Rice pudding, chocolate custard, and strawberry shortcake

These are all sweet things that figure prominently in The Poky Little Puppy. Every time I read this, I'm a bit puzzled as to what it is trying to teach. On the one hand, being poky works out pretty well for a while -- the poky little puppy avoids punishment and gets dessert all to himself. So dawdling is good, as is letting others take the fall. When the poky little puppy misses out on the strawberry shortcake, it because his siblings have made amends while he was still ambling slowly home. But what happens next? Does the poky little puppy become less poky, or does he conclude getting 2 out of 3 desserts is a pretty good deal?

In any case, now I want to make chocolate mousse.