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 iambic meter. You will find materials for all of these options below. :-)
VERSE MACRONS. Here is the verse text with macrons:
Agrum vastābant iunctī gruibus ānserēs.
Quod cum audiissent rusticī, illuc sē ferunt.
Gruēs, simul eōs adspiciunt, simul āvolant;
Vērum capiuntur ānserēs, quōs impedit,
Solōque nimiī corporis onus dētinet.
Suīs Fortūna quem sagīnāvit bonīs,
Nōn facile ēmerget praesentī perīculō.
PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:
Ānserēs gruibus iunctī agrum vastābant. Quod cum rusticī audiissent, illuc sē ferunt. Gruēs, simul eōs adspiciunt, simul āvolant; ānserēs vērum capiuntur, quōs corporis nimiī onus impedit et solō dētinet. Quem Fortūna suīs bonīs sagīnāvit, nōn facile ēmerget, praesentī perīculō.
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):
Ánseres grúibus iuncti agrum vastábant. Quod cum rústici audiíssent, illuc se ferunt. Grues, simul eos adspíciunt, simul ávolant; ánseres verum capiúntur, quos córporis nímii onus ímpedit et solo détinet. Quem Fortúna suis bonis saginávit, non fácile emérget, praesénti perículo.
IAMBIC METER. Here is the verse text with some color coding to assist in the iambic meter. The disyllabic elements (iambs/spondees) are not marked, but the trisyllabic elements are color-coded: dactyls are red, anapests are purple, and tribrachs are green (as is any proceleusmaticus, although that is a rare creature); for more information, here are some Notes on Iambic Meter.
Agrum· vastā·bant iunc·tī grui·bus ān·serēs.
Quod c~ au·diis·sent rus·tic~ il·luc sē· ferunt.
Gruēs,· simul e·ōs ad·spiciunt,· simul ā·volant;
Vērum· capiun·tur ān·serēs,· quōs im·pedit,
Solō·que nimi·ī cor·poris o·nus dē·tinet.
Suīs· Fortū·na quem· sagī·nāvit· bonīs,
Nōn faci·l~ ēmer·get prae·sentī· perī·culō.
IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source):
Here is an illustration from the Medici Aesop, which is online at the New York Public Library website.
What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Anseres gruibus iuncti agrum vastabant. Quod cum rustici audiissent, illuc se ferunt. Grues, simul eos adspiciunt, simul avolant; anseres verum capiuntur, quos corporis nimii onus impedit et solo detinet. Quem Fortuna suis bonis saginavit, non facile emerget, praesenti periculo.
