At the risk of repeating myself...

In my June 8^th posting I mentioned that my mom told us all sorts of great stories. My nephew Aaron responded with a request that I post some, so here’s one of my favourites. Try this one on a kid. It really works, or at least it sure worked on ours.

Once upon a time a little old lady was cleaning her house and she found a sixpence. So she went off to market and bought a pig. As she returned home she came to a stile, so she said to the pig, “Little pig, jump over the stile or I can’t get home tonight.” But the pig wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met a dog. “Dog, dog, bite pig! Pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the dog wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met a stick. “Stick, stick, beat dog! Dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the stick wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met a fire. “Fire, fire, burn stick! Stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the fire wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met some water. “Water, water, quench fire! Fire won’t burn stick, stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the water wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met an ox. “Ox, ox, drink water! Water won’t quench fire, fire won’t burn stick, stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the ox wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met a butcher. “Butcher, butcher, kill Ox! Ox won’t drink water, water won’t quench fire, fire won’t burn stick, stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the butcher wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met a rope. Rope, rope, hang butcher! Butcher won’t kill ox, ox won’t drink water, water won’t quench fire, fire won’t burn stick, stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the rope wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met a rat. Rat, rat, gnaw rope! Rope, won’t hang butcher, butcher won’t kill ox, ox won’t drink water, water won’t quench fire, fire won’t burn stick, stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” But the rat wouldn’t.

So, she went on a little further and she met a cat. Cat, cat, kill rat! Rat won’t gnaw rope, rope won’t hang butcher, butcher won’t kill ox, ox won’t drink water, water won’t quench fire, fire won’t burn stick, stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite pig, pig won’t jump over the stile, and I can’t get home tonight.” And the cat said, “I will, if you’ll get me some milk.”

So, she went on a little further and she met a cow. “Please, would you give me some milk to give to the cat?” “Certainly”, said the cow, “if you’ll get me some hay.”

So, she went on a little further and she met some men who were haying in a field. “Could I have some hay to give to the cow?”, she asked. “Certainly” said the men, “if you’ll get us some water.”

So, she took their pail, went down to the stream, drew some water, and took it back to the men.

They said, “Thank you very much.”, drank the water, and gave her some hay.

She said, “Thank you very much.”, took the hay, and gave it to the cow.

The cow said, “Thank you very much.”, ate the hay, and gave her some milk.

She said, “Thank you very much.”, took the milk and gave it to the cat.

The cat said, “Thank you very much.”, drank the milk, and then: the cat began to kill the rat; the rat began to gnaw the rope; the rope began to hang the butcher; the butcher began to kill te ox; the ox began to drink the water; the water began to quench the fire; the fire began to burn the stick; the stick began to beat the dog; the dog began to bite the pig; the little pig jumped over the stile, and the old lady got home that night after all.

If you find this story delightful, as I do, I’d love to hear your thoughts about why it works.