Page 45 - Reading Success B2

Aesop was a marvelous storyteller who lived in Greece between 620-562 B.C.
We do not know much about him except that he was a slave on the island of

Samos. According to legend, Aesop was ugly, possibly even deformed. However
he had a brilliant mind, and enjoyed telling stories about animals that acted like

humans. Every story had an important lesson in them. These stories are called
fables.

Legend says that one day Aesop was freed from slavery. Afterwards, he was
sent to give money to the people of the Greek city of Delphi. But, he found the

people of Delphi were dishonest, so he stopped giving them money. This made
the people of Delphi so angry that they threw him off a cliff to his death.

In Aesop’s time, stories were spread by word of mouth . It was not until 200
years after Aesop’s death that his stories were written down. Now they have been

translated into nearly every language in the world.
Lots of people have enjoyed Aesop’s fable of the race between the swift,

bragging hare and the slow, but patient tortoise. You might know the stories about
the goose that laid the golden egg, the lion and the mouse, or the grasshopper

and the ant. These are only four of Aesop’s Fables, some of the most widely
known and loved stories in the world.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. Aesop’s fables

b. the life of Aesop
c. the people of Delphi

d. Aesop’s death

48_Reading Success B 2