You are going to find this report difficult to believe. But I am not kidding you. What I am about to tell you comes from The British Broadcasting Corporation. It is sober fact and it is crazy. But judge for yourself:
A story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale has been turned down by a government agency's awards panel as the subject matter could offend Muslims.
The digital book, re-telling the classic story, was rejected by judges who warned that "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".
Becta, the government's educational technology agency, is a leading partner in the annual Bett Award for schools.
The judges also attacked Three Little Cowboy Builders for offending builders.
The book's creative director, Anne Curtis, said the idea that including pigs in a story could be interpreted as racism was "like a slap in the face".
The CD-Rom digital version of the traditional story of the three little pigs, called Three Little Cowboy Builders, is aimed at primary school children.
But judges at this year's Bett Award said that they had "concerns about the Asian community and the use of pigs raises cultural issues".
The Three Little Cowboy Builders has already been a prize winner at the recent Education Resource Award - but its Newcastle-based publishers, Shoo-fly, were turned down by the Bett Award panel.
The feedback from the judges explaining why they had rejected the CD-Rom highlighted that they "could not recommend this product to the Muslim community".
They also warned that the story might "alienate parts of the workforce (building trade)".
The judges criticised the stereotyping in the story of the unfortunate pigs: "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?"
So there you have it. A fairy tale aimed at entertaining four and five year old kids could insult Muslims and hurt the tender feelings of construction workers! It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the world has gone mad. I am reminded of the verdict of a famous Conservative on those who voted for Socialist candidates: "They are stark, raving bonkers!" I think that is a good phrase to sum up these politically correct lunatics. Compared to them, most certifiable madmen are models of sanity. They are stark, raving bonkers!
