{"id":5429,"date":"2025-12-14T11:59:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T03:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=5429"},"modified":"2025-12-14T16:11:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T08:11:15","slug":"gaston_le_dog_2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2025\/12\/14\/gaston_le_dog_2025\/","title":{"rendered":"A won\u00addrous adven\u00adture that trans\u00adforms ordi\u00adnary peo\u00adple into heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Incred\u00adi\u00adble Adven\u00adtures of Gas\u00adton le Dog (Chi\u00adnese ver\u00adsion)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Michael Rosen (1946~), the British lau\u00adre\u00adate chil\u00addren\u2019s book author, may be a famil\u00adiar yet unfa\u00admil\u00adiar fig\u00adure to Chi\u00adnese read\u00aders. He became a sen\u00adsa\u00adtion on the Chi\u00adnese inter\u00adnet for his expres\u00adsive \u201cNice\u201d emo\u00adji, but few Chi\u00adnese read\u00aders have fall\u00aden in love with this \u201cNice Grand\u00adpa\u201d because of his works, and even few\u00ader know his life sto\u00adry. He has writ\u00adten more than 200 books for chil\u00addren and adults through\u00adout his life, and more than a dozen have been trans\u00adlat\u00aded and intro\u00adduced to Chi\u00adna. Among the most famous are the pic\u00adture books *We\u2019re Going on a Bear Hunt* (illus\u00adtrat\u00aded by Helen Oxen\u00adbury), *Sad Book* (illus\u00adtrat\u00aded by Quentin Black), and *Choco\u00adlate Cake* (illus\u00adtrat\u00aded by Kevin Waldron)\u2014I was for\u00adtu\u00adnate enough to trans\u00adlate the lat\u00adter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019ve read his pic\u00adture books, you\u2019ll agree that \u201cGrand\u00adpa Nice\u201d is first and fore\u00admost a poet, excep\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly skilled at writ\u00ading rhyth\u00admic vers\u00ades; more\u00adover, he\u2019s a rather humor\u00adous poet, as even his poems depict\u00ading every\u00adday life always man\u00adage to elic\u00adit laugh\u00adter. Fur\u00adther\u00admore, he\u2019s a sea\u00adsoned actor, his own nuanced per\u00adfor\u00admances often resem\u00adbling a cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading one-act play. In fact, the \u201cNice emo\u00adji\u201d orig\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded from a video of him telling a sto\u00adry. How\u00adev\u00ader, *Sad Book* is a rare excep\u00adtion. That book stemmed from his immense grief over the loss of his son, and he found com\u00adfort and heal\u00ading through shar\u00ading that expe\u00adri\u00adence. Dur\u00ading the 2020 pan\u00addem\u00adic, after con\u00adtract\u00ading COVID-19 and spend\u00ading 48 days in inten\u00adsive care, he mirac\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly sur\u00advived. He even wrote a bio\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal col\u00adlec\u00adtion of prose poems, *Many Dif\u00adfer\u00adent Kinds of Love: A Sto\u00adry of Life, Death and the NHS*, reflect\u00ading on that expe\u00adri\u00adence, express\u00ading grat\u00adi\u00adtude for life, and espe\u00adcial\u00adly thank\u00ading the health\u00adcare work\u00aders who saved his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cGrand\u00adpa Nice\u201d is essen\u00adtial\u00adly a mas\u00adter sto\u00adry\u00adteller who uses humor\u00adous and rhyth\u00admic lan\u00adguage to tell sto\u00adries root\u00aded in real life and gen\u00aduine feel\u00adings. Some\u00adtimes his sto\u00adries are very real\u00adis\u00adtic, and some\u00adtimes they are full of fan\u00adta\u00adsy, but at their core they are very sin\u00adcere. If you savor them care\u00adful\u00adly, you\u2019ll find some\u00adthing substantial\u2014delicate emo\u00adtions, deep love, and pro\u00adfound wis\u00addom about life. In short, like a rich\u00adly fla\u00advored choco\u00adlate cake, it has a unique and lay\u00adered fla\u00advor that is irre\u00adsistible and leaves a last\u00ading impres\u00adsion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, let\u2019s get down to busi\u00adness and talk about