Since the chilhood, this story is told as follows:-
There was a young boy named Shravan who was taking his parents from his village to the faraway city of Kashi. His parents were blind.

Dashrath, at this time, was yet to be coronated as the king. One night, he had gone to the jungle to hunt. He was known and highly respected for his ability to shoot an arrow solely from the direction of the sound. Near dawn, when he was passing by the river Sharayu, he heard a voice coming from the river. He thought this was the voice of some wild animal that had come to drink the water. He took aim and hit an arrow. When it was stuck, he heard the human cry and then Raja Dashrath came to know what he had just done! and rest is history.

What do I understand from the book?

Valmiki Ramayan nowhere mentions (at least so far I have read) that the name of the person was “Shravan”.

It is very common for a single story to appear in multiple scriptures, one of which may have mentioned that the youth’s name was Shravan.

In none of the translations is it mentioned that he was carrying his parents in that basket on his shoulders. 

In fact, the Valmiki Ramayan specifically states that he was the son of a Vaishya father and a Shudra mother. They lived in a hut near the Sharayu River, and that’s where the parents were when the tragic incident happened.

Then who thought it was a good idea to introduce a basket-carrying young child? Although this does not harm the story in any way, why does it have to be distorted?

One more notable thing –

The young man is respected as a noble “muni” in the book (and that is why I said who his mother and father were by birth, because in the next context it matters!).

When Dashrath himself goes to the hut as per the suggestion of the dying young man, and narrates to the parents what just happened on Sharayu’s banks, his father, while wailing, says that who will now read “shastra”, “purans” to them or who will discuss about it with them?

What does this say? A son of a Vaishya father and a Shudra mother was not only well-read but was also able to debate and discuss this. I think people should know about this.