Take a Break: Write a 21st Century Fable

Aesop’s Fables  are a collection of fables attributed to a slave and storyteller, who may have lived in Greece between 620 and 564 BC. The race between the turtle and rabbit has been handed down for centuries and is just as relevant today as it was for the ancient Greeks.

The humorist James Thurber wrote and illustrated a delightful book of fables, which are available on-line for free-Further Fables for Our Time , that have interesting twists and morals.

Today’s “take a break” is about writing your own 21^st century fable. If you need inspiration, check out Aesop  or Thurber.

Below is one that I wrote.

Not interested in today’s activities, try the Take a Break Pinterest Board.

Jane had big news for her best friend Nancy. Nancy’s boss had just accepted a job at Jane’s office and Nancy was the ideal candidate to replace him. Jane learned this news on a Friday night at 11 pm.

The big question-should she call Jane’s landline or cell phone, text, or e-mail? Since all of these options would wake Nancy, who faithfully went to bed every night at 10 with her smart phone sitting on her nightstand, Jane chose the “wait till morning” option.

Waking to a ringing cell phone, Jane’s friends said they’d be at her house within a half hour. How could she have forgotten their beach day plans? In the middle of scrambling to pack her beach bag and feed the dog, Jane decided to wait and call Nancy on the way to the beach, rationalizing that “Nancy will want more than just ‘your boss is leaving and you should apply for the job.’”

Once settled in the back seat of her friend’s car, Jane discovered she hadn’t packed her phone. The offer of friends’ was useless since she had never bothered to memorize Nancy’s numbers-that’s what the ‘contact list’ is for. While annoyed with her forgetfulness, the sun, sand and ocean breezes quickly dissolved those feelings, particularly since a bucket of frozen strawberry daiquiris was always just a sip away.

The beach day evolved into cocktails, dinner and a nightcap. It was a good thing that Jane was not the designated driver. By the time she made it home, there was a vague memory of needing to call someone but whom and for what was a mystery. 

Crawling out of bed at 1 pm Sunday afternoon, the last thing on Jane’s mind was calling Nancy. Between a terrible hang over and a dog that demanded some attention, Jane once again put off contacting her friend saying, “first thing in the morning.”

Nothing like starting the workweek with rain and a dog who doesn’t want to get his paws wet so pees on the floor. Needless to say a whirl wind clean up before work left no time for a call. In fact, Jane finally sent a quick text to Nancy at about 1 in the afternoon.

Not only did Nancy know, but the job was already taken by another co-worker who had learned about the pending vacancy early Saturday morning and contacted the President to let them know of their interest in the position.

Moral: The more ways we have to communicate the less effective we are in doing so.