Writing my last blog about the gingerbread boy meeting a gruesome death reminded me of something I’ve thought about many times over the years but haven’t put to paper. It’s about repercussions of our actions and how we teach those to our kids.

For example, the Gingerbread Boy teaches us that if you’re faster (but not smarter) than others and you taunt them, then you will be eaten alive. It’s your basic morality (or rather mortality) tale.

On the other hand, in “Bear and Bunny Grow Tomatoes,” we learn something quite the opposite. In that story, the Bear works hard and has no fun whatsoever, getting little sleep in the process. The Bunny, on the other hand, drinks lemonade, hangs out in a chair reading or watching tv, and chills with his (or her, as I tell it to Isabella – they’re both girls in my version) buddies when they come to her kick-tail cross-species pool party. So, when it comes to harvest time, Bear gets tons of tomatoes and Bunny goes hungry and dies. Right? Not exactly. Bunny doesn’t grow any of her own tomatoes, but Bear gives her some anyway. The Bear’s like a driver in traffic who waits for thirty minutes crawling down the lane that’s not ending in 200 feet only to let some jack donkey zip up the closing lane at full speed and squeeze in front of her at the last minute.

I guess what we should take out of Bear and Bunny is to model ourselves after the Bear who has the high moral values of perseverance and generosity. Instead, though, the more obvious lesson would be that if you kick back and party, someone will give you a couple of baskets of red juicy tomatoes.

It seems that the older books, inspired perhaps by the Brothers Grimm, have some pretty horrific consequences. Steal some radishes and you lose your baby (that’s one, isn’t it?)… that sort of thing. The newer stuff seems to have swung too far in the opposite direction – behave poorly and you will be forgiven, because after all it wasn’t your fault to start with. All you ever needed was some love and understanding and maybe some home-grown tomatoes.

The trend seems to parallel society in a way. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for forgiveness (though Carrie is much better at it than me, with the notable exception of forgiving me). The Bible teaches me to forgive others, and I want my kids to strive for that too. I just think sometimes we should forgive people while they serve their full prison sentences. Show remorse, pay your debt, get a job, behave like you should, then we’ll talk. Better yet, try not to screw up in the first place.

Where do I find that message in children’s book form?