Hope

One of our all time favourite bedtime books is Charlotte's Web by EB White. It's a wonderful read-aloud book. It's about the unlikely friendship between a spider and a pig and how the spider proved to be a loyal friend right to the end, saving the pig from becoming bacon. The boys feel sad every time we come to the part when Charlotte the spider died. But in an amazing way, Wilbur the pig ensured the survival of Charlotte's eggs and their friendship.

Lately we finished another EB White's book - Stuart Little. Also a wonderful friendship story. Stuart, a mouse, who lived as a son in a human household, went in search of his beloved friend, a bird, who has flown away to escape from cats. Ewan protested when i came to the end of the story. It didn't say if Stuart found his friend or not. He insisted that the author should write an ending - happy or otherwise, LoL. He didn't like it hanging in the air ;-) I guess kids at his age prefer those happily-ever-after, good-over-evil kind of stories.

But I'm glad that the book didn't end with the happy reunion of mouse and bird. I think it's much better to end with hope. Stuart never gave up on his almost impossible quest in looking for his friend. A journey without hope must surely be miserable ;-) And in Charlotte's Web, Charlotte may have died, but her friendship with Wilbur lived on through her kids and kids' kids.

I should like to hope that that night Ewan learned that HOPE is an important ingredient in life, in our relationships ;-)