# The Bull explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Fyodor Sologub.

## What happens

A little boy with a mama in light blue spectacles and a papa in dark blue spectacles is weighed daily on a pair of scales for everything he eats. One day, his father announces that the boy has finished his first bull and will start on his second, causing the boy to cry in fear of eating a bull with horns.

## Themes in this chapter

### Innocence and Corruption

The boy's innocent literal interpretation of 'eating a bull' contrasts with the parents' metaphorical language, highlighting the corruption of childhood understanding.

### Power and Control

The parents exert strict control over the boy's diet by weighing all his food, and their announcement of his consumption of a 'bull' exerts power over his imagination and emotions.

## Character check-ins

### Mamma

The little boy's mother, who wears light blue spectacles and weighs his food.

### Papa

The little boy's father, who wears dark blue spectacles and announces the boy has finished his first bull.

## Key lines

> Our boy has today finished his first bull, tomorrow he starts on his second.

Our son has consumed the equivalent of one bull in food today, and will begin consuming another tomorrow.

_The father uses a metaphor to describe the cumulative amount of food the boy has eaten, which the boy misunderstands literally._

> I don’t want to eat a bull⁠—a bull has got horns.

I refuse to eat a bull because bulls have horns and are frightening.

_The boy's literal interpretation of his father's metaphor reveals his fear and confusion._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_20_se/chapters/the-bull
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_20_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_20_se/chapters