Aesop's Fable Friday
The Boy and the Nettles
A Boy was gathering berries from a hedge when his hand was stung by a Nettle. Smarting with the pain, he ran to tell his mother, and said to her between his sobs, "I only touched it ever so lightly, mother."
"That is just why you got stung, my son," said she; "if you had grasped it firmly, it wouldn't have hurt you in the least."
Moral of the story: Hold strongly to what you want.
My alternate moral: Don't be a weenie when it comes to wresting what it is you need from life!
posted by Grizzly Mama | 23:08
15 Comments:
I've heard the phrase "grasp the nettle"
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/grasp+the+nettle.html
I wonder if this fable is where that came from?
Still, I'm not sure I like the idea.
The boy was looking for berries in a hedge. Shall we presume raspberries? If he grasped the rasperry cane strongly he would have had a bloody mess.
The trick is to know WHEN to grasp the nettle, and when to pluck the berries lightly.
Very interesting, Mike. The phrase 'grasp the nettle' rings a very vague bell for me.
I checked out that URL and the meaning 'you deal bravely with a problem' implies that you are likely going to get stung, but you proceed anyway.
I'm no green thumb, so I trust your advice on picking berries and grasping nettles! lol. I had thought that there were some nettles that will get you if you were to lightly brush against them, but if you were to firmly grasp them they would cause less pain and damage.
Composition idea, if you haven't already tried it....Have your children write their own fable. You can give them a proverb or adage to direct their writing. Works for all ages!
Yes AOL - I love this idea. Thanks!
When I do it, I'll put them in an entry. Maybe I'll try it too.
I like your alternate moral better.
However, we also need to have the wisdom to know when to grasp gently as well...there is fragility in the world, after all.
That is true, Wordsmith.
I've grasped a nettle before and it sting the hell out of me! Don't grasp 'em, burn 'em with a flamethrower! Roasting releases the sugars in berries. :-)
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For some reason this makes sense to me but I think I have heard something like it before. Its just plain weird when you think back on certain fables of when we were kids and then tell our own children. I mean like goldy locks and the three bears always gets the girls asking questions on my end. I dont know why but they do. Or the seven dwaves and whats her name. My mind went blank on me. I think you all know who I am talking about. I hope. LOL.....
Ummmm. Snow White! I think it's Snow White that you're looking for! lol.
One of the things I enjoy most is reading to my kids. Thank God they still like it! I enjoy it because I get to revisit all of those stories from my childhood that I had forgotten. The Aesop's Fables are a real pleasure and I have discovered that I only knew, like, 7 of them. There are dozens and dozens!
The fairy tales are pretty brutal. Most of them anyway. The kids love them, though. I guess maybe the bad guys are truly bad and easily identifiable. Atleast the good guys know who they're fighting.
Dirtcrashr - burning them is good! lol. I am going to go ahead and delete 2 of your comments. I guess blogger was hiccuping...
How old are you children if you dont mind me asking? I think I have told you how old mine are but here we go anyway. K just turned six and B will be three in June. They both loved to have books read to them. Esp B when K's at school. That one on one time with her. Its amazing how well she talks for her age. I mean the older still has a hard time with her speech. LOL.... Well anyway. Enough about me. When you have a minute. Just curious. N.
My girlies are 6 and 10. Well - you know how awesome kids can be. I have been surprised at how my 10 y/old still enjoys being read to. We are very lucky, aren't we? So important to spend this time with them.
Yes very lucky. I love being a stay at home mom with my girls.I get more done in one day than if I was working and then hubby doesnt have to come home after ten or twelve hours of work and work more. So he can come home to a clean house and relax and spend time with us. Not just the girls but all of us. Unlike if I was working. Well anyway thanks again for sharing. These are neat. N.
Thanks Tweetey. The kids grow up so fast - just so damn fast. We'll miss it if we're not careful!
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