"Aesop's Fables" (new edition published in 1941)

This edition of "Aesop's Fables" - published on the 2500th anniversary of Aesop's death (1941) - is dated. Therein lies its value. The introduction is very informative, letting readers know the myth behind the collector and storyteller Aesop who was a slave to the Greeks, circa 600 years B.C. However, despite the value of the stories in this collection (from my personal bookshelf), this isn't a book I'd recommend to someone who isn't an academic, scholar, or intellectually inclined... the stories are very reductive, always ending with "The Point --->" followed by a quick summary of the short story's moral, which is one or two pages length at the most. I found most of the stories hilarious, as the "points" were either entirely obvious or so far-fetched as to almost seem like jokes. The general theme of the fables seems to say: in a world where every man is for himself (although every "man" is in fact an animal within these pages) you better watch yourself, or become just as awful as them to survive. Also, I laughed out loud when I saw a title of one story "The Two Bitches" (about dogs, of course), but I couldn't read it since I was so distracted by the terminology. Donkey's are asses, but a stupid donkey turned out to be, yes, a jackass. I'll keep this one on my shelf for reference. If I weren't so interested in storytelling and tales, I'd weed it.