There was a child. He was loved by all because he was talented and famous, bringing talent and fame to those who could get close. That love resulted in his getting away with bloody murder as a kid, and he grew to believe he could do so as an adult, and tried.

Like the oldest of fables, the above scenario is repeated daily everywhere. In no particular endeavor is that scenario repeated more than in sports.

Let us turn now to the spoiled brat of Boston, Manny Ramirez.

He has come to work on his own terms this year, different than the rules others had to follow, but his parents (read that Red Sox management) made excuses so all could look OK.

He wanted to leave home during the winter, but nobody wanted the brat, so now he says he is fine in Beantown.

He wanted to leave because he couldn’t stand the notoriety that comes with being a Red Sox star. He wanted to go to New York or Anaheim instead (right).

Now he is home playing and says being in Boston is fine and he really likes the attention he gets because he is such a star (right).

There are ominous clouds on the 2006 baseball horizon for the Sox. The player changes are trouble enough. The pitching staff has one foot and a couple of toes in the hospital bed.

David Ortiz keeps standing up for Manny when he should be taking a responsible leadership role, demanding that Manny get with the program, be one of the team, and shut up.

Reporters gathered in the wee hours of the morning awaiting the arrival of the Manny entourage this week. He conveniently arrived, six days late; a minute after the clubhouse had been closed to the press. That was probably the parents wanting to protect their little one from all those mean people.

All those hits and RBIs are fine and keep other family members quiet, as long as the family is winning. When that stops, the family becomes unglued and all those little extras the brat got away with resurface and in an angry way.

There is every reason to believe that will happen this year with the Sox.

Does anyone believe Manny is back and will just go about his business with no further antics, like claiming he can’t play because his ear hurts when what he still really wants is the trade?

He won’t talk about the winter, the trades, the future, or the past. He says he wants to end his career as a “special player.”

However, he doesn’t want to talk about where that career will end or when.

Meanwhile, the manager and GM see no reason to have to talk with Manny, so he and his entourage just float about the Sox training camp, separate and distinct.

What a joke.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and ABC sportscaster.