"What About Me?"
by Ed Young

Student Edition
Unit 1, pp. 46–59

A fable is a story that teaches a lesson, or moral. What moral does this Selection Snapshot teach?

A young boy wanted knowledge. He asked the Wise One for it. In return, the Wise One wanted a carpet. So the boy went off to get a carpet. He asked a carpetmaker for one, but the carpetmaker needed thread. He told the boy to get him thread, and he would make a carpet. The boy went to the spinner. He told her that he needed thread for the carpetmaker. To make thread, the spinner needed plenty of goat hair. She told the boy to get her some, and she would make thread.

The boy found a man who raised goats, but he had none at the time. He told the boy to get him goats, and he would give the boy goat hair. The boy found a seller of goats, but the goats kept wandering away. The seller needed a pen to keep them from straying. He told the boy to get him a pen, and he would give the boy some goats. The boy asked for help from a carpenter, but the carpenter wanted help too. He wanted to find a wife. Then he would build a pen. The boy went in search of a wife for the carpenter. He asked a matchmaker, but she wanted knowledge in return. He explained that he too wanted knowledge. But he couldn't get it without getting all the other things first. She sent him away.

Many months later the boy was in a busy marketplace. There he saw a merchant who looked very unhappy. The sad merchant said that he had a daughter who would not get married. The boy went to see the daughter. She would not marry anyone but the carpenter she loved. She secretly loved the very carpenter who had promised to build a pen. At last, the boy had found the carpenter a wife.

After the wedding, the carpenter built the pen. The seller gave the boy goats. The man who raised goats gave the boy goat hair. The spinner gave him thread for the carpetmaker, who made a carpet. Now the boy had a carpet for the Wise One. Now he would get knowledge.

To his surprise, the Wise One said that the boy already had knowledge. It came from his experiences. The boy also received help from others because he had helped them. These were the great lessons of the Wise One.

What About Me? by Ed Young. Copyright © by Ed Young, 2002. Published by arrangement with Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved.

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