Creighton University

This is the story of the fisherman and the small fish, caught in this version only after a disappointing day of catching nothing.  The stated moral is "When you see an opportunity, you have to take it."  That moral is different from the usual thematic of "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  The inside front-cover has symbols for Green Life publishing and Green Ocean paper.  The publisher's symbol seems to be two purple heads reading an open red book. There is a page of vocabulary on the inside back cover, with a picture of all six books in the series on the back cover.  The pamphlet is twelve pages long, about 7½" x 6¾".

The farmer in this story experiences a hard winter, so hard that he finally has to slaughter his cow in order to eat.  The dog and cat sense what is going on and lead other animals to flee the farm before they get eaten too.  The best illustration in this lively version has the cow looking with great apprehension as the farmer approaches with a knife.  The stated moral is "When you see something bad happen to other people, you have to find a way to keep it from happening to you."  The inside front-cover has symbols for Green Life publishing and Green Ocean paper.  The publisher's symbol seems to be two purple heads reading an open red book. There is a page of vocabulary on the inside back cover, with a picture of all six books in the series on the back cover.  The pamphlet is twelve pages long, about 7½" x 6¾".

This is the story that I used in a bishops' retreat some years ago.  It made quite an impact.  In this case, an artist finishes a beautiful sculpture and ties it on the donkey's back to carry it into the village.  There the people "pray to the sculpture."  "The donkey thought that all the people were showing their love and respect for him, so he walked slowly with his head held high."  The artist excoriates him.  The stated moral is "Sometimes, people don't really respect you; they just respect your power."  The inside front-cover has symbols for Green Life publishing and Green Ocean paper.  The publisher's symbol seems to be two purple heads reading an open red book. There is a page of vocabulary on the inside back cover, with a picture of all six books in the series on the back cover.  The pamphlet is twelve pages long, about 7½" x 6¾".

The version of this fable is difficult for me.  A man brings home a "mother" dove and takes care of it in its cage.  A neighboring crow tries to befriend this dove, insulted, answers: "You must have a hard life.  I live comfortably and so do my babies!"  Where, I ask, are these babies?  The crow answers that she would never trade her freedom for the dove's comfort.  My issues with the story are three: the babies, caged comfort, and the moral's mention of "beauty on the outside."  The stated moral is "If you only care about beauty on the outside, you won't be able to find true happiness."  The inside front-cover has symbols for Green Life publishing and Green Ocean paper.  The publisher's symbol seems to be two purple heads reading an open red book. There is a page of vocabulary on the inside back cover, with a picture of all six books in the series on the back cover.  The pamphlet is twelve pages long, about 7½" x 6¾".

A lamb comes tired and thirsty to the river, only to discover a crocodile there.  The latter tries to persuade the lamb to come and take a drink.  The lamb eventually comes up with a fine answer:  "You don't care that I'm thirsty. You just want to eat me!"  The best image is that of the two first confronting each other, as the lamb says "Umm…."  The stated moral is "Clever people know how to escape danger."  There is an oversight in the middle pages: "Aren't you going come and take a drink?"  The inside front-cover has symbols for Green Life publishing and Green Ocean paper.  The publisher's symbol seems to be two purple heads reading an open red book. There is a page of vocabulary on the inside back cover, with a picture of all six books in the series on the back cover.  The pamphlet is twelve pages long, about 7½" x 6¾".

This is, I believe, a pleasant mixture of the fable about a single frog and mouse and the batrychomuamachia.  The fight breaks out over fears that the enemy will take over the others' homes.  The other animals get sick of their fighting and try to calm them.  They are so worn out that an eagle comes and eats all of them.  The central illustration of the battle is good, with three one-on-one encounters.  The stated moral is "When you argue about silly things, it creates opportunities for other people to take advantage of you."  There is an oversight in one of the middle pages, where the symbol "^" appears for no reason.  The inside front-cover has symbols for Green Life publishing and Green Ocean paper.  The publisher's symbol seems to be two purple heads reading an open red book. There is a page of vocabulary on the inside back cover, with a picture of all six books in the series on the back cover.  The pamphlet is twelve pages long, about 7½" x 6¾".