The French school system values memorization like no other. Out of all of the texts we learned, Jean de La Fontaine’s The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Tortoise and the Hare hold a permanent place in my brain. Animal fables like these two have been around for more than 2,000 years. Originating in India and Greece in the first century B.C., these fables were spread by Ibn-al-Muqaffa in the Arab-Islamic region and Aesop in the Greco-Roman region. Stories of animals and humans playing tricks, making poor decisions, and dispensing wisdom were used to teach life’s lessons and even morals. This exhibition examines the origins, history, and legacy of the genre through illustrated manuscripts and paintings, as well as modern pieces. —Jeanne Malle