The Cosmic Zoo

The Cosmic Zoo: Stories For Children

by Alexandra R. Kapur-Fic

The literature consisting of allegorical animal stories traces its origin, in the Western tradition, to the classical times in Greek antiquity, well represented by the Aesopís Tales. In later times in Europe, particularly in the middle ages, these stories be- came a rich source of thematic material for one-act plays, farces and other forms of theatrical expression. These stories were also drawn upon by the court jesters of the day in Europe, who used them in their rep- ertoires to entertain, as well as counsel, though indirectly by covert allegories, their kings and masters about the possible consequences of a particular course of action they were contemplating to undertake.

In the Eastern tradition the animal stories have their founda- tion, among others, in the Pali and Sanskrit literatures ó the former in the Jataka Tales and the latter in the Panchatantra ó tracing their origin to the oral tradition flourishing in India a long time before the beginning of the Christian era. From here these stories, particularly the Jataka Tales, spread to Southeast Asia, China and Japan, where they are known more for their didactical precepts than their entertaining value until today. Moreover, much of the ancient art of these regions of Asia had been inspired by the Jataka Tales, splendidly displayed by the bas reliefs on walls of their temples, wood carvings and other media.

This book is an anthology of these stories, which have been selected for their didactic value and their poignant messages, which convey universal values of goodness, honesty, kindness and friendship. These core values are accepted by all civilizations, whether in the West or in the East, as fundamental to the socialization of their children to make them an essential part of human family.

Two additional points: To enhance the educational value of these stories, first, each animal actor has been given a name drawn from a different culture, mindful of the fact that most children of the modern world are growing up in multi-cultural societies. Second, each story has been written with the objective of encouraging interaction between the care-givers and the children to help them to expand their vocabulary and develop thinking power and social skills.

Lastly, randomly selected stories were read, upon my request, by the parents and grandparents from diverse cultural backgrounds, to children to obtain their reactions and comments. The responses were very favourable, and many suggestions from the parents and grand- parents have been incorporated into the present text.

Also, each story in this anthology is constructed in a way that the readers of these stories, parents or others, can select and empha- size those messages and precepts which best express their value ori- entation, cultural heritage or the need of the moment and circumstances.

Finally, a few words about the title of the book. The word COSMIC reflects the universality of many valuesósuch as honesty, truth- fulness, compassion, love, sharing, caring, friendship and respectócon- veyed in the stories by the actions and behaviour of the animals, hence THE COSMIC ZOO.