Ēgerat pastor ovēs in quercētum, ibi strātō sub arbore vestīmentō suō, cōnscendit illam et dēcutere coepit glandēs ad quās accurrentēs ovēs dum illās mandunt, etiam vestem pastōris dīlacerant. Quī cum dē arbore posteā dēscendisset, et cognōvisset damnum quod intereā fēcerant: improbissimae, inquit, animantēs, vōs aliīs ad vestītum lānam suppeditātis, mihi vērō quī vōs pascō meam vestem dīripuistis.
SOURCE: This comes from the Latin translation that accompanies Camerarius's edition of the Aesopic corpus; the 1571 edition of Camerarius's Aesop is available at GoogleBooks. This is fable 122 in Camerarius; for other versions, see Perry 208.
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):
Égerat pastor oves in quercétum, ibi strato sub árbore vestiménto suo, conscéndit illam et decútere coepit glandes ad quas accurréntes oves dum illas mandunt, étiam vestem pastóris dilácerant. Qui cum de árbore póstea descendísset, et cognovísset damnum quod intérea fécerant: improbíssimae, inquit, animántes, vos áliis ad vestítum lanam suppeditátis, mihi vero qui vos pasco meam vestem diripuístis.
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:
Egerat pastor
oves in quercetum,
ibi
strato sub arbore
vestimento suo,
conscendit illam
et decutere coepit glandes
ad quas accurrentes
oves
dum illas mandunt,
etiam vestem pastoris
dilacerant.
Qui cum
de arbore
postea descendisset,
et cognovisset damnum
quod interea fecerant:
improbissimae, inquit, animantes,
vos
aliis ad vestitum
lanam suppeditatis,
mihi vero
qui vos pasco
meam vestem diripuistis.
IMAGE. Here is an illustration from the Medici Aesop, which is online at the New York Public Library website.
