Shlechte Tuda

Ever since Zusha was two years old, he had a deep an paralyzing fear of a certain horse ride. There is one area of 18th Avenue that is full of such rides. I don't remember when it all began, but Zusha would cry, shake, bury his head in the stroller... he's get all anxious and uptight whenever we'd approach that area.
He called the horses "Shlechte Tuda." (Bad "Tuda"- his baby word for horse.)
He never gave an explanation as to what it was that scared him. I couldn't think of anything that ever happened to him related to that type of horse ride. And instead of fading with time, this fear only got worse.

Whenever we'd ride past the area in my in-laws' car, he'd beg for us to turn to a different street.
So we just stopped taking him to that area altogether.

One time, when Zusha was 3 1/2, I picked him up from cheider. Hillel stayed with Gedalya, and it was just the two of us. I wanted to do some shopping, since I rarely ever go so far, and also to take Zusha to some fun stores where he can play with new toys and maybe buy some 99 cents tchatchkes. After not having approached that area for about a year, I figured his fear wasn't so intense anymore.

As soon as we walked some blocks past the cheider, Zusha began shrieking and squeezing the life out of my hand. He spotted one of those horses from two blocks away. I promised him we'd cross the street. Even so, he walked with his head buried into my coat.

We navigated the avenue, crossing streets to avoid the horses of terror. We went to some stores, where he had fun. I took him to rides that he enjoyed. Then we went to one last store. It had several rides in front, and only when we were right by the entrance did we notice the Shlechte Tuda. Zusha screamed and I whisked him quickly into the store.

In the store he was telling me how nice it was, and that he never want to leave . He said he wants to stay in the store all night. I promised him that I'll cover his eyes on our way out and he won't have a chance to see the horse.

On our way back, Zusha took a ride on a seal.

Again he told me that he loves the seal and wants to sit on him all night.
I never dared take Zusha so far on 18th Avenue since then.

Well, one day last summer I was taking the kids to the far park. On a way there is a toy store that always had a lion ride in front. We approached the store eagerly, excited to ride... only to see... NO lion, but- a SHLECHTE TUDA!
Zusha froze in terror, turned on his heels and continued walking to the park in a straight line. This was the first time this type of horse appeared in our neighborhood.

Last week, we went to the far park again. And we passed that toy store. I was about to rush past the ride, but Zusha paused to watch from a distance.
"I'm not scared of it anymore," he said.
"Would you like to ride it?" I asked him.
"NO!!" he replied, and we continued on.

On our way back from the park we passed it again.
"Do you have quarters?" Zusha asked.
"Would you like to ride it?"
And yes. Yes, he did. He overcame his paralyzing fear of the horse that terrified him for years, and he rode it. And had fun!