Love You Forever

By Robert Munsch

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all
around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and
he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "This kid is
driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the
floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him
back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he
never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always
said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the
floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy
and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange
friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she
was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across
the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy
and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left
home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove
across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across
the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up
and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and
said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he
came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up
and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the
room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly
rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
 Stone Soup
A Portuguese fable

A kindly, old stranger was walking through the land when he came upon a village. As he entered, the
villagers moved towards their homes locking doors and windows.

The stranger smiled and asked, why are you all so frightened. I am a simple traveller, looking for a soft
place to stay for the night and a warm place for a meal.

"There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "We are weak and our children are starving.
Better keep moving on."

"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with
all of you." He pulled an iron cauldron from his cloak, filled it with water, and began to build a fire under
it.

Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a silken bag and dropped it into the
water.

By now, hearing the rumour of food, most of the villagers had come out of their homes or watched from
their windows. As the stranger sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips in anticipation, hunger began to
overcome their fear.

"Ahh," the stranger said to himself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with
cabbage -- that's hard to beat."

Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a small cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and
added it to the pot.

"Wonderful!!" cried the stranger. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as
well, and it was fit for a king."

The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . And so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots,
mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for everyone in the village to share.

The villager elder offered the stranger a great deal of money for the magic stone, but he refused to sell it
and travelled on the next day.

As he left, the stranger came upon a group of village children standing near the road. He gave the silken
bag containing the stone to the youngest child, whispering to a group, "It was not the stone, but the villagers
that had performed the magic."
 The Ugly Duckling
Hans Christian Andersen

A little duckling was very sad because he thought he was the ugliest amongst all his brothers and sisters.
They would not play with him and teased the poor ugly duckling. One day, he saw his reflection in the
water and cried, “Nobody likes me. I am so ugly.” He decided to leave home and went far away into the
woods.

Deep in the forest, he saw a cottage in which there lived an old woman, her hen, and her cat. The duckling
stayed with them for some time but he was unhappy there and soon left. When winter set in the poor
duckling almost froze to death. A peasant took him home to his wife and children. The poor duckling was
terrified of the children and escaped. The ugly duckling spent the winter in a marshy pond.

Finally, spring arrived. One day, the duckling saw a beautiful swan swimming in the pond and fell in love
with her. But then he remembered how everyone made fun of him and he bent his head down in shame.
When he saw his own reflection in the water he was astonished. He was not an ugly duckling anymore, but
a handsome young swan! Now, he knew why he had looked so different from his brothers and sisters. “They
were ducklings but I was a baby swan!” he said to himself.

He married the beautiful swan and lived happily ever after.