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The Story of Ferdinand (1936)

January 1st, 1936

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Writer Maria Popova reminds us of Ferdinand, the peaceful bull, and of how his timeless story came to be told:

"In The Story of Ferdinand, a gentle-souled young misfit sits out the perpetual head-butting by which his peers hone their bull-skills, choosing instead to smell the flowers in solitude under his favorite cork tree. His mother, at first worried about his bullness, recognizes her son’s difference and trusts that he would find his way." 

And so he does:

The Story of Ferdinand  (1936)
The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people.

Louis Brandeis (1956 - 1941) Supreme Court Justice. According to historian Heather Cox Richardson (3/31/24), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg often quoted Justice Brandeis’s famous line, saying she advised people to “fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”