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:
Estō beneficus; at cui benefaciās, vidē.
In silvam vēnit rusticus, capulum rogāns
Aptum secūrī tollere licēret suae:
Quod cum, annuente silva, fēcisset; statim
Ferrum in beneficās vertere coepit arborēs.
Quārum ingemiscēns ūna: Meritō caedimur.
PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:
Estō beneficus, at vidē, cui benefaciās. Rusticus in silvam vēnit, rogāns capulum secūrī suae aptum tollere licēret. Quod cum, silva annuente, fēcisset, statim ferrum in arborēs beneficās vertere coepit. Quārum ūna ingemiscēns: Meritō caedimur.
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):
Esto benéficus, at vide, cui benefácias. Rústicus in silvam venit, rogans cápulum secúri suae aptum tóllere licéret. Quod cum, silva annuénte, fecísset, statim ferrum in árbores benéficas vértere coepit. Quarum una ingemíscens: Mérito caédimur.
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.
Estō· benefi·cus; at· cui bene·faciās,· vidē.
In sil·vam vē·nit rus·ticus,· capulum· rogāns
Aptum· secū·rī tol·lere li·cēret· suae:
Quod c~ an·nuen·te sil·va, fē·cisset;· statim
Ferr~ in· benefi·cās ver·tere coe·pit ar·borēs.
Quār~ in·gemis·cēns ū·na: Meri·tō cae·dimur.
IMAGE. Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) by the great artist and book illustrator Walter Crane:
What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Esto beneficus, at vide, cui benefacias. Rusticus in silvam venit, rogans capulum securi suae aptum tollere liceret. Quod cum, silva annuente, fecisset, statim ferrum in arbores beneficas vertere coepit. Quarum una ingemiscens: Merito caedimur.
