A schoolboy was determined to resist every possible effort to teach him the alphabet. He refused to pronounce even the first letter.
"Just open your mouth and say A," said the schoolmaster. "One little letter, that's all!" he said, smiling at the boy, but the boy refused.
Then the other schoolboys urged him on. "Just do it!" they said. "One little letter. It's not so hard!"
"I know it's not hard," replied the stubborn boy. "But if I should say 'A' then I'll have to say 'B' and the rest of the alphabet, and it's all downhill from there."
Inspired by:
Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists by Roger L'Estrange, 454.
Notes: This fable is not part of the classical Aesop tradition; find out more here.
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