The lessons of peace in this memorable story are clear. "We can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" is one succinct way to put it: in other words, kindness and persuasiveness are more powerful than force. Sometimes a sunny smile and the warmth of kindness can win someone over far more effectively than blustering at them or shouting them down forcefully. This story is a peace education in itself.
A classic fable like this can be an "Aha!" experience even for an adult. For teenagers, more topical narratives appeal. One teenager found the following story in the Discovering the Real Me series helpful in dealing with anger:
Clara's Story
It took me a long time to realize that I should wait until I cooled down before I talked to someone about something they had said or done to make me angry. I always wanted to get my feelings out right in the moment, but then it always ended up in a worse argument.
Walking away helped. People always seemed to understand when I said, "I want to take a walk and think this out a little bit." Walking would help me cool down. Then, when I talked to the person, I didn't say so many bad things or shout at them. I found I could say many of the same things honestly, but not in such a mean way. Many times the person who had made me angry was already sorry by the time I got back from my walk!
This short vignette tells how one teenage girl learned to de-escalate conflict. Through exercising self-control in the midst of anger, she became, in essence, a peacemaker.
The important element of teaching through story is to consciously draw out the themes through discussions. The best way to do this is to solicit the learner's opinions and reactions. If they come up with a good "moral of the story" themselves, the work is done. If they do not, they might need a little guidance or a suggestion: "Do you think this ('The North Wind and the Sun') might be a good story to remember when we're angry at someone because they don’t do what we want them to do? Maybe we should try being like the Sun in those kinds of situations." For an older child, "Can you remember any recent incidents of anger when it might have helped you to take a breather, like Clara did? Do you think you might want to try that next time you are angry?"
Each story in the Discovering the Real Me series has Questions for Reflection and Exercises at the end of the chapter to help foster moral understanding and incorporation of the lesson into the learner's psyche. There are also accompanying teachers' (or parents') manuals to aid in drawing out the lessons' themes.
Asking questions and drawing out the listeners' responses fits into the true meaning of the word "education"—which is to draw out. If the parent draws out of the children the moral of the story rather than telling it to them, they now "own" it—and the lessons it teaches. It has become a part of them. When and if they use the lesson of the story in a concrete way—in real life— the point of the story will have become part of their character. Utilized over and over again, it will become solidified as a virtue, and the learner will be that much closer to being a person of peace.
A good story can change a person's consciousness on many different levels, sometimes sinking in more deeply as time goes by. With the wide array of stories and teaching instructions available through the Discovering the Real Me series, there is a wealth of opportunities and possibilities for building character and thus contributing to peace.