> Which Aesop's Fable about persistence and ingenuity can be summarized with thesaying, "Where there's a will, there's a way?"And the answer: The Crow and the Pitcher.Photo credit: longlongtimeago.com[https://www.longlongtimeago.com/once-upon-a-time/fables/from-aesop/the-crow-and-the-pitcher].The story tells the tale of a thirsty crow, who happens upon a pitcher withwater at the bottom, just beyond the reach of its beak. After failing to pushthe pitcher over, the bird drops in pebbles one by one, until the water rises tothe top of the pitcher, allowing the crow to drink. Though they were written many millennia ago, Aesop's fables are uniquely able tospeak to modern and often relevant lessons in human morality. In fact, artisticuse of the fable may go back to Roman times, since one of the mosaics that hassurvived is thought to have the story of the crow and the pitcher as itssubject. For most of their history, Aesop's fables were told and passed down orally, as asource of entertainment and means of relaying a lesson. The fables, written downin Greek between the 10th-16th centuries CE, may not be recorded in the exactwords as when they were first told. Over time, words have been changed oradapted to fit the storyteller's purpose (or altered naturally, due to thenumerous times the stories were retold). Despite these changes, the presence androle of animals remained consistent. Politically, the fables emerged at a time in Greek history where free speech waslimited by authoritarian rule. As such, the fables offered a means of societalcritique without facing legal repercussions. They also created a source ofentertainment and enlightenment for the lower classes that offered a messageother than "might makes right." The fables enabled and encouraged a new form oflogic, which Aristotle, in Rhetoric, argued could be used as support for one'sargument in the absence of any concrete evidence.Did You Know?The Library of Congress has published 146 of Aesop's fables online! You canenjoy all of them, complete with illustrations, on their interactive website[http://read.gov/aesop/001.html].Learn more about Aesop and his legendary fables below.