What's a childrens story that doesn't actually make sense?

I'll start: The tortoise and the hare.

It teaches children it's ok to be slow if the faster ones are lazy and or too confident for their own good.

Also: The ugly duckling.

It's ok if you're an ugly kid, cause you'll be beautiful when you grow up, and that's all that matters.

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DrWatson · 70-79, M

The original version was "the tortoise and Achilles." It was not intended to be a children's story at all. The Greek philosopher Zeno, in the 5th century BC, posed a number of paradoxes involving motion. These have elicited responses from subsequent philosophers and from mathematicians. In fact, Zeno's paradoxes can be resolved using calculus (which of course was not invented until centuries later.)

But yes, the later versions with the hare became moralizing tales. Although I think the point is that steady consistency pays off in the long run. Like all metaphors, it has it's limits, which is why I think these tales are best presented to children as discussion starters.