Reading Notes A: Lokman (Folklore of the Holy Land)

A crab, just like the one that grabs at the patient's heart!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/303570831113778096/

Lokman

The story of Lokman caught my eye because it was about a character I hadn't heard about before. The story as also rather strange. Lokman was referred to as an "Aesop" type figure, but the story didn't seem to have a clear cut moral.

- Lokman is a wise, remarkable doctor

- a certain man is thought to have an animal clutching at his heart and needs surgery

- Lokman invited all the doctors to watch the operation, except for his nephew (of whom Lokman was very jealous)

- they opened up the patient and found a crab clutching at his heart, nobody knew what to do 

- the nephew had found a way to watch the operation from a hiding place, and suggested that they use a hot metal rod to poke the crab's claws

- they did as the nephew suggested and got the crab to let go, saving the man

I tend to gravitate towards telling stories from another character's perspective. I think it would be an obvious choice to retell it from the perspective of the nephew, but it could also be fun to talk about how the crab ended up inside the man and how the man ended up coming to Lokman for help!