Over the years, librarians have repeatedly heard complaints that kids aren't learning classic tales, and that boys (especially teenagers) don't read enough.

Here at The Laughing Librarian, we're attacking both problems head-on with ...  

Sex! Vulgarity! Alcohol! Bodily functions! Violence! Depravity! More sex! What more could a guy ask for?

• Story 1: Enkidu Gets Laid (from Gilgamesh, I and II)

• Story 2: Lefty Whacks the Fat King (from The Bible, Judges 3:12-26)

• Story 3: Aesop's Party Jokes (from Aesop's Fables)

• Story 4: How Beer Saved the World (from the Egyptian Legend of the Destruction of Mankind)

• Story 5: Daughters Do Daddy (from The Bible, Genesis 19)

More to come ...

References:

Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (Oxford University Press, 2002).

The Bible (various translations and editions).

Field Museum of Natural History, "Inside Ancient Egypt" exhibit.

Gilgamesh: A New English Version, by Stephen Mitchell (Free Press, 2004).

Internet Sacred Text Archive (http://www.sacred-texts.com/).

Copyright 2005 Brian Smith. Copying or distributing Ancient Stories 4 Modern Boys is prohibited, except as allowed by law.