Progymnasmata: Fable

Classical Writing Exercises in Preparation for Rhetoric

This post is part of a Series on the Progymnasmata; a classical collection of writing exercises which reach back to Greek and Roman antiquity. These exercises are designed, tested, and proven to form well rounded and versatile writers and thinkers who are fully ready to engage in the craft of Rhetoric (the art of persuasion). For a brief introduction to the Progymnasmata with links to examples of the various exercises you may click here.

The purpose of the Fable exercise in the Progymnasmata is to develop the student’s ability to recast a fable in a different mode, or from a different perspective, without losing the original meaning, value, or essential content of the original story. This exercise helps both to form more creative writers and also more discerning readers who can determine and separate the essential elements and message of a story from the medium in which it is presented. Aesop’s Fables are ideal for this exercise because they are 1) Ancient 2) Famous 3) High Quality 4) Memorable 5) many of them are deeply rooted in the moral imagination of Western Civilization, and 6) they are worthy of our reflection unlike many modern stories which attempt to moralize.

Step One: Choose a Fable

The Bald Man and the Fly, by Aesop

A Fly settled on the head of a Bald Man and bit him. In his eagerness to kill it, he hit himself a smart slap. But the Fly escaped, and said to him in derision, “You tried to kill me for just one little bite; what will you do to yourself now, for the heavy smack you have just given yourself?” “Oh, for that blow I bear no grudge,” he replied, “for I never intended myself any harm; but as for you, you contemptible insect, who live by sucking human blood, I’d have borne a good deal more than that for the satisfaction of dashing the life out of you!”

Step Two: State the Moral

The moral of the story is that those who intentionally cause harm to the innocent are far worse than those who only cause harm unintentionally. Unintentional harm is forgivable, but intentional harm deserves to be punished.

Step Three: Rewrite the Fable in Various Ways

The following examples demonstrate that there are many ways to rewrite a fable. 

1. Rewrite the Story in the Third Person Following A Major Character

(Following the Man) There once was a man who had no hair, he was as bald as the snow capped mountains, and upon that bald head a fly did land and bite. The man was furious with the injustice of what the fly had done and he swatted at the fly that had bit him. Missing his mark, however, he struck only his own head. Already enraged further by his accidental self harm, the man was beside himself with anger when the fly had the nerve to say to him, “How unreasonable that you would try to take my life for just a little bite! If then you attempted my murder for a bite, what must you now do for the smite with which you smote yourself?” The bald man, however, simply replied in a forced calm, “I will not retaliate against myself at all, for I meant myself no harm, though I unintentionally caused some. Even so, I would gladly endure much greater pain than that which I caused myself to destroy you who intended my pain!”

(Following the Fly) The fly flew over the wall of the city and spotted a delectable sight; a bald man whose head shined with the promise of a good me. He zoomed down with glorious speed to set upon his feast and, no sooner did he land did he also bite! Just the smallest drop of blood did he manage to taste when the man’s hand came speeding down upon him and he took off only just in time to avoid certain death. As he winged himself away from immediate danger he laughed in mockery when he saw the man smack his own head. He called to the man, “Now what must you do to yourself? For I caused you but a little pain and you sought my death and now you have caused much greater pain to yourself!” The fly listened in disbelief as the man said to him, “I quite forgive myself the unintentionally caused pain. You, who did knowingly harm me, deserve to be destroyed even if it costs me much greater pain!” The fly rolled all his eyes at once but kept a reasonable distance from the enraged man.

2. Rewrite the Story in the First Person Following A Major Character

(Following the Man) The other day I was sitting at the city gates with the other elders of the city when a pesky fly landed on me and bit my bald head. I was so infuriated by the pesky insect that I tried to squash the life out of him. Unfortunately I missed him and only managed to ring my own bell. Worst yet, that fool of a fly mocked me and chided me by saying, “You tried to kill me for just a little bite, so what are you going to do to yourself since you just gave yourself far more pain than I did?” I was, of course, indignant and I said to the pest, “I caused myself some harm by pure accident,that is true, but you intended the harm you gave me. Even though the pain you caused was less, I tell you the truth when I say, I would endure far greater pain to put an end to you!” Indeed, I quite believe that I am right and that there is a great difference between causing someone harm by accident and doing so on purpose. I can quite forgive the person who accidentally bumps into me, but the man who strikes me on purpose should be called to account! Am I not right? I think I am quite right.

(Following the Fly) I love nothing so much as to feed upon the god-cursed heads of the bald! I was quite fortunate recently because I came upon a beautiful specimen of a hairless wonder of a man. His scalp was ripe for harvest and so I landed upon my prey and immediately sunk my teeth upon his luscious melon, drawing the sweet nectar of blood from my god-sent victim. He was, of course, quite angry. They always are, ha! As expected he did his best to terminate me then and there but I was far too agile for the clunky giant and he missed me by a mile. Enjoying myself, as I am wont to do on such occasions, I decided to taunt him and capitalize on my fun! I said to the chump, “You sought to end my very life for but a little bite! Now in your foolish frenzy you have struck yourself and caused greater harm than was ever in my power! What now will you do to yourself since you are the greater perpetrator of harm?” As I laughed at my clever remark the foolish man retorted, “I’ll not retaliate against myself, for that was but an accident. You however deserve punishment because you did wrong to me on purpose! I would be willing to endure a great deal more pain to bring you to justice!” I just laughed and laughed because he would never be able to reach me. You know how those ground bound creatures are!