his 2023 chil\u00addren\u2019s nov\u00adel, *The Incred\u00adi\u00adble Adven\u00adtures of Gas\u00adton the Dog*. It\u2019s said that this was a work he vowed to com\u00adplete after his near-death expe\u00adri\u00adence that year. Despite suf\u00adfer\u00ading from the aftereffects\u2014irreversible dam\u00adage to his eye\u00adsight, hear\u00ading, and memory\u2014the adven\u00adtures of \u201cGas\u00adton the Dog\u201d became one of his great\u00adest cre\u00adative desires, almost as a form of self-heal\u00ading. Com\u00adplet\u00ading this sto\u00adry felt like embark\u00ading on a new adven\u00adture, anoth\u00ader \u201chero\u2019s jour\u00adney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coin\u00adci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly, before read\u00ading this book, I had just fin\u00adished trans\u00adlat\u00ading Rosen\u2019s *Fan\u00adtas\u00adtic Mr. Dahl*, writ\u00adten for young read\u00aders. That book, rather than being a biog\u00adra\u00adphy of the famous chil\u00addren\u2019s author Roald Dahl\u2019s upbring\u00ading, was more like a trea\u00adsure trove of \u201cwrit\u00ading secrets\u201d from Rosen, a mas\u00adter sto\u00adry\u00adteller him\u00adself, intro\u00adduc\u00ading Dahl as a mas\u00adter sto\u00adry\u00adteller. That book focused more on ana\u00adlyz\u00ading the con\u00adnec\u00adtion between Dahl\u2019s devel\u00adop\u00adment and his superb writ\u00ading skills. Inspired by this, I also want\u00aded to try a sim\u00adi\u00adlar approach to tell the sto\u00adry both inside and out\u00adside this adven\u00adture chil\u00addren\u2019s book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, this fairy tale has a strong \u201coral sto\u00adry\u201d feel. Judg\u00ading from the ded\u00adi\u00adca\u00adtion, the father, Rosen, ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded the book to \u201cEmile,\u201d because when Emil was young, he would con\u00adstant\u00adly ask Rosen to tell him anoth\u00ader \u201cGas\u00adton\u2019s Sto\u00adry\u201d dur\u00ading the long sum\u00admer days. Accord\u00ading to a 2021 report in the British news\u00adpa\u00adper *The Guardian*, Emile was Rosen\u2019s youngest son, around 16 years old at the time. In short, Rosen has been mar\u00adried three times, has five bio\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal chil\u00addren, and two stepchil\u00addren. His late sec\u00adond son, Eddie, is the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist of his *Sad Book*. \u201cGas\u00adton\u2019s Sto\u00adry\u201d is a sto\u00adry specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly for his youngest son, Emile\u2014\u201cYour dad, who loves you so much,\u201d want\u00aded to fin\u00adish telling this sto\u00adry after mirac\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly sur\u00adviv\u00ading inten\u00adsive care, sug\u00adgest\u00ading that the sto\u00adry con\u00adtains some impor\u00adtant infor\u00adma\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As an oral sto\u00adry, it inevitably has an \u201cimpro\u00advi\u00adsa\u00adtion\u00adal\u201d ele\u00adment. For exam\u00adple, this sto\u00adry was told by Rosen dur\u00ading his son\u2019s vaca\u00adtion in France, so the sto\u00adry is set in France; the names of the ani\u00admal char\u00adac\u00adters are also con\u00adve\u00adnient, they are their French words (the Chi\u00adnese trans\u00adla\u00adtion is a translit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion): the dog is \u201cGas\u00adton,\u201d the hedge\u00adhog is \u201cH\u00e9ris\u00adson\u201d the but\u00adter\u00adfly is \u201cPapil\u00adlon,\u201d and the fox is \u201cRenard\u201d\u2026 The devel\u00adop\u00adment of the plot also seems some\u00adwhat arbi\u00adtrary, with a gen\u00ader\u00adal direction\u2014\u201cGaston the dog is going to the beach of his child\u00adhood,\u201d and the sto\u00adry in between can be made up at will, whether it is near or far, long or short, new char\u00adac\u00adters and new plots can be added at any time, and can be skipped at any time, as long as the lis\u00adten\u00ader is hap\u00adpy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This kind of \u201coral sto\u00adry\u00adtelling\u201d is incred\u00adi\u00adbly ben\u00ade\u00adfi\u00adcial for devel\u00adop\u00ading par\u00adent-child rela\u00adtion\u00adships, because it feels like a col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtive prod\u00aduct between the speak\u00ader and the lis\u00adten\u00ader. A child\u2019s inter\u00adrup\u00adtions and ques\u00adtions can change the direc\u00adtion of the sto\u00adry; a child\u2019s strong inter\u00adest in a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar char\u00adac\u00adter or plot can inspire the speak\u00ader to impro\u00advise even more enthu\u00adsi\u00adas\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly. If both are in high spir\u00adits, they can con\u00adtin\u00adue the sto\u00adry; if they\u2019re tired, they can stop for a while and con\u00adtin\u00adue tomor\u00adrow. No won\u00adder lit\u00adtle Emil keeps ask\u00ading his father to tell him anoth\u00ader one. It\u2019s easy to imag\u00adine how much this father, over six\u00adty years old, loves his young son; nam\u00ading him after his child\u00adhood hero, \u201cEmil\u201d (the lit\u00adtle detec\u00adtive in Erich K\u00e4st\u00adner\u2019s *Emil und die Detek\u00adtive*) speaks vol\u00adumes. His sto\u00adry\u00adtelling and per\u00adfor\u00admance at this moment embod\u00adies a life\u00adtime of expe\u00adri\u00adence cre\u00adat\u00ading poet\u00adry, dra\u00adma, and fairy tales for chil\u00addren, cou\u00adpled with a pre\u00adcise under\u00adstand\u00ading of child psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He chose to nar\u00adrate from Gas\u00adton\u2019s per\u00adspec\u00adtive, using the first-per\u00adson nar\u00adra\u00adtive, which per\u00adfect\u00adly show\u00adcased his vet\u00ader\u00adan act\u00ading tal\u00adent. Gas\u00adton\u2019s solil\u00ado\u00adquy and psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal devel\u00adop\u00adment are pre\u00adsent\u00aded very trans\u00adpar\u00adent\u00adly as the plot unfolds. Bor\u00adrow\u00ading from Rosen\u2019s obser\u00adva\u00adtion in *Fan\u00adtas\u00adtic Mr. Dahl*, \u201cOne inter\u00adest\u00ading thing about read\u00ading these kinds of works is think\u00ading about \u2018who is real\u00adly talk\u00ading\u2019 \u201d\u2014on the sur\u00adface, the whole sto\u00adry is told by Gas\u00adton, but in real\u00adi\u00adty, it\u2019s all Rosen\u2019s words; Rosen is \u201creal.\u201d Gas\u00adton\u2019s child\u00adlike expres\u00adsions are inter\u00adspersed with insights into grow\u00ading up, and reflec\u00adtions on ethics and life wis\u00addom at cru\u00adcial moments. These are all spo\u00adken by Rosen, the \u201cdad,\u201d but deliv\u00adered through Gas\u00adton\u2019s mouth, they feel so inter\u00adest\u00ading, so nat\u00adur\u00adal, and often invite young read\u00aders (lis\u00adten\u00aders) to inter\u00adact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When young read\u00aders encounter such a sto\u00adry, they are like\u00adly to feel an irre\u00adsistible urge to par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpate: The lit\u00adtle hedge\u00adhog with short legs, who does\u00adn\u2019t seem to run very fast, also wants to go to the beach\u2014should we take him along? The col\u00ador\u00adful but\u00adter\u00adfly that loves to flut\u00adter around\u2014should we let her come along too? Faced with a high wall they can\u2019t cross, should they try togeth\u00ader to guess \u201cthe word\u201d that can open the door?\u2026 Because it\u2019s Gas\u00adton the dog telling the sto\u00adry, and chil\u00addren have clear\u00adly fall\u00aden in love with this humor\u00adous pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist from the very begin\u00adning, they will all choose to \u201cstand on Gas\u00adton\u2019s side,\u201d and thus, they will def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpate. This, of course, is anoth\u00ader secret to Rosen\u2019s sto\u00adry\u00adtelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as Dahl always man\u00adaged to ensure read\u00aders sided with his young pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnists (such as