Friday Fable. LaFontaine’s “THE LION AND THE RAT” (one more time)*
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Caption: Sculpture by Tom Otterness.
More thoughts on LaFontaine’s “The Lion and the Rat”, which I first wrote about a month ago:
This fable is more than its appended moral on the virtues of “time and toil.”. Rather, consider “There’s none so small but you his aid may need.” Does one, then only, do good for gain? I think not, more often simple courtesy and kindness, with which all are equally endowed – granted, some suppressed or overripe with meanness - call on each of us to do what one must. The return in kind may never materialize, but knowing we helped suffices.
That’s why, on the job, the genuinely kind and considerate boss achieves most.
Caption: A Stamp From Zambia Honoring LaFontaine
*Source: THE FABLES OF LA FONTAINE Translated From The French by Elizur Wright. [original place and date: Boston, U.S.A., 1841.] A New Edition, with Notes by J. W. M. Gibbs,1882.