Blog #155--Hidden Meaning in Children's Stories

As mentioned in my book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life,” enlightened individuals throughout time have hidden their knowledge from the masses since exposure would lead to punishment and often death. If they learned things that went against the orthodoxy of the time, they were considered heretics and suffered the consequences. To avoid this fate, they communicated through indirect means that only other enlightened ones would recognize.

An example I shared in the book was the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Telling people they needed to find a balance between extremes is always a difficult concept for the majority of the human population. So it was incorporated within a children’s story to be more palatable and less obvious. Goldilocks preferred a middle ground between too hot and too cold, too hard and too soft, etc. This was an effective means of demonstrating a truism.

We are composed of two opposite energies, and survival requires the adaptability possible through maintaining a balance between one and the other. This third way has been described by a number of people throughout time: father, son and holy ghost; id, ego and superego; child, parent and adult ego states; artery, vein and nerve; eternal triangle; black, white and gray, and so on.

The concept of three is an important one since it repeats itself at all levels of existence. Many people are quick to ridicule those who believe 1 + 1 can really equal 3 rather than 2. Unlike simple math, life replication requires a union between opposite energies, with the results being male, female or a blend of the two. And enlightenment occurs when our two opposite halves unite in common cause, connecting us with our higher selves and our creator. This unification produces true joy within us because it reconnects us with our origin.

Fortunately, those who have come before us have left bread crumbs to follow if we choose. Besides Goldilocks, please consider some other children’s stories as possibly having hidden meaning. For instance, the story of Old King Cole is significant despite the fact researchers have failed to determine about whom it was written. I believe it is a clear sign of an enlightened author trying to shout his or her discovery to the world:

“Old King Cole was a merry old soul

And a merry old soul was he;

He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl

And he called for his fiddlers three.

Every fiddler he had a fiddle,

And a very fine fiddle had he;

Oh there's none so rare, as can compare

With King Cole and his fiddlers three.”

Old King Cole called for three things. A pipe is generally narrow and straight, while a bowl is round. These are opposites. Three fiddlers can create beautiful harmony and represent what is possible when we embrace our true natures. In this case, Old King Cole was merry (joyous) and an old soul. Both these give hints to what is possible with this knowledge. It then suggests that everyone is capable of making beautiful music, at least figuratively. Music is an energy vibration, as is our spirit. Attaining union with the cosmos would make Old King Cole rare indeed.

“Baa Baa Black Sheep” offers a similar truth for those who wish to hear it:

“Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!

One for the master, one for the dame,

And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.”

The “black sheep” in a family is the one who seems contrary compared with the rest. Those who gain enlightenment and follow their own paths are often considered black sheep for being different. For the black sheep in the story to produce three full bags of wool is a real accomplishment. But the story goes on to mention how there was enough wool for the male, female and child, another example of three as described above. The story encourages us to follow our inner guidance, even if it goes against what others expect of us.

The story of the “Three Little Pigs” is an obvious use of the number three as well. The pigs that built houses out of sticks and straw had them destroyed by the Big Bad Wolf (the force of Nature). But the practical third pig knew it was best to protect itself first by building a house with bricks. Then it could have some fun, knowing it was safe to do so. This demonstrated adaptability since it took a willingness to delay ego wants until the work was completed.

“Jack and the Beanstalk” also uses the number three. Jack traded his mother’s cow for three magic beans instead of the money she expected to help her and her son buy seed to plant a new food crop. The beans grew up to the sky, where it was assumed a scary giant would kill anyone who went there.

According to some versions of the story, Jack stole a hen that laid golden eggs and a harp from the giant and his wife and brought them back with him. The hen produced a golden egg each day thereafter, and the family had what it needed to survive. Again, it was three beans that gave them the solution to their problems. And Jack may have represented the balance between male and female energies.

An egg is often used as a symbol for the universe as a whole, especially a golden one. If intended in this case, attaining a golden egg would be equivalent to gaining enlightenment and becoming one with the universe. Likewise, a harp is often symbolic for an eternal existence as it produces music that sounds somewhat celestial.

The following nursery rhyme is used commonly to make infants laugh by correlating the verse with their toes or fingers. It may just be nonsense as most presume, but there may be a hidden meaning as well.

“This little piggy went to market,

And this little piggy stayed home,

This little piggy had roast beef,

And this little piggy had none.

And this little piggy went...

“Wee wee wee” all the way home...

Going to market and staying home are opposites, as are eating roast beef and having nothing. Without divulging how or why, the last piggy did something entirely different. Some think “wee wee wee” is a squeal pigs make when frightened or captured. But what if it is the sound of joy? Then going home (eternal rather than temporary) would be a joyous occasion and represent what is possible when one finds a balance between extremes.

Not all nursery rhymes and fairy tales have hidden meanings, but far more do than most of us realize. I encourage those with curiosity about this to study the subject further. Enlightenment is possible.

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