1000 Years of Animal Stories Trivia Quiz

The stories known as "Aesop's Fables" date from around 600BC and are attributed to a Greek storyteller of that name. Most of them are short moral tales, often involving animals, that teach lessons about human behaviour. The fable of "The Ant and the Grasshopper" tells how an industrious ant works throughout the summer, gathering food for the winter, while the grasshopper spends his days singing and enjoying the warm weather.

When winter arrives, the grasshopper finds himself starving and begs the ant for food, but the ant reproaches him for his idleness and refuses to help.

The moral is that those who don't prepare for the future will suffer the consequences of their laziness.

Written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 14th century, "The Parliament of Fowls" is a dream vision poem that explores themes of love and nature. The plot revolves around the narrator's dream of a parliament where birds of various species gather to choose their mates on St. Valentine's Day.

The poem blends allegory and satire in reflecting the complexities of love and courtship. It is also one of the earliest references to Valentine's Day as a celebration of romantic love.

"The Flea" is a poem by the metaphysical poet John Donne (1571-1631), which uses the image of a flea as an extended metaphor to explore the themes of love and physical intimacy. The speaker in the poem attempts to seduce his beloved by arguing that since their blood has already mingled within the body of the flea, they are essentially united and should not hesitate to consummate their relationship.

The poem was only published after his death, and is assumed to be an early work, written when he was a young law student.

"The Tyger" is one of the most famous poems by William Blake, included in his collection "Songs of Experience" published in 1794. The poem explores the sublime and terrifying aspects of creation, depicted through the image of a tiger. Blake uses imagery and rhythmic repetition to ponder the duality of existence and the nature of a creator capable of forming both beauty and danger.

The poem's central question, "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" juxtaposes innocence and ferocity, inviting readers to reflect on the complex interplay between good and evil in the world.

Published in 1851, "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville chronicles the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab to hunt the elusive white whale, Moby Dick. The novel is narrated by Ishmael, a sailor aboard Ahab's whaling ship. As the voyage progresses, Ishmael observes Ahab's descent into insanity, driven by a desire for vengeance against the whale that had previously caused him to lose a leg.

The novel explores themes of fate, revenge, and the limits of human knowledge, while also digressing into the intricacies of the whaling industry.

"Black Beauty" (1877) is the only published work by Anna Sewell. The story is narrated by the titular horse, Black Beauty, and follows his life through various owners, both kind and cruel. The book is notable for its portrayal of the mistreatment of horses and its advocacy for animal welfare, which struck home with its Victorian readers and led to significant social reforms concerning the humane treatment of animals.

"The Jungle Book" is a collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1894. Many of the stories in the book feature the adventures of Mowgli, a young boy raised by wolves in the Indian jungle, and his encounters with animals such as Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther, and Shere Khan the tiger. Less well known, but equally good, are other stories such as "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", about a mongoose and his battles with a pair of cobras named Nag and Nagaina, and "The White Seal", about the attempts of the seal Kotick to find a safe home for himself and his fellow seals.

Published in 1903, "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London tells the story of Buck, a domesticated dog who is thrust into the harsh life of the Alaskan wilderness. Taken from his comfortable home in California, Buck is sold into the brutal world of sled dogs during the Klondike Gold Rush.

As he adapts to his new environment, Buck's primal instincts come to the fore, and he gradually transforms from a pampered pet to a fierce and cunning survivor.

"Animal Farm" is a short satirical novel by George Orwell, published in 1945. The story is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and the subsequent rise of Stalinism, depicted through the rebellion of farm animals against their human farmer, only to find themselves under the oppressive rule of the pigs.

Many of the animals are allegorical versions of real people: the pig Napoleon is a representation of Stalin, while his rival Snowball is based on Leon Trotsky.

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (1970) by Richard Bach is an allegorical novella that tells the story of a seagull who is driven by a desire to perfect his flight and push the limits of what is possible, to the dismay of the other gulls. Through the bird's journey, the writer presents various messages about freedom, self-discovery, and the pursuit of one's true potential.

When it was first published in 1970, only 3000 copies were printed and it wasn't reviewed by any major publications, but sales grew through word-of-mouth recommendations, until it became a worldwide best-seller.