Creighton University

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  The story here is one that I do not recognize, at least in this form.  A king happens to cut off one of his fingers.  His minister comforts him by saying that whatever happens happens according to God's will.  The angry king, not comforted, asks how he can benefit from a cut finger and throws the minister into prison.  A few days later, the king is captured by some tribesmen and readied for sacrifice, but the tribal chief sees his handicap and declares that the tribe's deity will not accept a victim like that.  The king, released, in turn has the minister released.  Moral?  "Whatever happens, happens according to God's will."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  The version of BF used here has the crow dress himself up very nicely in peacock feathers and then say this to his fellow crows: "You all look dirty with your black feathers.  Please avoid talking to me."  When he comes back to them at the end, they reject him.  Moral: "Changing looks does not change the reality."  Like the others in the series, this pamphlet features slick computer-generated art on its sixteen pages.  Here, however, the depiction of the crow is particularly well done.  He becomes a beautiful peacock-like crow until  the peacocks "break his artificial feathers."  The cover gives a good sample of the good artistry here.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  Three things are unusual in this telling of WC.  First the usual wolf is here a fox, indeed a greedy fox whom none of the other animals like.  They find him greedy.  That is why they will not help him remove the bone stuck in his throat.  Secondly, there is never mention of reward or pay until the stork brings it up after removing the bone.  Thirdly, the moral here is "Greed never pays."  Did not the greed of the fox pay off?  He is the only one here labeled "greedy."  His cunning works!  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  In this version, the fox does not use any of his tricks but is still thinking them over confusedly when the dogs kill him.  The cat is quite explicit before this attack that one perfect trick is fine.  He does not need to learn more tricks from the fox.  As the dogs approach, the cat asks this fox what trick he will use.  Does it help the telling of this story to make the two "great friends"?  Something strange is going on with the print of the text in this booklet.  It changes arbitrarily from regular to bold from one page to another.  It may even change color along the way.  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  An unusual feature of this telling of the traditional fable is that, after the pigeon throws a leaf to the ant, she first tells him to climb onto the leaf and she then picks up the leaf and deposits it, with the ant, on shore.  My understanding of most versions is that the ant uses the leaf -- or twig -- as a kind of boat to maneuver to the shore on his own.  In the most dramatic image here, as the ant bites the hunter we can see the path of his rifle shot passing above the pigeon.  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  I find two surprises in the version of this traditional story offered here.  First, usually one man has hired another man's donkey, and the second man comes along on the trip; or else the first man has hired the second man and his donkey.  Here two travellers are walking with a donkey for a long time.  There is no attempt to have the donkey belong to either or both.  The second surprise comes when the text clearly states that the donkey, like the first man, sits down.  The illustrations never show the donkey sitting!  Besides that, a sitting donkey would offer less of the shadow about which the argument starts.  In this version, the men get into fighting with each other and the donkey makes off while they are thus distracted.  Moral: "Foolishness never pays."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  I find the version of this traditional story surprising.  Generally in this story, the frog means the mouse harm.  Here that is not the case.  Generally only one paw of the mouse is tied to one leg of the frog, but here each of the frog's legs is tied to a front paw of the mouse.  Finally, this frog swims for "a few hours" and then finds a dead mouse tied to him.  These are "best of friends."  Would not a good friend check on his friend before a few hours had elapsed?  A hawk swoops down on the dead mouse, and the frog is hoisted with him to his destruction.  Moral: "Foolish ideas never work."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  The astrologer here, who wears glasses and uses multiple telescopes, falls into a ditch rather than a well.  The passerby who pulls him from the ditch has the key line: "If you could not see the ditch, how can you predict the future?"  The moral is "Worrying too much about the future makes us ignore the present."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  There is an unusual focus here on the artist who makes a particularly good statue of Rama and takes it to market on his neighbor's donkey.  One woman bows to the god, and then everybody starts bowing to the god.  A thrashing helps the donkey to "act according to your position," as the moral advises.  