town Mouse'.