Misadventures in the Land of Fables #47
Hares are noted for their speed and for their timidity. Or, to put the two characteristics together: when they are startled from their hiding places, they are running for their lives, and that’s when we see them. I’ve seen plenty in my time, disturbing them as I womp through the middle of some bramble-encrusted woodland. […]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #46
CONSIDER THE DOGS The latest fable, ‘Two Dogs, One Bone,’ was another written in response to ‘Capitalism and the Way of the Dog,’ a little essay, or screed, published on Twitter (X) by a user who calls himself, ‘Dmitry.’ (See discussion here.) Dmitry invited us to “go up to the next dog you see with […]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #45
‘A Monument for a Lion‘ ~~~ When I wrote this fable, I neglected to make notes on the process. A week later, I had forgotten how and why it had come about, where the idea originated or what I was thinking at the time. Fortunately, I had written about the episode in my journal. It […]
Maxims & Proverbs
~~~ “the mosquito don’t buzz when it’s drinking your blood” ~~~ [illustration: Hans Hoffman, 1530-1592]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #44
A great many fables consist of nothing more than a brief dialogue. As a rule, these fables pass me by. They’re too obviously didactic, too dry, the juice squeezed out of them, the flesh stripped. The dialogue typically takes the form of answer to a question or challenge, an answer which articulates the moral. And […]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #43
‘The Young Lady and the Looking-Glass‘ by William Wilkie claims to be a metaphor for how fables work. A mother puts a mirror in the corner where her spoiled and willful daughter goes to sulk and thus, by seeing her reflection in these moments, they young lady is confronted by the deformity her behaviour inflicts […]