Choosing suitable fables

There are many interesting Fables which I have read from the list that I would like to animate, but what makes an interesting story doesn't always make for effective animating. So I am am taking a decision based on my own skill on which Fables I could animate and produce in a clear effective way. Here is an example of one which could be animated.

The Eagle and the Arrow

An Eagle was soaring through the air when suddenly it heard
the whizz of an Arrow, and felt itself wounded to death. Slowly
it fluttered down to the earth, with its life-blood pouring out of
it. Looking down upon the Arrow with which it had been pierced,
it found that the shaft of the Arrow had been feathered with one
of its own plumes. "Alas!" it cried, as it died,

Moral: "We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction."

Yet this being simple and short that may be why I wouldn't choose this one, as I would prefer to animate something a little more complex. At the same time, its message may be less than understandable to children.

The following fable has a more understandable meaning and its moral is more suitable to be educated to children. This is my favorite so far, but I want to be right in my decision as there is a lot of modeling to do!

The Serpent and the Eagle


An Eagle swooped down upon a Serpent and seized it in his talons
with the intention of carrying it off and devouring it. But the
Serpent was too quick for him and had its coils round him in a moment;
and then there ensued a life-and-death struggle between the two. A
countryman, who was a witness of the encounter, came to the assistance
of the eagle, and succeeded in freeing him from the Serpent and
enabling him to escape. In revenge, the Serpent spat some of his
poison into the man's drinking-horn. Heated with his exertions, the
man was about to slake his thirst with a draught from the horn, when
the Eagle knocked it out of his hand, and spilled its contents upon
the ground.


"One good turn deserves another."