Once Upon A Time

Alright, so I am just wondering... do you actually read these stories before you assign them? and if so, Why are they all so depressing? This story was just awful to read however I felt that a lesson could be found in it. I think that the author is trying to convey the idea that paranoia will ultimately lead to your demise. This family was so concerned with the irrational fear of being robbed that they went to some extremes in order to protect their family. Ironically this form of protection led to the death of their son. ANother irony in this story was the fact that the mother gave the child the idea of playing Prince. Though she did not tell him to climb upon the wall, she provided him with the story and background to think to do that. (It was really weird because the narrator refers to the mother as "the witch". I thought that made it seem almost like the mother did this on purpose- although I know thats probably way outside the cone of reason.) Also, I noticed that the wife desired to put up the razors and thorns on top of the wall after seeing footprints. I was wondering if maybe those footprints were the footprints of the son who (as we know) played on pretending to be a prince. Really depressing and disgusting story overall.