MOMI LEARNS| Pride goes before a fall

Apr 4, 2017 | Life, Only Berlin

For today’s story time, we looked for a different one my Big Bunso and I haven’t seen yet.   We opted for the Two Silly Goats today.  The story is somehow similar to the one we read the other day, the Horse and the Donkey.

The Two Silly Goats

Pride goes before a fall.

Pride goes before a fall.

There lived two silly goats in a village.

There was a narrow bridge over a river in the village.

One day, the goats wanted to cross the bridge. One silly goat was on one side.  The other one was on the other side.

One of them said, “I shall go first. Allow me to pass.”

The other goat said, “No. I must cross first. You move aside.”

Neither of them yielded.

At last, they came to the middle of the bridge. They began to fight terribly.

As they were fighting, both of them fell into the river and drowned.

The Two Proud Siblings

Every weekday, Firstborn stays with my mom.  It is because she is alone at the big house and needs somebody to wake her up every time she moans in her sleep.  On weekends, any boy may opt to stay with my mom as long as two will remain at the small house to help with the household chores.  By the way, The boys refer to my mom’s place as the big house because it is indeed big.  Ours, on the contrary, is the small house.

When the boys were just too young to be brainwashed, they would all love to stay at my mom’s place.  It is because she would buy the kids expensive toys and almost anything they would ask for.  She would even prepare milk and every mealtime the table is always ready with food.  The boys need not water the plants, sweep the floor nor wash the dishes.  They live like a king at my mom’s place.

One evening, my mom arrived at the small house.  “Who will sleep at the big house?  Firstborn or Second Son?” was her question.

Firstborn readied himself.  Second Son, without delay, made a harsh comment.  “It has always been you. You stay with our grandmother on weekdays; it should be my turn or Big Bunso’s during the weekend.”  The two boys started to argue and even cited reasons to support their claims.

Then their father acted as a go-between to solve the issue.  “Neither of you will sleep at the big house.  It would be Big Bunso’s turn now,” the husband said.

Pride goes before a fall

Luckily as a parent, I haven’t seen any of my boys fight that seriously over toys.  They learned to take turns and borrow things which aren’t theirs.  But they sometimes argue about opinions.  They are confident in their beliefs and abilities that make them too arrogant.  Just like the two silly goats who were too conceited that no one wanted to give way.   Sadly, because of their stubbornness, both fell from the bridge.

The story of the Two Silly Goats and the Two Proud Siblings both show that pride goes before a fall. This saying is adapted from the Book of Proverbs.  It emphasizes that individuals who are overconfident or too arrogant are likely to fail.

My 19-month old is too young to understand the lesson of the story.  I hope, though, that my Big Bunso, would remember the story of the silly goats whenever faced with a similar situation.

15 Comments

  1. Amila Wickramarachchi

    My kid is so happy to see the illustration of this post.Instead of commenting,we watched and talked about the story using the illustration.At home,we have a story book called ‘Arrogant Goats’.It is the same story and my kid loves that story.We always play the arrogant goats while reading the book.So,we had great time here with this post.Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  2. Chessica Mirasol

    Great story! I love that despite the hardships of being a mom, you still never forget to use kiddie stories like this to remind your children of values. I admire how passionate you are as a mom. I would love to be one someday and write about motherhood too!

    Reply
  3. Jill

    I love stories. The ones you have here are quite short yet very meaningful. It’s true that with pride, you’re able to meet a lot of problems. Especially interpersonal ones. It will not just affect you but the ones around you as well. I think it’s best to practice to be just the better person and lower our pride for the sake of others.

    Reply
  4. theresa

    Pretty read. I will try to read this on my 7th month old baby even if he still cannot understand. I just read anything to him anyway. I like reading more stories, legends like this as I know I can share it with my son in the future and in my classes as well.

    Reply
  5. Joanna

    I remember this story when I was a little girl. It’s so interesting now, when we look back, to see how many lessons were there in the stories our grandparents used to tell us and how much we learned from them, without realising. We are good people because we have learned the good from the stories.

    Reply
  6. Claire Santiago

    I would love to tell this story to my kids and explain to them the moral lesson of it. I hope to find more short stories (like this one) that I can read on to my kids especially to my 2 year old son who is now starting to show interest with books.

    Reply
  7. Swayam Tiwari

    Do you think cartoon serials like Nick and others are great in propounding simple values? I find oral stories from the mothers more effective, soothing and memorable. No?

    Reply
  8. Me-An Clemente

    Storytelling is really a great way to teach moral values. It’s my first time hearing about the two silly goats. That reminds me of my brother and I when we were young. We used to fight over something and we end up not getting any as our mom disciplines us. Truly, we should always be grounded.

    Reply
  9. Jerny

    I know your child would remember this story. And will know the lesson sooner or later when the mind is already opened for more things. Sometimes, the best lessons and stories come from moms like you, so keep it up! I think your children are so lucky having you as their mom 🙂

    Reply
  10. Indrani

    The best way to learn is recreate these little stories in real life. 🙂 I liked the fight over stay at big house and how it got resolved. You are an intelligent mom handling these delicate situations well.

    Reply
  11. Thelittlelai: Beyond limits

    This is such a lovely story. Your boys are lucky to have you as their mom. Just like the bible said, train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. They are really learning and that will surely something they can truly look back. I as well enjoy the story and I haven’t heard about this story so this is so new to me. Thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply
  12. Maaya Legaspi

    One reason why I like children stories is that it is easy to understand yet the lesson is very valuable. It is true that when you choose pride over what is right, you will get burnt and probably lose something that is important to you. And I admire you for always reading/telling stories to your kids. I know they will grow to be good boys.

    Reply
  13. Laveena Sengar

    I think you are doing a great job as a mother. These stories are infact some of the best techniques to make children understand the reality.

    Reply
  14. Bea

    I can remember my story time moments with my parents before. The stories are always simple just like this Two Silly Goats but the morals lessons have a big impact on me. I’ve never heard about this story before but it is a good one especially that siblings tend to fight as they grow older. 🙂

    Reply
  15. baldyosa

    Storytimes are so beautiful but stories like these that not only entertain but also teach a lesson is even better. You know momi, I’ve always dreamed of being a children’s literature author and reading this post has amazingly rekindled that dream. 🙂

    Reply

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Motherhood, as I live it, is a gift not everyone can appreciate until she learns to truly live it. More musings and realizations, fun discoveries, and mommy tips at Momi Berlin's blog.

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