Just finished reading the story of The Two Goats to my little daughter. I’ve noticed there’re a couple of different versions of the same story. In one version — the one I like and post below, the story ended with both of the goats fell into the river; while in the other version, one goat lied down and let the other walk over him, thus both crossed the bridge safely.

There’s no particular reason I like the first version better than the second one. Maybe because the first version was the original story that I was told when I was a little kid. Or maybe because personally I think sometimes some sort of punishment (vs. reward) may teach kids better lesson.

When reading to your kid, you can decide how the story ends. But it doesn’t have to be either or, it can be both with two different pairs of goats. The first pair fell, whereas the second pair didn’t.

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One story can imply or teach us multiple moral lessons depending on what angle we are looking at it. The Fox and the Grapes is probably one of them. I’ve read and heard the story multiple times in my childhood; now reading it again to my kids as a parent, I think this fable is mostly about humility and honesty, but it may also be about trying harder and not giving up. Again, it’s up to you, as a parent, what lesson you want to teach your child through the story. I guess there’s no right or wrong here, it’s up to your own understanding and intepretation.

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