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.  The artist does a particularly good job here with the donkey, not least of all in the central double-page.  This donkey is quite impressed with himself.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  This story is new to me.  I doubt that it comes in any sense from Aesop.  A farmer comes upon a silver pot that turns out to be magical: it doubles anything you put into it.  The farmer and his wife quickly become rich.  One day, the wife slips and falls into the pot.  Sure enough, the farmer pulls two wives out of the pot--and needs to live with them both.  "It's very hard to satisfy greed."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.  The cover shows him pulling the second wife out of the pot while the identically dressed first wife looks on.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  This version of WS is told in the poorer form.  The travelller here is, in a good touch, wearing a shawl.  "'Whosoever would make the traveller remove his shawl, would be the winner,' insisted the sun.'  "Intelligence is strength."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  In "An Ant and the Grasshopper," the title was curious for using the indefinite article once and the definite once--and then capitalizing the latter.  Here a similar anomaly occurs when one mouse gets the definite article -- and that capitalized inside the title -- and the other gets no article at all.  The different English usage continues in the story's last line: "I would prefer a safe place than tasty food."  The intruder here is the "big fat cat," and there is just one interruption of the town meal.  The moral is "It's better to be safe than sorry."  A mysterious female mouse appears in several "town" pictures but is never mentioned in the text.  She is presumably a town mouse wife.  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  The first curiosity about this book has to do with its title.  The title on the cover includes the word "Rabbit," while the title-page has "Rabbits."  The title-page also takes away capital letter which the cover had put on "Wolf."  Meeku and Cheeku are rabbits -- curiously, one pink and one gray -- who invade the wolf's orchard.  Cheeku climbs up a tree (a rabbit?!) while Meeku hides behind a tree.  The wolf comes.  Cheeku sees him coming, takes some fruit, and jumps inside a barrel, all without being seen by the wolf.  Cheeku, again strangely, leaves the barrel, and the hard-to-comprehend wolf asks if he has seen any rabbit carrying fruits.  Cheeku tells him that he saw a rabbit entering the barrel.  The wolf jumps inside the barrel, and the two rabbits immediately close the lid and imprison him.  There must be a simpler and more coherent story behind this book's version!  "Brain is better than brawn."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  As has happened before in this series, I wonder if the version of this story offered here has been thought through.  "Never underestimate others" fits well as a moral but is quite general.  A hungry wolf here wants to eat some of a horse's leg but somehow lets himself get distracted by the horse's real wound, caused by a thorn in his foot that has now been removed.  While the wolf inspects the foot, the horse gives him a mighty kick.  The wolf's problem here is, I suppose, not sticking to business.  There is a way of telling this fable in which the horse invents a problem with his foot, saying that the wolf would not want to eat a thorn when he eats the horse and should remove it first.  That is a clever ploy to get the wolf around to where the horse can kick him.  The wolf's problems in this version would be letting himself be tricked by a good story and wanting a perfect meal.  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.  The artist has a curious approach to a horse's nose and mouth: they form a gray section clearly distinct from the rest of the horse's face, which is tan.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  This version of the story is more overt than most, for the father told his four sons "I have buried some treasure in the field.  After I die, distribute it among yourselves."  When they had buried their father and dug almost the whole field, "the disheartened sons sowed the seeds in the field to reap the benefits of their labour."  One son remarks when they pull in lots of money as a result "Father appropriately said that the treasure was buried in the field."  There is a bit of verbal sleight of hand here.  The moral is "Work hard and reap rich rewards."  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  The story is well told here.  Its moral is "The most valuable things are often disregarded."  The lion's face becomes curiously human twice, first when he begins pursuing the stag and secondly, on the last page, when he looks down at the victim he has apparently killed but not yet devoured.  Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.

One of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books.  The finish of this version of FS is particularly strong, both in text and picture.  "The fox was very angry.  But he could not show it since he had done the same to her.  Moral: As you sow, so shall you reap."  The last image of the fox expresses his anger wonderfully!