There short stories were very fun to read because i never knew something like this existed! I read a little background about the author and he had studied in a Theological Seminary which explains why his stories always teach about correct behavior for children. In my opinion this was a good idea to instill certain values in the children from the start. Children have a mind like sponges up until the age of 5, we learn in psychology, so why not try to mold their minds so they can be the best of their potential? These two short stories on the other hand definitely took this subject of scaring the child into doing good, a bit too far. I am sure any child reading this short story will be scared and will try to abide by all of the rules. It is just not practical that a child could go so astray just from one day of skipping school. However, the purpose of the book was surely completed and in my opinion we need more books like this now that teach the children all about manners, ethics, emotions and how to handle tough situations in life. This book was also most likely to standardize teachings of morals at home because if every child is reading the same book then they all learn the same thing unlike what happens in society today. Today, children learn different things about morals and manners at home from their parents and when they meet at a place like school, those teachings clash. This is a reason why uniformity in personal values and beliefs have been erased and you get a very diverse settings among children in schools. In essence they have to deal with three different cultures; one taught at home, one taught at school by teachers and one taught by their peers. Thus in order to minimize confusion, there should be the same books for all children of a particular age group. They should all be learning to respect one another and be honest and truthful at all times. These things instilled in them early on may bring a huge different to their future.