Mother Goose is....

[judith_s]

I didn't grow up with Mother Goose. But the little guy is starting to demand the stories, so I've been learning them. But of course, we've been modifying them on the fly, because I'm sorry but I'm not telling my child these originals:

There was an old woman,
Who lived in a shoe;
She had so many children,
She didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth,
Without any bread;
She whipped them all soundly,
And sent them to bed.


Our modified version:

There was an old woman,
Who lived in a shoe;
She had so many children,
She didn't know what to do.
She gave them some soup,
And a piece of bread;
She kissed them all softly,
And sent them to bed.

Of course, when my kid asked why the old woman had so many children (why is still the favorite question) I had to say that it's because she didn't know how to use proper contraception. Yes, my little guy sure has an interesting vocabulary.

Comments

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

Mother Goose is still better than Struwwelpeter, though. I just obtained a copy of that, finally. Yay for twisted German cautionary tales for children! *smirk*

[judith-s.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. I did read Grimm's Fairy Tales, and they sure are grim. Nasty stuff. People die, people get horribly mutilated. It's a wonder anyone dares to go for a walk, tolerate a step-parent, or sleep at night.

[emzebel.livejournal.com]

Nice save!

[shadowsmark.livejournal.com]

My main problem has been with books, in which 95% of the characters are male, nearly always gratuitiously. So I even out the sex ratio as I read. But now she's beginning to read for herself, and sexism will smack her full in the face.....

[judith-s.livejournal.com]

Yes, I had noticed that. Even the animals in the books are all male. I tend to auto-correct as well.

[xthread.livejournal.com]

Huh. This seems like you're embarking upon the path of Disney-style sanitization of the world. Is that your intent?

[judith-s.livejournal.com]

Yup. My kid is already afraid of spiders, and the dark. I have no intention teaching him at this age that some parents beat their children and fail to provide them love and support.

When he is older, I'm sure I will teach him more about reality. But for now, safety beats reality.