Review of "Junior Classics Illustrated: The Wishing Well," comic number 563

 Review of

Junior Classics Illustrated: The Wishing Well, comic number 563

Five out of five stars

Delightful tale of the least talented child winning

 A poor old man has three sons, Peter, Paul and Boots. A bit slower mentally that his brothers, Boots is often looked down on when there is a challenge. Yet, Boots has one thing that his brothers lack, curiosity about the world.

The family lives in a kingdom where the King and his daughter are frustrated with the presence of a very large tree. They want it removed and are offering a large reward for the person that can chop it down. The princess also want a well dug so they will have water for a wishing well. Many men try, but both the tree and the dirt where they want the well dug are magic and replenish themselves as fast as they are chopped and dug. Extremely frustrated, the king offers a fortune to the person that can accomplish both tasks.  The penalty for failure is banishment from the kingdom.

 Peter, Paul and Boots set out to try to accomplish the tasks. When they hear chopping, only Boots has the innate curiosity to investigate, and he discovers a magic axe. Later they hear digging and when Boots investigates, he discovers a magic shovel. They encounter a small stream and Peter and Paul dismiss Boots when he expresses an interest in where the water comes from. When he follows the stream, he discovers that the water emanates from a magic walnut. When they arrive at the palace, armed with the three magic objects, Boots has no trouble accomplishing the tasks and winning the fortune and the hand of the Princess in marriage.

The moral of this story is about the magic of curiosity and the value it has in assisting a person in achieving their goals. That is a valuable lesson, too often people suppress their curiosity in order to avoid the potential for ridicule.