1995 Aesop’s Fables Poster. Melanie Cargill. 16” x 20”. Felix Rosenstiel’s Widow and Son, Limited. Printed in Great Britain. Unknown source.
We have a framed copy of this large poster already in the collection. A central scene has many fable characters moving about, including frogs jumping on the sleeping hare. Eleven individual fables are described in one scene each around this central image. Surprises for me are “Two Frogs That Wanted Water” and “A Kingfisher.” This poster represents a good way to acclaim Aesop’s multi-faceted influence.
2003 Aesop's Story: English Version. Versions by Mary Drake. Boxed set of seven books and two CD's. Aesop's Story: L.K. Family: L.K. Sellobby Korea. $10 from Jennifer Moon, Los Angeles, through eBay, August, '05.
This CD contains seven strong stories to match seven strong books. The stories are: OF, FC, TMCM, STH, LM, "The Lion and the Boar," and GA. This CD has just the English version. It is well done in native voices, with good musical background and sound effects. At the end of each story a female narrator asks "Did you enjoy the story?" See also the Korean disk below in the same boxed offering. See also the catalogue entries for the seven books.
2012 Aesop's Owl. Kohl's Cares. ohl's Department Stores, Menominee Falls, WI. Made in China. Found on eBay, April, '16.
This owl is regularly listed and advertised as "Aesop's Owl." However, nothing on the owl uses that name, and nothing I have seen with it further specifies how it is Aesop's owl. I guess we will have to wonder which fable Kohl's may have had in mind.
2012 Aesop's Fables: Volume One. Two CDs. 20 stories. Various narrators. Kingston, RI: AudioGO.
The special value of this set lies in the gifted British narrators and expansive development of the storylines. The actors employ various voices within each fable and have sound effects and occasional musical background to help them. I listened to the first two fables on each disc. In this version of TH, the hare runs back to tell the tortoise that the race has started! He then announces that he will take a nap, apparently near the starting line. "Slow and steady is sometimes better than fast and flashy." In OF, one of the mother frog's 247 children tells her of the ox. She is overweight and hates exercise. She does not make it all the way to see the ox, but whizzes around like a balloon and lands at the ox's feet. Her mistake relied on her perception that "No creature in the pond is bigger than me." The wolf in WC spends most of his time thinking of food. He would love to try eating the moon and stars if he could. A fishbone gets stuck. This version of the story thus cleverly uses the river to introduce the heron as the wolf's savior. "I didn't bite your head off: that is your reward!" The "hee-haw" of the donkey in DLS gives him away to the fox. This donkey had long wanted to be something else. The other animals had laughed at him before and now they do again. In something of a surprise, the other animals tell the donkey "We like you just as you are."
2001 Aesop's Fables: Two Enchanting Tales in Story & Song. CD. "Donkey and Wolf" and BW. Purchased used. Los Angeles: Liberty International Publishing with Drive Entertainment. Unknown source.
Wow! A full orchestra leads us, with a full chorus, into a narrator's energetic telling of the hungry wolf's approach to the waterhole. "I'm a Lone Wolf" is a great lonely monologue-song! A flirtatious donkey knows nothing of the wolf's eating intentions, even when he says she could use a little make-up, like ketchup! When she understands, she sings "Why Me?" to a cha-cha rhythm. This is perhaps the most professional musical presentation of Aesop I have run into. He answers with "Nothing Personal." He is just a wolf! She mentions the nasty thorn in her hoof…. Aesop comes through! She is just being herself! The shepherd boy is just lonely. He makes his cries in order to see another human face. The recording has the chorus singing the same "To the Rescue" song more and more slowly with each of his several calls for help. It is a delight to listen through this performance!
