Reading Notes: Aesop's Winter Unit

Once again, I adored this week's reading from Aesop's fables! There were two specific fables from this collection the I especially enjoyed, and have shared my notes on them below. Before reading further, you should preview the two stories: The Wolf and the Shepherd and The Astrologer.

A wolf and a shepherd can't be friends, right? 

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The Wolf and the Shepherd

In this story, a wise and patient wolf seems to make a plan. He begins stalking a herd of sheep. At first, the shepherd is worried, as he should be. But, the wolf watches and waits. Slowly, slowly he gains the shepherd's trust. Over the course of several days, it seems to the shepherd that the wolf is not attempting to harm the sheep, but is the shepherd's ally in their care. The wolf gains the shepherd's trust and appreciation. Soon, the shepherd opts to leave the sheep alone with the wolf, but only for a few hours. Nevertheless, he returned to find much of his sheep slaughtered, and regretted that he had ever trusted the wolf.

A wise wizard once said, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." - J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

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The Astrologer 

The Astrologer loved to look at the stars, for he believed that if man took the time to learn their patterns, the stars would show him the future. It was a normal, starry night when the man began to sense that the stars were claiming the world's demise. With intense focus, the man studied the sky, and was shocked when the earth seemed to fall from under him. Suddenly, he found himself deep in mud, unable to climb from the hole into which he had fallen. His cries for help brought forth a group of peers who willingly rescued him. However, they were quick to remind him of his own faults, asserting that he should pay attention to the immediate, and leave the heavens to their own devices. 

I think the aspect of these stories that drew me was the naivety of their main characters. Both the shepherd and the Astrologer believe in qualities that are not present in the reality of their situations. In the realm of myth and folklore, I think that dreamers are invaluable characters - exact the type who should populate stories of high fantasy, where ghosts, demons, and talking animals have domain.