East Lyme — As Christopher Agostino talked about the longevity of fables, the back of 4-year-old Jack Farrior was to the audience of more than 30 children and their parents and guardians gathered at the Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut.

Agostino spun Jack around to reveal the lion painted on his face, which would be used to tell the fable of The Lion and the Mouse.

He painted a tiny mouse on Jack’s nose and proceeded to tell the story: The mouse woke the sleeping lion but implored the lion not to eat him, saying he would come back and do the lion a favor. The lion laughed but let him go.

Agostino painted a white net on Jack’s face as he talked about hunters trapping the lion, and finished the tale with the mouse chewing through the net.

“As Aesop reminds us, even the smallest amongst us can someday help,” Agostino told the audience. He held a mirror up so Jack could see his reflection and proclaimed, “You have a 2,000-year-old story on your face.” More…