Hmong Folklore – An Uneducated Boy and His Glasses

An Uneducated Boy and His Glasses

A teacher in Laos first told this story. This story teaches us about the importance of education. It also says that education is not a gift, it is a privilege. With that privilege comes the responsibility of taking time to make sure that you do the best you can to become as knowledgeable as you can. This story is retold by Blong Moua and translated by Mai Choua Moua. | www.wipps.org

Long, long ago in Laos, there was a young boy who had never been to school before, and he couldn’t even sign his name. He had never learned to read or write. But living near this young boy’s house, was an old man who wore glasses and read every day on his front porch. The young boy thought that wearing glasses would make him read. He thought, maybe it is because of the old man’s glasses that he is able to read. The young boy then decided to go shop for a pair of glasses. He shopped in all of the stores from dawn until dusk and tried every pair of glasses he could find; yet, he still could not read. The young boy was frustrated, and he yelled at the storeowner, “All of your glasses are no good.” The storeowner suspecting him asked, “You can see, but can you read?” The young boy replied. “No, that is why I am here, to buy glasses, so that I can read.” From that time on, the boy understood that wearing glasses could not make him read.

He also understood that if you don’t have an education and don’t  know how to read or write, then wearing glasses would not help you.