Living Animals

This is the seventh of The Animal Parables series. Each tale features an animal who finds that things turn out to be quite different from how it imagined, and profound life lessons are learned along the way. These seven, life-affirming tales will delight young minds and leave adults moved to reflection. In this collection, Martin Day has rediscovered the power of the parable to layer deeper meanings under the skin of a simple narrative.

The Caterpillar sees eating as her only joy and purpose in life, but it becomes an addiction robbing her of her joy. A dragonfly heaps shame on, but a butterfly sees something deeper in her. This is a story about both the roots of shame in addiction and transformation though suffering.

The mackerel carries injuries and is angry and bitter. But these injuries never heal because blood-sucking lampreys are attracted to the wounds. When he is hooked by a fisherman he finds out how he can be free of the blood suckers.... This is a story about both the crippling nature of bitterness and the liberty in forgiving.

The crab has taken many knocks in his life and has developed protective armour. When he meets a transparent prawn, he sees a different way to live... This is a story about the self-protecting nature and false identity of the flesh.

In a small village in a far-off land lived a young girl named Sara and her younger brother, Justin. Today was a celebration: Sara turned 13, and as was the tradition in her village, she would travel into the nearby Magical Forest to receive a message from the Spirit of the Earth. The seeker usually braved the forest alone, but because Sara and Justin were so close, they convinced her parents and the village elders to let them go together.