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.
Over a river there was a very narrow bridge. One day a goat was crossing this bridge. Just at the middle of the bridge he met another goat. The bridge was so narrow that there was no space for both of the goats to pass.
“Go back,” said one goat to the other, “there is no room for both of us”.
“Why should I go back?“, said the other goat. “Why should not you go back?”
“You must go back because I am stronger than you” said the first goat.
“You are not stronger than I“, said the second goat.
“We will see about that“, said the first goat, and he put down his horns to fight.
They fought furiously and soon, both of them lost their balance and fell into the river below. The swift current of the river carried them away in deep water and both of them drown and disappeared.
Moral lessons and random thoughts:
- Safety first! Regardless of the situation, think about your own safety (and your own life) and the safety (and life) of the others first.
- Anger and ego can leads to destruction. Humility can lead to fulfillment.
- Sometimes, taking a step back doesn’t mean you’re weak. Some say, take one step back and three step forward. It is better to yield than to come to misfortune through stubbornness.
- Try to think and be in a win-win situation, and avoid a lose-lose one. Now this is the adult me talking — I didn’t teach my daughter that but include it here anyway. I guess you can find a better way to package it for smaller kids.
