So shoot me. Aside: we would like to thank the wonderful Ninang Christine for wonderful gifts - among them this book in English called Ferdinand the Bull. Though I doubt that we'll ever see this as a "dangerous" piece of literature, Dino and I were puzzled nontheless. Anti-climactic yes, laissez-faire attitude, not really. But we wondered, what IS the moral of the story? That smelling flowers is just as good an occupation as being the prize for the torreador? That being yourself, or insisting on doing your own thing is OK? That it is quite all right to be gay and come out into the open about it, garnering the support of the entire audience for your "bullheadedness" while critics stand by ready to gore you? It is in fact, multi-faceted, no? We are no experts on writing for children, and though it may have all those lessons within, we (the adults) wanted something more; a more exciting climax and a resolution perhaps. But maybe we forget that children are different beings from us adults and that is why childrens' books often leave us going "Huh?"
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