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 Artist: Thomas Bewick The Fox and The Monkey - Aesop's Fables A fox and a monkey were arguing about which of the two were "better born" and comparing their family trees. When they passed a cemetery, the monkey stopped and gave a great sigh. The fox was perplexed and asked the monkey to explain his sorrow. The monkey pointed to the tombstones and told the fox that all those monuments were placed in honour of his forefathers; who in their day were very eminent men indeed. At first the fox was speechless at this revelation about his companion. However, he quickly recovered when he realized, and reminded the monkey, that it was very unlikely any of his illustrious ancestors would rise up out of their graves and dispute the matter. Moral: Boasters brag most when no one is around to expose them There is so much to be learned from our ancestors. The monkey was devious and bragged when no one was around to expose his lies. The fox was clever because he saw through it. It still holds true today, although with the propensity for past posts on today's social media to rise up in the future and "dispute the matter" .... we'd all better be careful! Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2019
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  Illustration by Jean de la Fontaine I think most people are familiar with Aesop's Fable about The Fox and the Crow.
In this story, the Crow has found a wonderful round of cheese and is sitting in a tree, when along comes a sweet-talking fox. He wants the cheese for himself, but how to get it? He convinces the Crow that she has a beautiful voice and would love to hear her sing. She is flattered, opens her mouth to sing and, sadly for her, the cheese drops to the ground. Now, when you think about this fable, it becomes apparent that casting is important. Crows are really, really intelligent. Only a sly fox would have been right for this role ... for who else, in the entire animal kingdom would have the ability to out-smart a crow? Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 (gif courtesy of AnimatedImages.org)  Illustration by Arthur Rackham The Ants and the Grasshopper The ants were employing a fine winter's day in drying grain collected in the summer-time. A grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The ants inquired of him, 'Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?' He replied, 'I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in singing.' Then they said in derision: 'If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supper-less to bed in the winter.' The moral of the story here is pretty obvious ~ Work comes before play ~ Put something away for a rainy day, winter or hard times ~ Plan ahead ~ So, like the industrious ants, make the most of your harvest, whether it comes to you from the grocery store or your garden!
Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 / edited 2019 |
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