The Three Wishes

"The Three Wishes", a European tale that comes to us by way of The Brothers Grimm, is one of many stories dealing with the well-known motif of wishes coming true -- including "Aladdin", for instance. In this example, a rash and foolish waste of opportunities leads to regretful results in the end. (It reminds us of people who win the lottery but end up broke.) But in the process, we learn about a comical usage for a string of sausages.

We discuss two places that demonstrate how wishes can come true, especially for smaller children: the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and COSI, the science museum in Columbus, Ohio. We drove through both of these cities this past week on our way to Pennsylvania, and we've spent a good many hours in both museums, particularly when Zephyr was younger.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a four-floor affair, and has been called the largest children's museum in the world. Every Halloween, the museum mounts an imaginative haunted house, built around a different theme every year. This is where Zephyr got bitten by the haunted house bug (or was it a vampire?) at age 9.

COSI, on the site of the old Columbus High School (the front facade of which is still preserved) is one of the biggest and best science museums in the country. But we liked it even better back when it featured "Adventure into the Unknown", the archeology-inspired (think Indiana Jones) interactive exhibit that sent kids and kids at heart scampering to uncover clues, solve riddles, and find the ultimate treasure -- which turned out to be some very useful advice on the art of problem-solving. It was all done in a very detailed, moodily lighted, inspiring atmosphere. Oh, why are we telling you all this when you can't go attend it anymore? Well, maybe you could pressure the museum to bring it back.

And this, by the way, is our 50th podcast! Phew!

Happy Listening,
Dennis (axe swinger), Kimberly (sausage woman) and Zephyr (Narrator, elf) Goza

P.S. We recommend another podcast favorite of ours "123 Listen to Me" produced by family from South Africa.