This illustrated collection includes hundreds of fables that have influenced our world for centuries.

The stories attributed to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in Greece around 620–564 BCE, were originally passed on through oral tradition before first being transcribed several centuries after his death. Many of these fables use animals as the main characters to convey deeper meanings and morals that have become ingrained in our cultural and personal belief systems, such as “The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs,” “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” and “The Hare and the Tortoise.” This elegant leather-bound volume includes 487 fables, along with more than 100 illustrations by celebrated artists Arthur Rackham and Walter Crane. Aesop’s Fables is one of the world’s most well-known collections of stories, and has influenced thousands of other literary works. A scholarly introduction examines Aesop’s life and the oral tradition, providing readers with further insight into the world of the humble storyteller whose presence continues to touch us today.