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Bedtime Story...
Found this child's headboard pictured below abandoned in a creek bed. The creek didn't need the bed, but I did. My first thoughts were to turn it into a sweet fairytale painting. But then I found a two fold purpose for a snarling wolf in the back of my mind...first it is about what we say to our children, and then what we are doing to wildlife.
As a parent and teacher I often read an articles about fears of young children. I also recalled how I changed the stories I read to my child when he was small to convey less violent versions. I wasn't about to read to my child that a queen ordered her servant to cut out a young girl's heart and cook it.
Yes, Grimm's fairy tales were VERY dark and grim. Is it any wonder our that children want to check under their beds and in the closet for monsters?
But what other stories did I tell my son before I tucked him into bed?
" ... The big bad wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down...."
"....Grandmother, what big teeth you have!"
I really cannot remember. It has been too long ago, but I hope I encourage a thoughtfulness about what we say to children and a better understanding of widlife. Wolves in the wild are undeniably beautiful creatures seeking survival for themselves and their offspring. We owe our children and our wildlife an appreciation of nature.. And if you should wonder why the wolf is so angry...would you be angry if people threw their trash in your living space?
