Reading time: 2 minutes

Read and listen to the tale: “The grasshopper and the owl”

Content index

Summary

Hello friends from all over the world from your Francesca Ruberto.

Today I read to you Phaedrus' fable "The cicada and the owl"

Gaius Julius Phaedrus was a Roman writer, author of famous fables, active in the 1st century. Phaedrus represents an isolated voice of literature: he plays a subordinate poetic role as the fable was not considered a "high" literary genre even if it possessed a pedagogical character and a moral purpose.Wikipedia

Let's read together

In a forest lived a cicada and an owl. When the sun rose, the cicada began to sing and, in doing so, disturbed the owl, which was sleeping instead. More than once the bird of prey had asked her to stop, but the grasshopper didn't care.

The owl, realizing that there was no other solution, said to the cicada: “Your song, even if it doesn't let me sleep, is divine! It seems like you learned from Apollo himself. Why don't you come here to me and let's drink some nectar together, to celebrate?”

And the cicada, very happy with that unexpected compliment, came out of its hiding place and headed towards the bird of prey. The owl, who was waiting for nothing else, threw himself on the cicada and killed it with his claws. From that day on, she managed to rest in peace.