Once Upon a Time [antikvár]

What Grown-ups Can Learn from Children's Books There is a folk-tale about a shoemaker and his wife who were so poor that they had to send their many children out into the world to make a living. The lads went through many a perilous adventure but came home in the end, unscathed, to help their mother. They had always remembered their mother's advice and wise words; they often quoted them when they were in trouble, and in fact they recognized one another by them in foreign lands. The countless peoples of the world may be looked upon as so many children sent out into the world. They have gone through many adventures and hardships. They have drifted apart and fallen out with one another, on many occasions. They have failed to realize soon enough that they are brothers. But now it seems that they are beginning to realize this—at least to the extent that they are able to get acquainted with each other's fundamental natures—through their stories and songs. Evidence keeps cropping up that the many peoples of the five continents, all these brothers and sisters who have drifted far apart, still remember their common Mother. It's as though this common Mother were still alive. These peoples seem to have deep in their memories a multitude of counsels received long, long ago. Counsels such as are re-ceived in early childhood. And these peoples, whether they live in Tierra del Fuego or Alaska, remember as grown-ups the wise