Reading Notes Week 3: Aesop's Fables (Winter)

I decided to read from Aesop's Fables (Winter) because I remember liking them as a kid.  I always loved the morals to the stories as well and just because they are children's stories, doesn't mean there aren't lessons from them for adults as well.

I started with the Winter page 1 and I really liked the "Tortoise and the Ducks."  You find that Jupiter has punished the tortoise by having to wear his house on his back for all of his life because he was lazy & didn't attend Jupiter's wedding.  I have lazy, home-body tendencies so I really can relate to the tortoise here & sometimes it causes me some trouble as well.  Thankfully, I've never been punished by having to wear my house!  I'd really have to declutter to do that!  Although I have joked that we need to have an RV as our home because we've moved 28 times in 26 years of marriage & it's a pain in the butt to have to pack up so many times.  So I guess that could be considered taking your home with you.  But like the tortoise, I also want to see the world & having so many responsibilities holds me down.  I'd gladly lose most all of it to be able to travel.  The ducks take the tortoise up in the air, telling him to hold tightly to the stick so he can see the world but he mustn't open his mouth.  Some birds flatter him & as he goes to answer them, he loses his grip on the stick, falls to the earth & is smashed to bits.  The moral is:  Foolish vanity & curiosity often lead to misfortune.  This goes very well with the one I always hear relating to my nickname:  Curiosity killed the cat (Kat).  I'm a curious person, so I can relate.

The Lion and the Ass is a very short story with the moral:  Do not resent the remarks of a fool, ignore them.  This is a lesson I have to tell myself often, especially at my former job.  I would get so upset by some of my coworkers and things they said and would have to remind myself that they were only idiots & it didn't matter.

The Farmer and the Stork was another good one.  The stork was very trusting and went with a flock of cranes to a farmer's field.  He didn't know they were going to steal from the farmer & got caught in the nets.  He tried to get the farmer to let him go, telling him he didn't know they were going to steal.  The farmer said he would be punished with the cranes anyway.  Moral:  You are judged by the company you keep.  Another lesson I've learned in life.  Being in the horse business you have to make very quick decisions on whether to trust someone in business dealings or not.  I will judge you by who you tell me your friends are because if I know they are dishonest & you think you are great friends with them, you are likely a lot like them.

(The Farmer and the Stork from Aesop's Fables)

The Boys and the Frogs is a story of boys happily skipping stones in a pond.  They didn't realize that the stones were raining down upon the family of frogs as they skipped them.  They didn't think they could be killing frogs with their fun.  Moral:  Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another's unhappiness.  This one would be very beneficial to bullies to think about.  But also people in general, they may think something they are doing or saying is just in fun, not thinking it could be very hurtful to someone else.

The Fox and the Leopard is a story about a fox & a leopard resting after a good meal.  They got to bragging about which was better looking.  The fox finally told the leopard you may be beautiful but you would be better off to have more smartness in your head than on your body.  Moral:  A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind.  To me, this means that just because something is pretty, doesn't mean it's good.  And just because a person is beautiful, doesn't mean they are smart, or worthy as a mate. 

The Mule is a story about a mule who, after a particularly good meal & rest, trotted about bragging that surely his father was not an ass, but a great race horse.  The next day, the farmer put the ass back in harness and he had to say, I was wrong, my father was just an ass.  Moral:  Be sure of your pedigree before you boast of it.  Lots of people need to learn this one.  They brag about their family or their accomplishments, without any proof to back things up.

The Peacock and the Crane is a story where a peacock was bragging about his beautiful feathers to a crane & telling him that nothing he had was as magnificent as him.  The crane took to the air flying, leaving the peacock behind on the ground.  Moral:  Useful is of much more importance & value than the ornamental.

The Astrologer is a story about a man so concerned with seeing the future in the stars that he didn't see what was right in front of him.  He thought he saw where the end of the world was at hand, and didn't pay attention so he wound up up to his ears in a mud hole.  The other villagers laughed at him telling him that he was so concerned about the stars that he didn't pay attention to what was right in front of his own feet.  This may teach you to pay attention to now & let the future take care of itself, they taunted.  Moral:  Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.  I have to remind myself of this one often in life.  It's especially helpful to make it through each week of course assignments while trying to balance school with work & life. 

Mercury and the Woodman is a story of a woodman.  At the end of the long day he accidentally dropped his axe into the pool of water.  He was so distraught because it was his only way to make a living & he didn't have money for a new one.  Mercury, the god, heard his cries & asked what was wrong.  The old man told him & Mercury went under the water & brought up a golden axe, asking if that was his axe.  He said no, his was just a simple one.  So Mercury disappeared again & brought up a silver one this time.  Again the old man said no, his was just a simple one with a plain wood handle.  So Mercury went again & brought up the old man's axe.  The man exclaimed with joy that that was his axe.  Mercury was so pleased with the man's honesty that he gave the man all 3 axes.  Now the villagers heard this & tried to trick Mercury saying they had lost their axes.  Mercury offered each of them the golden axe & they all said yes.  Mercury didn't give them the golden axe, but whacked them on the head & sent them home.  Then they couldn't even find their old hidden axes after they went back to search.  Moral:  Honesty is the best policy.  Obviously, and more people need to learn that lesson than you can imagine.

Bibliography:  Aesop's Fables (Winter) from the UnTextbook.  Web link.