Library / Fantastic Fables

The Farmer's Friend

A fable by Ambrose Bierce

Lesson planWorksheet

Political satire; an angel weeps at a politician.

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The Farmer's Friend

A Great Philanthropist who had thought of himself in connection with the Presidency and had introduced a bill into Congress requiring the Government to loan every voter all the money that he needed, on his personal security, was explaining to a Sunday-school at a railway station how much he had done for the country, when an angel looked down from Heaven and wept.

"For example," said the Great Philanthropist, watching the teardrops pattering in the dust, "these early rains are of incalculable advantage to the farmer."

What is he mocking?
Vain politicians pose as the farmer's friend, offering voters easy government loans to win office.

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Discussion questions

  1. What do you believe the author is trying to convey about the nature of true charity?
  2. How do the actions of the philanthropist differ from the farmer’s needs?
  3. In what ways can we apply the moral of this story to our own lives or communities?

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Good night.

Tomorrow night: The Traveler and Fortune