Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose

A lot of people have trouble saying, "No." It is almost as if they think that by saying no they will be thought of as mean. But there's a time and a place for NO and it behooves us all to learn it. NO can be a life-saver. NO can be liberating. Learning to say NO without feeling guilt or remorse or sadness or regret is an important life skill.

Meet Thidwick, a moose who just can't say no. His antlers (called "horns" in the story) are attractive to a bunch of critters that all want a free ride. A Bingle Bug shows no signs of leaving. A tree-spider spins a web indicating his intention to stay. Then a Zinn-a-zu Bird takes up residence, gets married, and the wife moves her uncle in!

Thidwick is a sap. Faced with indolent moochers (Princesses, dontcha think?), he ends up with a zoo living in his antlers.

"There's plenty of room!"

Laughed the bug. "And it's free!"

His friends try to point out that he's a magnet for moochers, but it's to no avail.

All Thidwick's friends shouted

"GET RID OF THOSE PESTS!"

"I would, but I can't" sobbed poor Thidwick,

"They're guests!" '

The big lug even faces starvation as the menagerie that inhabits his antlers stop him from following his herd to new feeding grounds.

Yup, if you let 'em, there are people who will suck the very life out of you. If YOU let them. If you don't learn how to say, "No."

Eventually the big-hearted Thidwick is saved from himself and his inability of toss out the parasitical hanger-oners by the shedding of his antlers. Hey… tell me that isn't a metaphor for shedding a door-mat mentality!

Reading this to children, you can emphasize how important it is to respect other's property and personal space. But more importantly, you should talk about how important it is that they insist on having their own property and personal space respected.

The ending of this book is a little dark. The residents of Thidwick's antlers all get shot and stuffed! A fitting end for a bunch of free-loaders in my opinion, but a little scary for some children.

If you don't want to be a Thidwick, you've got to grow a backbone and not let people take advantage of you. In a world where "pay it forward" is touted as a kinder, gentler approach — I'm all for reciprocity — Dr. Seuss's harsh ending may be a little hard to swallow. But I think he's handing out the consequences he believes the critters deserve for being selfish and giving Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose no consideration at all.

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