WINNING A RACE.

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3046, 31 August 1933, Page 7

WINNING A RACE.

FABLE IN “SCHOOL JOURNAL” CRITICISED. MORALS OF THE TORTOISE. A fable in “The School Journal,” telling how the tortoise beat the rabbit in a race by adopting unfair tactics, was objected to by Mr R. Wild at a meeting of the Canterbury Education Board. He thought more care should be taken about what was given children to read when they were at the most receptive stage. Other members of the board were not seriously concerned about the alleged danger to the morals of the youngsters. Mr Wild moved that the Minister of Education be requested to take the necessary steps to ensure that ‘The School Journal” at least did not inculcate criminal morals. He read extracts from the story in the journal. It was based, he said, on an Irish folkstory about a race between a rabbit and a hedgehog over a furrowed field The hedgehog had placed his wife at one end of the field and stayed at the other end himself; The rabbit tore up and down, not seeing the difference between Mr Hedgehog and his wife, thought Mr. Hedgehog always was ahead.

s The fable in the journal, continued '*'3jTr Wild, was entitled, “Brer Tarrypin'beats Brer Rabbit,” Brer Tarrypin being the tortoise. These two, it was stated, began talking about which was the faster runner. In the end they said they would have a race, a good long one of five miles, and the prize was to be £lO. Brer Tarrypin’s wife and children all looked just like him. Tarrypin made a plan for the day of the race. At the starting-post stood Mrs Tarrypin. Brer Rabbit came bustling along with ribbons flying. “Are you ready, Brer Tarrypin?” he asked. “Yes,” said Mrs Tarrypin, smiling, because he thought she was Brer Tarrypin.

So the race started, recounted Mr Wild, and Brer Rabbit went down the road while Brer Tarrypin was supposed to go through the wood. At every mile-post Brer Rabbit thought he saw Brer Tarrypin, but it was just a young Tarrypin. All the Tarrypins looked the same. Brer Tarrypin stayed at the winning-post and crawled out when Brer Rabbit arrived: “I was here long before you. I think the prize is mine,” he said. “This is the sort of thing they give children when they are at a re-

ceptive stage,” said Mr Wild. It encouraged them to swindle whenever they got the chance. Mr C. S. Thompson: Would you bar the story of Aladdin and his lamp? Mr Wild: No; there is no vicious moral in it. Mr W. P. Spencer (chairman) seconded the motion. He thought Mr Wild was to be commended on bringing the matter forward. It was a question of winning money by misrepresentation . “What about Jack and the beanstalk?” asked another member of the board.