Interpreting a Wide Wide World

From her growing book collection, I try to read my six-month-old daughter a story everyday whether it is a whole "baby" book or a chapter from an "older reader" book. Recently, I've been reading (and rereading) The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey and illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren. It was a thoughtful gift given to her over the holidays by some close friends.

I have heard of this story many times. Being one of the twelve original Little Golden Books, it’s quite a popular story. It wasn’t until my daughter received it, however, that I realized I had never actually read the book. So as I read it aloud to my wide-eyed daughter for the first time, it was new to both of us. It was an exciting journey into imaginative storytelling that I was excited to take.

At the end of the story, I closed the cardboard cover, and it was released into the tiny round fingers of my daughter’s little hands. She took it, and as I watched her gnaw on the golden corner, I realized I had no idea what the message of the book was. What did I just try to impress upon a six-month-old? It’s difficult to impress tangible and clear facts upon the child such as, “This bowl is hot,” let alone an ambiguous moral lesson.

One would think that, being such a classic children’s story, it would be fun, maybe rhyme, and of course have a lucid moral insight or poignant message nestled in its jolly text and playful imagery. Nevertheless, there I sat going over the words in my head. I pried the book from her tiny fingers and tiny jaw and looked it over. I remembered it all correctly. So what was it trying to say or teach?

For those of you who have forgotten or are less familiar with the story, let me refresh your memories. In the story, there is a family of five puppies and a mother. The five puppies set out to explore the “wide, wide world,” day after day, digging a hole under the fence as they go. The mother scolds the puppies for digging a hole under the fence and sends them to bed, dessert-less. The poky puppy, however, lags behind the others, noticing scents, sounds, and sights that the other puppies overlook. The first two days, the four puppies race home to dessert that the poky puppy traces, only to be scolded for the hole they dug. The poky puppy toddles home later, lapping up the entirety of the desserts.

On the third day, the same events take place; except when the puppies are scolded, they repair the damage to the fence area and are rewarded with dessert after all. The poky puppy, however, misses out because he was lagging behind, as usual.

You see, my confusion was born from the biggest inconsistency in the story. It’s easy to trace the lesson the four other puppies face. They should’ve listened to their mother. They didn’t; so they were punished. The poky puppy, however, gets rewarded twice for being poky then punished the third time. What’s the lesson here?  Since that first reading, I’ve read the story many times. I think I’ve figured it out.

The poky puppy is poky, yes, but through his pokiness, he is also an observer of the wide, wide world around him. He picks up on the sights, sounds, and scents that the others overlook. There’s merit in that; there are perks, and thus rewards (desserts). One should be ever observant of the world surrounding. Take pleasure in tiny details. Explore every curiosity. The puppy is enjoying life in every facet—every beautiful feature around him. One might also ascertain that the four others are punished in their disregard for their surroundings, their neglect for detail and attention.

Then arises a dilemma. Why then is the poky puppy punished in the end? That’s where I’d be stuck, time and again. Although in his pokiness the puppy becomes an observer, an absorbent sponge soaking up the sensory stimuli of the wide, wide world, he does so carelessly. He disregards the companionship of his siblings, and the battle of the hole under the fence seems to not even include him. He is disconnected from his role in his family.

In short, it is good to be poky and to observe the details that surround. It is good to extract enjoyment from every facet of life. However, one can be poky to a fault. In realizing the minute elements that one encounters, one can forget all about the wide, wide world.