Aesops Fable- the Garden Cock and The Weather Cock

[WriterofWords]

"Garden plant!" he exclaimed, as he spied the cucumber. And in that one word, his deep learning showed itself, and it forgot that he was pecking at her and eating it up. "A happy death!"

He was demonstrating that he was knowledgeable.​

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:
He was demonstrating that he was knowledgeable.

But isn't "his" in "his deep learning" referring to the yard cock?

So would it be that the cucumber, after worshiping the yard cock from afar, is receiving confirmation that the yard cock is so splendid because of the yard cock's great wisdom (which would actually be irony because the reader knows that the yard cock is a big fool)?

This is so fun. I love discussing literature and trying to interpret it. (It's more fun with adults than teenagers unless the teenagers are really, really good readers and thinkers -- and I'm talking specifically about the kids I teach here, not any BYCers...hee hee).

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Ok so do The Fox and the Grapes . . . It has always bothered me that I just don't get the moral . . .

 

[The Chicken Lady]

The Fox and the Grapes

by Aesop

It was a very hot and sunny afternoon. A fox, which had been hunting the whole day, was very thirsty.

"How I wish there was some water," the fox thought to himself.

Just then, he saw bunches of fat and juicy grapes hanging from a vine above his head. The grapes looked ripe and ready to burst with juice.

"Oh, my! Oh, my!" the fox said as his mouth began to water. "Sweet grape juice, quench my thirst!"

The fox stood on tiptoe and stretched as high as he could, but the grapes were out of his reach.

Not about to give up, the fox walked back a short distance and took a running leap at the grapes. Again, he could not reach the grapes.

Still not ready to give up, the fox walked back further and took another running leap at the grapes. Again, he could not reach the grapes.

The fox jumped and leapt, again and again, but each time he could not reach the grapes. Until, at last, the fox was tired and thirstier than ever.

"What a fool I am!" said the fox furiously. "These grapes are sour and not fit for eating. Why would I want them anyway?"

With that, the fox walked away.

Moral: Some people despise and belittle the things they cannot have.

I teach at a school where the vast majority of students live in poverty. This story reminds me of a "trend" last year where, if a student came to school with new shoes or a new shirt, the kids would say, "You're spoiled!" In the spring, I told my students that my husband and I bought a new house and would be moving, and they said, "Wow, Mrs. *, you're spoiled!" Of course, besides illustrating the fact that the kids didn't really understand the meaning of "being spoiled" (like I could really spoil myself by taking out a loan and buying a house...), they were trying to put down each other for having nice things.​

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

""What a fool I am!" said the fox furiously."
I never agreed with the stated moral; this line always made my thinking more inclined towards the moral leaning to the foolishness of getting angry at oneself for what one simply can not reach.
That said the failing to reach something really stands out to me as well.
But also on the other hand isn't there some level of satisfaction in convincing oneself that you don't really want what you can't have . . . and is that so bad?

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Good thoughts, Katy! I think the story supports your ideas, too. He is angry at himself, though, for being so foolish as to want something he decides probably isn't something he needs because it is no good...so maybe the meaning of the story is a mixture of both the original moral Aesop put at the end and some of what you're reading into it.