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‘The Rattrap’ is a very interesting and entertaining story about a rattrap peddler. He went round selling small rattraps of wire, which he himself made. He got the material for it by begging in the stores or at big farms. But the story is not only entertaining, but it gives us a philosophical idea also. The idea is that the whole world with its lands and seas, its cities and villages is nothing but a big rattrap. The world set baits for people.
The world offers riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork. As soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, the world closed in on him. And then there is no escape. Thus the story conveys a very noble and philosophical idea that all the worldly things which fascinate us are just like the bait of the rattrap, which entraps us. The way Edla Willmansson treats the peddler we can draw a lesson that the essential goodness in a human being can be awakened through understanding and love.