The Green caldron - University Library

10
The Green Caldron
Caesar refused to give in to a Grant. The sand box became a battlefield
and paper cut-outs of men of the Bible became soldiers. When things had
gone this far, one of the teachers would put the cover on the sand box and
attempt to divert us with coloring books.
The coloring books were a sad experience for me. No matter how I colored
the famous people of the Bible, they remained stern and solemn. They seemed
to frown on my frivolous ways. They refused to provide enjoyment for me,
even when I had made them colorful enough to pass for Picts. The only
person who lent himself well to this sort of play was Joseph. He was a
handsome lad, who wore an ivy-league striped coat. This was called a "coat
of many colors" ; I was determined that it live up to its name. Here was an
opportunity that was missing in the pictures of the other poverty-stricken
Jews of that time. I was never really able to reconcile the poor people in
my coloring books with the opulent aristocracy of the Biblical motion pictures.
I tried to improve the appearance of my coloring book people by color, but
the pianist was an impatient person and we would begin to sing.
Children sing hymns with such assurance and enthusiasm that it is
hard to believe that they do not actually mean what adults think they mean.
Children can easily speak of leading "the good life," for to them life in all
forms is good ; they see no distinctions until they are taught. They have none
of the pessimism and hate of older people. The egocentric child has no
difficulty singing and believing that "Jesus loves me," for he believes that
everyone loves him. I was a typical child in this aspect. As I grew older, the
songs became more complex. Once I was taught a song listing the books of
the Bible. It sounded somewhat like a farmer selling produce: Genesis,
Exodus, tomatoes, sweet corn.
Every Sunday I heard a marvelous story about the times when there were
real magicians. They went around doing tricks or miracles that were not
tricks, but were truly magic. They transmuted matter and split the Red Sea.
There were other men who could see into the future by interpreting their
dreams without the help of Freud. There were women who could warm the
heart of the crudest king or sever his head upon divine order. I continually
quizzed my teachers as to why Adam and Eve did not have to fight dinosaurs
and about the mysterious origin of Cain's wife. My questions were partially
answered, but then new ones would arise.
My teachers felt much safer when we studied the New Testament. My
favorite story was about a great man of the Bible who liked children. He
once said, "Sufifer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for
of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." For a while the verb "suffer" confused
me ;
I was not positive that He actually wanted to see them. Thinking back,
I remember that I was told that He did like children. Now I can see from
my own past that when He called for the children. He used the appropriate
verb, suffer.