--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was five years old, my parents…" description: "\"When I was five years old, my parents gave me a magic chest. I learned to cast spells, although of a childish kind, before I had learned to read and wr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/wolfgang-hildesheimer-43179_five_when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gav_1187519.jpg" --- # When I was five years old, my parents gave me a magic… ![“When I was five years old, my parents gave me a magic chest. I learned to cast spells, although of a childish kind, before I had learned to read and write.” quote by Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/wolfgang-hildesheimer-43179_five_when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gav_1187519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/wolfgang-hildesheimer-43179_five_when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gav_1187519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/wolfgang-hildesheimer-43179_five_when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gav_1187519.jpg) > “When I was five years old, my parents gave me a magic chest. I learned to cast spells, although of a childish kind, before I had learned to read and write.” [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shows childhood imagination can create magical experiences before formal education. **In simple terms:** Kids imagine magic early. Key Takeaway Nurture creative play in children. Themes imagination childhood learning Mood playful reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - parenting - education - storytelling workshops Key Concepts creative development early literacy Questions to Reflect On - How does early imagination affect later learning? - What balance between play and reading is ideal? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on imagination may neglect early literacy skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Read And Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-and-write/) ## Related quotes > [“Sweet gods of darkness, what have I been reduced to? A twenty-something human thinks he can "cast-spells over beers" with me? (Mordred)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-mercer/sweet-gods-of-darkness-what-have-i-been-reduced-to-a-twenty-something/) [Aldous Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-mercer/) > [For as long as I have Orlando on my chest, Magic on my chest, I'm going to give it everything I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/for-as-long-as-i-have-orlando-on-my-chest-magic-on-my-chest-i-m-going/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [“We always underestimated our own participation in magic. That is, we thought of magic as something that existed with or without us. But that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-always-underestimated-our-own-participation-in-magic-that-is-we/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I reached out my hand, England's rivers turned and flowed the other way... I reached out my hand, my enemies's blood stopt in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/i-reached-out-my-hand-england-s-rivers-turned-and-flowed-the-other/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course.” “I wouldn’t bet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/on-the-count-of-three-we-will-cast-our-first-spells-neither-of-us/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“There were people in the world for whom the world and its people were subjects on which to cast spells.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/there-were-people-in-the-world-for-whom-the-world-and-its-people-were/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Every human is a magician, and in the interaction between the magicians, there are spells being cast everywhere. How? By misusing the word, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/every-human-is-a-magician-and-in-the-interaction-between-the/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [“Don't you know that the less you tell someone, the more they want to know? You're better off to make something up than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/don-t-you-know-that-the-less-you-tell-someone-the-more-they-want-to/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“For the next hour and a half he tried all the magic he could think of. He cast spells of remembering, spells of finding,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/for-the-next-hour-and-a-half-he-tried-all-the-magic-he-could-think-of/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [I learned to play by ear before I learned music theory. For me, that makes sense. After all, children learn to speak before they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/i-learned-to-play-by-ear-before-i-learned-music-theory-for-me-that/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [I will take classes in Kannada and will learn to read and write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-thukral/i-will-take-classes-in-kannada-and-will-learn-to-read-and-write-it/) [Nikita Thukral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-thukral/) > [There is no secret to success except hard work and getting something indefinable which we call 'the breaks.' In order for a writer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/countee-cullen/there-is-no-secret-to-success-except-hard-work-and-getting-something/) [Countee Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/countee-cullen/) > [I feel very privileged to get to read and write and not to have to do things that I don't like, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-feel-very-privileged-to-get-to-read-and-write-and-not-to-have-to-do/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I read and write for most of the day, but I do let myself be interrupted by real life. I enjoy going out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-read-and-write-for-most-of-the-day-but-i-do-let-myself-be/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I read and write but my ideas don't go beyond the first draft. When they will, I will make it into a film probably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antara-mali/i-read-and-write-but-my-ideas-don-t-go-beyond-the-first-draft-when/) [Antara Mali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antara-mali/) ## More by Wolfgang Hildesheimer > [“It is, as you can imagine, a genuine problem: I would never put up with less. It is a rather complicated problem, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/it-is-as-you-can-imagine-a-genuine-problem-i-would-never-put-up-with/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) > [Everything that happens is at least one dimension smaller than you've imagined it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/everything-that-happens-is-at-least-one-dimension-smaller-than-you-ve/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) > [The revolutionary Mozart is the Mozart of his last eight years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/the-revolutionary-mozart-is-the-mozart-of-his-last-eight-years/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) > [How can such a disproportionately large number of people have a definite, and unusually positive relationship to Mozart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/how-can-such-a-disproportionately-large-number-of-people-have-a/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) > [I had given up magic, because it had reached a state of perfection. I felt that I was able to transform men into animals.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/i-had-given-up-magic-because-it-had-reached-a-state-of-perfection-i/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) > [The riddle of Mozart is precisely that "the man" refuses to be a key for solving it. In death, as in life, he conceals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/the-riddle-of-mozart-is-precisely-that-the-man-refuses-to-be-a-key/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) > [“To think of how many times I have carted a lingering drunk out of my house in a wheelbarrow and leaned him up against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/to-think-of-how-many-times-i-have-carted-a-lingering-drunk-out-of-my/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) > [In the view of the fact that nature is dying, political developments are of secondary importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/in-the-view-of-the-fact-that-nature-is-dying-political-developments/) [Wolfgang Hildesheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) [Explore all 9 Wolfgang Hildesheimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/) ## More Five quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [If you look at the charts every year, there may be five or ten memorable songs from each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-jackson/if-you-look-at-the-charts-every-year-there-may-be-five-or-ten/) [Randy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-jackson/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/i-remember-my-friend-johnny-von-neumann-used-to-say-with-four/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [I don't think we need a featuring though , because five of us are enough .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyun-joong/i-don-t-think-we-need-a-featuring-though-because-five-of-us-are-enough/) [Kim Hyun-joong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyun-joong/) > [People who are complaining about the Fed are people who've been predicting runaway inflation for five and six years, and it hasn't happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/people-who-are-complaining-about-the-fed-are-people-who-ve-been/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [I am naturally a thin person and I am 5'1" and putting on five or 10 pounds, that looks like a lot on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/i-am-naturally-a-thin-person-and-i-am-5-1-and-putting-on-five-or-10/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Man, you'd be surprised how much I'm learning - not only about myself, but about the musicians who came before me. You don't realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-hubbard/man-you-d-be-surprised-how-much-i-m-learning-not-only-about-myself/) [Freddie Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-hubbard/) > [A lot of times, when people send me books to read - new writers mostly - I find that the book is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/a-lot-of-times-when-people-send-me-books-to-read-new-writers-mostly-i/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) Browse all 6,265 Five quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was five years old, my parents gave me a magic chest. I learned to cast spells, although of a childish kind, before I had learned to read and write.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wolfgang Hildesheimer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gave-me-a-magic-chest-i-learned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Five" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gave-me-a-magic-chest-i-learned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/wolfgang-hildesheimer-43179_five_when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gav_1187519.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/wolfgang-hildesheimer-43179_five_when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gav_1187519.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/wolfgang-hildesheimer-43179_five_when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gav_1187519.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was five years old, my parents gave me a magic chest. I learned to cast spells, although of a…” — Wolfgang Hildesheimer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wolfgang Hildesheimer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-hildesheimer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was five years old,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gave-me-a-magic-chest-i-learned/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-hildesheimer/when-i-was-five-years-old-my-parents-gave-me-a-magic-chest-i-learned/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```