It’s not every day I read a watercolor-illustrated by book by (what I can only assume was) an Irish-Catholic hippy! But these are weird days, so here I am.

I came across this book in another Little Free Library. I honestly didn’t know what I had initially, but it seemed almost like a graphic novel at first perusal. Because people think I’m a weirdo if I stand outside those boxes in their front yards for too long, I don’t get much time to be choosy. But I figured, even if this wasn’t a graphic novel, I recognized immediately as my style of artwork in a book for adults, so I gave it a chance. I’m glad I did. This was a thought-provoking little fable that’s very likely been lost to history (in fact my copy fell apart while I read it, though I hope to find a way to re-bind it).

Summary of the Fable

The fable begins with a god named Horgath introducing himself to the reader. During a recent visit to Earth, he says, he overheard some humans loudly complaining about their “good and wise Creator for making a world so full of pain and misery.” He tells the reader (likely another human): “Your God has my sympathy.” (5)

He then goes on to explain his own “learning experience” of when he himself, long ago, created a world called “Happyland” which he peopled with beings called “Roundfolk” and joys that would make it truly “the best of all possible worlds.” Some of his gifts included the following:

• He created only a  limited number of Roundfolk, completely identical so that they would not be tempted toward jealousy but would instead live in peace and harmony for eternity (since pain and death also weren’t part of the plan).
• He gave them perfection and omniscience, so there would be no sorrow in failure or the lack of knowledge.
• He gave the Zimzim Trees which played perfect, harmonious music.
• He gave them golf, where every shot (no matter how far away) was always a hole-in-one.

The Roundfolk praised Horgath as good and powerful and kind, but eventually something terrible set in: Boredom. “How could they be bored when everything in Happyland is perfect?” Horgath mused to himself. And so he created for them perfectly identical round houses that overlooked the sea of an endlessly sunny horizon. He also gave them Wipples, small creatures similar to themselves, as pets.

Even with this, however, the Roundfolk soon got bored, and they eventually approached Horgath to ask for some changes to their world. They wanted, for example, “Challenges in their mountaineering; variety to their music…differences in their mind and body.” (58-59) Ultimately, the Roundfolk hand Horgath their self-made Bill of Rights, which include the following four rights:

• The right to rest from leisure
• The right to be different
• The right to be responsible
• The right to fail (72)

The fable ends with Happyland’s first ever sunset, with all the Roundfolk watching in anticipation. Beside them sit their Wipples, now dented in places, since the Roundfolk discovered that by throwing them around, they could damage them in different places and in doing so discover variance.

Discussion

This was such an interesting fable with layers and subtexts that I’m sure I don’t fully understand it all, since I’m reading it nearly 50 years later. My copy included a loose-leaf study guide which asked a few probing questions and made it feel like it was perhaps something written for high school discussions. Interestingly enough, the study guide mentions nothing about God or religion but instead focused on societal issues. For example, it offers the following:

• Make a list of leaders who, apparently starting with high ideals, created conditions that were worse than when they started. Explain how this could happen.

• How did Horgath feel about the Roundfolk’s dissatisfaction with their world? How would you feel if you were Horgath? How do you think city planners or politicians feel when their plans to improve society are criticized or rejected?

While I balk at the idea of making our Creator God just one of many from “the distant region of the gods” (5), I think it’s an interesting exercise to consider alternate realities and the “What if?”s of eternity. This book mentions nothing of sin, so it automatically fails to answer the question of pain and misery (suggesting instead that God chose to give us these things so we wouldn’t be bored!), yet I do think the scenario is proper to consider in light of both the Garden of Eden and (more personal to us) eternal life.

Recently, I read Heaven for Kids by Randy Alcorn based on his larger book, Heaven, for adults. In those books, Alcorn emphasizes the truth that Heaven will definitely not be boring! Consider the four issues that the Roundfolk demand in their Bill of Rights in light of eternity:

• “The right to rest from leisure” — Yes, God created human beings to work and to create; we will not just be sitting on clouds playing harps in Heaven but will be moving, traveling, exploring, creating, relating, and discovering. Eternity will never be boring, and we can trust God that the interests He gives us here in this cursed place will be developed, expanded, and magnified in the New Earth.

• “The right to be different” — Yes, God created us originally as unique creatures: men and women created in God’s image with God-breathed life then commanded to reproduce and multiply and fill the earth. We are unique individuals. We will forever remain so.

• “The right to be responsible” — This one is more difficult to guess at in eternal terms, but I venture to say that with our individuality and interests and freedom to create and explore in eternity, we will also enjoy responsibility—not just in being “rules over thousands” but in day-to-day life. “Eternal life” implies living and doing. Responsibility will be part of that.

• “The right to fail” — I initially questioned this one, but then I realized that “the right to fail” is not “the right to sin.” It’s to fail, to lose, to fall in the dirt before getting back up with a smile on the face and trying again. Alcorn referenced this in his discussion of sports and competition in Heaven. He compared it to the 5-hour tennis match he and a friend once enjoyed: there was a loser, but there was no angst. It was a hard-fought, pleasant, gritty, enjoyable match that to him was a taste of Heaven. I can’t argue with that, because competition itself isn’t sinful (though many people do sin during and following competition!), so it can exist in God’s perfect eternity. And with competition (or invention, creation, work, etc.) comes failure, and this can certainly be a good and heavenly thing.

I could go on, but I’ll stop now. This was a fun book, uniquely drawn and beautifully childish. It got me thinking, which any good book should do. I don’t think I’ll fall in love with fables anytime soon, but I really enjoyed this surprising read.

©2024 E.T.