Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, and boy, does it live up to this claim to fame in Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose. As is typical for this sinful snowball, things start out small, but they just keep getting bigger… and bigger… and bigger. It starts out as a Bingle Bug just asking for a ride on Thidwick's antlers. No biggie; it's not like Thidwick will even know he's there. But the bug invites another bug and then a bird; the bird invites his new family, who invite some squirrels. Until the next thing Thidwick knows, he has a bear on his back—literally.
And never once do these sponging squatters ever consider the needs of poor Thidwick. This lack of consideration, however, in the end, harms more than just a sucker of a moose.
Questions and Answers
Questions the little ones might ask and how you might respond
- Q: Why don't the other animals just ask Thidwick if it's okay to move in?
- A: They're greedy. They don't think of Thidwick as an animal equal to them but as a thing that belongs to them, and as such, his feelings don't really matter.
- Q: What causes the animals to be greedy?
- A: Part of it is probably just in their nature, but some of it might be Thidwick himself. Had he just called them out on their greed and stood up for himself, they might have seen the errors of their ways—or at the very least been greedy somewhere else.
- Q: Do you think it's fair that the animals are killed for their greed? That seems mean.
- A: It is pretty mean, and I wouldn't exactly call it fair. I would say, however, that if they had learned their lesson sooner, rather than later, they might have avoided their fate. That's the difference between the animals and Thidwick: Thidwick learns his lesson.