Characters:
Old man, seven brothers, chief, villagers, and king’s treasurer.
Setting:
Small African village. Marketplace.
Plot:
The seven brothers argue everyday and their father worries about that.The chief of the village uses seven spools of thread to teach them a lesson.
Genre:
Fable
The story “Seven Spools of Thread”, written by Angela Shelf Medearis, talks about seven brothers learning a lesson through a task. An old man has seven sons who argue about everything. One day, their father died so the chief called them over and made the task of turning thread into gold to receive the inheritance from their father. Surprisingly, the seven brothers stopped arguing and began working together on the task. They teamed up to discuss and make efforts on how to use their seven spools of thread to make a colorful cloth. They took the cloth into the village and sold it. The villagers loved the cloth. Even the king’s treasurer came and purchased the unique and colorful cloth. The seven brothers sold the cloth for one bag of gold. Then they returned to the chief. The chief said that they had learned a lesson. The seven brothers taught the poor people in the village how to make beautiful clothes so they could make money to support their family.
Don’t argue with others because it wouldn’t solve the problem. Instead, arguing with others only wastes time and hurts relationships. Arguing makes people feel helpless or even defeated because they cannot let others who have opposing views see what they are seeing. Before, the seven brothers argued all the time so they had slow work progress. Later, the seven brothers stopped arguing with each other and worked together to make money with the seven spools of thread. When the seven brothers are arguing, their minds are only thinking about how to fight back. They are not focused on their work. So arguing makes them not only waste time when they should be working but also delay the work when they are supposed to get done. Plus, arguing damages their family relationship, like the seven brothers felt frustration, angriness, or even helplessness. There are no benefits for arguing. To decrease the possibility of arguing, people should peacefully express their opinions to let others know their thinking.
Teaming up with a group of people is much better than working individually because teamwork could make the work more effective and efficient. In the process of teamwork, people work collaboratively to contribute what they are good at or what they have to achieve their common goal. The seven brothers used their own kind of thread, discussed different ways, and built a loom with wood to form a colorful cloth. They sold the cloth for a bag of gold. If the seven brothers work individually, they definitely can make cloth on their own. But the cloth is boring and there is not enough thread to make even one cloth. However, when the seven brothers team up to combine their individual threads, they make a colorful cloth with a unique pattern. Even the king buys it with a great amount of money. This tells us that working together has much more benefits than working individually. Teamwork is essential for solving problems because it increases work efficiency and leads to better outcomes.
Sharing things or information with others, even just one little tiny bit, could bring great happiness. Sharing not only brings us joy, but also it teaches people the importance of taking good care of others and appreciating other’s help. When the seven brothers know how to turn thread into colorful cloth, they share this knowledge with the poor villagers to help them make money. When the seven brothers share the knowledge of making cloth to the poor villagers, the poor villagers can make money to change their current money situation and have a happier life. At the same time, the poor villagers thank the seven brothers for taking good care of them. The poor villagers may even pass the cloth knowledge to other poor people, just like paying it forward. The more people share, the happier people make for themselves. Sharing then brings gratitude.
“Seven Spools of Thread” is a teaching story talking about what lessons the seven brothers learned from a task of turning the seven spools of thread into a bag of gold. I am curious why the seven brothers keep arguing all the time. Arguing with others cannot solve the problem because everyone does not see or think at the same level. The seven brothers should sit down and calmly express their opinions. To solve the problems, it is always good to have extra hands from others since everyone’s strengths are different. Teamwork makes the work efficient and brings desired results. Sharing information, feelings, and things with others could bring happiness and learn how to take care of others. I recommend this book to students who like to argue with their siblings or friends. I hope they will learn that arguing only makes the situation worse, so stop arguing and start talking peacefully.
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