James, Char\u00adlie, George, Dan\u00adny, Matil\u00adda, etc.), Rosen excels at it as well. Gas\u00adton the dog wins over young read\u00aders from the very begin\u00adning; he\u2019s live\u00adly, intel\u00adli\u00adgent, inno\u00adcent, fear\u00adless, adven\u00adtur\u00adous, and always ready to act (though per\u00adhaps a lit\u00adtle reckless)\u2014a per\u00adfect fit for chil\u00addren\u2019s nature. How\u00adev\u00ader, Rosen\u2019s bril\u00adliance lies in not mak\u00ading Gas\u00adton a \u201clofty hero\u201d from the start. In fact, Gas\u00adton is ini\u00adtial\u00adly clue\u00adless, with only vague mem\u00ado\u00adries of the beach and no idea how to get there. He even hes\u00adi\u00adtates about the hedge\u00adhog and but\u00adter\u00adfly who want to join him. Dur\u00ading the adven\u00adture to the beach, he\u2019s not always the smartest or the most cru\u00adcial; he\u2019s help\u00adless, suc\u00adcumbs to crav\u00adings, is mis\u00adled by illu\u00adsions, suc\u00adcumbs to the temp\u00adta\u00adtion of trea\u00adsure, and dis\u00adre\u00adgards the prophet\u00adic advice of the wise snake Ser\u00adpent\u2026 In short, he strug\u00adgles to avoid all the flaws and mis\u00adtakes of ordi\u00adnary peo\u00adple. Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, Gas\u00adton remains a very endear\u00ading char\u00adac\u00adter because he is incred\u00adi\u00adbly sin\u00adcere and straight\u00adfor\u00adward, always cor\u00adrect\u00ading his mis\u00adtakes; he always cares for his com\u00adpan\u00adions, even tol\u00ader\u00adat\u00ading for\u00admer ene\u00admies like the cat king; and he nev\u00ader aban\u00addons his ini\u00adtial dream of going to the beach, demon\u00adstrat\u00ading unwa\u00adver\u00ading com\u00admit\u00adment in this regard. There\u00adfore, he ulti\u00admate\u00adly becomes the leader of the adven\u00adture team and leads every\u00adone to the real \u201ctrea\u00adsure.\u201d From this per\u00adspec\u00adtive, this adven\u00adture is pre\u00adcise\u00adly Gas\u00adton\u2019s jour\u00adney of growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some over\u00adseas read\u00aders have com\u00adment\u00aded that Gas\u00adton pos\u00adsess\u00ades a \u201cDon Quixote-like\u201d hero\u00adic qual\u00adi\u00adty upon his intro\u00adduc\u00adtion, which is an inter\u00adest\u00ading per\u00adspec\u00adtive. This is main\u00adly because Gas\u00adton\u2019s inno\u00adcent and fear\u00adless jour\u00adney to the beach for a won\u00addrous adven\u00adture feels like a hero\u2019s \u201clong and adven\u00adtur\u00adous voyage\u201d\u2014his Eng\u00adlish name \u201cOdyssey\u201d orig\u00adi\u00adnates from the ancient Greek hero Odyssey\u2019s jour\u00adney home. Atten\u00adtive read\u00aders might com\u00adpare the sim\u00adi\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adties: Gas\u00adton is sum\u00admoned to embark on a jour\u00adney, con\u00adstant\u00adly joined by friends (team\u00admates), gets lost but receives nec\u00ades\u00adsary guid\u00adance, stum\u00adbles into the vil\u00adlain\u2019s cas\u00adtle, receives advice from a prophet, falls into a mag\u00adi\u00adcal predica\u00adment, escapes and enters a pas\u00adsage, is bewil\u00addered by var\u00adi\u00adous illu\u00adsions (fos\u00adsils and dream palaces) dur\u00ading his escape, and is tempt\u00aded by human weak\u00adness\u00ades, only to find upon arrival that it\u2019s just the begin\u00adning of a new adven\u00adture\u2026 Does\u00adn\u2019t this per\u00adfect\u00adly con\u00adtrast with and echo Odyssey\u2019s hero\u00adic jour\u00adney home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, such jour\u00adneys can be asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded with many oth\u00aders, such as Frodo\u2019s \u201cFel\u00adlow\u00adship of the Ring\u201d in *The Lord of the Rings*, which is also well-known. Regard\u00ading this type of \u201chero\u00adic jour\u00adney,\u201d accord\u00ading to Joseph Camp\u00adbel\u00adl\u2019s sum\u00adma\u00adry in *The Hero with a Thou\u00adsand Faces*, it gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly involves a process of \u201cjourney\u2014turning point\u2014return.