Celebrate the Day: June 4, 2008

Aesop’s Day. Here’s a fable for today. I particularly liked this one since you get three morals for the price of one (story).

A Labourer lay listening to a Nightingale’s song throughout
the summer night. So pleased was he with it that the next night
he set a trap for it and captured it. “Now that I have caught
thee,” he cried, “thou shalt always sing to me.”

“We Nightingales never sing in a cage.” said the bird.

“Then I’ll eat thee.” said the Labourer. “I have always heard
say that a nightingale on toast is dainty morsel.”

“Nay, kill me not,” said the Nightingale; “but let me free,
and I’ll tell thee three things far better worth than my poor
body.” The Labourer let him loose, and he flew up to a branch of
a tree and said: “Never believe a captive’s promise; that’s one
thing. Then again: Keep what you have. And third piece of advice
is: Sorrow not over what is lost forever.” Then the song-bird
flew away.

Today is also the 19th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, June 4, 1989. I realized in thinking about it that none of my children, not even the 22 year old, are old enough to remember what happened at Tiananmen Square when the Chinese students tried to gain some measure of reform and freedom through peaceful protest. 300-800 of the protesters probably died on June 4, 1989, and although the government has never told foreign journalists what happened to him nor has he ever been definitively identified, “Tank Man” probably died, too, shortly after this picture was taken on June 5th.

Tiananmen Square - BW




Tiananmen Square – BW

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Chinese citizens in China who search on google for any information on the massacre or the protests at Tiananmen Square are greeted with no information and this message:

“According to the local laws, regulations and policies, part of the searching result is not shown.”

More June Celebrations, Links, and Birthdays

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