Protecting Lampwood: a parable

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The village of Lampwood had a library full of ancient stories which was run by a kind librarian. These stories told of amazing adventures: one of how the village was once freed from a cruel tyrant, and another how a brave rebellion overthrew an occupying army. One story even told of how the land itself was sung into being by a wild and mysterious singer.

Time and again, Lampwood had been saved not by its own efforts but by the sacrifice and generosity of others. The stories sparkled with magical grace.

The village were both proud and protective of the stories. Some of the most devoted formed a group called The Keepers to guard their integrity. Some intellectuals formed a Lampwood Society to discuss their origins and meanings academically. And a lavish Lampwood Museum explained with pride the uniqueness of the village’s legacy.

But the more the stories were protected, the less they were read. To many younger people the stories appeared old, heavy and not for them. Too often, the library was empty.

The idea

Times grew hard and people grew meaner. Many just stayed in their houses and spent time looking back to how life used to be.

The librarian thought a lot about this. He was sure the stories could help Lampwood today, if only more people could hear them again.

So he invited a brilliant young storyteller from another village, who had become famous for telling old tales in surprising ways. She spent weeks poring over the old books and walking the village, observing life.

Then she explained her plan: she would tell the original story of Lampwood’s beginnings in a different setting, and give the Singer a voice no one expected.

The librarian was nervous but excited. He could tell she understood the heart of the stories.

The invitation

He sent warm invitations to The Keepers, the Lampwood Society and the Museum. “Come and hear the story afresh, everything is ready.” The library was warm, kettle was on and there was cake.

Mr Asitwas, PhD of the Lampwood Society replied first:

‘Please excuse me. No one knows these stories better than I do, and I will not sit through any changes the Society has not approved.’

Mrs Neverthesame, of the museum, wrote next:

‘Please excuse me. I understand the Singer’s voice is not the one we have always imagined. This betrays the integrity of the Stories.’

Mr Knowsbest, Head of The Keepers, did not reply. He was too busy organising a petition against ‘the Counterfeit Telling’. He told people:

‘I haven’t heard a word of it, but I have seen the poster.’

Not one of them came.

Go further

The librarian was saddened. He had no fear for the stories themselves: the great books would still be on the shelves with every word still in its place. He was sad because he had wanted those who said they loved the stories there to enjoy the re-telling together.

But the storyteller was ready and the library was open. So he told his assistants:

‘Go out into the lanes and estates and back streets. Invite anyone you find.’

They found children who had never read a book, bored teenagers who wanted to be coaxed from their rooms, tired parents, lonely people and frustrated older people keen for fun. Some were too shy to come in, but the assistants urged and insisted that people came to hear a great story.

‘There is still room,’ the assistants reported back.

‘Then go out further,’ said the librarian. ‘I want this library full!’

The telling

When the room was full, the storyteller began. The room went quiet. ‘I never knew it was that story,’ whispered a girl at the front. Some laughed and some wept. A man at the back, who had not been in the library for twenty years, leaned forward, hardly daring to breathe, and said to himself quietly:

“This is an echo of the Great Story.”

The next morning there was a long queue at the library desk. The stories were borrowed more times in one week than in the previous fifty years. Not a word of the original had been changed.

Excitement and laughter

Lampwood began to change as more people travelled in to discover the stories. The library was packed with people reading and excitedly chatting about them.

Meanwhile The Keepers picketed the library, calling the storyteller a vandal and demanding the librarian’s sacking. The Lampwood Society started legal action.

What angered them most was seeing the crowds and hearing the gasps and laughter through the library windows.

‘They don’t know anything, this is this is our story, not theirs’ they insisted.

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Faith in Narnia

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