5 Unfamiliar Fables You Should Read
Fables are short texts that always contain a teaching or moral. Animals usually play the main role, not only here, but also in other cultures. They speak and act like humans. In addition to the most famous ones, you should also include a few unknown fables in your repertoire. Due to their teaching character, but also their brevity, fables are particularly suitable for children and young people.
A fable from Asia - "The Rooster and the Falcon"
Fables don't just exist in Europe, they have long been a tradition in Asia too. One example is the fable of the cunning rooster and the proud hawk. This is about who can better understand the actual conditions. The proud hawk feels superior because, unlike the rooster, it does not try to flee from its human owners, who cherish and care for it. But the situation of the two pets is only apparently the same: the rooster knows exactly that it will end up in the saucepan at some point if it does not manage to escape.
A beautiful fable, the moral of which is: Everything is not always what it looks like.
African wisdom about death
A largely unknown fable is that of the man and the moon from Africa. It is about an old man who asks the animals to carry a dead man and the moon to the other side of the river. Two toads agree, one short-legged and one long-legged. The long-legged one manages to bring the moon to the other side of the river. The short-legged toad drowns with the corpse. And that is also the reason why we humans do not return after death, but the moon does return every month. This fable is thought-provoking.
Perhaps a good way to introduce young people to the subject of death.
Just the thing for children - Wilhelm Hey's fables
Are you still looking for a nice present for a child? Wilhelm Hey's cheerful fables are also suitable for younger children. For example the donkey. He is too slow for his master to carry the burdens. But the donkey reminds him that his master has his horse for speed. The donkey, on the other hand, must not strain itself with the heavy loads. In the evening the donkey finds its well-deserved stable with good food. So man has seen what important work the donkey does.
Who doesn't love them: the clever fox, the clever owl or the timid mouse? …
Wilhelm Hey's fables are short, non-violent and offer beautiful, funny rhymes.
A fairly unknown fable from America
James Thurber wrote the fable of the fly and the spider. The spider has come up with a ruse to catch flies. She has woven a beautiful net, and as soon as a fly gets caught in it, she quickly eats it up. So the other flies should not be able to suspect the deadly danger. But a fly doesn't fall for it. It only settles where there are other flies that have not been harmed. But this wisdom is of no use to her. She rejects the bee's warning and dies on the next fly glue. She thought the flies wriggling there were comrades dancing with joy.
This fable teaches you and other readers: Do not feel safe. Appearance can be deceptive. Very worth reading!
A Tibetan fable about friendship
The fable of the four friends, the elephant, monkey, hare and partridge from Tibet, is about respect and awe for old age. They wonder which of you is the oldest. You want to determine this with the help of a tree. The elephant thinks it is the oldest. The mighty old tree that towers over all animals only went as far as his back when he was young. But the monkey also says that the tree did not tower over him when he was still young. The hare replies the same. But the partridge remembers having already sown the seeds for the tree. According to this, the partridge is the oldest of the four friends. The argument is over and everyone pays their respects to the partridge with his vast experience. Not the worst thought you can give your child, is it?
It doesn't always have to be the classic fables with donkey, bear, fox and mouse. Don't bore children and teenagers with Aesop and other Greek fables they heard in school. Other cultures and more modern writers have new, unknown fables to offer that can teach every reader - young or old - something. But at least they make you think.
