This Chinese folktale retold by Laurence Yep is in two parts. First, readers encounter the kind-hearted Auntie Lily who has spent so much of her money helping others that she now lives in poverty. Her fortunes change for the better when she helps a filthy, foul-smelling beggar who everyone else ignores. Later, her greedy neighbour experiences a different result when, hoping for a similar reward, she helps the same man. The two parts show different sides of the “be kind to others” moral: kindness for kindness’s sake brings its own rewards; kindness in expectation of reward usually leads to disappointment. More…
Rules of the Game
The title of this story by Amy Tan refers to both the game of chess and the game of life. A Chinese-American mother’s term for one important rule is the art of invisible strength (self-control). The story deals with a number of themes: poverty, respect (for parents, others and one’s cultural heritage), pride vs. humility, passion and dedication, and mother/daughter relationships. At the end of the story, both fail in exercising the art of invisible strength. The mother’s understandable pride leads to bragging; the daughter’s response is rudeness and running away. Whose wind (willpower) will blow the strongest? More…
Beggar My Neighbor
In this story by Dan Jacobson, a white South African boy is confronted by the cruel realities of racism when a charitable decision to give food to two black street children gets out of hand. As the children approach him with increasing frequency, his attitude towards them changes from pity and condescension to contempt and hatred. In an epiphany that comes in a dream, he realizes that they hate him just as much as he does them, and simply want to be treated with dignity. Themes include poverty, compassion, vanity, fantasy, social class, racism, humanity. More…
The Secret Room
Although attributed to the folklore of Schoharie County New York, this folktale almost certainly has German origins. In common with Perrault’s famous Bluebeard, the plot involves a large house, a set of keys and a room that must not be entered. The main difference is that in this story the heroine falls in love with and marries a bull! Having killed and decapitated her older sisters, the beast was planning the same fate for her. The story teaches two life lessons: 1) don’t let curiosity get the better of you; and 2) black cats are not so evil after all. More…
Fox Hunt
This story by Lensey Namioka is a blend of legend and reality . A studious Asian-American boy preparing for the PSAT exam is the only one in his class without a “study buddy”. The boy is pushed to do well by his father, who is descended from a long line of Chinese scholars. One day, his mother tells him a tale about how an ancestor was helped in his studies by a huli, or fox spirit disguised as a girl. Shortly afterwards, the boy meets his own huli. Themes include culture, alienation, pressure to succeed, determination, friendship, coincidence vs. the supernatural. More…