The Spike Garden — Jim Hawkins

"Dogs bark at those with whom we are angry, show their teeth to those whom we hate, and hump themselves on those that we desire. In short they display that which we are not permitted to display by the rules of the veil that calls itself polite society."The child can take two paths to creating the adult.The first is the path of Pygmalion. He carved from ivory a statue that he loved. He made offerings and sacrifices and his statue was granted life by Aphrodite. Was the statue granted life because Pygmalion's diligence and sculpting skill pleased his patron Or was it the beauty of the statue that pleased her No, it was the sacrifices.The child must sacrifice much before the gods allow him to become a fully living adult. Pygmalion's statue aged and died with him. The child is cruelly denied this experience. The child must also give up its own life for the adult to live. Sometimes one or both of its parents must do the same. The second path that the child may take is that of Hephaestus."