Modern Folktale

The Children and the Ice Cream

A Modern Take on the Blind Men and the Elephant

There once was a group of six children who were very good friends. One day they decided to go to get some ice cream. As they entered the ice cream shop, they discovered a sign that said “try the bold and new mystery flavored ice cream!” The kids thought that they might try this new flavor so they all ordered it.      

As the first child tasted the ice cream, he said, “It tastes like strawberry.”

But as he stated his idea the second child took a bite of the ice cream and said, “No it tastes like mint.”

The third child disagreed and said, “It’s obviously rocky road.”

The fourth child looked at them and shook his head, “You are all wrong,” he said, “Everyone knows it’s chocolate chip cookie dough.”

            The fifth child began speaking, “You are way off, its chocolate.”

             Finally the sixth and final child looked up from his ice cream and started laughing, “How blind are you guys, this ice cream is none other than vanilla!”

By the time the last child had finished talking, everyone was done with their ice cream, so they stood up and left. All the way home they argued and called each other names saying they were foolish because they couldn’t tell what flavor it was. They never realized that everyone has an opinion and whether its right or not, they are entitled to it.

The Pearl Theme

The lesson taught in John Steinbeck's novela, "The Pearl", is that even though something may look or seem beneficial or positive, it could easily be a burden and dangerous. this is depicted in the story when Kino finds the pearl of the world and begins planning everything he will do with the money he collects from selling it. throughout the story the pearl keeps becoming more and more negative and begins effecting Kino's family terribly. by the end of the story, the pearl has completely destroyed their family, physically and emotionally. an example from the text displaying this action is this: " Kino had a rifle across his arm and Juana carried her shawl like a sack over her shoulder. And in it was a small limp heavy bundle. The shawl was crusted with dried blood, and the bundle swayed a little as she walked. Her face was hard and lined and leathery with fatigue and with the tightness with which she fought fatigue. And her wide eyes stared inward on herself. She was as remote and as removed as Heaven. Kino's lips were thin and his jaws tight, and the people say that he carried fear with him, that he was as dangerous as a rising storm. The people say that the two seemed to be removed from human experience; that they had gone through pain and had come out on the other side; that there was almost a magical protection about them." this tells about what Kino and Juana looked like while walking into town after their baby had died.