WORDS FROM W.W. March 11, 2016
Each day when I pick up my granddaughter Reagan from her “Little Sprouts” pre-kindergarten she asks me the same question as soon as she is buckled into her car seat.
“Granddad, tell me a Billy Goat story!”
“Reagan, another one?”
I hear a slight giggle. She knows that she has me wrapped around her pinky so tight I have no wiggle room. I’m bound to obey.
“One day Billy Goat was running through the field-“
“Because he had already eaten lunch…”
“Yes…because he had already eaten lunch…and as he was running through the field he saw a squirrel-“
“Was the squirrel his friend?”
“Yes…he was his friend, and his name was Squeaky. Billy Goat saw him running along the top rail of a fence, and so he scampered over to say hello. He strolled up to the fence and said, “Hey, Squeaky!”
“Does Squeaky have a squeaky voice?”
“Yes he does!” And I proceeded to speak in a high soprano voice that would be annoying in any other situation, but with my five year old granddaughter…it works! “Hey, Billy Goat! Did you have lunch yet?”
“I sure did, Squeaky. I had some oats and grass and a couple of carrots. How about you?”
“I’m on my way to getting lunch right now. There’s a few nuts laying on the ground by that big old tree over there that are just ripe for the taking.”
“Granddad, does that mean he is going to steal them? Because you aren’t suppose to take anything that isn’t yours.”
“No, he isn’t stealing them. They are like little treasures that belong to no one, and are free for the picking…So Billy Goat says to Squeaky, “I wish I could run along the top of the fence railing like you do. But I can’t because I have hoofs, but you have feet.”
“And Squeaky said to Billy Goat, ‘If you’d like to try I’ll help you.”
“Squeaky, you can’t give me a push. You’re too small…and what if I fell back on top of you? I’d crush you!”
“You’re right! How about if you put your hoofs on this rail and try to boost yourself up on top of the fence?”
Reagan is absorbed with the story from the safety of her car seat in the back. She’s following the storyline as I follow Powers Boulevard towards our home.
“Billy Goat said, ‘Okay, I’ll try!’ And he put his front hoofs on the rail, braced himself, and took a spring into the air, got to the top of the fence, but…”Whoa!”…he had pushed to hard and he went toppling down on the other side of the fence and hit the ground.”
“But he didn’t hurt himself.” Granddad stories where animals get hurt is a no-no!
“No, he was okay! And Squeaky told him to try again…so he put his hoofs on the rail and took a jump again. This time he landed on the top rail and stayed for a few seconds, but then one of his hoofs slipped a little bit, he lost his balance and he fell down…Whoa!”
“Squeaky said, “Are you okay, Billy Goat?”
“Yes,” said Billy Goat with a hint of being sad. “I guess I can’t be like you, Squeaky. I’m never going to be able to run along the top of the fence.”
“That’s okay, Billy Goat! You are who you are and I am who i am. I’m not gong to try to be a goat, because that would be silly, and you will never be a squirrel because that would make you a “silly billy!” We are who we are.”
“I guess you’re right, Squeaky! I’ve been a goat, I am a goat, and I’ll always be a goat. Thanks for trying to help me!”
The voice from the back seat summed up the story. “Squirrels are squirrels and goats are goats, and that’s the way it is!”
“That’s right, Reagan!”
“What’s for lunch?”
Words from WW Blog 