Reading Notes: Babbitt Jataka Tales, Part A
These were taken from the Jataka Tales, by Ellen C. Babbitt in 1912.
How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
I think all these should have a moral, but I'm not sure what this one's could be...A turtle uses his cunning to escape a (less than intelligent) king and his men. The boys are so wimpy that they run away from a harmless thing they've never seen before. They don't even consider it might be completely harmless! It's a turtle. But their even wimpier father doesn't correct his sons but tries to appease them by ordering it to be killed. Fortunately, they are all so dumb that they can't decide on how to kill it. One suggestion was to throw it into the water where it will drown, to which the turtle acts dreadfully scared, and thus he escapes. I just...I don't even know. Is the moral supposed to be: "don't be as ignorant as the king/his kingdom"?
The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking
Here we have another turtle (probably not the same one as before) who is invited to go visit his friends the geese's homes. The only condition is not to open his mouth/say anything because they will carry him by a stick he has to bite. Otherwise, he'll fall to his death. Unfortunately, the turtle cannot keep his mouth shut. This could be a lesson on having a big mouth, gossiping all the time; it could also be a lesson on literally talking too much. Either way, it won't end well.
The Measure of Rice
It's always good to be honest. Otherwise, you could get cheated, even if you're the one who's trying to do the cheating. Because the king didn't like the honest Valuer, he made a random peasant (who didn't know the value of anything) the Valuer. The new Valuer valued things to try and please the king, valuing 500 horses with just a measure of rice. Unfortunately, this backfired on the king when the value of one measure of rice was valued as worth the whole city!
Stay honest.
(undecided on how to kill a turtle, from Jataka Tales)
I think all these should have a moral, but I'm not sure what this one's could be...A turtle uses his cunning to escape a (less than intelligent) king and his men. The boys are so wimpy that they run away from a harmless thing they've never seen before. They don't even consider it might be completely harmless! It's a turtle. But their even wimpier father doesn't correct his sons but tries to appease them by ordering it to be killed. Fortunately, they are all so dumb that they can't decide on how to kill it. One suggestion was to throw it into the water where it will drown, to which the turtle acts dreadfully scared, and thus he escapes. I just...I don't even know. Is the moral supposed to be: "don't be as ignorant as the king/his kingdom"?
The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking
Here we have another turtle (probably not the same one as before) who is invited to go visit his friends the geese's homes. The only condition is not to open his mouth/say anything because they will carry him by a stick he has to bite. Otherwise, he'll fall to his death. Unfortunately, the turtle cannot keep his mouth shut. This could be a lesson on having a big mouth, gossiping all the time; it could also be a lesson on literally talking too much. Either way, it won't end well.
The Measure of Rice
It's always good to be honest. Otherwise, you could get cheated, even if you're the one who's trying to do the cheating. Because the king didn't like the honest Valuer, he made a random peasant (who didn't know the value of anything) the Valuer. The new Valuer valued things to try and please the king, valuing 500 horses with just a measure of rice. Unfortunately, this backfired on the king when the value of one measure of rice was valued as worth the whole city!
Stay honest.
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