Don't be a kvetch! ( )

This book, based in Russia, teaches the moral of never taking things for granted. ( )

Cute, funny Yiddish story about Meshka, the woman who couldn't open her mouth without complaining. One day she contracts "the Kvetch's Itch," which makes everything she says come true. When she complains that her son is as useless as a bump on a kosher pickle, he turns into a pickle. When she moans that her feet feel like ten-pound melons, they turn into ten-pound melons. Finally the rabbi tells her that, though she can never be cured, if she can say positive things for the rest of her life she'll be able to live in peace.

(With my own kids, I would make the point that this doesn't mean you should never talk about things that bother you. But there's a difference between venting occasionally, or expressing hurt or frustration, and always looking at the negative side of things the way Meshka does.) ( )

A woman who spends all her time complaining soon finds her complaints coming true. ( )