‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ is a short story by John Updike. It’s prescribed by CBSE as a lesson for class 12 students. CBSE’s interpretation of the lesson is as silly as any interpretation can get to. The story is about a family. Jack the father, Clare the mother, and Jo the daughter. Jo is just 4 years old. Jack tells her the bedtime stories. He also tells her stories on Saturday afternoons for her nap. One Saturday afternoon he tells her the story of Roger Skunk whose problem is his stench which keeps other animals away. He is not able to make friends because of his stench. The wizard solves the problem by transforming the smell into the fragrance of roses. Jo is happy with the story and would have gone to sleep had it not been for Jack who was unhappy with the resolution of Roger Skunk’s problem. How can a skunk smell like roses? He won’t be a skunk. His identity will be lost. So Jack continued the story. Roger Skunk’s mother took her boy back to
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