September 10, 2024 at 3:05 a.m.
by Mike Masterson
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When I was young, my mother would regularly read fairy tales and fables before bed.
Not only did these fanciful stories fuel our active imaginations but they were steadily imprinting the morals of their messages, which emphasized proper ways to act in society as adults.
I wonder today how many children hear these same fables or have parents who believe they are an important part of socializing their children. Something tells me not many, unfortunately.
In a long list of these entertaining stories, my best-remembered (seven decades later) were "Chicken Little," "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Three Little Pigs."
Before you break out laughing, valued readers, I contend they each had important morals that today's adults will benefit from practicing.
You might recall in "Chicken Little" that an acorn falls on Henny Penny's head in the coop, causing her to scamper around wildly, squawking to all the other hens to take cover because the sky was falling. Henny keeps up her feverish attempts to warn of the nonexistent crisis, yet her coopmates can see the sky is fine.
From that point on, Henny had a credibility problem in the coop. The........