Children are born with an innate sense of self-preservation. However, as they grow, they should be guided to be less self-centered. In this way, they'll avoid selfish and greedy tendencies, which breed unhappiness.
One of the ways to lead children to the right path is by sharing moral stories with them. In the fairy tale “The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs,” the Grimm Brothers show the dangers of greed and evil. When a king allows greed and evil to sway his thoughts and actions, he lets himself perform many heinous acts.
A Prophetic Child
One day, within a king’s realm, a baby boy is born with a caul, part of the amniotic sac, on his head. This caul, the peasants say, prophesies “that in his fourteenth year [the boy will] have the King’s daughter for his wife.” However, when the king hears of this prophecy, he grows angry, for he won’t have his daughter marry a lowly boy.
Kate Vidimos
Author
Kate Vidimos holds a bachelor's in English from the liberal arts college at the University of Dallas and is currently working on finishing and illustrating a children’s book.
