[LINK] "Folksongs Are Your Friends"

[rfmcdonald]

Jim Macdonald at Making Light confesses that he instills a strong sense of morality in his children by exposing them to Great Britain's traditional folksongs and legends of Great Britain. "Nothing’s more certain to give you a strong sense of the negative consequences of immoral or imprudent behavior."

Don’t ignore warnings. If someone tells you to beware of Long Lankin, friggin’ beware of him. If someone tells you not to go by Carterhaugh, stay away. Same goes for your mother asking you not to go out hunting on a particular day. Portents about weather, particularly when delivered by an old sailor who is not currently chatting up a country maid, are always worth heeding.