Once upon a time

Once upon a time there were stories. The stories carried the wisdom and knowledge of generations into the future, they allowed the young to learn from the mistakes and experience of the elders, and also allowed the young to pick up and carry on without having to learn everything from the beginning. The elders felt their responsibility to pass things on, to give to the young ones, and they honored this responsibility.

It's a pretty good idea, this sharing of knowledge and wisdom, isn't it?