Children's TV shows come and go ...
but some things are forever. Case in point:---
Take a Grandmother reading to her Grandchild. Not just
any
Grandmother mind you ... and not just
any Grandchild either ... for these are among the
stories I overheard my wife, Nancy (at
73) reading to our
Grandson, Caleb
(age 8), when his Daddy,
Stuart, brought him here in September, 2008 to be with
us for a few days at the end of Magnolia Lane
in Christiansburg, VA. For you see earlier, back in July,
Caleb lay comatose in the
sterile surroundings of a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, FL --- near
death, really --- when a
miracle occurred ... for Caleb was to
fully recover from that terrible auto accident of July
1st, 2008.
I don't have a recording of
Nancy reading many of these same stories, but I was
able to find a recording on the Internet of someone reading these
Aesop's Fables, which are
timeless in their messages to us all, young and old alike. And as for
Caleb? Well, let's just say
that his Grandma had
Caleb's attention throughout her reading of each and
every one them ... just as I now have your
attention.
And talk about quality time with your
Grandkids?--- It just doesn't get any better than this ... so if
you haven't done so in awhile, try reading
stories
to your own Grandchildren
sometime again
soon. It will be rewarding to you both ... young and old
alike ... this New Year's Resolution of yours!
The Ant and the
Chrysalis
An Ant nimbly running about in the sunshine in
search of food came
across a Chrysalis that was very near its time of change.
The
Chrysalis moved its tail, and thus attracted the attention of the
Ant,
who then saw for the first time that it was alive. "Poor,
pitiable
animal!" cried the Ant disdainfully. "What a sad fate is
yours!
While I can run hither and thither, at my pleasure, and, if I
wish,
ascend the tallest tree, you lie imprisoned here in your shell,
with
power only to move a joint or two of your scaly tail." The
Chrysalis
heard all this, but did not try to make any reply. A few days
after,
when the Ant passed that way again, nothing but the shell
remained.
Wondering what had become of its contents, he felt himself
suddenly
shaded and fanned by the gorgeous wings of a beautiful
Butterfly.
"Behold in me," said the Butterfly, "your much-pitied friend!
Boast
now of your powers to run and climb as long as you can get me
to
listen." So saying, the Butterfly rose in the air, and, borne along
and
aloft on the summer breeze, was soon lost to the sight of the
Ant
forever.
"Appearances are deceptive."
The Goose With the Golden Eggs
One day a countryman going to the nest of his Goose found
there an egg all yellow and glittering. When he took it up it was
as heavy as lead and he was going to throw it away, because he
thought a trick had been played upon him. But he took it home on
second thoughts, and soon found to his delight that it was an egg
of pure gold. Every morning the same thing occurred, and he soon
became rich by selling his eggs. As he grew rich he grew greedy;
and thinking to get at once all the gold the Goose could give, he
killed it and opened it only to find nothing.
"Greed oft o'er reaches itself."
|
The Milkmaid and
Her Pail
Patty the Milkmaid was going to market carrying her
milk in a
Pail on her head. As she went along she began calculating
what
she would do with the money she would get for the milk. "I'll
buy
some fowls from Farmer Brown," said she, "and they will lay eggs
each
morning, which I will sell to the parson's wife. With the
money that I
get from the sale of these eggs I'll buy myself a new
dimity frock and a chip
hat; and when I go to market, won't all
the young men come up and speak to
me! Polly Shaw will be that
jealous; but I don't care. I shall
just look at her and toss my
head like this. As she spoke she tossed
her head back, the Pail
fell off it, and all the milk was spilt. So she
had to go home
and tell her mother what had occurred.
"Ah, my
child," said the mother,
"Do not count your chickens before
they are hatched."
...Bruce********