Once upon a time a man had a small daughter that he was crazy about. Everything she did seemed like a mark of genius. Her vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds; she had beautiful blond hair; her drawings were Matisses and her piano playing, even though she was but two years old, was Mozartian, or so it seemed. Everyone said she was wonderful and he was overwhelmingly proud of her. No other child seemed comparable and he laughed inwardly when people told him of their children’s smart sayings, and even resented them, because he knew his daughter was much much better. There was no one like her.

Eventually she grew up and she was still wonderful. Then she married, and in no time had a daughter of her own. And when she told him how wonderful and clever her daughter was, he resented her for comparing her daughter to his.