\u201d Com\u00adpar\u00ading Gas\u00adton\u2019s jour\u00adney: the start\u00ading point\u2014the call to action; step\u00adping out of the ordinary\u2014the path of tri\u00adal; the cru\u00adcial turn\u00ading point; the escape from mag\u00adic and the end of the jour\u00adney; return and accep\u00adtance: a return and sub\u00adli\u00adma\u00adtion\u2026 it also con\u00adforms to the par\u00ada\u00addigm of a hero\u00adic jour\u00adney, the dif\u00adfer\u00adence being:Gas\u00adton\u2019s adven\u00adture is not about a hero embark\u00ading on a jour\u00adney, but about an ordi\u00adnary per\u00adson becom\u00ading a true hero after expe\u00adri\u00adenc\u00ading the jour\u00adney.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u00adfore, although this is an \u201coral sto\u00adry\u201d with a seem\u00ading\u00adly less rig\u00ador\u00adous nar\u00adra\u00adtive struc\u00adture, Rosen, a mas\u00adter sto\u00adry\u00adteller, strict\u00adly adheres to the tra\u00addi\u00adtions of clas\u00adsic human nar\u00adra\u00adtives, a mean\u00ading\u00adful tra\u00addi\u00adtion that can be traced back to the time of Home\u00adr\u2019s epics. Of course, young read\u00aders don\u2019t need to con\u00adcern them\u00adselves with this clas\u00adsic lit\u00ader\u00adary par\u00ada\u00addigm; they can sim\u00adply fall in love with the sto\u00adry because of cer\u00adtain famil\u00adiar ele\u00adments.Talk\u00ading ani\u00admals, trea\u00adsure hunts, mak\u00ading friends, each dis\u00adplay\u00ading their unique abil\u00adi\u00adties, work\u00ading togeth\u00ader to defeat oppo\u00adnents, mag\u00adic, trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion, cas\u00adtles, traps, mazes, puz\u00adzles, find\u00ading an exit, escap\u00ading, gain\u00ading free\u00addom, and more.<\/strong>The most thrilling and excit\u00ading part of the adven\u00adture incor\u00adpo\u00adrates the clas\u00adsic fairy tale \u201cPuss in Boots,\u201d which they are par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly famil\u00adiar with. The \u201ccat king\u201d in the book is actu\u00adal\u00adly the leg\u00adendary cat from the world of fairy tales, but in this new\u00adly adapt\u00aded sto\u00adry, he plays a less-than-hon\u00ador\u00adable role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In his auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy, *So They Call You Pish\u00ader!: A Mem\u00adoir*, Rosen recounts how, at the age of sev\u00aden, he sub\u00admit\u00adted a writ\u00ading con\u00adtest to *The Dai\u00adly Work\u00ader*, win\u00adning an award and receiv\u00ading the hon\u00ador of pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion. His piece was essen\u00adtial\u00adly a retelling of a sto\u00adry he had read, \u201cSolomon the Cat,\u201d at a time when he could\u00adn\u2019t dis\u00adtin\u00adguish between \u201corig\u00adi\u00adnal\u201d and \u201cpar\u00ado\u00addy.\u201d His par\u00adents, both rad\u00adi\u00adcal com\u00admu\u00adnists from East Lon\u00addon with strong inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adist ideals and numer\u00adous oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties to con\u00adnect with transna\u00adtion\u00adal work\u00aders\u2019 com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties, fre\u00adquent\u00adly read chil\u00addren\u2019s books from around the world to him and his brother\u2014a prac\u00adtice he lat\u00ader real\u00adized was quite avant-garde for its time. In short, he grew up immersed in sto\u00adries, devel\u00adop\u00ading a life\u00adlong pas\u00adsion for lan\u00adguage and lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, which like\u00adly con\u00adtributed to his deci\u00adsion to aban\u00addon med\u00adi\u00adcine for lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture at uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In oth\u00ader words, Rosen telling sto\u00adries to his youngest son was a nat\u00adur\u00adal con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion of the fam\u00adi\u00adly tra\u00addi\u00adtion. Since they were telling sto\u00adries dur\u00ading a vaca\u00adtion in France, he decid\u00aded to pick one that had a strong French