Cicāda prōcēra quādam in arbore canēbat. Vulpes eam dēvorāre cupiēns, ut capere posset, huiusmodī dolum commenta est. Stāns ex adversō, atque eius vōcis suāvitātem simulāns admīrārī, eam, ut dēscenderet, hortābātur, aiēns optāre sē, quantum sit animal illud, quod tam sonōram vōcem ēmitteret, propius vidēre. Illa dolum suspicāta, Heus tū, falleris, ait, sī mē dēscēnsūram putās: ex quō enim vulpīnō in stercore cicādae ālās esse vīdī, ā vulpibus caveō.
SOURCE: This comes from the Latin translation that accompanies De Furia's edition of the Greek Aesopic corpus, published in 1810 and available at GoogleBooks. This is fable 322 in De Furia; for other versions, see Perry 241.
READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons (above) or accent marks (below) - and read the text out loud until you feel comfortable and confident. Then, try reading the unmarked text at the very bottom. It should be easy for you after practicing with the marked texts. :-)
ACCENT MARKS. Here is the text with accent marks, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):
Cicáda procéra quadam in árbore canébat. Vulpes eam devoráre cúpiens, ut cápere posset, huiúsmodi dolum comménta est. Stans ex advérso, atque eius vocis suavitátem símulans admirári, eam, ut descénderet, hortabátur, aiens optáre se, quantum sit ánimal illud, quod tam sonóram vocem emítteret, própius vidére. Illa dolum suspicáta, Heus tu, fálleris, ait, si me descensúram putas: ex quo enim vulpíno in stércore cicádae alas esse vidi, a vúlpibus cáveo.
UNMARKED TEXT. Here is the unmarked text - after practicing with the marked text that you prefer, you should not have any trouble with the unmarked text:
Cicada
procera quadam in arbore
canebat.
Vulpes
eam devorare cupiens,
ut capere posset,
huiusmodi dolum
commenta est.
Stans ex adverso,
atque eius vocis suavitatem
simulans admirari,
eam, ut descenderet,
hortabatur,
aiens
optare se,
quantum sit animal illud,
quod
tam sonoram vocem
emitteret,
propius videre.
Illa
dolum suspicata,
Heus tu, falleris, ait,
si me descensuram putas:
ex quo enim
vulpino in stercore
cicadae alas esse
vidi,
a vulpibus caveo.
IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing an eager-looking fox:
