Stoic Simple

01/07/2026

01/03/2026

Robin woke up early every day to find the choicest bugs for breakfast, but Chipmunk liked to sleep in late.

When Chipmunk came out of her burrow one morning, she saw Robin pulling at a worm in the grass.

“Here I am just getting up, but you’ve already been working for hours,” said Chipmunk. “You must think I’m a lazybones!”

“No, not a bit!” Robin said. “My job is to be strict with myself, and not with anyone else. If sleeping in makes you happy, then it’s none of my business at all.”

(From “The Stoic Fable Book” by Phil Van Treuren)

12/27/2025

Turtle was lying on a log in the water, enjoying the feel of the sun on her shell, when she saw Beaver swim by. Beaver climbed onto the creek bank and began gnawing on a sapling.

“Why do you always have to work so hard?” Turtle asked. “Wouldn’t you rather lay in the sun and relax with me?”

Beaver stopped gnawing at the sapling for a moment and looked at Turtle.

“I don’t have to work hard,” he said. “I get to work hard. Building things makes me strong. Besides, I’d have to work on my lodge even if I didn’t want to. I might as well enjoy it!”

(From “The Stoic Fable Book” by Phil Van Treuren)