Fable: The donkey and the tiger

Background on Informant:
My informant is my dad; he is in his 50’s he is a longshoreman who grew up in Torrance. He has shared many stories and sayings with me over the years. I asked him if he remembered any good fables that he used to tell me maybe. He said he heard this fable from his grandma, his mother drank heavily and would argue nonsense with my dad and my grandma told him this story so he wouldn’t mind her. He doesn’t know where she heard it.

Text:
Interviewer: So, do you have any fables that you may have heard or told over the years?

Informant: Sure, don’t you remember the one I would always tell you when you used to argue with your little brother. No, refresh my memory about the donkey and the tiger?

Interviewer: yes I do but please tell it to me again in you own words

Informant: So a donkey and a tiger are arguing. The donkey says the sky is green, and the tiger says the sky is not green it is clearly blue. The donkey says no you’re wrong its green, the tiger says fine lets go ask the king. They go to the lion king to settle the argument once and for all. Before anyone says a thing the lion says, if you waste my time you will be punished eager to prove the donkey wrong the Tiger agrees to the terms. The Tiger explains the argument to the lion, the tiger says anyone with eyes can see the sky is blue the donkey says, nooo its not blue, the sky is green, right my king? The lion says, “Yes, the sky is indeed green. The donkey walks away happy and triumphant. The confused tiger asks, my king surely you know the sky is blue why would you tell the donkey it is green. The lion says, You’re not being punished because you’re wrong. You’re being punished because you are a mighty and majestic tiger why are you wasting time arguing with a donkey, you should know better than to argue with a fool.

Interviewer: So why did you tell me that?

Informant: Because you were arguing with your little brother about something, and your little brother thinks he knows everything. Sometimes it’s not worth arguing, especially if the other person is stubborn and isn’t going to listen.

Analysis:
This fable functions to teach a moral lesson, which reflects what we learned in class about how folklore can provide guidance through storytelling. My dad used the story in a real-life situation while I was arguing with my little brother, showing how folklore can be used in a progressive way in everyday life. The lesson is that it is pointless to argue with someone who is unwilling to accept reason. Instead of directly telling me to stop arguing, he used a story to give indirect advice in a more memorable way and later he didn’t need to repeat the story he would just say “you are a tiger.” This example also reflects how folklore is passed down informally across generations, from his grandmother to him and then to me, reinforcing shared values and beliefs. This also shows how some fables travel all over the world. It also demonstrates multiplicity, as similar fables appear in different cultures, and the animals suggest its origin isn’t the U.S.