Good morning,
Reader, today is the last installment of my short series – please see below for my final two rewritten morals from Aesop’s Fables.
Enjoy.
Tim
'The Ass and The Mule carrying the same heavy loads' – two animals are trudging along a road together, each carrying the same share of weight. The ass complains and suggests the mule, being more physically capable, should carry more weight. The ass-driver notices the ass’s exhaustion and slowly shifts more of the load to the mule until the ass is no longer carrying anything. At this point, the mule turns to the ass and says – I think it would be fair if I got twice as much to eat, don’t you?
Moral: We should judge each other’s condition not just at the start but also at the finish.
What? This fable had a great name and a nonsensical moral. I actually don’t get what it means. It doesn’t help that the mule is dreadful at math – though it goes from carrying half the load to the entire load, it only asks for twice as much food as the ass. Shouldn’t it demand the whole plate?
TYC: Never have a mule negotiate on your behalf.
'The River and The Hide' – a river asks a floating hide its name. The hide responds – I am called Hard.
Find another name, says the river as it increases its current, for I shall make you Soft.
Moral: Often, bold and arrogant people are overwhelmed by the misfortunes of life.
This one made me wonder if someone had accidentally shuffled the fables and the morals. Does a river having a current count as one of life’s… misfortunes? Don’t all rivers have currents? If rivers are so bad, why are so many cities built alongside them?
TYC: The flow of daily life can change who we are.
