Skip to main content

Welcome to NN!

Naya' s YouTube Channel

Subscribe to my YouTube to make sure you don't miss out on my latest videos!

The Fox & The Lion - Summary and Analysis | Aesop Fables

the writing on the images says aesop fables on top and the fox and the lion in the middle. on the left there is a sketch of a red fox and on the right the sketch of a lion's head

Summary

There was once a young fox who had never seen a lion before in his life.

One day while he was out in the forest playing he heard a lion roaring.

The little fox was terrified. "Dear me", exclaimed the Fox, hiding  behind a tree, "I never saw a lion before. What a terrible creature! His voice makes me tremble.".

The fox happened to encounter the lion a second time. This time though he was not so much afraid. He was rather annoyed with the lion and thus thought  "I wish he would not make such a noise!".

The fox met a lion a third time and this time he was not afraid at all. Rather he felt completely at ease with the lion so much so that approached the lion and said to him "Hello, there, old chap."

The fable lets us know that the lion was so surprised with the fox’s audacity that he walked away without saying a word.


The fable



Analysis

In this fable we see how a fox, that had never seen a lion before in his life, feels terrified at first when he hears the lion’s roar. The fable tells us that the fox is young and that is something to keep in mind.

But gradually and after repeated contact with the lion the fox not only overcomes his fear but much more so comes to show impudence to a creature that continues to be stronger than him and still presents a danger to him.

I believe the fable wants to show that gradual and repeated contact with a difficult or dangerous situation can sooth original instinctive reactions of fear and worry. It also shows that naivety, the young of age, foolish thinking, lack of experience etc can lead to unwise decisions. For the fox was lucky to escape with his life on his last encounter with the lion. His behavior would have been fatal if only the lion wasn’t completely taken by surprise and left dumbfounded by the fox’s impudence.

The moral lesson of the story is that “Familiarity breeds contempt”.

And it is actually overfamiliarity that can lead to contempt, indecency, impudence and offensive behavior. Taking someone for granted, believing others to be inferior, ungrounded high self-esteem, egoism, narcissism, all that can lead to improper, unfounded, absurd behavior towards other people.

Popular posts from this blog

The Fable of King Log & King Stork: An Analysis of Power and Consequences | Aesop Fables

THIS IS A SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS  on the fable written by Walter Crane  called " KING LOG & KING STORK"  in his book THE  BABY’S  OWN  ÆSOP,  BEING THE FABLES CONDENSED IN RHYME  WITH PORTABLE MORALS.  The story is based on the well known as fable " The Frogs who wished for a King ", for which I've already posted a summary and analysis and you can read on the link above. The fable Summary The frogs request a king from Jove, hoping for a more dynamic leader than a log. - Jove sends them a Stork, who rules over them, but instead of benevolently leading, he devours the frogs, showcasing the consequences of desiring a powerful ruler. - The fable concludes with the lesson that having kings can lead to disastrous outcomes. Analysis The fable reflects on the dangers of authoritarian rule and the negative consequences of placing blind faith in a single individual to govern. - It questions the notion of kingship and challenges traditional pow...
Read more

A Touch of Humanity: Unveiling Compassion in Turgenev's "The Beggar"

Summary In this short story we see an apparently well-standing citizen meeting with a beggar on the street. The beggar is in a terrible condition wearing rags, having festering wounds, bloodshot eyes. He asks for help, but the man happens to have nothing with him, so he clasps the beggar's hand, asking for forgiveness for having nothing to offer. An unexpected thing happens then. The beggar smiles and tells the man that the handshake is a gift itself.   Analysis The story explores the condition of poverty and the sentiment of empathy and human connection. There is a stark contrast between the narrator's outstanding condition and the destitute condition of the beggar. The narrator's act of clasping the beggar's hand shows a moment of compassion and even though it is a small act it's full of kindness and meaning. The beggar's reaction and answer to the man showcases how important it was for him to be considered a human being. An equal, worth of clasping...
Read more

The Frogs & The Ox: A Tale of Vanity and Authenticity | Summary and Analysis | Aesop Fables

Summary : In this  fable, we find an Ox who accidentally squashes a young Frog while taking a sip from a reedy pool. The wise old Frog, intrigued by the incident, asks about the reason behind the little one's sudden disappearance. The other Frogs paint a picture of the Ox as a gigantic monster, and the old Frog, keen to show her own size, puffs herself up. However, as the young Frogs insist that the monster was even larger, she continues to inflate until she bursts.  Moral Lesson & Analysis: The primary moral lesson is: “Pride is all good and well, but don’t think yourself bigger than you are.”  The old Frog's vanity and desire to seem bigger than she truly was ultimately led to her downfall. This story serves as a valuable lesson against excessive pride and self-deception.  In addition to this moral lesson, we can explore another perspective. The fable sheds light on the folly of comparing oneself to others. The old Frog's attempt to measure up to the Ox's size ...
Read more