Why do we do, what we do?

I bought a couple of small finger dolls from this little girl on Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca. They are the little puppet like dolls you can slip over your finger and are made of Alpaca fiber. Anyway, my first instinct was to  get the best deal I could. But then I thought, 'what kind of ugly American would I be then?' Besides, her mother had just finished cooking lunch for me and my friends and was standing nearby. You could tell Mom was watching and concerned about her little one. I gave this beautiful little girl more than they were worth and we were all happy.

What a treasure children are, in all cultures. Where does that idea come from? Was it planted in us? Animals don't think this way. A horse does not show concern for his stable-mate. In the stable the heaviest and clumsiest does not give up his oats for the other or is in any way concerned about him, the way men wish to be treated. Why is that? We didn't just learn this from our parents, it's everywhere.