I don't think it was intended to be negative, just a reference to this XKCD https://xkcd.com/1053/
Even when something is known by "everyone", there's still going to be someone who doesn't know it yet.
I never heard about this fable before, either...
Yes, it was. And now you have! That's great. New intellectual tools for you!
I feel honored to be one of the 10,000 people who just learned of this particular xkcd reference today!