Maltese Children’s Stories
Catching up with my observations on cultural quirks of Malta, today I will comment on a children’s primary school reader. I have been working through it to improve my Maltese, and I was very amused by some of the stories. Particularly striking were some of the lessons to be drawn from them!
Keep in mind that the book was written in the 1970’s, but it is still in use and does not seem to have been updated since. Here is a sample of some very unique narratives:
Street lamps used to be lit by hand, back when each one had its own little flame. However, now they are electric and can be switched on easily. Children, remember not to touch electricity when your hands are wet, because you might get a big shock and DIE!
A little boy runs out into traffic chasing his football, causing the driver to hit a tree and get seriously injured. Those who cross the street, or drive, recklessly can hurt themselves and others!
There is one story about a bear who wants to be a bird. At first I assumed that the moral would be that you should dream to be whatever you want to be, but I was wrong. All the animals laugh at the bear for wanting to be something else. Eventually they shut him up by feeding him honey so that he remains happy being a bear. I suppose the moral is… do not dream to be different?
In another one, a boy steals his mother’s pills thinking that they are candy. Luckily, she catches him in time. She admonished him, and tells him he would have DIED.
Back in the animal world, a rooster decides to flee the chicken-coop. However, he does not want to run away on his own. First he asks the hen and little chicks, but they will not join. Then he asks the turkey, but he also turns him down. Finally he appeals to the ducks, but they are not interested either. In the end the rooster decides it is best to go back to where he came from. The moral of the story… do not aspire to change and seek a better life?
Then there is the wolf that falls into a well. He tricks the sheep into coming down to partake in the water, only to climb on the sheep and set himself free. The poor sheep remains trapped in the well. Moral: do not help others, for they might cheat you.
In one bizarre tale, the sun and the wind try to see who can get a man to take off his coat first. The wind tries by blowing strongly, but in the end the sun wins by making him sweat to the point where he has to disrobe. I really do not know what the moral is here.
As a warning not to be a show-off, we are told of a boy who claims he can jump over a low wall. However, he is short and fat and runs into the wall instead. That is what happens if you are boastful, we are told. Yeeees, and also if you are short and overweight, apparently…
I was a bit troubled by the story of the tortoise who wants to visit her friends the geese. The birds put a stick in the tortoise’s mouth, they each grab it at either end with their beaks and all of them fly away together. People start pointing at the ridiculous scene of a tortoise flying through the air with two geese (ridiculous? I would have found it incredible!) and pointing. The tortoise gets upset and opens her mouth to yell at everyone, which causes her to FALL TO HER DEATH.
Later on we are introduced to a family who has migrated back from Canada. The young brother and sister really want their father to buy them fireworks like they saw at the village festa, but he refuses. So instead when they are alone at home they take matches and start lighting them and throwing them in the air. Apparently they assume that they will look just like fireworks! Soon the dining room curtain catches on fire. When Mummy gets home, she admonishes the children for playing with fire because they could have BURNED UP in the inferno that would have ensued when the house was lit aflame. But all is fine, the children apologise, and Mummy promises not to tell Daddy why the curtain has clear fire damage. Phew!
After all of this death, destruction and crushing of personal dreams, the book finishes up with the Maltese national anthem and a tidbit about loving the flag.
