I was always under the impression that the nesting dolls were to show the progression of a girl to womanhood or from a boy to manhood. Recently a friend came back from a trip to St Petersburg and was showing me one that she purchased (she bought me a fur hat - it is *so* warm - I never cared for fur before, but now - you'd have to pry it off of my warm, dead head :) )) -- anyhow - I was looking at it, and thoughts of St Paul's writing about perfection unto perfection came into my head - akin to the way a little sapling is fully a tree, and an ancient tree is fully a tree - both are perfectly trees, yet the ancient tree is more - not more perfect though, just 'more tree'. At the same time, it doesn't make the sapling any less of a tree. [It's one of those things I can never explain properly - I'd be an awful teacher :) ] -Kenneth