fla\u00advor: *Puss in Boots*. This fairy tale has dif\u00adfer\u00adent ver\u00adsions through\u00adout Europe; the ear\u00adli\u00adest writ\u00adten ver\u00adsion was in Ital\u00adian, but the most wide\u00adly cir\u00adcu\u00adlat\u00aded is the ver\u00adsion includ\u00aded in *Moth\u00ader Goose Tales* (Les Con\u00adtes de ma m\u00e8re l\u2019Oye) by the French writer Charles Per\u00adrault. Of course, Rosen would\u00adn\u2019t sim\u00adply imi\u00adtate it as he did when he was sev\u00aden. He clev\u00ader\u00adly bor\u00adrowed this well-known fairy tale, seem\u00ading\u00adly con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ading it, but actu\u00adal\u00adly sub\u00advert\u00ading the entire sto\u00adry. The orig\u00adi\u00adnal sto\u00adry was full of clev\u00ader\u00adness, but the cat\u2019s \u201cclev\u00ader\u00adness\u201d was actu\u00adal\u00adly a series of lies that fooled the king, defeat\u00aded the ogre, gained wealth and sta\u00adtus out of thin air, and rearranged the fates of the miller\u2019s youngest son and the princess. So, did they \u201clive hap\u00adpi\u00adly ever after\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sus\u00adpect that Emil must have heard the sto\u00adry of Puss in Boots before telling Gas\u00adton\u2019s tale. So, when the wise snake Ser\u00adpent tells Gas\u00adton and the oth\u00aders the ori\u00adgin of \u201ccat king,\u201d the but\u00adter\u00adfly Bar\u00adbie Drag\u00adon can\u2019t help but inter\u00adject, imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly point\u00ading to the source of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal fairy tale\u2014this is prob\u00ada\u00adbly equiv\u00ada\u00adlent to young Emile\u2019s inter\u00adjec\u00adtion. Through this \u201cinter\u00adtex\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty,\u201d the read\u00ader is imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly drawn into the sto\u00adry, and then, through Ser\u00adpen\u00adt\u2019s abrupt and dra\u00admat\u00adic fol\u00adlow-up nar\u00adra\u00adtion, the sto\u00adry becomes, as Papil\u00adlon laments, \u201c\u2026now a hor\u00adror sto\u00adry. A ter\u00adri\u00adble and annoy\u00ading trap!\u201d But why is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sel\u00adban\u2019s expla\u00adna\u00adtion is that,The cat that ate the ogre also gained the ogre\u2019s mag\u00adi\u00adcal abil\u00adi\u00adties, and the cat grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly became more and more like the ogre!<\/strong>This is a very inter\u00adest\u00ading metaphor, reveal\u00ading Rosen\u2019s insight into the dark\u00ader side of human nature. The increas\u00ading\u00adly evil Elvis becomes some\u00adone every\u00adone avoids, even his for\u00admer mas\u00adter and princess are not spared. Grow\u00ading increas\u00ading\u00adly lone\u00adly, he can only turn passers\u00adby into \u201cgob\u00adlins,\u201d enslav\u00ading them to main\u00adtain the castle\u2019s oper\u00ada\u00adtion. The mag\u00adi\u00adcal ele\u00adment that turns these passers\u00adby into \u201cgob\u00adlins\u201d is their inabil\u00adi\u00adty to resist the temp\u00adta\u00adtion of enchant\u00aded \u201cfood\u201d! Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, Gas\u00adton and Eli\u00adson, know\u00ading the evil con\u00adse\u00adquences, also suc\u00adcumb to temp\u00adta\u00adtion, while only Bar\u00adbie Drag\u00adon pass\u00ades the mag\u00adi\u00adcal tri\u00adal. Why? Is it because she is most famil\u00adiar with the sto\u00adry of \u201cPuss in Boots\u201d? It seems that read\u00ading (and lis\u00adten\u00ading to sto\u00adries) has its ben\u00ade\u00adfits!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The hero of clas\u00adsic fairy tales has become the evil cat king in a new sto\u00adry, and the mech\u00ada\u00adnism of his trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion may be relat\u00aded to the trea\u00adsure chest he has always been obsessed with guard\u00ading. It was orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly the trea\u00adsure of an ogre, and may have ini\u00adtial\u00adly been obtained through plun\u00adder. This so-called \u201ctrea\u00adsure chest\u201d is much like the One Ring that Fro\u00addo was about to destroy; it pos\u00adsess\u00ades a pow\u00ader\u00adful \u201ccor\u00adro\u00adsive force.