Bedtime Story: Godfather Death

As a child, I don’t remember much about the stories my mom read to me, but I remember the ones I chose to read. I spent many nights reading the original Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales. Anyone who has read these stories knows how gruesome they truly can be. However, most of the stories recorded by the Grimm Brothers keep a great deal of the graphic details to the reader’s imagination. There is one story that stuck with me for years and I still go back and reread. The story titled “Godfather Death” will always be my favorite. It is centered around a man who has many children, all of whom have godparents. However, the man’s last child does not have a godparent yet as there is no one in the village left who is willing to take on that responsibility. The man goes out in search of a godparent for his child and comes across God, the Devil, and Death. God offers to be the man’s godparent, but the man declines because God lets the rich get richer and poor get poorer. After, the Devil offers to be the child’s godparent and the man declines because the Devil tricks innocent people and damns them to Hell. Finally, the man comes upon Death and accepts his offer to be the godparent of his child because Death treats everyone as equal.

As a child, I was undeniably imaginative and I spent many nights coming up with my own stories. I preferred stories with darker and more profound meanings because it gave me comfort during hard times where I feared what would happen to me next. The meaning behind this story is quite obvious, but it was something that resonated with me at a young age. The idea of equality for all, even put in such a morbid manner, was something that expanded my mind. Growing up we only know what we are told explicitly and understanding the problems in the world first comes with understanding the inequalities present.

Stories like the one’s the Grimm Brothers recorded were meant to teach children important life lessons and how to be a person of good moral character. While I was growing up, there were many difficult times that I had to get through alone. More often than not, I would shrink back into myself and reread the stories that gave me hope for a better world. A world that already knew right from wrong that just needed a nudge in the right direction. Unorthodox stories like “Godfather Death” inspire us to be better by reminding us of other struggles. Even to this day, this story has influenced my life and my work. I spend my days at the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights and work with people to improve their lives and their children’s lives. My writing as well was inspired at a young age, as many of my stories were about human rights and inequality. Even though I was quite uneducated on the topic, I was willing to expand my knowledge because of the message behind “Godfather Death.”

I want to share this story with my future children when they are old enough to understand the meaning behind it. Teaching children compassion must be taught and reinforced with positive praise to create empathetic members of society. Inspiring a child’s imagination through compassion for others and understanding of inequality is one of the greatest gifts to be given, as it was for me. Unlike most stories with meanings that preach against greed or gluttony, stories that open doors to social justice and reform, as well as expand one’s idea of right and wrong are far more stimulating than we can ever appreciate.