Aesop's Fables

Do you think these children read Aesop's Fables?
Emerson Country School, Stafford County, Kansas

 It is said that Aesop lived 600 years before Christ, a dangerous time during which survival could be brutal.  It is interesting, however, how relevant his fables can be to modern situations.   Aesop used animals and humans as subjects.      

For example, when a monkey was chosen to become king because of his dancing, fox was angry and set up a trick to fool the new king with vanity.  "I am not worthy for this meat I have found, so I have saved it for you" the fox tempted the new king.  The foolish monkey rushed forward and was caught in the trap set by the fox.  "You tricked me," the monkey pouted.  "Yes," admitted the fox, "but do you really think someone with so little sense should be chosen to rule over us?  This is what happens when we make an important decision without thinking it through.  We bring trouble and ridicule on ourselves and the others who depend on us." 

Other times Aesop used humans to tell his fables, and one example was when a man approached him, asking if he might share his autobiography with Aesop.  Not only did the man read a lengthy portion but he also praised his own greatness.  When he finally concluded reading, he said, "I hope I haven't portrayed myself as being too wonderful, but I truly am a genius."  Exhausted by the man's imposition with the long reading, Aesop replied, "I applaud the fact that you praise yourself.  Nobody else is going to do it!"

Aesop was a slave of a wealthy landowner in the heart of modern Turkey.  He is referred to as a "hunchback" and as so unattractive that he sometimes made children cry.  Yet, his fables are still published, illustrated by some of our most respected artists.  His stories are simple enough for children to understand, and wise enough for adults to respect. 

I wonder if the children pictured above read Aesop's Fables.  Perhaps they did, as giving their children an education was important to parents of that era, and Aesop's Fables were popular books.  Traveling book sellers encouraged the importance of encyclopedias, and they sold them on a monthly basis, if families could not afford to buy the entire encyclopedia at one time.  I have an old encyclopedia owned by my grandparents titled The Home and School Reference Work, A Library of Practical, Authoritative Information, published in 1920.  (They also had the full 10 volume collection of Journeys Through Bookland, published that same year, filled with stories, poems, and other delights.) 

 Volume 12 of the Encyclopedia described the Telephone, factories, wildlife and birds.  It had photographs of the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak, and the Grand Canyon, as well as other sites.    There were photographs of Woodrow Wilson and George Washington, and a 26-page description of the American Government, followed by 10 pages of American Universities.  There were diagrams of the moon and explanations of the impact on tides.  Those are only a sampling of Volume VII that must have intrigued my father and his siblings for hours.  

Yet today school children are falling behind in reading.  While it might seem exciting to have so much information immediately available to children on the internet, it seems instead that the easy access has made students indifferent to the wealth of knowledge immediately at hand.  After all, if there is something they need to know, they can look it up on their phone.  Unfortunately, that has led to little experience in not only reading but also failure to develop logic and reasoning skills.  Also lacking are empathy and compassion skills.

I will close with two quotes from Aesop:  "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." And also, "If you choose bad companions, no one will believe you are anything but bad yourself."  

 

(My father is in the front row, second from the right in the school picture.)