Now, the tool-kid of play things for a small kid of the age 4 / 5 years & above, ranges from computer system,tab,Android phones etc.
Parents introduce these things to the kid; but most of the kids learn on their own how to navigate through and get what they wanted. It is the modern Montessori - learning through play methods. Everything proves not only the development of science but also exhibits the ability of small kids. 10 year boys know to do small programmes in fox pro.
Some 25 years back grand mothers while feeding the grand child used to tell Fox and Crow stories.
Kids started knowing the existence of fox, crow, vada, song, tree, its branches, the meaning of cunningness ,
cheating,running and so many vocabularies and their meaning beside morals.
It was a way of formal education of introducing so many things to the kid in the world, in those days.
Habits do not get much changed; but transformed in several ways.
So also, Paattis / thaaththaas of vedic days might have told a similar exemplary moral stories to their grand kids to educate them.They could have become the puranic / religious stories.
There might be a lot of exaggeration in these stories. The aim of these stories are not to misguide any body but only to enlighten the later generation in general awareness by provoking thought.
But now, in those stories, people may read between lines and propagate that during Vedic period transplantation of human-head with elephants-head was in vogue, Vedic priests were expert in it and quote even some verses which were implanted later.
Analysing and understanding is left to the growth level of individuals and their analytical / blind belief.