Wednesday morning

Thinking about things:

Here is a fable from a primer written by Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy wrote these fables for peasant children. The collection was published in 1872. This one tells of fear and shame and consequences. It also about the possibility of being brave--of being brave even though it is really really hard to do so.

The Duck and the Moon

by Leo Tolstoy

A duck was once swimming along the river looking for fish.

The whole day passed without her finding a single fish.

When night came she saw the moon reflected on the water

and thinking it was a fish she dove down to catch it.

The other ducks saw her and they all made fun of her.

From that day the duck was so ashamed and so timid

that even when she did see a fish under water

she would not try to catch it,

and before long she died of hunger.

[Second Reader 1872]

From Fables and Fairy Tales