Last night, I was reading aloud to Lucia from Jack Kent's
Fables of Aesop. When we got to the story about
"The Boy Who Cried Wolf," I thought, "Lucia is a bit young, but perhaps she'll get the message that it's wise to scream and cry only when there's something serious about which to get upset." Of course, every parent thinks this, and we're applying adult logic to the situation. To a toddler child, everything is important. It makes just as much sense to shriek over the temporary lack of access to the special umbrella tee-shirt because it is in the wash after the child has worn it three days in a row as it does to cry after banging one's head on the edge of the coffee-table.
Anyway, Lucia loved the story. She started laughing and saying, "Wolf! Wolf!" She now asks for her "wolf book" constantly. It's almost as popular as the umbrella shirt.
I am going to remember this story when patrons comes into the library asking for "books with morals" for their wee ones. Sometimes those wild and wily morals can backfire on the best of intentions.
By the way, here is a photo of the beloved umbrella-shirt. Lucia is now asking for "umbrella pants," but her mother's sewing skills are still in the
rudimentary felt animal stage.
2 comments:
This reminds me of my young son, who is also two, and how I grimaced upon taking him to a puppet production of Peter and the Wolf. Of course, they had changed most of the scary parts and the only thing he remembered was when Boris the Cat sat down by the fire and Peter stepped on him.
Forever after that, our days were filled with my son's remembrances of "Boris...kitty sleep by the fire. It's hot!"
It's uncanny how people (especially the very young) can pick up instantly on emotionally charged incidents. I am guessing that your son will remember that for a long time!
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