A conversation between Winter and Spring

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”

– Robin Williams

Aesop’s fables are fairytale classics teaching life lessons through simple, meaningful stories.

In the lion and the mouse, we’re reminded that no act of kindness is too small and everyone, no matter how tiny, can have a big impact. When the hungry fox tries to reach the cluster of grapes and repeatedly fails, he decides the out-of-reach delicacies are sour and not worth having, a lesson in managing life’s disappointments. And in the race between the tortoise and hare we learn the value of consistency, the danger of overconfidence and how complacency leads to unexpected outcomes.

While many of Aesop’s allegories depict animals, he imbued inanimate objects with personality and character. And with another cold winter in the Mediterranean finally budding into spring, here’s the fabulist’s take on a conversation between the two seasons.

Winter was teasing Spring and taunting her because as soon as she appears no one can sit still. Some people go off to meadows and copses, where they like to pick flowers and lilies, or twirl a rose before their eyes, or bind one in their hair. Others board ships, perhaps, and cross the open sea, since they now feel safe enough to make trips abroad. No one worries anymore about the wind and heavy rains. “But me,” said Winter, “I’m like a monarch and an absolute one at that. At my command everyone looks down at the ground rather than up at the sky. I make them tremble with fear and sometimes force them to put up with being stuck indoors all day.”

“Yes,” said Spring, “and that’s exactly why people are glad to see the back of you. But even just hearing my name makes them happy, and they think it the most beautiful sound in the world. After I’ve left, they remember me and rejoice when I reappear.”