\u201d Who\u00adev\u00ader gets attached to it becomes filled with greed, and the clos\u00ader and longer they are, the greater the cor\u00adro\u00adsive effect. Even Gas\u00adton could\u00adn\u2019t resist trick\u00ading him\u00adself by hid\u00ading a sil\u00adver chain when try\u00ading to pass through the obsta\u00adcle. Ulti\u00admate\u00adly, only by com\u00adplete\u00adly let\u00adting go can one pass through, and the true \u201ctrea\u00adsure\u201d can only be obtained after let\u00adting go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, what sur\u00adprised me most about Rosen\u2019s sub\u00adver\u00adsion of clas\u00adsic fairy tales was the re-set\u00adtling of the miller\u2019s son and the princess. Through the cat\u2019s trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion, they were unex\u00adpect\u00aded\u00adly reborn, let\u00adting go of all the iden\u00adti\u00adties and des\u00adtinies arranged for them by oth\u00aders. They no longer had to be mar\u00adquis\u00ades or princess\u00ades, nor did they have to mar\u00adry a king. They only need\u00aded to be them\u00adselves, ordi\u00adnary but care\u00adfree Dave and Aisha, self-reliant, and even help\u00ading to clean up the garbage in this beau\u00adti\u00adful world\u2026 Thus, Rosen nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly incor\u00adpo\u00adrat\u00aded the increas\u00ading\u00adly impor\u00adtant issue of envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal pro\u00adtec\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosen\u2019s han\u00addling of the end\u00ading is quite bold. Gas\u00adton painstak\u00ading\u00adly returns to the \u201cbeau\u00adti\u00adful\u201d beach of his child\u00adhood mem\u00ado\u00adries, only to find it lit\u00adtered with garbage and pol\u00adlut\u00aded beyond recog\u00adni\u00adtion. So, does such an adven\u00adture still have any mean\u00ading? Can they \u201clive hap\u00adpi\u00adly ever after\u201d? I think Rosen\u2019s ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00ading this sto\u00adry to lit\u00adtle Emile must have had a spe\u00adcial pur\u00adpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Look\u00ading back, the sto\u00adry\u2019s over\u00adall tone is humor\u00adous and cheer\u00adful, full of exot\u00adic charm, and for young read\u00aders in the Eng\u00adlish-speak\u00ading world, it even serves as a way to learn a lit\u00adtle French. It\u2019s worth not\u00ading that Rosen has had a strong \u201cFrench cul\u00adtur\u00adal affin\u00adi\u00adty\u201d since child\u00adhood. As a child, his par\u00adents often took him and his broth\u00ader to France for sum\u00admers; one sum\u00admer when he was 15, he even par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded in a six-week sum\u00admer camp in France alone, speak\u00ading and think\u00ading entire\u00adly in French, because he per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly expe\u00adri\u00adenced that some things could only be under\u00adstood in French!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an adult, he main\u00adtained a deep inter\u00adest in France, and in 2017 he pub\u00adlished a unique biog\u00adra\u00adphy, *The Dis\u00adap\u00adpear\u00adance of \u00c9mile Zola: Love, Lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture and the Drey\u00adfus Case*, recount\u00ading the life of the great French writer \u00c9mile Zola dur\u00ading his exile in Eng\u00adland due to his oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion to anti-Semi\u00adtism. Coin\u00adci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly, Zola\u2019s name was also \u00c9mile! Rosen ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded the book pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly to his cur\u00adrent wife, Emma, and their two chil\u00addren, Elsie and Emile. In fact, as ear\u00adly as 2008, Michael Rosen was award\u00aded the French Order of Arts and Let\u00adters by the French Min\u00adistry of Cul\u00adture for the influ\u00adence of his work in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, the deep\u00adest part of his \u201cFrench sen\u00adti\u00adment\u201d is hid\u00adden in the ded\u00adi\u00adca\u00adtion page of the book recount\u00ading Zola\u2019s life: \u201cThis book is ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded to Oscar, Rachel, and Mar\u00adtin Rosen. They per\u00adished in an era in France when Zola\u2019s appeals against anti-Semi\u00adtism were ignored by those in pow\u00ader.