Reading Diary B: Aesop for Children (Winter)

Here are a few of my favorite stories from the second half of Aesop for Children (Winter).


Aesop (Winter), Page 11: I really enjoyed The Bear and the Bees. A bear is stung by one bee and becomes angry. He pounces on a hollow log, but a swarm of bees emerge. I remember this type of incident happening when I was a child. I would be bitten by an ant so, like the bear, I stepped on the ant hill, but the entire colony emerges. That sight as a child is terrifying. I enjoyed the moral at the end of the story, "It is wiser to the bear a single injury in silence than to provoke a thousand by flying into a rage." This motto can reflect modern day altercations. If someone starts a fight with you, do not act on it. Just walk the other way or the entire group might encounter you.

Aesop (Winter), Page 13: The ending to The Fighting Bulls and the Frog took me by surprise. A frog is concerned that two bulls are fighting near their marsh. Eventually, one bull loses and tramples all the frogs to death. The ending is just so depressing. However, the final words are what stuck with me. "When the great fall out, the weak must suffer for it." This reminded me of stories in history. When the leader falls, the rest of the kingdom will fall also or in this case suffer.

Aesop (Winter), Page 16: I found the story of The Porcupine and the Snakes to be interesting. A family of snakes allow a porcupine to live in their cave, but realize the situation isn't working. So they ask him to leave, but the snakes end up having to leave instead. I can relate to this story. I have helped people out in the past, but it ended up backfiring on me instead. The story has a lot of irony. As Aesop states, "give a finger lose a hand."

Aesop (Winter), Page 19: My favorite story in the second half of this unit was The Ant and the Dove.  I thought it was excellent how both animals, despite their size, end up helping each other. I am a big believer in karma and this story is a great example of it. If you do a good deed, a good deed will return to you in the future. It might not be as quick as the ant and the dove, but it will happen soon enough. The phrase, "kindness is never wasted" is one to live by.

The Fighting Bulls and the Frog