3. Rewrite the Story as the Third Person Omniscient Story Teller

(Treating all characters with equal interest) There was once a bald man who was bitten by a fly right on the top of his bald head. Ironically the man had just been reflecting upon how peaceful the day was right before this occurred. Now his blood boiled and he lashed out at the godless fly who did him wrong. Despite the bald man’s swiftness the fly was more nimble than he and he dodged the blow. The man, missing the fly, struck himself right atop his dome! The fly was infuriated by the injustice of the man. He thought to himself, “Who is this wicked fool that he should try to murder me for such a little bite?” And so he made up his mind to ask him. “You sir, wouldst thou taketh my life from me when I only gave thee but a minor nip on thy head? What then must thou now desireth to do to thyself now that thou hast smote thyself with such a blow?” The fly was pleased with his response, thankful for the first time that his mother had made him read so much Shakespeare as a young maggot. Oh but the man was not deterred in his sense of justice, and he replied, “I am happy to give myself full pardon for the unintentional pain I caused myself. You, on the other hand, you little pest of hades, you deserve to be fully punished for what you did because you knew full well that your actions would cause me harm. I would rather smite myself ten times over as I have if only I could bring you to justice for your evil deed.” So they said to one another and so they stood poised waiting to see who would make the next move. Each thought to himself, “I will surely prevail in the end.”

4. Rewrite the Story in the Third Person Following A Minor Character

(Minor character: Either mentioned indirectly or it can be a supposed outside observer) The elder at the city gate smiled at the sight of the futile battle that took place before his eyes. He watched the fly as it floated down from the top of the city wall and landed upon the bald head of a man nearby. He laughed as he observed the man try to strike the fly that had clearly bitten his head. He laughed even harder when he saw how hard the bald man accidentally struck himself! As he sought to compose himself, recovering from the belly laugh with which shook, he overheard the fly say to the bald man, “You would kill me for such a little bite? What then will you do to yourself who has now almost knocked yourself senseless?” The city elder thought this a reasonable question and he sat eagerly waiting for the bald man’s reply. Then he heard the bald man, whom he noted was quite red in the face at this point, say “Oh, I won’t be punishing myself for a simple accident. You, however, who did wrong by me with such wicked intent, I will seek your destruction even if it should cause me even greater pain than this!” The elder observed the fly hover in mockery above the bald man for a moment, quite out of his reach, but then he was interrupted by the arrival of a friend. When he looked in that direction again some time later both the bald man and the fly had gone, but his amusement at what he had seen remained.

5. Rewrite the Story in the First Person Following A Minor Character

(Minor character: Either mentioned indirectly or it can be a supposed outside observer) Oh my friend, you must sit a moment and let me tell you what I just saw! Ha! I am still trying to contain my amusement, but perhaps it is better to let it spill over onto you as well! Just a few minutes ago, as I was sitting here waiting for your arrival, I saw the most humorous sight. There was a bald man just over there, not more than fifteen feet from where we now stand, by that palm tree…no, no you fool, that is a date tree. By the palm. Yes, that one! Anyway, I looked over and saw the man, not for any particular reason at first but then I happened to notice a fly descending upon the bald man’s head. No, I know that’s nothing too funny but wait. The man clearly was bit by the fly because he went berserk, I mean he really started flailing and hollering, and he tried to kill the fly. You should have seen him Tarchus! He wound up and tried to strike the fly with all his might but he missed and slapped himself silly! HA! He was shocked, like he never saw it coming, and he swayed on his feet for a moment. I tell you, I thought he was going down! Ha! But then my friend, to beat it all, the fly made sport of him and said, “Would you really kill me for such a little bite? Then what must you now do to yourself since you have nearly knocked yourself unconscious!?” I was dying with laughter at this point. You should have seen the man trying to pull his dignity together. What? Oh yes, he did reply Tarchus, yes indeed. The bald man said, “I will surely forgive myself the accidental harm I have done, but you who meant me harm I will never forget and I would be willing to take even greater pains to see you squashed!” He was so serious when he said it too! Haha, but he was the only one who could have taken him seriously at that point, Zeus knows I could not! Ha!

6. Write an Original Fable with the Same or Similar Moral

One time a young fox was running playfully through the woods but as he rounded a tree he ran right into an older fox, nearly knocking him to the ground. The young fox was instantly fearful of his elder but the old fox smiled and encouraged him to go on his way and enjoy the day but to be more careful lest someone come to harm. Later that same day the young fox, encouraged by his former fortune, ran through the woods once more at full speed. Rounding another tree he ran full into an even younger fox and hurt the little one. So the same elder fox who had forgiven the young fox earlier in the day, saw to the spanking of the fox at the end of the day.

Final Thoughts:

The above examples by no means constitute a complete or exhaustive list of ways in which one might rewrite a fable. Can you think of some other ways this could be done to stretch your skills?