\u201d It turns out that Oscar and Mar\u00adtin were Michael\u2019s father\u2019s two uncles, and Rachel was Oscar\u2019s wife. They orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly lived in France but dis\u00adap\u00adpeared com\u00adplete\u00adly dur\u00ading World War II because of their Jew\u00adish iden\u00adti\u00adty. Michael spent many years search\u00ading for them, final\u00adly pub\u00adlish\u00ading a book in 2020 titled *The Miss\u00ading: The True Sto\u00adry of My Fam\u00adi\u00adly in World War II*. In short, Oscar, Rachel, and Mar\u00adtin Rosen all hid in France for a peri\u00adod, but were even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly cap\u00adtured and sent to Auschwitz, nev\u00ader to be heard from again. After years of effort, Rosen per\u00adsis\u00adtent\u00adly traced the escape route of the Oscars: Sedan\u2014Niort\u2014Nice, where they were arrest\u00aded in the beau\u00adti\u00adful French sea\u00adside city of Nice. The most bizarre thing is that Oscar was born in Auschwitz, and at the end of his life, he \u201creturned home\u201d in such a trag\u00adic way\u2014the begin\u00adning of life was also the des\u00adti\u00adna\u00adtion of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The books men\u00adtioned above, along with the sto\u00adry of Gas\u00adton the dog, are all ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded to Emile, demon\u00adstrat\u00ading that this \u201csto\u00adry\u00adteller dad\u201d is par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly earnest and hon\u00adest. He does\u00adn\u2019t want to shy away from the poten\u00adtial\u00adly unpleas\u00adant aspects of real life for his chil\u00addren, nor does he want to weave a \u201cpure and beau\u00adti\u00adful\u201d fairy\u00adtale end\u00ading. Indeed, it\u2019s a won\u00addrous adven\u00adture that can trans\u00adform an ordi\u00adnary per\u00adson into a hero, but it does\u00adn\u2019t promise a hap\u00adpy end\u00ading. Return\u00ading after get\u00adting lost is sim\u00adply return\u00ading to the start\u00ading point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance of this won\u00addrous adven\u00adture may sim\u00adply be that it teach\u00ades us what true trea\u00adsure is. How\u00adev\u00ader, as Gas\u00adton the dog says, \u201cWe still have a lot to do\u2026\u201d but it requires every\u00adone\u2019s par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpa\u00adtion to achieve \u201chap\u00adpi\u00adly ever after.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this is also what Rosen want\u00aded to say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writ\u00adten by Ajia on August 8, 2025 in Bei\u00adjing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u8bc4\u201dNice\u7237\u7237\u201d-\u8fc8\u514b\u5c14\u00b7\u7f57\u68ee\uff08Michael Rosen\uff09\u7684\u513f\u7ae5\u5c0f\u8bf4\u300a\u52a0\u65af\u987f\u7684\u5947\u5999\u63a2\u9669\u300b\uff08The Incred\u00adi\u00adble Adven\u00adtures of Gas\u00adton le Dog\uff09\uff0c\u4e2d\u6587\u7248\u5e8f\u672a\u5220\u8282\u7248\u3002<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,4,12],"tags":[8,401,10],"class_list":["post-5429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-story-of-story-tellers","category-ajia-review","tag-8","tag-401","tag-10"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/\u52a0\u65af\u987f\u7684\u5947\u5999\u5386\u9669\u82f1\u6587\u7248\u5c01\u9762.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5429"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5450,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429\/revisions\/5450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}