Two fables

Only two fables are selected by all the six books. The reason for such a small number is that there are only 25 fables in the Detmold version. Therefore, the odds of a larger

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selection is minimized. These two fables are “The Fox and the Crane” and “The Hare and the Tortoise.” Let’s first take a look at fable “The Fox and the Crane, or Stork.”

According to the Perry version, Phaedrus book I fable 26, it is mainly about a fox and a stork who taunt each other by providing supper from dishes one or the other has difficulty using. Phaedrus’ promythium for this story reads “It is not right to injure any men; but if someone does inflict any injury this fable warns him that his is liable to punishment in kind” and the moral is “One who sets an example ought to bear it with patience when he gets the same in return.” The lesson of the fable is clear and the story plot is simple. The Croxall version’s story has greater details than the others. In the application, Croxall points out that it is “mighty imprudent as well as inhuman and uncivil to affront anybody.” He uses strong words to condemn the fox and the stork’s manners. The Bewick version is almost identical to the Croxall version in terms of the text and the reflection. It is highly possible that Bewick used the Croxall version as his source. However, a few words were changed and the tone is less harsh. We can see that Croxall’s text is much more stringent. He points out that we should behave properly with every transaction in life. His stance is caring but instructive at the same time. After a close examination of Bewick’s text, it is obvious that he adapted his reflection from Croxall’s version. Let’s take a look at the first sentence from the Croxall version:

“It is mighty imprudent, as well as inhuman and uncivil, to affront anybody; and whoever takes the liberty to exercise his witty talent that way, must not think much of it, if he meets with reprisals.”

Now let’s compare it to the first two sentences of Bewick’s application of the fable:

“It is very imprudent, as well as (inhuman and) uncivil, to affront any one, and

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we should always reflect, before we rally another, whether we can bear to have the jest retorted. Whoever takes the liberty to exercise his witty talent in that way,

The bold letter are the changes or additions made by Bewick. It is obvious throughout the entire text that Bewick makes a few changes to the original wording. He also adds sentences to enlarge and express the content more thoroughly. He advises people to think twice before treating others poorly. Catholics believed that as long as the sinner remains obstinate and without remorse, God will not forgive them. Bewick seems to render his application with a hint of introspection. James’s version does not provide a reflection or moral for this fable. However, in his version, the fox shows remorse when he sees the stork having difficulty eating. After the stork had treated him the same way, he recognized his own faults and corrected his failing. Though his version doesn’t have moral, we can read the meaning between the lines. The Crane version is written in verse and is really short and succinct. The verse is as follows:

“You have heard how Sir Fox treated Crane:

With soup in a plate. When again They dined, a long bottle

Just suited Crane’s throttle;

And Sir Fox licked the outside in vain.”

Crane writes down “you have heard” to refer to a “well known” story, despite it being possible that some children never heard of the story before they read this book. Parents or teachers could use this opportunity to retell and further explain the story. Crane’s verse is short, simple and lacks details including the conversation between the fox and

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the crane. However, the illustrations compensates for this simplicity.

Figure 57 The illustration of fable "The Fox and the Crane" from the Crane version

Readers can use the image as a visual aid to picture and to tell their own version of the story. The moral is intriguing too as it reads “there are games that two can play.” It is different from other versions’ morals and is more open to interpretation. Crane’s story leaves more space for the readers to exercise their own reason and imagination.

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Figure 58 The illustration of fable "The Fox and the Crane" from the Detmold version

It is also interesting that Detmold illustration shows what happens at the end of the story.

He could have drawn the fox, the crane and the shallow plate. Nevertheless he shows readers the justice of revenge. What’s more, it is obvious that Detmold imbibed his love for nature in the illustration. The whole image is fully framed by branches and wild berries.

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Compared to the first three versions, Jacobs’ text is rather joyful and simple. He comes straight to the point that “the Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and for a joke put nothing before her but some soup in a very shallow dish.” The fox tricks his friend because of

“a joke” instead of for “entertainment” which is the word used by the first three versions.

