DREAMS OF RAISINS AND ALMONDS

Oy, my 18-year-old Ben is graduating this year, all six-foot-three, 240 pounds of him. Oh, he is into power-basketball and tough-checking hockey, all right. Still, I wonder back to how everyone who knows him sees him more as a lovable teddy bear than a candidate for the WWF.

In some little way, it may have started with the bedtime stories we shared when he was just six. Ben loved to be talked to sleep. Bedtime stories were great, but not just any bedtime stories. You see, Ben did not do well with violence. And frankly, when you get right down to it, most classical bedtime stories are redolent with violence, even if someone does eventually come out living happily ever after. I mean, "Little Red Riding Hood"? "Jack and the Beanstalk"? "Hansel and Gretel"? You get the point.

So Ben insisted on a revisionist approach to bedtime stories. He and I would lie side-by-side, meticulously reworking the old standards to reflect a kinder, gentler approach that befits a kinder, gentler child. Some of the results?

THE THREE BEARS – In the Ben version a remorseful Goldilocks attempts to repair Baby Bear's broken chair and to replenish the porridge she has consumed. The story concludes as understanding Poppa Bear gently awakens slumbering Goldilocks and softly admonishes her, "Little girl, it was not right to enter our house uninvited. From now on, if you think you'll need a place to rest, call ahead and we will be honored to have you as our guest for breakfast." Goldilocks apologizes and joins the Bear family for lox-and-bagel brunch. And they all live happily ever after.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD – Little Red Riding Hood and her mother pack an elaborate Sabbath dinner (chicken, matzo ball soup, potato kugel, broccoli and grape juice) to bring to Grandmother. A friendly Wolf stops Red Riding Hood on the path and discovers by coincidence that it is her birthday. Unbeknownst to the little girl, the Wolf races ahead to Grandmother's house and suggests that they plan an impromptu surprise party for Red Riding Hood. Grandmother, loving the idea, quickly calls some friends and pops a few leftovers from her bountiful freezer into the microwave.

The Wolf has another wonderful idea. "Granny," he says, "let me dress up in your outfit to make it a real surprise!" Granny titters conspiratorial. The guests hide. Red Riding Hood approaches Granny’s bedside. “My, Grandmother, what big eyes you have!" “The better to see you with, my dear!” “And Grandmother, what big ears you have!” “The better to hear you with, my dear!” "And Grandmother, what a big mouth you have!” “The better to shout, SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD!"

The guests emerge. All feast together on the Sabbath treats and the goodies from Granny's freezer. And they all live happily ever after.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK – This is my favorite. Jack's mother sends him to market with the scrawny cow, named Frank. Jack cannot stand to part with the pathetic animal and pleads with his mother to spare it. Mother agrees, but again dispatches Jack to market. On the way, he encounters a concerned stranger who, seeing Jack's plight, offers him five magical beans. Jack presents the beans to mother who, doubtingly, suggests that Jack plant them in his garden. The stalk grows high through the night. Jack, getting permission from his mother (of course!), climbs to the top. There he discovers a castle inhabited by a friendly Giant who is (you guessed it!) feasting on Sabbath delicacies. Jack nudges the castle door open and is warmly greeted by the Giant.

"Jack," bellows the Giant, "don't you remember me? We were contestants together on Jeopardy last year!” Sensing that Jack has fallen on hard times, he offers to lend Jack the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg for a month, allowing him to keep all the gold that she produces.

Jack's mother, hearing the story, bursts into tears of joy and tells Jack that he may take some of the gold and buy a new bicycle at Sears Roebuck. At the end of the month, Jack scrupulously ascends the beanstalk to return the Goose. The Giant, touched by Jack's honesty, gives Jack the Goose as a present, reminding him to always give some of the gold to charity. Jack and his mother thoughtfully dedicate a wing of the children's hospital in honor of the friendly Giant and prosper off the gold, Hollywood rights to the story, and royalties from Goose That Laid the Golden Egg lunch boxes and book covers. And they all live happily ever after.


Strife and contention, I remember thinking, will have to wait for my Ben just a little longer. Its time too shall come, I know. He too shall not be immune. So, for at least a few more precious nights I let him slip into a tender and untarnished world of six-year-old dreams: gentle Poppa Bears, birthday parties masterminded by friendly wolves, and benevolent Giants who don't forget their friends in times of need remind us to always give charity.

"Rozhinkes mit mandlen," I would sing softly the bittersweet Yiddish lullaby as slumber finally overtakes him and his face is purest innocence. "Raisins and almonds be your future, sweetest one. Sleep, my little one, sleep.”

Oh, how I crave to sing it again: Raisins and almonds for you, my sweetest one. And live happily ever after.