The Twisted Game of Telephone

Once Upon A Time:

There was a young girl named Pandora who was very rebellious. Any time her mother tucked her into bed, Pandora would get up and play all night long. Her mother noticed that she was very tired every morning, and discovered what was the matter.

One night, Pandora’s mother told her that if she got up in the middle of the night, a monster that lived under her bed would nibble at her feet. Pandora became terrified of the fictional creature and never got out of bed at night again.

After She Grew Up:

Pandora realized there was never a monster living under her bed, and that her mother was wise to come up with a silly story to make her behave. And when Pandora had a daughter of her own, she warned her daughter of the same monster. However, Pandora decided to embellish the story a bit more, describing the monster’s big claws and horrible glare.

Pandora’s daughter, a dim-witted youngster, took the story to heart and swore to never leave her bed until the sun came up.

When She Got Older:

Pandora’s daughter no longer remembered why she would never get out of bed in the middle of the night; however, it was a source of great anxiety for her. If she were not in bed by a certain time, she would refuse to enter her bedroom for the whole night. She had no explanation: it was all she ever knew. It impacted her social life and struck her lovers as inexplicably odd.

Meanwhile:

David, a friend of Pandora’s daughter’s from childhood, also suffered from the myth of the monster. Pandora’s daughter had told him once in school about the monster under her bed and David, an impressionable child, had no reason to believe that the same monster was not living under his bed as well.

David, embarrassed that he still believed such a silly story, left out the part about the monster and simply told his children that it is dangerous to get out of bed in the middle of the night.

David’s children, having no further details, speculated about what the danger could possibly be. They feared that a great spirit lived beneath the bed and would attack if they got up at night.

Not Wanting to Take Any Chances:

One of David’s sons wrote a book explaining what fate a child who got up in the middle of the night would face. The book was published, but was not very popular.

…until several decades later, after David’s son was long dead. The book became a bestseller. People praised it as wonderful children’s literature; though, it was never marked as such and was read by adults and children alike.

After many more centuries, researchers discovered the book and took note of its great popularity in ancient times. The researches mistook the book to be nonfiction and warned their people of “The Great Spirit,” that would capture your soul and remove you from this world if discovered to be up past nightfall.

Many More Centuries Later:

The majority of the civilization forgot about the book’s existence, but it was still looked down upon in the society to get up after a certain hour. In fact, many were persecuted and arrested for committing this act. The people were not certain why such an act was to be enforced, but knew that it had been for a long time, and therefore was important.

And so it was for many years thereafter…

Postscript

Reflect upon this story the next time you consider: religion, culture, laws, business, tradition, and anything else that began a long time ago by someone with the best intentions in mind.