Dear Jessica Brennan,
I grew up in a very religious family, and with religion comes a lot of stories, which I loved. The problem was that in childhood, there were also many stories that didn’t relate to religion, which can make it difficult and land you in trouble in Sunday School.
For example, there were many tales about Jesus, and I mostly understood that these were connected to our church and religion. But still, there were times when I got it wrong. Seven Dwarfs, eight tiny reindeer, and twelve disciples, for example. Santa came from the sky, Jesus came from the sky, and Superman came from the sky.
Eve ate an apple, Snow White ate an apple, and William Tell had to shoot an apple off his son’s head. For clarity, one of these should be changed to a pear because, apparently, the correct answer to “Who tempted Eve to eat the apple?” was not “The wicked queen.”
Noah’s Ark, a burning bush and walls falling from trumpets being blared, felt the same to my childhood brain as a coach made of a pumpkin, a beanstalk the height of a giant, and a braid long enough for a prince to climb up a tower.
So, if asked, the answer to “Who ate Jonah?” is not Moby Dick. The answer to “What did David use in his slingshot?” is not magic beans, and no mouse assisted the lion while Daniel was in the den.
Love,
Mum xo
