Ant that went to the doctor's

Z. Topelius: Myran som for till doktorn
Illustrated by Aleksander Lindeberg 2011
In Finnish: Muurahainen joka lähti lääkäriin

An old fairy tale about a child ant that breaks his leg. His mother is takes him to town to look for help and finds a doctor who can do that with the help of a grasshopper.

The mother never gives up and the child finally gets his leg back.





The story's lesson is never to give up and if you want something work hard at it. This seemed to be Topelius' main purpose in his stories: to teach the children about life.


Are the modern fairy tales just for fun or do they have some deeper meaning as well? I am glad that these old stories still get published. In some way they are part of our cultural history and maybe some child will learn someting. At least they can enjoy the fantastic illustrations of Alexander Lindeberg. He illustrated this book back in the 1960s, but the book got published only few years ago.