The language he uses seems much more modern and easy. The moral is embedded in the stork’s last remark saying “I will not apologize for the dinner. One bad turn deserves another.” He makes it clear that it is a “bad” thing to do. The moral is assertive and clear. Jacobs’ version seems to be more affable for small children.

The other fable chosen by all the books is “The Hare and the Tortoise.” This fables is included in numerous editions of Aesop’s Fables today. Though the fable enjoys such popularity, we don’t see this fable in either the Phaedrus or Babrius’ fables. It is however included in the Perry index, fable 226. The story is about a hare, who runs a race, being so confident in his lead that he takes a nap while the tortoise keeps going and ends up winning the race. Croxall’s version actually has three animals. They are a hare, a tortoise and a fox. In the story, the hare brags about this swiftness and insults the tortoise’s slowness. The tortoise proposes to organize a race and the fox takes on the role of the judge. The Bewick version also has a fox. As we mentioned before, he probably used Croxall’s edition as his source text. Both versions have a similar story plot. The application by Croxall is serious and lengthy. He points out that the victory is not always to the strong. Croxall tells readers that “men of fine parts are apt to despise the drudgery of business.” He seems very upset by those who idled away their time. He criticizes that men having wit and “fire” are oftentimes “sots, slovens, and lazy fellows”.

Judging from the length of his application for the fable, we can say that he tries hard to inculcate the readers of his opinion. Bewick’s application, again, is similar to Croxall’s.

This time, he only uses a few sentences from Croxall’s application and incorporates

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them into his own interpretation. Bewick points out that “action is an important part of the business of life.” They both find the hare guilty and don’t praise the effort made by the tortoise. The James version doesn’t have a fox as judge; there is not much difference in the story plot otherwise. The moral of the story is “slow and steady wins the race”

which is short and succinct. James puts his emphasis on the tortoise efforts. However, there is something interesting concerning the James version’s illustration. It is shown below.

Figure 59 The illustration of fable "The Hare an the Tortoise" from the James version

If we observe closely, we can see that there are three kinds of animals in the image. We have a hare, a tortoise and three foxes. Those foxes are sitting by the finish line as the tortoise arrives. It is interesting that foxes are presented in John Tenniel’s illustration but are absent from the story itself. It is possible that John Tenniel had heard a version

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of this fable with a fox or that James made changes to the text after the illustration was finished. It is also possible that for James, the only judge in the world could be God, thus he edited out the fox. The following is the verse of the fable from Crane’s edition.

“Twas a race between Tortoise and Hare, Puss was sure she’d so much time to spare, That she lay down to sleep,

And let old Thick-shell creep

To the winning-post first. You may state.”

Though the verse is short, the story is clearly written. Crane’s moral for this fable is that persistence beats impulse. The interpretation is slightly different from other versions.

For Croxall and Bewick, the hare represents those with wit yet burdened with laziness while the tortoise represents those who may not have talent but work hard. Crane’s interpretation focuses more on a person’s temperament. Now we are going to see Detmold’s interpretation of the fable. Let’s take a look at his illustration first.

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Figure 60 The illustration of fable "The Hare and the Tortoise" from the Detmold version

The first thing a reader would notice about this image is that the tortoise is missing.

Where is the tortoise you might ask; there are two plausible answers. Either he is far behind the hare or he has passed the hare while the latter was taking a nap. Readers may also wonder why the hare is standing still. It seems like the hare is staring at or looking for something, maybe the tortoise. Readers may ask themselves such questions after reading the fable. So many questions arise because of this illustration of the lonely hare.

Detmold’s perspective is unique and offers readers room for asking questions and using

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ones imagination. Jacobs’ version doesn’t have a fox either. The language is simpler and more modern. Jacobs’ moral is that “plodding wins the race” which is, again, short and simple. All the versions are not far from each other in terms of the story plot.

Nevertheless their morals are slightly different which shows the latitude of interpretation. Besides, we know that there was actually a fox at some point that supervised the race between the hare and the tortoise.