Tales That Undo Othering

Take the much-loved Charlotte's Web by EB White , in which unlikely yet touching relationship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider teaches valuable life lessons about empathy, kindness, and bonds that connect us, beautifully depicting how precious friendships of those not like us can make a profound impact in someone's life.


In a world increasingly divided for a host of reasons into various us/not us categories, it would go a long way to awaken our true nature of goodness and compassion - though deeply buried - by turning to some children's books and stories.


Many of these books reveal how relationships - good ones or bad - work, and how to understand and accept, include others not like us, and maybe embrace differences.


A story from Africa, that a wonderful storyteller friend shared, goes like this:


One day, birds challenged four-footed animals to a ball game. Those with wings on one side, and animals with teeth on the opposing team. When Bat arrived, he was sent to the team whose players had teeth. But animals with teeth claimed Bat did not belong on their team because he had wings! They sent him off to birds' team, but feathered and winged birds refused to accept Bat; he couldn't join their team because he had teeth. Finally, four-footed animals somewhat reluctantly accepted Bat because he had teeth. The game began and birds were leading because they could fly with the ball above where animals couldn't reach. Eventually, Bat, playing for animals, managed to take the ball away from birds again and again, and finally animals won.


We notice there seem to be as many books about animals and birds acting like humans as there are books about actual children, and there may be a good case for this. Animal fiction goes to places that other stories can't. Our world is different when viewed through non-human eyes. Adventures feel more exciting because characters - and you, in your imagination - can be hunted by a predator, swept away by giant waves or abandoned in a difficult place. But stories also have built in safety-valves because characters aren't human, so there is a kind of 'distancing'. And so, authors can - carefully - go to more difficult places, handle more difficult themes.


It's not just modern writers who think so - we have, after all, the wonderful Panchatantra treasury, which contains fables usually involving animals, with so much to teach us through incisive insight into human behaviour. Animal stories of Buddhist Jataka tales teach followers to avoid hurting people or tell of meritorious acts of kindness and compassion performed by animals, inspiring us to emulate these.


Authored by: Marguerite Theophil