READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons in verse form, or macrons in prose order, or accent marks in prose order, or focusing on the meter. You will find materials for all of these options below. :-)
VERSE MACRONS. Here is the verse text with macrons:
Fontibus est puteum vīvīs; ibi forte sedēbat
Flens Puer; ac Fūrī, cūr fleat ipse, refert:"Flēre mihī fās est; nam, ruptīs fūnibus, ēheu!
Aurea sub laevās urna subīvit aquās."Dīxerat: extemplō dīreptīs vestibus aurum
Fūr avidus sibi vult, in puteumque micat.Vās ubi non reperit, mox sē fert rursus in aurās;
Haud Puer, haud vestis, quam tueātur, adest. PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:
Puteum, fontibus vīvīs est; forte Puer, flens, ibi sedēbat; ac Fūrī refert cūr ipse fleat: "Flēre mihī fās est; Nam - ēheu! - fūnibus ruptīs, urna aurea sub aquās laevās subīvit." Puer dīxerat. Fūr, avidus, aurum sibi vult; et extemplō, vestibus dīreptīs, in puteum micat. Ubi vās non reperit, mox Fur rursus in aurās sē fert; Haud Puer, haud vestis, quam tueātur, adest.
STRESS (ACCENT) MARKS. Here is the prose text with accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):
Púteum, fóntibus vivis est; forte Puer, flens, ibi sedébat; ac Furi refert cur ipse fleat: "Flere mihi fas est; Nam - eheu! - fúnibus ruptis, urna aúrea sub aquas laevas subívit." Puer díxerat. Fur, ávidus, aurum sibi vult; et extémplo, véstibus diréptis, in púteum micat. Ubi vas non réperit, mox Fur rursus in auras se fert; Haud Puer, haud vestis, quam tueátur, adest.
ELEGIAC COUPLET METER. Below I have used an interpunct dot · to indicate the metrical elements in each line, and a double line || to indicate the hemistichs of the pentameter line.
Fontibus· est pute·um vīv·īs; ibi· forte se·dēbat
Flens Puer;· ac Fū·rī, || cūr fleat· ipse, re·fert:Flēre mi·hī fās· est; nam,· ruptīs· fūnibus,· ēheu!
Aurea· sub lae·vās || urna su·bīvit a·quās.Dīxerat:· extem·plō dī·reptīs· vestibus· aurum
Fūr avi·dus sibi· vult, || in pute·umque mi·cat.Vās ubi· non repe·rit, mox· sē fert· rursus i·n aurās;
Haud Puer,· haud ves·tis, || quam tue·ātur, a·dest.IMAGE. Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) from a 15th-century edition of Aesop's fables:
What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches: Puteum, fontibus vivis est; forte Puer, flens, ibi sedebat; ac Furi refert cur ipse fleat: "Flere mihi fas est; Nam - eheu! - funibus ruptis, urna aurea sub aquas laevas subivit." Puer dixerat. Fur, avidus, aurum sibi vult; et extemplo, vestibus direptis, in puteum micat. Ubi vas non reperit, mox Fur rursus in auras se fert; Haud Puer, haud vestis, quam tueatur, adest.
