Category: Of Stranded Dragons and Whitewashed Cows

Of Stranded Dragons and Whitewashed Cows #1

A dragon stranded in shallow water furnishes amusement for the shrimps.

-Chinese proverb

When an elephant is in trouble, even a frog will kick him.

-Hindu proverb

Most of us are sorry when someone else has bad luck. But how do we feel when the unfortunate person is rich and powerful?Create a situation in which an important, influential person (real or imaginary) gets into trouble, is caught in embarrassing circumstances, or loses a valuable possession. Write a newspaper article or a skit showing how people react to this misforture.

Of Stranded Dragons and Whitewashed Cows #3

There is nothing in which birds differ more from man than the way in which they build and yet leave the landscape as it was before.

-Robert Lynd

What specific lessons could we learn from the bird? These should be lessons that we could actually apply to house design and construction. In what way does Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy of (houses) mirror the nest design of birds?

Of Stranded Dragons and Whitewashed Cows #4

The way most people “like animals” is insulting to them. They look down upon them from the height of “superior intelligence.” When I feel for a moment a “superior being,” I remember the hawk’s optic nerve and compare it with my own. Or I compare my powers of scent with the dog’s, or my nerve telepathy with the cat, or my strength with that of almost any animal.

-Algernon S. Logan

This writer apparently believes animals should be respected, not demeaned. In what ways do people who are otherwise kind to animals- especially their own companion animals- show a lack of respect for them?What can we do to help people see the marvelous strengths and instincts of wild animals instead of persisting in seeing them as cute, cuddly things?

How are domestic animals who are being raised for meat treated? Look into the “living” conditions of chickens and calves.

Of Stranded Dragons and Whitewashed Cows #5

We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet; and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog has made an alliance with us.

-Maurice Maeterlinck

Would you have added “and the cat” to the above statement? Why or why not? We have also been closely linked to the horse for centries. Why is that relationship different from the one we have with dogs? Or is it?